mandrake 9.2 and Dell

Thanks for the info, Gab. Regarding your comp. freezing, have you posted on other linux newsgroups ? Try linuxquestions.org (if you have already not done so). It even has a forum specifically devoted to Mandrake (as also other distros).

Regards,

Sanjiv

Hi Sanjiv,

I've installed 9.2 on my 4600 and my 2400 with no real issues. The only outstanding item I have is that my 4600 utilises the onboard Interl ICH5 5.1 sound .. it seems that the only sound output goes out via the Line Out .. I can't get anything out of the other two speaker outputs (i.e. Front/Back, Centre LFE).

Has anyone else had luck on the sound side?

Thanks,
Allan.

Hi!

What about partitioning?

I'd like to install Mandrake 9.2 on my Dimension 4600 but keeping the Win-XP installation on it. But I've seen that a Dell boot partition comes with some applications and utilities, and I don't want to loose it...

Could somebody point me a partitioning and booting schema?

I have Mandrake 9.2 running on my Dell Optiplex GX270.

No problems with the DVD/CDRW to report.

The only problem I have that I haven't been able to sort out is a problem with the video. Mandrake is running at 1024x768, yet my monitor (Dell E772p) will only run at 640x480 so I have to move this virtual desktop around to see all the page.

@metaltrainer

I installed a second HDD to contain my Linux files. Creating a bootloader on floppy disk to avoid messing up the windows session.

If I want windows I can either select it from the boot menu off the floppy, or remove the floppy to boot straight in.

Per, this errata (http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/errata.php3#nolapic). I added "nolapic" to my lilo config/boot up options and my problems are gone.

Matthew Payne

Have a newly acquired XPS Gen 2: 3GHz, 1GB Ram- Mandrake 9.2 installed flawlessly; even properly selected 'enterprise' version kernel (>1GB).

One recurring note on Dells and Linux (even Mandrake) is their choice of Sound Cards. BEWARE! of the "standard" SB Live 5.1- it is simply NON-standard and definitely an OEM make. The result is that many Linux installs have been hassled to NO end since neither ALSA or OSS will work right.

Different story for the Audigy 2 option- but know that this Dell card is also an OEM make as well! Luckily, it's OEM-ness is not in the critical sound-chip driver compatibility and Alsa-OSS works AOK.

Also, considering that I have the 875P with the "full" ICH5R (Raid option)- Mandrake had NO problems on identification/attributes. I also made the key decision to utilize only IDE until after 2.6 Kernel and Mandrake 10.x is issued.

Overall, system runs fast, extremely stable, and flexible..
Regards-

Hi y'all-

I have an Inspiron 8200
with Mandrake 9.2 (2.4.22-21mdk updated kernel)
Radeon Mobility 9000
1600 * 1200 max resolution screen
512 Mb Ram
Matshita DVD/CD-RW
Win XP/MDK 9.2 Dual Boot
(software and system that ALMOST makes me drop the WinXP partition)


I tried different 802.11b WiFi cards with my Network Everywhere wireless router (including the Network Everywhere card) until calling the 1-800 number for Netgear. They claimed Linux support with drivers off their website, and it worked :^)

I figure that if I have a late-model Dell laptop, everything should work fine with the latest Mandrake. This is sadly not the case. Lots of bugs. 9.1 worked with fewer problems, but I don't want to go back.

My itchiest problems are display resolution and power management:

1) The out-of-the-box drivers for MDK 9.2 support ATI Radeon but the resolution remains unchangeable at 1600 by 1200.
Any other ideas about how to change screen resolution and still keep the ATI drivers (instead of generic)?

2) System freezes when the lid is closed, screen brightness changed by Fn-UpArrow or Fn-DnArrow, plug or unplug from AC power, etc.

I read the above successful boot-sequence change of adding 'nolapic', but how is this done in practice? Here's my lilo.conf settings:

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.22-21mdk
label="2422-21"
root=/dev/hda7
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.22-21mdk.img
append="noapic devfs=mount hdb=ide-scsi acpi=ht resume=/dev/hda6 splash=silent"
vga=788

Thanks in advance from a Linux convert :^)

Sean

Finally figured out my two problems:

First: How to get the Dell Inspiron 8200 to work with Mandrake 9.2 and NOT freeze when I plug/unplug, close the lid, etc?

There are two power management methods that activate when you close the lid, etc., used by Mandrake 9.2 that conflict with each other when both are activated. I chose APM because it was a quick, reliable fix. ACPI seems like it will be cool when I have some more time to tinker.

a) The key was in the /etc/lilo.conf of course, but it took a while:

b) I opened the /etc directory, opened a terminal session, entered as super user, then “xemacs lilo.conf” and changed the append line to:

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.22-26mdk
label="2422-26"
root=/dev/hda7
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.22-26mdk.img
append="nolapic devfs=mount apm=on splash=silent hdb=ide-scsi acpi=ht resume=/dev/hda6"

So that it says apm=on and acpi=ht. Finally, save and quit these settings and then type “lilo -v” in the terminal window to save these changes to the master boot record.

c) Change the Kernel to use APM only:
Go to /etc/src/(my linux kernel), open a terminal window and login as super user. Enter “make xconfig” to open a graphical interface to change kernel options. Under General Setup I ticked off YES for advanced power management and another option for Power Management, then turned OFF acpi power management as an option.

Save and exit, then typed “make dep” to finally recompile the kernel with those new settings.

Reboot and boom, no power issues.

Second: How to get the Radeon Mobility 9000 64Mb card to give 3D performance at any resolution on my 1600 by 1200 UXGA screen?

I'm glad to keep the ATI card instead of nVidia, because it supports open source. If there are bugs now, they'll be fixed by the open-source community before too long. Nvidia depends on commercial drivers and depends on their devel-level support for as long as they want to give it.

I got excellent 3D performance with my ATI card, but the problem of resolution remains: if I want to keep 3D performance and keep things looking fast and sharp, I am limitted to 1600 by 1200 so far. Accelerated-X makes a usable commercial driver that gives 3D at any resolution, but it costs dough and I don't like the idea of someone else solving my problem.

So 3D at 1600 by 1200:

a) Download the latest driver from ATI (mine was called fglrx-glc22-4.3.0-3.7.0.i386.rpm), install it with this:

rpm -ivh –nodeps –force (driver name)

Then, configure your kernel properly by playing with a module. If you go to /lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod and type “./make.sh”

If you get an error message about adjusting symlinks because your kernel is called something else than the program is looking for, ignore it. I bypassed the symlink thing by changing the name of my kernel 'header' directly to match what they were looking for (mine was called ...mdkcustom instead of ...mdk).
To do this, go to /usr/src/(current Linux kernel)/include/linux

Then, open a terminal window, login as root, type 'xemacs verson.h' to edit this small, two line document. Change the name of the kernel to match what the command './make.sh' was looking for.

Then, retype “./make.sh” as instructed above.

Finally, switch to /lib/modules/fglrx, login as super root on a terminal, then type './make_install.sh'.

After that, it's just a matter of logging in as super user, running 'fglrxconfig', picking the options that work (I can post my choices if someone gets there) and bango- reboot that thing.

Test 3D and graphics rendering by running TuxRacer, which comes with the distro.

Good luck for those with the same problem,

Sean

Just to praise this distribution from Mandrake. Not only can I install my Dimension 8300 without any problem, I get plenty of help from the distribution as well.

SATA disks are recognized without problems, and GRUB can boot well from a SATA-drive
The Intel Network built-in network card works well also
and finally
Mandrake helped me with the Radeon 9800 video card (proposed using a VESA after testing some ATI alternatives).

I like this system, since I in vain have tried SuSE9, RedHat9 and Fedora Core 1 with no luck at all.

Mandrake is very polite and helpful and has some of the best facilities that I have ever seen for configuring the system - just look at mounting shares and many other things.

So - goodbye for now SuSE, RedHat and Fedora - I have spent too much time on you trying to make the 8300 run.

Thanks to Jacob Andreasen for pointing that out to me!!

Hans Andersen
Denmark

I installed Mandrake 9.2 on Dell Inspiron 5100.
ACPI didnt work initially, i googled and found these commands
1. urpme apm
2. urpmi acpid acpi
3. chkconfig acpid on
4. chkconfig acpi on

Now the battery status etc is working. However I dont see my Fan speed changing. How can I check whether there is any fan control actually?(Will it cause overheating problems and finally burn my dear laptop?)

Please advise.

Installed 9.2 on my 4600 straight out of the box (I forgot to check about the drives) and everything worked fine. If you do have one of the affected LG drives, go to their site, download the firmware upgrade, and install it, and everything should be good to go. It takes no more than 5 or so minutes.

Hi guy

There is an ACPI plugin for linux search web comes in handy for laptop.  That should solve 80% of the ACPI  problems, the other 205 is driver isues if you even can find linux one's, Intel rarely has any like video drive for linux.

Good catch Matt, I too had to do that before upping to MDK 10.0 then 10.1. So far, all of my installs whether desktop (Dimension P2 400) or laptop (Inspiron XPS) have had no real issues, beyond learning how to configure the install correctly. I used to use RH, but Mandrake handle Win2Lin operations much more smoothly (for the home/casual user). Just keep up with the driver/patch/updates and it has been rosy so far.

Cheers!