Toshiba A110-228

Question

Hi, my girlfriend needed a laptop so I recommended buying this laptop for only 550 euro : toshiba A110-228  http://www.hardware.info/en-UK/productd … E00j003DU/
Now I've put arch on it. I just installed the normal stuff (xorg, icewm, etc).
I've configured X using hwd http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xorg#hwd
Then just changed resolution to 1280x800 24 bit. And videodriver to "i810" .
Wireless internet by installing and loading the "ipw3945" module and "ipw3945d" daemon.
Then installing networkmanager. http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Networkmanager
The nm-applet works great in icewmtray (start icewm with icewm-session).
Alsaconf has no problem finding the soundcard.
To use sd card reader load these modules: sdhci mmc_block
Fn keys just work in X. (ofcourse not hybernation or standby -but brightness,numpad, etc do)
I loaded these modules to scale the cpu:  speedstep_centrino cpufreq_ondemand cpufreq_userspace cpufreq_stats cpufreq_powersave
The laptop works great with arch linux, definately a good buy. It's incredibly fast (my computer is way older ).
toshiba_acpi doesn't work with this laptop because it has phoenix bios.
Installing gnome-power-manager gives the ability to hibernate etc. Only thing I needed to do was add a sudo line in visudo to be able to start it as normal user and then add a line in .xinitrc to start on boot. Also add a kernel option in /boot/grub/menu.lst : resume=/dev/your_swap .
Also need to find a batterymeter. EDIT: I enabled the built in icewm battery meter. EDIT: now I use gnome-power-manager instead.
Then I'll try running photoshop because she needs it for school. sighh
Here's the rc.conf (don't know if cpufreqd works just saw someone else having it ):
# HARDWARE
MODULES=(r8169 ipw3945 sdhci mmc_block speedstep_centrino cpufreq_ondemand cpufreq_userspace cpufreq_stats cpufreq_powersave)
# NETWORKING
HOSTNAME="myhost"
lo="lo 127.0.0.1"
INTERFACES=(lo)
# DAEMONS
DAEMONS=(ipw3945d syslog-ng netfs crond dbus hal cpufreqd dhcdbd networkmanager)
EDIT: So now I've got everything working with almost no installation problems. It couldn't have been easier then this (just needed to know what to install). Arch linux rocks!
Last edited by gunnix (2007-04-28 18:33:57)

Answer 1

I don't know, I think arch linux is very easy to set up if you got a good internet connection and are able to read the documentation (wiki). I found Ubuntu Linux much more difficult when I tried it out, because I wanted to change something and the underlying system is much more complex. Ubuntu also didn't work well with an external hd while arch worked right away.  But I might be a bit strange as I did start linux with slackware, which I found really easy to install too. (I find WinXP quite hard for several things)
networkmanager not being perfect has nothing to do with arch.
Now that all is installed it's no more difficult then any other linux for a normal user.
I chose for Icewm because it's fast and easy to use (familiar windows look). The icewm control panel makes it easy to change background, themes, menu, hotkeys,..
It can run gnome applets in the tray, so giving easy power management and networkmanager.
Using menumaker and editing a little bit I've got a very easy to navigate menu.
Easy to find the needed program. (compare that to the chaotic start menu in windows!)
I'm surprised how easy it was to get a functional good looking desktop for the laptop, while still keeping it incredibly fast.
Like always, in comparison to windows there's no viruses to worry about, no crashes, no defragmenting, no warez needed, ... A downside to many : no photoshop, gimp is too hectic.
In comparison to other linux's it's faster, easy to install (opera,mplayer,flash,...), packages using sane defaults, easy to upgrade (now and then a bit difficult - no reason to update all the time so let someone knowledgeable do it sometimes), easy configuration with rc.conf
I recommend arch to every noob of who I know (s)he wants to use brains just now and then
Ofcourse, to everyone his own