Category:Z61t

Reviews

• z61t Linux review (Milosz Tanski), 2006-01-05

Linux

Most of the laptop features are currently supported by Linux. Kernel versions 2.6.17 and later are recommended.

Hardware support

Sound

Sound works with the snd-hda-intel module in the Linux kernel. Be aware that disabling the modem in the BIOS may break sound.

Cooling Fan Control

There is some controversy concerning whether the latest BIOS (and possibly earlier versions, too), when left in "auto" mode, allows the CPU core temperature to rise too high before spinning up the CPU cooling fan. Concerned users recommend installing a script controlling fan speed to mitigate the risks of overheating.

Virtualization

Intel Core Duo (Yonah) and Intel Core 2 Duo (Merom) supports Intel VT-x. However, earlier versions of the Z61t BIOS disable it. You must update your system's BIOS to Version 7FETA0WW (2.18) or later to take advantage of virtualization. Also, you must enter the BIOS configuration menus and explicitly enable the feature.

See the BIOS Upgrade page for details on updating your BIOS.

IRDA

Make sure you either explicitly enable or disable the IRDA functionality in the BIOS (instead of having it be enabled but off). Otherwise the kernel IRDA driver will OOPS. Other than that it works fine.

Graphics

Requires xorg-x11 >= 7.1
xf86-video-i810(xorg i810 driver) >= 1.7.0
915resolution.

For Ubuntu Gusty (7.1) Distribution Intel 945GM chipset works right out of the installation. The driver is Intel Experimental Modesetting Driver

3-in-1 card reader

Support for the built-in memory card reader is provided by the tifm drivers.

ACPI

Suspend

As of kernel 2.6.17, suspend works, with the caveat that the SATA controller is set to compatibility mode in the BIOS (instead of AHCI mode). This is due to the fact that the kernel dosen't exactly support suspend/resume in the AHCI driver yet, and the AHCI module fails to turn the hard drives back on at resume time.

Patches for AHCI suspend are aviable at the following urls: Description Patch 1 Patch 2 Patch 3 Patch 4 Patch 5 Patch 6

Kernels after 2.6.18 or so appear to work. In particular, in the Ubuntu 7.1 distribution, suspend with SATA in AHCI mode works fine.

Problems with Drivers

Certain driver modules are known to exhibit problems on suspend. These are:

• ipw3945: Intel wireless driver.
• sdhci: SD host controller interface driver.
• tifm: Memory card reader driver.

Depending on which combination of kernel and driver versions you're using, the above drivers may cause you problems. These drivers should be unloaded prior to suspend or your system may hang, requiring a power-cycle.

For Ubuntu 7.1 suspend resumes fine for ipw3945 and sdhci driver. Unsure about tifm driver. However, tracker (indexing) program use higher than expected cpu resource after resume. Disable tracker fixes this issue.