View source for Installing SUSE Professional 9.3 on a ThinkPad X32

I recently (August 2005) bought a new {{X32}} and installed {{SUSE}} Professional 9.3 on it. With the exception of some Radeon problems, everything worked without a hitch.
==Hardware==
The hardware configuration is as follows:
* Model 2884-A3U
* Pentium M 725 (1.6GHz)
* 1GB RAM (one Corsair CMSS1GB-333SOD; one slot open)
* 60GB Samsung SpinPoint 5400RPM 2.5" ATA100
* [[IBM_11a/b/g_Wireless_LAN_Mini_PCI_Adapter_II|IBM 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN mini-PCI Adapter II]]

I also bought a Target USB 2.0 DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive. The X32 can boot off USB devices.

Because I purchased a custom-to-order (CTO) model, it came without a hard drive, and I purchased my own from [[http://www.newegg.com NewEgg]]. Therefore, I started with a clean disk, and didn't have to bother with the IBM pre-desktop area, Windows dual boot, etc. I just partitioned the drive into /boot, /, and /local, with a 1GB swap partition (to be used for suspend-to-disk).
==Installation==
I installed Suse 9.3 from DVD without any glitches. I ran Yast online update (YOU), using the wired Ethernet connection.

Everything basically worked out of the box. Suspend to disk works perfectly. Suspend to RAM works, too, except that the Radeon leaves the [[Problem_with_LCD_backlight_remaining_on_during_ACPI_sleep|backlight turned on]] and continues to [[Problem_with_high_power_drain_in_ACPI_sleep|draw power during sleep mode]].

I downloaded [[Radeontool|radeontool]], and switched KDE from using its own screenscaver to xscreensaver, so I could also use the lightwatch script. I had to modify the suspend and restore scripts in {{path|/usr/lib/powersave/scripts}} to run radeontool.

Suse detected the Atheros chipset in the [[IBM_11a/b/g_Wireless_LAN_Mini_PCI_Adapter_II|IBM 802.11a/b/g mini-PCI card]], and installed the right drivers. It works fine. I have tested with all three types of access pointers (a, b, and g).

I don't use sleep mode for long periods of time, so the power drain problem doesn't bother me. I suspend to disk when I expect to leave the laptop alone for more than a few minutes.

=External Sources=
*This guide is listed at the [http://tuxmobil.org/ibm.html TuxMobil Linux laptop and notebook installation survey (IBM/Lenovo)].