IBM ThinkPad G40 Notes (Mini HowTo)

From Berkshire Linux Users Group

Gentoo Linux On IBM Thinkpad Notes

When installing gentoo linux on an ibm thinkpad G40, Make sure that you use the i915 driver for the onboard graphics card. If you do not you will, and i repeat will, run into some interesting problems. Here are a list of packages that i recommend on top of your base system:

tpb - This add's support for the thinkpad buttons. Be sure to start it by running

     tbp -m on

This ensures that tpb will use the software mixer. G40 are missing the hardware mixer present in other thinkpads.

acpitool - This will allow you to look at your battery better than /proc/acpi can tell you

alsa - any version above or equal to 1.0.8 will cause segfaults in applications like xmms and mplayer. It will also cause artsd to segfault too (The kde sound daemon). See http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-313030.html for more information. You can fix this easily by adding the following to /etc/portage/package.mask

      >=media-sound/alsa-headers-1.0.8
      >=media-libs/alsa-lib-1.0.8
      >=media-sound/alsa-utils-1.0.8

and then running

      emerge -u alsa-headers alsa-lib alsa-utils

off topic note:

If you purchase the NetworkEverywhere Starter kit from wal-mart (router and pcmcia card included for about $80, Not bad!) you may be tempted to use the rtl8180 drivers. However these drivers will associate with a non-existant access-point. Use the ndiswrapper driver and the windows drivers on the cd. It will make life much easier...

off topic note: The chronicles of riddick is an awesome movie. :-P Free Mac-mini: http://www.FreeMiniMacs.com/?r=17101722

I Will write more later. Until then, Yours truly PlagueTheNet