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.

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