Installing Fedora Core 3 on a ThinkPad 600X
Install process: Burn Fedora Core CDs, boot from first CD. Install is completely smooth; this system has Fedora Core 3 on it in a matter of 30 minutes.
Linux functionality by part:
| PCMCIA | Works perfectly in Fedora Core 3 |
| USB port | Works perfectly in Fedora Core 3 |
| Serial port | Works in RedHat 6.x; not tested in Fedora Core 3 |
| Parallel port | Works in RedHat 9; not tested in Fedora core 3 |
| Video port | Works perfectly in Fedora Core 3 |
| Modem | Needs binary-only driver, which, as of 2005, has not been ported to the 2.6 kernel. Search for ltmodem |
| Sound |
Works flawlessly until the first suspend/resume. Once the system is suspended and resumed, sound can be made to work again by removing then reinserting the cs46xx/snd_cs46xx kernel module: rmmod snd_cs46xx modprobe snd_cs46xx |
| Floppy Drive | Works perfectly |
| Trackpoint | Works perfectly (emulates a ps/2 mouse) |
| Internal CD-ROM | Works perfectly |
| Suspend, resume | Suspend and resume are as functional on this computer as they are in Windows 98. (It crashes once in a while) |
| Hibernation | I never got this to work, but never tried either. |
| Video | While there used to be serious crashing problems in XFree 3.x (old Linux distros), video is flawless in X.Org 6.8. Chipset auto-detected during Fedora Core three install. |
Other words of wisdom:
- The keyboard is excellent. Springy, clicky, easy to type on without being mushy.
- The screen is good but not as snappy as modern TFT standalone displays.
- There is a problem with power management that will trash batteries unless the battery is discharged once a week. Basically, with this system, the batteries go if the computer is plugged in all the time; once a week, keep the system unplugged and let the battery discharge.
As an aside, if for people with one of those multicard readers, they don't work out of the box in Fedora Core 3. In order to get them to work, type in the following command as root:
echo options scsi_mod max_luns=8 >> /etc/modprobe.conf
Reboot, and, voila, the multcard reader will work. (The reason for the necessity for this incantation is because this will cause the kernel to lock with certain devices)
External Sources
- This guide is listed at the TuxMobil Linux laptop and notebook installation survey (IBM/Lenovo).
