Install Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) on a ThinkPad T400

T400

Before Installation

Before you can start Ubuntu from CD or USB you have to change two BIOS settings:

• Change to Internal or ATI Graphics with Config --> Display --> Graphics Device --> [Integrated graphics] or [Discrete Graphics]
• Disable OS Detection for Switchable Graphics. Otherwise it will mysteriously switch back to Switchable Graphics.

Now you can boot your Live-CD, connect to Wireless Lan, and install the OS.

With one version of the installer CD, the installation works fine, but after rebooting it hangs with ATA errors. Solution was to boot the Live CD, mount the partition, chroot, and upgrade to the newest kernel (from 2.6.27-7 to 2.6.27-9).

What works out of the box?

• Wireless with iwlagn driver (Intel WiFi Link 5100/5300 WLAN controller)
  • G mode + WEP and WPA2 PSK (If you have the ThinkPad 11b/g Wireless LAN mini PCI Express Adapter III (Aetheros Chipset), see below!)
  • with status LED and everything!
• Bluetooth
  • Even with Bluetooth Laser Mouse
  • Note: Bluetooth can only be toggled together with WLAN on and off, to add a bluetooth-only-toggle (Fn+F6) that doesn't affect WLAN take a look here.
• Intel Gigabit Ethernet Controller
• Intel driver for Integrated Graphics (Intel Integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD)
  • with 3D acceleration out-of-the-box
• ATI fglrx driver for Discrete Graphics (ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 graphics)
  • To enjoy 3D acceleration, you have to install the proprietary fglrx Driver. (for example with the jockey-gtk tool)
• VGA/HDMI output
• Touchpoint and Trackpad
  • Including scroll at the right side of the pad by default. (for scrolling with the middle mouse button, see below!)
• Optical drive
  • Including DVD burning
• Sound card
  • To use your internal microphone you have to change to "HDA Intel CONEXANT Analog (ALSA)" in audio-settings.
• built-in webcam with Skype
• 7-in-1 card reader from Ricoh (MMC, Memory Stick, Mem Stick Pro, SD, SDHC, XD, XD Type H Memory)
  • Only tested SD cards.
• Control buttons/Hotkeys
  • Volume control buttons
  • Screen brightness control (but changing brightness is a little bit diffuse. It's getting brighter but on maximum it changes to nearly lowest and get brighter again.)
  • Thinklight control
  • WLAN/BT/OFF toggle (Fn+F5 and mechanical toggle)
  • Media player control
• Some ACPI features
  • Battery status, power graphs and history (tested with an single 6-Cell battery)
  • Lid states and events
• Suspend/Hibernate
• ThinkVantage Button (You only have to allocate a programm!)

What needs some Tweaks?

Scrolling with Trackpoint

Create a new file called /etc/hal/fdi/policy/mouse-wheel.fdi typing:

sudo gedit /etc/hal/fdi/policy/mouse-wheel.fdi

And fill it with this code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 

<match key="info.product" string="TPPS/2 IBM TrackPoint">
 <merge key="input.x11_options.EmulateWheel" type="string">true</merge>
 <merge key="input.x11_options.EmulateWheelButton" type="string">2</merge>
 <merge key="input.x11_options.XAxisMapping" type="string">6 7</merge>
 <merge key="input.x11_options.YAxisMapping" type="string">4 5</merge>
 <merge key="input.x11_options.ZAxsisMapping" type="string">4 5</merge>
 <merge key="input.x11_options.Emulate3Buttons" type="string">true</merge>
</match>

Source: [1]

(Based on code from Michael Vogt and adapted to support both vertical and horizontal scrolling.)

Enabling Touchpad on/off key

Source: [[2]] The SHMConfig is now controlled through hal. In the past this was done through xorg.conf

You have to add the file

$ sudo gedit /etc/hal/fdi/policy/shmconfig.fdi

with the following content:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<deviceinfo version="0.2">
 <device>
  <match key="input.x11_driver" string="synaptics">
   <merge key="input.x11_options.SHMConfig" type="string">True</merge>
  </match>
 </device>
</deviceinfo>

After this change please reboot. Restarting hal doesn't help.

Menu-Key

Taken from Bug #287428 "Menu key emits XF86WakeUp on Thinkpad X61s":

Václav Šmilauer wrote: "When I press the menu key on Thinkpad X61s, it doesn't do anything. I checked with xev and the generated keycode is 151 (xev-reported), which is mapped to <I151> and this, in turn to XF86WakeUp. I tried diferent keyboard models for Thinkpads, bot none of them worked in this respect. A temporary solution was to replace "XF86WakeUp" with "Menu" in /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/inet:86, where <I151> is mapped."

The Workaround in short:

sudo gedit /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/inet

Press Str + F to search for "I151" and write

"Menu" instead of "XF86WakeUp" in this line!

Active Protection System

In Progress

What doesn't work at the moment?

Integrated Fingerprint Reader

There is a new chipset build in, the "AuthenTec AES2810". So neither the thinkfinger nor the fprint Project support this Device at the moment.

lsusb:
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 08ff:2810 AuthenTec, Inc.

Daniel from fprint Project wrote in their mailing list, that support for our device is in development! For more information look here: fprint Unsupported devices