(Version numbers are of the form YYMMDD. An optional serial number may be added “.1″, “.2″, “.3″ to differentiate multiple updates occurring on the same day.)

Changelog (in reverse chronological order; the topmost item is the most recent):

  • 080605:

    • Added a solution to the momentary freeze problem during install or bootup.
  • Older changes can be found here.

TODO:

  • Investigate faulken’s comment about how the modem can be made to work in Fedora.

I’m going to record here the caveats of installing Linux on a Compal IFL90 and on a Compal JFL92. My focus will be Ubuntu 8.04 aka Hardy Heron. I’ll try to provide useful information for those who want to use other distributions.

The machine I own is actually a Sager NP2090 which is a Compal IFL90 configured and sold by Sager. The Compal IFL90 is actually available under a variety of different names depending on where it is bought. I bought my machine from PowerNotebooks, a reseller with great customer service.

My wife owns a Sager NP2092 which is a Compal JFL92 configured and sold by Sager. It was also bought from PowerNotebooks. The JFL92 has the same set of peripheral controllers as the IFL90. The main difference between the two machines is the CPU they accept. For most purposes, the JFL92 can be considered to be a newer revision of the IFL90.

Unless I state otherwise, you can assume that everything I say here applies just as well to the JFL92 as to the IFL90. But keep the following in mind:

  • The only version of Ubuntu I have installed on the JFL92 is Kubuntu 8.04.
  • The only BIOS I have experience with on the JFL92 is version 1.16.

Acknowledgments: many thanks to the guys in the forums at notebookreview.com for testing, helping, googling and so forth. Special thanks to El Profe for translating and to anyusr for seeking information on the web. Special thanks too to walkerk at the Ubuntu Forums for providing the method by which to install kernel 2.6.22 in Feisty and 2.6.24 in Gutsy.

I divide hardware functionality into four categories:

  • hardware which works right out of the box.
  • hardware which works after manual configuration: configuration files might need to be edited manually, or software might need to be compiled, etc.
  • hardware which currently does not work.
  • unknown.

Again, keep in mind that Hardy is my guide to divide the hardware among those categories. Distributions which upgrade their packages more aggressively than Ubuntu could have more items in the “works right out of the box” category. I will only give details about the last three categories above plus items which will work right out of the box but for which there are some caveats.

Also note that I DO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU BREAK ANYTHING ON YOUR SYSTEM. You have to evaluate how comfortable you are with installing Ubuntu packages, performing compilations and editing configuration files. (Then again, people who have never used Ubuntu might be wondering what the heck I’m talking about with “Feisty” and “Gutsy”. As usual, Google is your friend!)

At a glance

In the following table, “Y” means that it works, “N” means that it does not and “MC” means that it requires manual configuration to work. Columns marked “RB” mean that you should “Read Below” to know the full story. (Using the “find” facility of your browser is helpful to find the specific place.) For the “Linux in general” column, only “Y” “N” or “?” are possible since this is an abstract category. Items marked with (O) are optional when ordering the machine. Even for devices that show a “Y”, you should read the detailed information which follows to know about any potential issues. The Hardy + Procedure column shows the results of applying the installation procedure described below to a stock Hardy installation.

Function Linux in general Hardy Hardy + Procedure
Network Card Y Y Y
Touchpad Y Y Y
Wireless (O) Y Y Y
Video Card Y Y Y
Sound Y Y Y
BlueTooth (O) Y Y Y (should work on NP2092 but not tested)
Webcam Y Y Y
Modem Y ? ?
MMC Reader Y Y Y
FP Reader ? ? ?
Sleep RB RB RB
Hibernation RB RB RB
Firewire Y ? ?
Express Card Y Y Y
Infrared (O) ? ? ?
Robson (O) ? ? ?
TV Tuner (O) ? ? ?
Intel VT Y Y Y

NOTE: I have all the optional devices in the table above except for Robson, the Infrared and the TV Tuner.

Peripherals

I maintain separate pages for the peripherals I use with my IFL90:

Hardware which will run right out of the box

  • Network card: Broadcom BCM5787M

  • Wireless (OPTIONAL): Intel 4965agn

  • BlueTooth (OPTIONAL): Broadcom BCM2045 (Broadcom BCM92045MD)/Foxconn T60H928.06. It seems that Foxconn is manufacturing OEM hardware for Broadcom. [Bizcom] mentions the Foxconn device. However the device is properly a Broadcom BCM2045 (BCM92045MD). I don’t know why they use so many different model numbers.

  • Video Camera: Chicony CNF6212.

  • Sound: Realtek ALC268

  • Memory card reader, according to [Bizcom] is a Ricoh R5C833. However, here is what lspci shows me:

          0e:06.1 Generic system peripheral [0805]: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 22)
      0e:06.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 12)

    Does this mean that the R5C833 is a combination of R5C822 and R5C592??? At any rate, it seems that the card reader is properly a R5C822. The R5C822 seems to be supported in Linux somehow but it is unclear how stable that support is.

  • Hardware virtualization (Intel VT): yes! I can use kvm which depends on VT to run.

Hardware which will run right out of the box (but with caveats)

  • Touchpad: Elantech 810511-0911

  • Video Card: nVidia 8600GT

    • Linux in general: supported both in open and closed source drivers. To take full advantage of the card, you need to use the closed source drivers. Notably you cannot play DVDs with the open-source drivers because they don’t support XVideo. I’ve tried it and wept.

    • Hardy: use the restricted drivers manager to install the closed source drivers.

Hardware which will require manual configuration

  • Both Sleep and Hibernation are not working in Hardy as of April 26th 2008. This is a regression bug because both were working in Gutsy!
  • Sleep (Suspend-to-Ram): Definitely needs BIOS 1.13 or higher to work properly.
  • Hibernation (Suspend-to-disk): See the note above about BIOS versions. I have had problem with fans after hibernation. It has happened twice that I resumed from hibernation and my fans were not working. It has been a while since I had the fan problem but I do not know whether it is fixed or not. Also note that hibernation is likely to abort if you plug or unplug devices while the system is going into hibernation.

Hardware which does not work yet

  • Fingerprint reader: Upek TCS4BA.

  • Robson (OPTIONAL): Intel chipset. Does not seem supported.

Unknown

About Hardy and the BIOS

Ok, this is a bit preliminary but I need to warn people. After my upgrade to Hardy, X started crashing almost 100% of the time after a resume from suspend-to-ram (aka: sleep). My machine was still at BIOS 1.13. After upgrading to BIOS 1.16, the crashes are still present. I reverted to BIOS 1.13 for now.

Installation procedure for Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron)

NOTE: USE THIS PROCEDURE AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

NOTE: It is a good idea to read the steps ahead a little bit to make sure you won’t miss a step.

NOTE: lines that begin with $ are to be typed at the command line prompt. Lines that begin with # are comments.

NOTE: You should be connected to a network to perform the installation of Ubuntu. You’ll have to use a wired network for the initial steps.

NOTE: This is the procedure to use for installing from scratch. I have used this procedure to go from Gutsy to Hardy. I have also upgraded from Gutsy to Hardy as described below but later decided to install from scratch to make sure I did not mess things up.

Note about the JFL92: As of May 5th, 2008 the Kubutu alternate installation CD for amd64 displays a strange behavior during installation. See this bug report. It does not prevent installation nor does it cause any insurmountable problem later. After the system is fully installed and updated, the problem still manifests itself at boot: after entering the passphrase to open the encrypted filesystem, the boot process sometimes stops until a key (any key) is pressed. For most users this is an annoyance. It would be a problem for someone who wants unattended boots.

Update 080605: faulken reported a solution to this problem: disable AHCI in the BIOS.

This bug does not happen on my IFL90 but that may be because I have AHCI disabled anyway (because of XP).

Ok, here is the installation process:

  1. It is a good idea to install Windows before installing Ubuntu. If you are new to Linux or if Windows is your primary OS you should certainly install Windows before Linux. It is possible to install Ubuntu first but the problem is that installing Windows later messes with the boot process and then you have to fix it yourself.

  2. Do an installation of Hardy using either the Desktop or Alternate CD. (I think the Desktop CD should work but I have not tested it.) The following links contain useful information:

  3. The first time you log in, the system might tell you that there are updates to be performed. Do perform those updates before going further.

  4. Install the nVidia drivers.

    Log in and go into System->Administration->Hardware Drivers. There you will see a driver for your nVidia card. Turn it on and follow the instructions.

  5. Install sound support:

    • Execute the following:

      	$ sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base

      Go to the end of the file and add the following lines. The first line is just a reminder to yourself as to what the next line is about. Such reminders are useful when packages are upgraded. You might want to change “LDD” to your own initials.

      	# LDD: I added this line for supporting the ALC268 audio chipset.
	options snd-hda-intel model=toshiba

      Press Control-X to exit and save.

    • Now you should reboot. The advantage of rebooting instead of just trying to fiddle with modules is that by rebooting you can make sure that everything is going to work right after a reboot. If you just fiddle with the modules, you may be setting up something which will be undone next time you reboot. So rebooting is better to make sure to trap possible problems early.

    • Question: But I still have no sound! What is going on?!?

      Answer: This is a Linux problem, not a IFL90 problem. Sound support in Linux is still a bit on the arcane side. Open the “Volume Control” application. (A right click on the volume applet will do it.) Go into “Edit -> Preferences” and make sure that all channels (called tracks by the application) are selected. That’s because multiple channels affect the volume. For instance, the sound that comes out of the headphones is controlled by the PCM and the Headphone channels. If either of them is muted, you get no sound. To summarize briefly:

      • PCM: all sound output goes through that channel so changing the volume on this channel will affect all sound output.
      • Front: this controls the volume of the internal speakers.
      • Headphone: this controls the volume of the headphones.

      I have not played enough with the other channels to give a good description. See this comment for an initial stab at explaining microphones.

  6. Suspend and Hibernate support

    Execute the following:

          $ sudo nano /etc/default/acpi-support

    And change SAVE_VBE_STATE and POST_VIDEO from true to false.

  7. TODO: Install modem support.

Upgrade procedure from Gutsy to Hardy

NOTE: USE THIS PROCEDURE AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

NOTE: You must have used the procedure to install Gutsy on a IFL90 described on this page. If you used any other procedure all bets are off.

  1. Follow the normal upgrade instructions.

  2. Your machine will reboot. When I rebooted my X resolution was screwed. I fixed it by doing the following. This assumes you are using the NVIDIA PROPRIETARY DRIVERS. If not, skip the second command. Run:

          $ sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg
      $ sudo nvidia-xconfig
      $ sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart

    Upon my first try, I rand the dpkg-reconfigure command above with -phigh but that created a xorg.conf file which did not enable emulation of the middle button on the touchpad.

  3. Now, X should start. Log into your account. After logging in, Hardy reported to me numerous crashes of applications but they were spurious because I was not running those applications at that time.
  4. Install the nVidia drivers as described above.
  5. Install sound support as described above.
  6. Remove ricoh-r5c832-fix. If you ever installed it, is no longer needed so it must be purged: 
          $ sudo dpkg --purge ricoh-r5c832-fix

Installation procedure for Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)

NOTE: USE THIS PROCEDURE AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

NOTE: It is a good idea to read the steps ahead a little bit to make sure you won’t miss a step.

NOTE: lines that begin with $ are to be typed at the command line prompt. Lines that begin with # are comments.

NOTE: You should be connected to a network to perform the installation of Ubuntu. You’ll have to use a wired network for the initial steps.

NOTE: This is the procedure to use for installing from scratch. I have not used this procedure myself but rather I have upgraded from Feisty to Gutsy as described below.

  1. It is a good idea to install Windows before installing Ubuntu. If you are new to Linux or if Windows is your primary OS you should certainly install Windows before Linux. It is possible to install Ubuntu first but the problem is that installing Windows later messes with the boot process and then you have to fix it yourself.

  2. Do an installation of Gutsy using either the Desktop or Alternate CD. (I think the Desktop CD should work but I have not tested it.) The following links contain useful information:

  3. The first time you log in, the system might tell you that there are updates to be performed. Do perform those updates before going further.

  4. Add the repositories for universe into your sources.list file. Optionally you can also add multiverse repositories. The universe repositories are required because module-assistant is required in subsequent steps and it available only from the universe repositories. To do this, you must edit the source.list file:

          $ sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

    Find the lines that specify the location of the “universe” repositories. They look like this:

          # deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ gutsy universe
      # deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ gutsy universe

    Chances are that if you are from another part of the world than the United States, the URLs will begin with something else than “us.” but the principle is the same. You want to remove the pound (#) signs at the beginning of those lines.

    Optionally, you can also do the same with the lines that specify the location of the “multiverse” repositories. They look like this:

          # deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ gutsy multiverse
      # deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ gutsy multiverse

    Do the same think if you want the multiverse repositories: remove the pound (#) signs at the start of those lines. Once that is done, issue the following command:

          $ sudo apt-get update

  5. Install the nVidia drivers.

    Log in and go into System->Administration->Restricted Drivers Manager. There you will see a driver for your nVidia card. Turn it on and follow the instructions.

  6. Install sound support.

    1. You have two choices. Either add my repository to your sources.list file or download and install the file manually. I recommend that you add my repository because it is more secure than downloading the file manually. The repository is signed with my private OpenPGP key. Execute: 

      	$ sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

      Add the two following lines at the end of the file:

      	deb http://lddubeau.com/downloads/ubuntu gutsy main
	deb-src http://lddubeau.com/downloads/ubuntu gutsy main

      Save and exit. Execute:

      	$ sudo apt-get update

      apt-get should execute normally except that it will complain that it does not have the GPG key for my repository. Execute the following commands to get my key:

      	# The next 3 commands import my public key to your
	# apt keyring.
	# (Note: if you don't have gpg installed already you should execute
	# "apt-get install gnupg" and continue after that is done.)
	$ gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys F70DFA47
	$ gpg --export --armor F70DFA47 > /tmp/key.asc
	$ sudo apt-key add /tmp/key.asc

	# apt-get should not complain about a missing GPG key now.
	$ sudo apt-get update

	# This installs the required package
	$ sudo apt-get install alsa-source

    2. If you want to download manually, download the following file:

      And execute the following: 

      	$ dpkg -i alsa-source_1.0.15rc3-ldd1_all.deb
	# NOTE: if dpkg complains about depedencies, please install what is
	# needed by using apt-get install and then continue.

    3. This is what you need to do once the package is installed:

      	  $ cd /usr/src
	  $ sudo module-assistant a-i alsa-source

    4. Module-assistant will end with:

      	  You should now stop all applications using sound devices and reload all ALSA sound modules.

      Although it would be possible to just stop those applications, I suggest a reboot but DON’T REBOOT JUST NOW.

    5. Execute the following:

      	$ sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base

      Go to the end of the file and add the following lines. The first line is just a reminder to yourself as to what the next line is about. Such reminders are useful when packages are upgraded. You might want to change “LDD” to your own initials.

      	# LDD: I added this line for supporting the ALC268 audio chipset.
	options snd-hda-intel model=toshiba

      Press Control-X to exit and save.

    6. Now you should reboot. The advantage of rebooting instead of just trying to fiddle with modules is that by rebooting you can make sure that everything is going to work right after a reboot. If you just fiddle with the modules, you may be setting up something which will be undone next time you reboot. So rebooting is better to make sure to trap possible problems early.

    7. Question: But I still have no sound! What is going on?!?

      Answer: This is a Linux problem, not a IFL90 problem. Sound support in Linux is still a bit on the arcane side. Open the “Volume Control” application. (A right click on the volume applet will do it.) Go into “Edit -> Preferences” and make sure that all channels (called tracks by the application) are selected. That’s because multiple channels affect the volume. For instance, the sound that comes out of the headphones is controlled by the PCM and the Headphone channels. If either of them is muted, you get no sound. To summarize briefly:

      • PCM: all sound output goes through that channel so changing the volume on this channel will affect all sound output.
      • Front: this controls the volume of the internal speakers.
      • Headphone: this controls the volume of the headphones.

      I have not played enough with the other channels to give a good description. See this comment for an initial stab at explaining microphones.

  7. Install MMC support.

    If you’ve added my repository like suggested above in the section on adding sound support, then you just need to perform the following command:

          $ sudo apt-get install ricoh-r5c832-fix

    Otherwise, you need to grab ricoh-r5c832-fix_1_i386.deb and install it with the following command:

          $ sudo dpkg -i ricoh-r5c832-fix_1_i386.deb

  8. Suspend and Hibernate support

    Execute the following:

          $ sudo nano /etc/default/acpi-support

    And change SAVE_VBE_STATE and POST_VIDEO from true to false.

  9. TODO: Install modem support.

Upgrade procedure from Feisty to Gutsy

NOTE: USE THIS PROCEDURE AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

NOTE: You must have used the procedure to install Feisty on a IFL90 described on this page. (The procedure for Feisty has been removed.) If you used any other procedure all bets are off.

This is the procedure I used to go from Feisty to Gutsy.

  1. Follow the normal upgrade instructions.
  2. Your machine will reboot but will not be able to start X. Even the fail-safe mode did not work for me.
  3. Run: 
          $ sudo dexconf
      $ sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart
  4. Now, X should start. Log into your account. After logging in, Gutsy reported to me numerous crashes of applications but I do not know whether those were real crashes or spurious crashes. I can only tell you that after the complete procedure my machine seems to work normally, so I’m thinking those were either spurious or a temporary problem.
  5. Install the nVidia drivers as described above.
  6. Install sound support as described above.
  7. MMC support should be present already if you followed the Feisty procedure. If not, install as described above.
  8. Install the acpi-support configuration as described above.

Quirks and Solutions

I am listing here some quirks and their solutions:

  • Using the video camera:
    • I never got ekiga-gtkonly to work.
    • I was able to use ekiga. However, it needs to have the package libpt-1.11.2-plugins-v4l2 installed! This package may be missing from your installation so make sure it is installed before reporting problems with the video camera.
    • For future reference, my preferences under the “Video Devices” tab are set to “Video plugin: V4L2″, “Input Device: USB 2.0 Camera”, “Format: Auto”, “Channel: 0″, “Image: None”.
  • Incorrect panel position and size in Gnome: although the X Window resolution can be set to 1680×1050 (the native resolution of my laptop), it seems that upon subsequent logins Gnome forgets the resolution and returns to 1024×768. This is a problem that will happen for people who used to run Gnome at a different resolution previously, like I did. Fix: Start gnome-display-properties from a terminal, switch to 1024×768, click “Apply” and then click “Return to previous resolution”. At this point, the panel should be the right size and position. If it is, then run gnome-session-save from the terminal. A different and faster method is to execute “killall gnome-panel”. This will kill the panel and it will automatically be restarted by Gnome. Then you save the session with gnome-session-save. The trick is to start a terminal if you panel does not show the “Applications” menu. Right clicking on the background should show a menu that has an item named “Open Terminal”. Use that if needed.

Long term considerations

In Gutsy, the only thing you should have to worry about are sound support which must be reinstalled for each kernel upgrade. With Hardy kernels, this won’t even be needed!

  • Whenever upgrading to a new kernel version:

    • Install sound support.

      1. Execute:

        	  $ cd /usr/src
	  $ sudo module-assistant a-i alsa-source

      2. Module-assistant will end with:

        	  You should now stop all applications using sound devices and reload all ALSA sound modules.
      3. You can try to hunt for the applications that use sound devices and the sound modules but I suggest a reboot here.
  • If you use kvm like I do, be warned that in the past kvm_intel has been known to prevent suspend from working properly. Make sure you are running a version of kvm which is known to work fine with suspend. (Search for “kvm” in the comments for more information.)

Upgrading to BIOS 1.16

NOTE: You are following this procedure at your own risk. If things break, I’m not responsible.

NOTE: BIOS upgrades should always be performed with a full battery or preferably while on AC. If the process is interrupted before it is complete, you are likely to turn your laptop into an expensive and fancy brick.

NOTE: Don’t upgrade unless you have a good reason. I upgraded in order to see whether I would get my machine to suspend and hibernate. If suspend and hibernate work on your machine and you don’t know of a reason to upgrade, then don’t upgrade.

This guide is based on this page about how to boot from a USB drive. I’ve boiled down the instructions to what worked for me. You may want to look at that guide if your situation is different than mine.

Here is the procedure:

  1. Install the necessary tools:

          $ sudo apt-get install dosemu mbr dosfstools

  2. Get the BIOS from the official channels and unzip it somewhere.

  3. Now you need to format your USB drive as a hard-disk. There are basically two ways your USB drive can be treated: superfloppy or hard-disk. I know the hard-disk method works. I have not tried superfloppy. To do the following steps you need to know which device your USB drive appears as. With the hardware I have in my machine, it appeared as /dev/sdb.
  4. Your drive needs to have one partition on it. Mine was already set up that way because when I insert it, the filesystem is mounted from /dev/sdb1. If yours is not set up with one partition, you need to use cfdisk, fdisk, gparted or whatever you want to create one single partition on the device.

  5. Next, you want to set the MBR properly so that the device can boot:

          $ sudo install-mbr -p1 [your device]

    The -p1 argument tells install-mbr that you want to automatically boot from the first partition. Replace “[your device]” with the actual name of the block device, not the partition! It would be /dev/sdb for me. (NOT /dev/sdb1).

  6. Then you want to create a file system. I did not have to do that because I already had a filesystem on my disk. You may also skip this if you already have a file system, otherwise:

          $ sudo mkdosfs -I [your partition]

    Replace “[your partition]” with the partition on your device, not the block device itself! It would be /dev/sdb1 for me.

  7. Edit your ~/.dosemurc so that you can access your USB drive. Mine reads:

          $_hdimage = "drives/* /tmp /dev/sdb1"

    This means that the drives under ~/.dosemu/drives/ are going to be mapped to C and D. The directory /tmp is mapped to E. This is a placeholder really because E should normally be a CD-ROM drive. And /dev/sdb1 is mapped to F.

  8. If your USB drive was mounted, please unmount it.
  9. There is a bug currently in dosemu or Linux or something. To work around it, execute: 
          echo 0 | sudo tee /proc/sys/vm/mmap_min_addr

  10. Start dosemu in a terminal. It will start and display the usual messages. Now the default dosemu installation does some drive remapping in autoexec.bat so by the time you get the dos prompt the drive mappings are:

    • C: what you booted from.
    • D: this maps to your home directory in Linux.
    • E: this maps to /tmp.
    • F: this maps to your USB drive.
    • Z: this is where FreeDOS is actually installed.
  11. Now you need to install FreeDOS on the drive so run the following: 
          $ z:
      $ sys f:
  12. Then you need to copy the files from the BIOS archive you downloaded. Go onto d: and cd to where the files are. Then copy them to f:.
  13. Exit dosemu by running exitemu.
  14. You are done in Linux so you can close everything you need to close and reboot.
  15. Press F12 to get the boot device list, select the USB drive.
  16. It should boot automatically but if you get a prompt of the form “MBR FA:”, hit A. Then you will get a prompt of the form “MBR 1234F:” hit 1.
  17. FreeDOS will ask for the time and date. Just hit enter.
  18. When you get to the DOS prompt, execute the batch file JFT02116.BAT by typing “JFT02116″ at the prompt and hitting return. (This is the file for BIOS 1.16. If you are upgrading to another BIOS find the appropriate batch file and execute that.)
  19. The flashing process will start. It takes a bit to go through the whole process.

Upgrading to BIOS 1.13

NOTE: You are following this procedure at your own risk. If things break, I’m not responsible.

NOTE: BIOS upgrades should always be performed with a full battery or preferably while on AC. If the process is interrupted before it is complete, you are likely to turn your laptop into an expensive and fancy brick.

NOTE: Don’t upgrade unless you have a good reason. I upgraded in order to see whether I would get my machine to suspend and hibernate. If suspend and hibernate work on your machine and you don’t know of a reason to upgrade, then don’t upgrade.

Useful resources if you want to make your own CD rather than use mine or if you want to use a flash drive:

  • How to create a DOS boot disk
  • A thread on notebookreview where people are discussing the 1.13 release and how to upgrade. (For the record, the CD image I provide is not just a copy of masterbw’s image. I built my own using the instructions at the gentoo-wiki.)

Here is the procedure:

  1. Grab the files IFT00113.iso.asc” and IFT00113.iso.gz.

  2. Execute:

          $ gunzip IFT00113.iso.gz

  3. Execute:

          $ gpg --verify IFT00113.iso.asc IFT00113.iso

    This is a security step to ensure you are not getting a file that has been tampered by someone who would have hacked into my site. Make sure everything verifies. If you do not have my key, please see above how to get my key into your keyring. If everything works fine, you should see something like:

          gpg: Signature made Sun 16 Dec 2007 02:52:21 PM EST using DSA key ID F70DFA47
      gpg: Good signature from "Louis-Dominique Dubeau <ldd@lddubeau.com>"
  4. Burn the iso to a CD using your preferred CD software. I first tried with a CD-RW and somehow the computer was not able to boot properly from it. I don’t know whether it is because the CD was crap or what. Anyway, I know the image is good because that’s the one I used to upgrade my BIOS.
  5. Keep the CD in the drive and reboot.
  6. Press F12 to get the boot device list, select the CDROM.
  7. FreeDOS will ask you whether you want to execute a series of command which are part of the CONFIG.SYS. You should answer NO to all those questions. (Ideally I would have cleaned that up so that you don’t have to answer those questions but time constraints make it so that this will have to do for now.)
  8. When you get to the DOS prompt, execute the batch file IFT00113.BAT by typing “IFT00113″ at the prompt and hitting return.
  9. The flashing process will start. It takes a bit to go through the whole process.

REFERENCES

Old Changelog

Entries are in reverse chronological order. (The topmost item is the most recent.)

  • 080526:

    • Update regarding an Ubuntu bug on the JFL92.
    • According to Revan (search comments), the Express Card works.
    • Spell checking… eek!

  • 080521:

    • Added information regarding the JFL92.
    • Added information about making ekiga work properly.

  • 080512:

    • Updated the information regarding the fingerprint reader
    • Cosmetic fixes.

  • 080430:

    • Proper support for sound needs modifications to alsa-base otherwise the sound does not recover from sleep or hibernate. I’ve updated the installation procedure accordingly.

  • 080426:

    • General cleanup of the procedures and what is supported and not.

  • 080423:

    • Added information about how to upgrade to BIOS 1.16
    • Added a note about upgrading to Hardy and BIOS versions.

  • 080418:

    • ricoh-r5c832-fix is no longer needed in Hardy.
    • Removed -phigh from the xserver reconfiguration command.

  • 080416:

    • Instructions for upgrading to Hardy Beta.
    • Instructions for installing Hardy.
    • Removed instructions for installing a Hardy kernel in Gutsy.

  • 080104.2:

    • Fan problem after hibernating occurs in 2.6.24-2.
    • I’ve downgraded sleep and hibernate status from “Y” to “RB” (i.e. “Read Below”) because I think there are still issues.

  • 080104.1:

    • Updated instructions on how to use a Hardy kernel in Gutsy.

  • 080103:

    • Added instructions on how to use a Hardy kernel in Gutsy.
    • Began forecasting support in Hardy.
    • Added a warning about possible fan problems after hibernating.

  • 080101:

    • Removed the instruction to install debconf-support when installing audio since it does not seem to exist anymore.
    • Added a bit of information about sound channels.

  • 071217:

    • Added links to new pages I created about how to configure in Unbutu peripherals I use with my IFL90.

  • 071216:

  • 071019:

    • Removed all instructions for Feisty. I do not support Feisty anymore and will not answer any questions about Feisty on an IFL90. Use Gutsy.

  • 071005:

    • Moved to Ubuntu 7.10 beta, aka Gutsy Gibbon Beta. The entire installation procedure is much easier than it was with Feisty Fawn in August. Kudos to the Ubuntu developers.
    • There are two procedures: one for installation from scratch and one for upgrading from Feisty to Gutsy.
    • Moved to alsa 1.0.15rc3 for sound support. This fixes the muting problem and adds support for microphones. I found that the recording obtained from the mikes is very noisy but have not investigated.
    • The new procedures for Gutsy can be used but I’m not finished testing everything. For instance, it is possible that suspend/resume now works fine. I’ll have to check when I have time.

  • 070920:

    • Added instructions to upgrade the nVidia drivers from 100.14.11 to 100.14.19.
    • Updated my observations about sleeping and hibernating. Upgrading the nVidia driver and the kernel upgrades have improved the stability of the system but we’re not quite out of the woods yet.
    • Split the changelog in two. Old entries are now at the end of the page.
    • Reinstated the TODO list…
    • I’ve got feedback that Linux does not recognize Robson at all. Absent evidence to the contrary, I consider Robson to be unsupported in all versions of Linux.
    • Added a “Gutsy + Procedure” column to my table even though I don’t have a procedure for Gutsy yet. I’m forecasting what we can expect.
    • Cosmetic changes.

  • 070916:

    • There is now a solution for making the MMC chipset work. People who have already used the installation procedure I propose here should jump to the section about Installing MMC support and follow the instructions there.

  • 070910:

    • Added the procedure to upgrade from 2.6.22-10 to 2.6.22-11. This kernel has support for the video camera “out of the box”. This means that Gutsy will have “out of the box” support for the video camera!
    • Updated the initial installation procedure to work with 2.6.22-11.
    • Fixed the chmod commands to have the “+x” argument! (Argh!)
    • Deprecated some old procedures.

  • 070822.2:

    • The repositories are now fine. You may use the new installation procedure which installs a 2.6.22-10 kernel and the upgrade procedure to go from 2.6.22-9 to 2.6.22-10.
    • Added a note that my actual machine is a Sager NP2090.

  • 070822.1:

    • A word of caution: Ubuntu is in the process of refreshing its repositories but at the moment the repositories are inconsistent. Do not try to perform the processes indicated here until further notice. Nothing tremendously bad will happen if you do but it will make things a bit more complicated. Things will probably stabilize tomorrow.
    • I have deprecated the procedure that upgrades to 2.6.22-9.

  • 070821:

    • Spellchecked the whole page. Found many typos!
    • Started creating an initial installation procedure based on Ubuntu kernel release 2.6.22-10.
    • Started creating an upgrade procedure to go from 2.6.22-9 to 2.6.22-10.
    • Please do not use these two new procedures yet. You can still use the one based on 2.6.22-9.

    070816:

    • I’ve created a real repository for the packages I created for the installation procedure and added instructions to add those repositories. I urge people to use the repository rather than install my packages using dpkg.
    • Reworded 2 passages that were way too obscure.

  • 070814:

    • Changed vi to nano in one of the commands I ask people to perform in the installation procedure. Both vi and nano are text editors but nano is more user friendly, in my opinion. I use vi personally, hence the mistake.
    • Removed the TODO, which I think was confusing some people.

  • 070813:

    • Added a step to enable the universe repositories (and optionally multiverse).
    • Added an issue with movie playback.

  • 070812:

    • Removed the separate version number at the top of the page. From now on, to know the version number of the document just look at the top entry in the changelog.
    • Added new unresolved issues with sensors and audio.

  • 070809:

    • Added entries for Firewire and Express Card in the table. I have not yet investigated the chipsets.
    • Added some information about the inability to get the machine to sleep.

  • 070807:

    • Found a solution to the resolution problem.
    • Added a temporary solution to the problem of recognizing the DVD drive.
    • Added instructions to get the webcam working.
    • Contrary to reports, the IFL90 does not come with a TPM module. If somebody knows something different, let me know.