Any "gotcha's" installing with openSUSE on ThinkPad T40?

[dragonbite]

I just got my hands on a Thinkpad T40 and going to try out a number of different distributions to see which ones work out the best.

Are there any hidden "gotcha's" installing openSUSE on the Thinkpad T40 and does it matter which version of openSUSE I install on it?

This one comes with a CD-drive so I won't have the USB issues I had last time I tried to install openSUSE.

[caf4926]

Dude you know the score:
HCL/Laptops/IBM - openSUSE

I have R61e
But going by the list, you should be Ok.
Post your spec and you may get better feedback.

[dragonbite]

Originally Posted by caf4926

Dude you know the score:
HCL/Laptops/IBM - openSUSE

I have R61e
But going by the list, you should be Ok.
Post your spec and you may get better feedback.

Yeah, I took a look at that but it shows 10.2 so I don't know if anybody has tried it with oS 11.1 yet.

I'll have more specs once I can get it up and running. I only had an Ubuntu CD available so I plopped that in but it froze at 2 different spots before coming up live.

Once I get some stats I'll post them (and results of running the LiveCD). I plan on trying a few (the 3 major distros) before actually installing something more than temporary.

I'm hoping to get some time tonight. I'm just excited!

[hendersj]

On Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:56:02 +0000, dragonbite wrote:

> I just got my hands on a Thinkpad T40 and going to try out a number of
> different distributions to see which ones work out the best.
>
> Are there any hidden "gotcha's" installing openSUSE on the Thinkpad T40
> and does it matter which version of openSUSE I install on it?
>
> This one comes with a CD-drive so I won't have the USB issues I had last
> time I tried to install openSUSE.

I've got a T42p sitting on my desk next to the dell I'm working on
(actually using an external keyboard on the IBM to write this message on
the Dell - Synergy+ is a cool piece of software). Running 11.0 on both
systems and the Thinkpad works very nicely. About the only thing I
couldn't get to work was bluetooth, but I don't need it. Everything else
pretty much just worked (I can't recall if I had to do anything funky for
the video, but a driver is installed by default that works).

Jim



--
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Moderator

[dragonbite]

Ok, this system has its own errors regardless of Linux or Windows or anything. It takes about a dozen bootups to get to where you can see the BIOS splash screen (the one that tells you how to get into the BIOS configuration screens) otherwise it just hangs with the screen not even being "turned on".

When I did manage to boot up, openSUSE-Gnome has been the most successful in running and using the wireless card. OpenSUSE-KDE I couldn't get online wirelessly and Fedora 10 had 90% of the screen become a big black box and the whole system froze. Ubuntu hasn't even managed to boot up yet (both 9.04 and 8.04 LTS).

Next chance it boots up I plan on doing a Memory test to make sure the issues are due to bad RAM. Barring that, I think I'll give openSUSE-Gnome a try at least for a while.

Oh, it has Intel wireless, ATI Radeon Mobile 7500 graphics card and is an Intel Centrino 1.3 GHz with 512 MB of Ram. After install I'll take a look at getting the hotkeys and power control cleaned up from the wiki page.

It looks (and feels) like a nice system, if I can get it running smoothly.

[caf4926]

Ok, this system has its own errors regardless of Linux or Windows or anything. It takes about a dozen bootups to get to where you can see the BIOS splash screen (the one that tells you how to get into the BIOS configuration screens) otherwise it just hangs with the screen not even being "turned on".

Where did you say this came from: A skip?

[dragonbite]

Originally Posted by caf4926

Where did you say this came from: A skip?

A "skip"?

A friend of mine works for a company and he snagged this from the closet when the company realized that these computers whose service contract has expired is still costing them tax dollars.

This friend does not like the idea of these machines going to a landfill and he's passed along a number of them to me, knowing that I will use Linux to give them a second life.

[caf4926]

Guess it's worth a shot. Let us know how things go

[dragonbite]

Last night, after trying Fedora I kept tyring to get it to boot to openSUSE 11.1 - Gnome so I could see about just doing the installation (gotta start somewhere) and it wouldn't do it.

Indicators it won't run on this boot-up attempt

• The Fan is going full-bore and doesn't vary at all
• The screen doesn't "turn on", even to a blank screen
• The splash screen doesn't appear.
• Only 2 lights are on.. Power and Battery (if appropriate)
• If there is a CD in the tray is spins up for a moment and then spins down and sits there
• If I push the eject button on the CD drive door it pops out the CD tray. If I close it again, it spins up for a moment and then spins down and sits there

If I hear the fan slow down, or the screen turn on or see the splash screen then I know I have a chance. Otherwise there is nothing to really do.

Oh, and sometimes I get beeps when shutting down, other times I don't.

[dragonbite]

Oh, and I forgot.

The pencil eraser pointer works as well as the three buttons under the keyboard, but the trackpad and other two buttons do not.

Wouldn't be so bad, but one of the three buttons is missing (the left one). I knew about that, though, before I got it.