Acer TravelMate 4601LCi

running

Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake)

by Tobias Nilsson, 9 July 2006

First of all

I backed up all my stuff before I even touched the Ubuntu CD. I suggest you do the same.

System specification:

CPU

RAM

Chipset

Storage

Optical drive

Video

Display

Miscellaneous

Input / Output

Sound

Communications

Cards / Expansion

Installation

Pop in the live CD. When you come to the first screen with boot options select Safe Graphics. This will enable to you make a problem-free installation of the propriety ATi drivers later. When the Live CD has loaded press the Install to HD button and off you go. Partition manager found all the partitions and did not screw up the Windows XP recovery partition in any way. It was the easiest installation I've done to this date (that includes Windows XP).

First boot

So, everything has gone well so far... Boot the first time, you're greeted by the GRUB boot loader. Select the default option (Dapper Drake installation) and the first thing that happens before you can see the Ubuntu startup logo are error messages. They only flash by for a split second but it seems that the Intel ICH6 PCI bridge is having troubles with IRQ's. The system works fine, though... Don't really know if I want to try to fix it and instead risk re-installing everything if anything goes wrong.

Tese are the error messages that flashes by:
Jun 21 00:01:06 localhost kernel: [17179572.644000] PCI: Cannot allocate resource region 7 of bridge 0000:00:1c.0
Jun 21 00:01:06 localhost kernel: [17179572.644000] PCI: Cannot allocate resource region 8 of bridge 0000:00:1c.0
Jun 21 00:01:06 localhost kernel: [17179572.644000] PCI: Cannot allocate resource region 9 of bridge 0000:00:1c.0
Jun 21 00:01:06 localhost kernel: [17179572.644000] PCI: Cannot allocate resource region 7 of bridge 0000:00:1c.1
Jun 21 00:01:06 localhost kernel: [17179572.644000] PCI: Cannot allocate resource region 8 of bridge 0000:00:1c.1
Jun 21 00:01:06 localhost kernel: [17179572.644000] PCI: Cannot allocate resource region 9 of bridge 0000:00:1c.1
Jun 21 00:01:06 localhost kernel: [17179572.644000] PCI: Cannot allocate resource region 7 of bridge 0000:00:1c.2
Jun 21 00:01:06 localhost kernel: [17179572.644000] PCI: Cannot allocate resource region 8 of bridge 0000:00:1c.2
Jun 21 00:01:06 localhost kernel: [17179572.644000] PCI: Cannot allocate resource region 9 of bridge 0000:00:1c.2

These are the things that Ubuntu complains about when booting:
0000:00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 04)
0000:00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 04)
0000:00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 04)

So, what works!?

Please see table below for things that work or not...

Part Works? Comments
Quick-launch buttons Browser button opens FireFox and the Mail button opens Evolution. The two other buttons are dead, unfortunately. You should be able to re-program them, though... I've seen software that does this.
Wi-Fi Works fine. No extra software needed. No extra drivers needed. Wi-Fi radar is a recommended piece of software, though. 
Touchpad Works fine. No extra software needed. Make sure the Synaptics touchpad driver has been configured to be used with the touchpad. If it's not working: Check my xorg.conf file, look up Ubuntu ('System 'menu) documentation and search for 'touchpad'.
USB Works fine with USB mouse and DisGo USB stick. My SonyEricsson W550i didn't experience any issues either. No extra drivers needed.
IR port Not working. My SonyEricsson W550i couldn't find the computer over IR. No further settings have been made to try to remedy this problem from my side.
Audio Works fine. No extra drivers needed. Make sure you've got the right settings, though.
Mobility Radeon X600 3D acceleration works fine. Tested 'Sauerbraten', 'Nexuiz' and 'Warsow' in Linux which all worked fine. 2D on the other hand is quite sluggish. The normal desktop environment is slow and you'll notice especially in FireFox, Thunderbird and OO.org. Due to bad ATi driver. Just have to wait for better ATi drivers. See later down which version I used.
Mobility Radeon X600 Poweplay Can be set manually with the 'aticonfig' utility. You can view the current powerstate with the command aticonfig --list-powerstates and set the powerstate with the command aticonfig --set-powerstate=x where x is the number of your desired powerstate. The laptop doesn't automatically switch between the available powerstates with the current ATi FGLRX driver. Maybe this will change in the future, though.
'fn' combination keys The following fn key-combinations have been tried and works:
Brightness up/down (fn+right/left)
Volume up/down (fn+up/down)
Touchpad on/off (fn+F7)
Screen backlight on/off (fn+F6)
Show help window (fn+F1)
Mute (fn+F8)		 As you can see, not all of the fn-key combinations are here. Probably because I haven't got the hardware to test them (extra monitor for example).
Hibernation Works fine. No extra software needed. Takes longer than in Windows and you still get the GRUB boot loader wanting you to select Linux before it actually resumes, as well.
Stand-by / Suspend Works fine. No extra software needed. Despite Ubuntus message about the feature's possible risks it actually works.
Indicator lights at front Wi-Fi indicator light at the front of the laptop is not working. Just cosmetical. I'm just happy the Wi-Fi is so trouble-free anyway.
Monitor 1400x1050 works fine. As long as you set up the ATi driver and monitor correctly you shouldn't have a problem here. Even with the VESA driver I got 1400x1050. The ATi driver should be installed for 3D and 2D acceleration.
CPU throttling CPU is defaulting to 800MHz whether the laptop is plugged into mains or not. It goes up 1.6GHz when it needs to. There is a way of disabling the CPU throttling but I believe the laptop would get too hot then.
Optical drive Both CD and DVD reading works fine. Haven't tried to burn anything yet but I don't anticipate any problems.
Microphone Works fine. Tested with the Sound Recorder app.
Line-in Not tested / unconfirmed
Firewire Not tested / unconfirmed
Card reader Not tested / unconfirmed
PCMCIA Not tested / unconfirmed
S-video Got only black / white image on TV.  Probably settings with aticonfig that needs to be done to fix this. I don't know which, though. Worked with Windows XP but there you had a GUI for it which is quite a bit easier to deal with.
Modem Not tested / unconfirmed You're viewing this page with broadband, right? ;-)
Ethernet Not tested / unconfirmed Using Wi-Fi at home... Haven't had the opportunity to test it yet.
VGA out Works fine. Settings are important. Use the 'aticonfig' tool supplied with the fglrx driver from ATi.

Performance

Ubuntu is not slow. However, it boots slightly slower than Windows XP Pro does. If you compare them both from when they're at each respective login screen Ubuntu is faster. It takes ages for Windows XP Pro to get into a running state from the moment you log in.

3D performance is good (really like Sauerbraten and Warsow).
2D performance is not as good. As far as I know, this is due to bad ATi drivers. I'm not alone in having poor 2D performance.

Battery time and power consumption

Battery time is equivalent to Windows. What you need to do is tell the GPU (Radeon x600) to enter power saving modes manually. You do that with the aticonfig utility. You can see a list of possible powestates with the following command: aticonfig --list-powerstates.

You can also use the Screen brightness up/down keys (fn+left/right) to adjust the screen brightness to whatever suits your needs. This will save you tons of battery.

Another thing worth mentioning is that the laptop gets slightly hotter in Ubuntu than in Windows XP. The fan seems to have a higher threshold in Ubuntu than in Windows. This is regardless of whether it's plugged into mains or not. It gets quite a lot cooler by down-clocking the GPU.

Power meter operates correctly and it also senses charging / discharging events. The only 'problem' is that it doesn't react as instantaneously as the Windows equivalent. You can actually notice that it says you're running on batteries for a minute or two before it switches to 'Charging state' for example.

Terminal outputs

I've attached some outputs from the terminal when running certain commands so that you can compare if yours are not the same.

tobias@evil-laptop:~$ fglrxinfo
display: :0.0  screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: MOBILITY RADEON X600 Generic
OpenGL version string: 2.0.5814 (8.25.18)

tobias@evil-laptop:~$ glxinfo
name of display: :0.0
display: :0  screen: 0
direct rendering: Yes
server glx vendor string: SGI
server glx version string: 1.2
server glx extensions:
    GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating,
    GLX_EXT_import_context, GLX_OML_swap_method, GLX_SGI_make_current_read,
    GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_hyperpipe, GLX_SGIX_swap_barrier,
    GLX_SGIX_fbconfig
client glx vendor string: ATI
client glx version string: 1.3
client glx extensions:
    GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_EXT_import_context,
    GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_ATI_pixel_format_float,
    GLX_ATI_render_texture
GLX version: 1.2
GLX extensions:
    GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_EXT_import_context,
    GLX_ARB_multisample
OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: MOBILITY RADEON X600 Generic
OpenGL version string: 2.0.5814 (8.25.18)
OpenGL extensions:
    GL_ARB_multitexture, GL_EXT_texture_env_add, GL_EXT_compiled_vertex_array,
    GL_S3_s3tc, GL_ARB_depth_texture, GL_ARB_fragment_program,
    GL_ARB_fragment_program_shadow, GL_ARB_fragment_shader,
    GL_ARB_multisample, GL_ARB_occlusion_query, GL_ARB_point_parameters,
    GL_ARB_point_sprite, GL_ARB_shader_objects, GL_ARB_shading_language_100,
    GL_ARB_shadow, GL_ARB_shadow_ambient, GL_ARB_texture_border_clamp,
    GL_ARB_texture_compression, GL_ARB_texture_cube_map,
    GL_ARB_texture_env_add, GL_ARB_texture_env_combine,
    GL_ARB_texture_env_crossbar, GL_ARB_texture_env_dot3,
    GL_ARB_texture_mirrored_repeat, GL_ARB_transpose_matrix,
    GL_ARB_vertex_blend, GL_ARB_vertex_buffer_object, GL_ARB_vertex_program,
    GL_ARB_vertex_shader, GL_ARB_window_pos, GL_ARB_draw_buffers,
    GL_ATI_draw_buffers, GL_ATI_element_array, GL_ATI_envmap_bumpmap,
    GL_ATI_fragment_shader, GL_ATI_map_object_buffer, GL_ATI_separate_stencil,
    GL_ATI_texture_env_combine3, GL_ATI_texture_float,
    GL_ATI_texture_mirror_once, GL_ATI_vertex_array_object,
    GL_ATI_vertex_attrib_array_object, GL_ATI_vertex_streams,
    GL_ATIX_texture_env_combine3, GL_ATIX_texture_env_route,
    GL_ATIX_vertex_shader_output_point_size, GL_EXT_abgr, GL_EXT_bgra,
    GL_EXT_blend_color, GL_EXT_blend_func_separate, GL_EXT_blend_minmax,
    GL_EXT_blend_subtract, GL_EXT_clip_volume_hint,
    GL_EXT_draw_range_elements, GL_EXT_fog_coord, GL_EXT_framebuffer_object,
    GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays, GL_EXT_packed_pixels, GL_EXT_point_parameters,
    GL_EXT_rescale_normal, GL_EXT_secondary_color,
    GL_EXT_separate_specular_color, GL_EXT_shadow_funcs, GL_EXT_stencil_wrap,
    GL_EXT_texgen_reflection, GL_EXT_texture3D,
    GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc, GL_EXT_texture_cube_map,
    GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp, GL_EXT_texture_env_combine,
    GL_EXT_texture_env_dot3, GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic,
    GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias, GL_EXT_texture_mirror_clamp,
    GL_EXT_texture_object, GL_EXT_texture_rectangle, GL_EXT_vertex_array,
    GL_EXT_vertex_shader, GL_HP_occlusion_test, GL_NV_blend_square,
    GL_NV_occlusion_query, GL_NV_texgen_reflection, GL_SGI_color_matrix,
    GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap, GL_SGIS_texture_border_clamp,
    GL_SGIS_texture_edge_clamp, GL_SGIS_texture_lod, GL_SUN_multi_draw_arrays
glu version: 1.3
glu extensions:
    GLU_EXT_nurbs_tessellator, GLU_EXT_object_space_tess

   visual  x  bf lv rg d st colorbuffer ax dp st accumbuffer  ms  cav
 id dep cl sp sz l  ci b ro  r  g  b  a bf th cl  r  g  b  a ns b eat
----------------------------------------------------------------------
0x23 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x24 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x25 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x26 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x27 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  1 0 None
0x28 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  1 0 None
0x29 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  1 0 None
0x2a 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  1 0 None
0x2b 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x2c 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x2d 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x2e 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x2f 24 tc   0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  2 1 None
0x30 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  2 1 None
0x31 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  2 1 None
0x32 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  2 1 None
0x33 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x34 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x35 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x36 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x37 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  4 1 None
0x38 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  4 1 None
0x39 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  4 1 None
0x3a 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  4 1 None
0x3b 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x3c 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x3d 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x3e 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x3f 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  6 1 None
0x40 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  6 1 None
0x41 24 tc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  6 1 None
0x42 24 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  6 1 None
0x43 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x44 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x45 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x46 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x47 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  1 0 None
0x48 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  1 0 None
0x49 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  1 0 None
0x4a 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  1 0 None
0x4b 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x4c 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x4d 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x4e 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x4f 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  2 1 None
0x50 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  2 1 None
0x51 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  2 1 None
0x52 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  2 1 None
0x53 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x54 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x55 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x56 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x57 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  4 1 None
0x58 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  4 1 None
0x59 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  4 1 None
0x5a 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  4 1 None
0x5b 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x5c 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x5d 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x5e 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0 16 16 16 16  1 0 None
0x5f 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  6 1 None
0x60 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  8  0  0  0  0  6 1 None
0x61 24 dc  0 32  0 r  y  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  6 1 None
0x62 24 dc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0 24  0  0  0  0  0  6 1 None

tobias@evil-laptop:~$ glxgears -printfps
12932 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2586.208 FPS
12931 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2586.048 FPS
12958 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2591.406 FPS
12956 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2591.115 FPS
12957 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2591.268 FPS
12957 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2591.291 FPS
12957 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2591.346 FPS
12957 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2591.291 FPS
12957 frames in 5.0 seconds = 2591.332 FPS

tobias@evil-laptop:~$ fgl_glxgears
Using GLX_SGIX_pbuffer
2238 frames in 5.0 seconds = 447.600 FPS
2663 frames in 5.0 seconds = 532.600 FPS
2684 frames in 5.0 seconds = 536.800 FPS
2669 frames in 5.0 seconds = 533.800 FPS
2680 frames in 5.0 seconds = 536.000 FPS
2669 frames in 5.0 seconds = 533.800 FPS
2682 frames in 5.0 seconds = 536.400 FPS
2673 frames in 5.0 seconds = 534.600 FPS
2679 frames in 5.0 seconds = 535.800 FPS
2674 frames in 5.0 seconds = 534.800 FPS
2674 frames in 5.0 seconds = 534.800 FPS
2634 frames in 5.0 seconds = 526.800 FPS

tobias@evil-laptop:~$ lspci
0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/PM/GMS/910GML Express Processor to DRAM Controller (rev 03)
0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/PM Express PCI Express Root Port (rev 03)
0000:00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 04)
0000:00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 04)
0000:00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 04)
0000:00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #1 (rev 04)
0000:00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #2 (rev 04)
0000:00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #3 (rev 04)
0000:00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #4 (rev 04)
0000:00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 04)
0000:00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev d4)
0000:00:1e.2 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 04)
0000:00:1e.3 Modem: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 04)
0000:00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FBM (ICH6M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 04)
0000:00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) IDE Controller (rev 04)
0000:00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 04)
0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc M24 1P [Radeon Mobility X600]
0000:06:01.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCIxx21/x515 Cardbus Controller
0000:06:01.2 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
0000:06:01.3 Mass storage controller: Texas Instruments PCIxx21 Integrated FlashMedia Controller
0000:06:03.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 2200BG (rev 05)
0000:06:08.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5788 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 03)

tobias@evil-laptop:~$ aticonfig --list-powerstates
    core/mem      [flags]
-----------------
  1: 105/122 MHz  [low voltage]
  2: 209/182 MHz  [low voltage]
* 3: 398/250 MHz  [overdrive, default state]

tobias@evil-laptop:~$ glxheads
glxheads: exercise multiple GLX connections (any key = exit)
Usage:
  glxheads xdisplayname ...
Example:
  glxheads :0 mars:0 venus:1
Name: :0
  Display:     0x805e008
  Window:      0x3200002
  Context:     0x8065378
  GL_VERSION:  2.0.5814 (8.25.18)
  GL_VENDOR:   ATI Technologies Inc.
  GL_RENDERER: MOBILITY RADEON X600 Generic

xorg.conf

Here is my a xorg.conf file (located in /etc/X11/). This can be useful for when troubleshooting or when you know I've got something working when you don't... You can see that I've commented out the unnecessary Table PC input devices since they're useless anyway. You could delete it altogether from the configuration file if you would like to .

# /etc/X11/xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the /etc/X11/xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man /etc/X11/xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
#   sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "ServerLayout"

#    InputDevice    "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"
#    InputDevice    "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"
#    InputDevice    "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"
    Identifier     "Default Layout"
    Screen      0  "aticonfig-Screen[0]" 0 0
    InputDevice    "Generic Keyboard"
    InputDevice    "Synaptics touchpad"
    InputDevice    "Configured Mouse"
EndSection


#Section "InputDevice"
#
#                                                      # /dev/input/event
#                                                      # for USB
#    Identifier  "stylus"
#    Driver      "wacom"
#    Option        "Device" "/dev/wacom"          # Change to
#    Option        "Type" "stylus"
#    Option        "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"               # Tablet PC ONLY
#EndSection
#Section "InputDevice"
#
#                                                      # /dev/input/event
#                                                      # for USB
#    Identifier  "eraser"
#    Driver      "wacom"
#    Option        "Device" "/dev/wacom"          # Change to
#    Option        "Type" "eraser"
#    Option        "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"               # Tablet PC ONLY
#EndSection
#Section "InputDevice"
#
#                                                      # /dev/input/event
#                                                      # for USB
#    Identifier  "cursor"
#    Driver      "wacom"
#    Option        "Device" "/dev/wacom"          # Change to
#    Option        "Type" "cursor"
#    Option        "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"               # Tablet PC ONLY
#EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load  "i2c"
    Load  "bitmap"
    Load  "ddc"
    Load  "dri"
    Load  "extmod"
    Load  "freetype"
    Load  "glx"
    Load  "int10"
    Load  "type1"
    Load  "vbe"
EndSection


Section "Files"

    # path to defoma fonts
    FontPath     "/usr/share/X11/fonts/misc"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/X11/fonts/cyrillic"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/X11/fonts/100dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/X11/fonts/75dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/X11/fonts/Type1"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/X11/fonts/100dpi"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/X11/fonts/75dpi"
    FontPath     "/var/lib/defoma/x-ttcidfont-conf.d/dirs/TrueType"
EndSection



Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier  "Generic Keyboard"
    Driver      "kbd"
    Option        "CoreKeyboard"
    Option        "XkbRules" "xorg"
    Option        "XkbModel" "pc105"
    Option        "XkbLayout" "gb"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier    "Configured Mouse"
    Driver        "mouse"
    Option        "CorePointer"
    Option        "Device"        "/dev/input/mice"
    Option        "Protocol"        "ExplorerPS/2"
    Option        "ZAxisMapping"        "4 5"
    Option        "Emulate3Buttons"    "true"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier    "Synaptics Touchpad"
    Driver        "synaptics"
    Option        "SendCoreEvents"    "true"
    Option        "Device"        "/dev/psaux"
    Option        "Protocol"        "auto-dev"
    Option        "HorizScrollDelta"    "0"
EndSection


Section "Monitor"
    Identifier   "Generic Monitor"
    HorizSync    28.0 - 70.0
    VertRefresh  60.0 - 60.0
    Option        "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"

     #1400x1050 96dpi
    Identifier   "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"
    DisplaySize  370    277
    Option        "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
    Option        "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
    Option        "DPMS" "true"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "ATI Technologies, Inc. M24 1P [Radeon Mobility X600]"
    Driver      "fglrx"
    Option        "TVFormat" "PAL-SCART"
    Option        "TVStandard" "SCART"
    BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "aticonfig-Device[0]"
    Driver      "fglrx"
    Option        "VideoOverlay" "on"
    Option        "OpenGLOverlay" "off"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "Default Screen"
    Device     "ATI Technologies, Inc. M24 1P [Radeon Mobility X600]"
    Monitor    "Generic Monitor"
    DefaultDepth     24
    SubSection "Display"
        Depth     1
        Modes    "1400x1050"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Depth     4
        Modes    "1400x1050"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Depth     8
        Modes    "1400x1050"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Depth     15
        Modes    "1400x1050"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Depth     16
        Modes    "1400x1050"
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Depth     24
        Modes    "1400x1050"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]"
    Device     "aticonfig-Device[0]"
    Monitor    "aticonfig-Monitor[0]"
    DefaultDepth     24
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "DRI"
    Mode         0666
EndSection

Where to get further help?

I would NOT suggest contacting me, since I'm probably as good at Linux / Ubuntu as you are... Or even worse, probably.

I've found great answers and people to talk to at the www.ubuntuforums.org website. They've got subforums for just about everything Ubuntu-related.

Also, the documentation within Ubuntu is also full of goodies and should not be overlooked...

If this document was obtained from somewhere else than my websote (rotoni.net) please have a look there as I might have added things to the document from previous versions.




Tobias Nilsson
http://www.rotoni.net
tobias.nilsson[at]rotoni.net

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