Install Linux on a laptop

At present, laptops are increasingly becoming standard office configurations for engineers and technicians. With the increasing influence of the Linux operating system, many Linux users want to be able to run the Linux operating system on their own laptops, so that they can use and study it anytime, anywhere.

Installing Linux on a laptop is basically the same as installing Linux on a desktop. Based on my experience, there are usually two difficult points: one is the configuration of the graphic window system, due to the special design of the laptop, the video card is often integrated with components such as the motherboard, so it is not easy to automatically identify and configure during the installation process. The second is the PCMCIA card used as the network adapter: ethernet Card and Modem dial-up card. This article will focus on these two aspects in later sections. Since Linux has been installed on a desktop, this article assumes that the reader has experience installing Linux on a desktop, the basic Linux system has been installed on your laptop (the command line interface without network interfaces ).

As a piece of advice, when you are familiar with Linux systems, you must develop the habit of referencing random help files. This is not only a good habit, but also a very necessary means, the following text references many help documents. By the way, we recommend two Document Resources: first, they are included on the installation CD. When "Documentation" is selected for installation, it is installed in the help document under/usr/doc/Howto/directory, from here you can find the solution to most of the problem; second, on the Internet "Linux Documentation Project", its URL is located at: http://metalab.unc.edu/mdw/index.html

Graphic Window System (X)

As you know, Linux uses the graphic window system called XFree86 as its own graphical interface (hereinafter referred to as X). The help documentation can be found at the following position: /usr/doc/HOWTO/xfree86-HOWTO.

This document describes how to set windows for XFree86 Server installation. In addition, the following documents:

/Usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc/Readme. the type provides the relevant settings for different types of video cards. The "type" indicates the type of the video card, for example, Readme. mach64, Readme. s3. When configuring X, you must always refer to the content in these two documents.

1. Determine the video card type

1. Use the/usr/X11/bin/SuperProbe command to check the type of the graphics card used by the laptop. (For the usage and typical output of this command, refer to the installation example later in this article ). If the detection result is unrecognized or some parameters are not, you need to download the new XFree86 service program.

2. if you have installed Windows 98, you can also try to find the graphics card type under Windows 98, and then use the detected parameters when using/usr/X11/bin/xf86config for configuration.

For example, if your laptop has been installed with Windows 98, open the control panel → system → Device Manager → display the adapter, you can see the type of graphics card used in your notebook, for example, Trident Cyber9525DVD PCI/AGP (W98.22 ). The following is how to find the driver of the video card provided by the company in Linux, download and install it.

By the way, as for how to install a Linux instance in a notebook with Windows 98 installed, the operation is exactly the same as that on a desktop.

Ii. Download XFree86

If the preceding result indicates that the video card has been recognized, skip steps 2, 3, and 4. However, if the above two methods cannot make the graphic window system run beautifully, the more effective method is to upgrade your XFree86 package. When I configure Linux on Compaq Armada1580, toshba Satellite 4030CDT, Dell Latitude, and other laptops, I finally upgrade XFree86. No way, the Linux operating system often has to face the problem of peripheral support. Fortunately, as the impact of Linux continues to expand, many companies are currently providing drivers, linux drivers are also included.

Download the latest XFree86 update package (the latest version is 4.0, and version 3.3.6 is recommended). You can go to the following URL:

Ftp://ftp.xfree86.org/pub/x.x.x/Linux/source/constrib.tgz

Ftp://ftp.xfree86.org/pub/x.x.x/Linux/source/xfree.src1.tgz

Ftp://ftp.xfree86.org/pub/x.x.x/Linux/source/xfree.src2.tgz

Ftp://ftp.xfree86.org/pub/x.x.x/Linux/source/xfree.src3.tgz

Or download the compiled binary file directly:

Ftp: // ftp. xfree86/org/pub/x. x. x/Linux/binary/

You may feel that the above site is slow, and the blue point Studio also provides image download:

Http://studio.openunix.org/pub/xfree86/4.0/source/

Iii. Configuration and editing

The downloaded binary RPM package can be directly installed using the rpm-I command, for example:

# Rpm-I <name of the downloaded package> 〉

Of course, if the installation is successful, you will be lucky. However, for some Linux Release versions, you need to download their source files and compile the source files. You can use the rpm-I command to install the software package on the system installation CD as prompted.

The general procedure is as follows:

1. Extract the source file:

# Gzip-dc *. tgz | tar xvf-

2. modify the configuration as required in the help document.

3. Compile with # make World> & world. log (note the case in "World ).

4. Enter # tail world. log. If successfully build is displayed, the operation is successful.

5. Use # make install> & install. log to install the SDK.

6. Use # make install. man> & man. log to install the new help file.

4. Run SuperProbe again

After upgrading your XFree86 program, run the automatic detection program SuperProbe. If it is still unrecognizable, it is because this type of video card is not supported yet. You can directly access the home page of the video card manufacturer to find the driver, or ask for help in some News discussion groups. The websites recommended in this article can also be helpful in many cases.

5. Run XF86config

Different Linux systems provide different graphic text configuration interfaces, but generally only have basic configurations and may cause crashes. The following is an example of the configuration of the ATI Rage Mobility (Port Probed) card:

DELL Latitude cpx portable computer, ati agp 8 MB, RedHat 6.1.

If you run the configuration file generated by the XConfigurator command, the system crashes and the XF86config configuration works properly.

#/Usr/X11R6/bin/SuperProbe

Chipset: ATI Rage Mobility (Port Probed)

Memory: 8192 kBytes

RAMDAC: ATI Mach64 Integrated 15/16/24/32-bit DAC w/clock

(With 6-bit Wide Lookup Tables (or in 6-bit mode ))

(Programmable For 6/8-bit Wide Lookup Tables)

Attached Graphics Coprocessor:

Chipset: ATI Mach64

Memory: 8192 kBytes

#/Usr/X11R6/bin/xf86config and perform the following operations:

1. Press enter To Continue.

2. Input 4, PS/2 Mouse.

3. Enter y to simulate the three keys.

4. Enter the carriage return and use the default configuration/dev/mouse.

5. Press enter and select the standard keyboard support.

6. Enter a carriage return. The extended Alt key is not supported.

7. Press enter to continue.

8. Input 7 and select high-frequency SVGA.

9. Enter 2 and select 50 ~ 90.

10. Enter the monitor Id description (Press ENTER ).

11. enter the name of the monitor agent vendor (you can press Enter ).

12. Enter the monitor name (Press ENTER ).

13. Enter y, press enter to flip the page, find the card detected by SuperProbe, and enter the number.

14. Enter 3 and select XF86_SVGA server.

15. Enter y to create a symbolic link.

16. Enter the corresponding value of the video memory.

17. enter the name of the video card ID (you can press Enter ).

18. enter the name of the graphics card proxy vendor (you can press Enter ).

19. enter the name of the manufacturer of the Graphics Board (Press ENTER ).

20. Enter.

21. Enter n.

22. Enter 2.

23. Type 432.

24. Enter n. Do not create a screen.

25. Enter 5 and save.

26. Enter y.

27. Input/usr/X11R6/bin/

Startx enters X Window.

6. Adjust resolution

# Ln-s/etc/X11/xf86Config/etc/xf86Config

# Vi/etc/xf86Config

You can make some changes as needed. It is best to back up the source file before modification.

For example (the default resolution is at the beginning of the configuration line ):

Modes: "640x480", "800x600", "1024x768", "1280x1024 ",

Can be changed

Modes: "1024x768", "800x600", "1280x1024", and "640x480 ".

If you enter the X Window, you can also use the Ctrl + (-) Key to select different resolutions.

PCMCIA Nic Configuration

The most obvious difference between a laptop and a desktop is probably the PCMCIA network interface. A laptop uses a PCMCIA card for LAN connection, network dialing, and memory expansion. The running configuration of PCMCIA usually needs to be done manually. The following uses the configuration of an Ethernet Card as an example to describe the general configuration process. The configuration process involves the following files:

/Etc/sysconfig/pcmcia (direct configuration information about PCMCIA)

/Etc/sysconfig/networks (network configuration information at startup)

/Etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 (network port configuration information at startup)

/Etc/pcmcia/config (currently supported card types in the PCMCIA module)

/Sbin/cardmgr (actual PCMCIA driver Manager)

/Etc/rc. d/rc3.d/S45pcmcia (start CARDMGR according to PCMCIA configuration when running level 3 is entered at startup)

/Var/log/messages (you can see the error message when PCMCIA is started to analyze the cause)

The typical configuration sequence is:

1. Modify the/etc/sysconfig/pcmcia file, "PCMCIA = yes ";

2. Modify the/etc/sysconfig/network file. Content example:

NETWORKING = yes

FORWARD_IPV4 = false

HOSTNAME = "your. name ."

DOMAINNAME = "your. domain"

GATEWAY = xxx. xxx

GATEWAYDEV = eth0

3. Modify/etc/sysconfig/

Network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0, content example:

DEVICE = "eth0"

IPADDR = "xxx. xxx"

NETMASK = "xxx. xxx"

NETWORK = "xxx. xxx"

BROADCAST = xxx. xxx

ONBOOT = "yes"

Modify the content in the/etc/hosts file accordingly. After the machine is started, check the output of #/sbin/ifconfig-a. If only the lo (loose back) Port exists, it indicates that the ethernet card fails to be started, in this case, check the file/proc/devices and find that no PCMCIA device exists. You can view/var/log/

Messages determines the cause of the error.

If the type of the report PCMCIA card cannot be identified, the most effective method is to upgrade the PCMCIA module. Software Download location:

Http://metalab.unc.edu/

Pub/Linux/kernel/pcmcia/and SUNSITE image sites. The latest version is 3.1.16. You can find the latest information on the following website:

Http://hyper.stanford.edu/HyperNews/get/pcmcia/home.html

Generally, the version in the Linux release package is slightly lower than the latest version. Download the release package in the/usr/src/linux directory, decompress the package, and then compile and install the package:

# Tar zxvf pcmcia-cs-3.1.16.tar.gz

# Cd pcmcia; make config

# Make all

# Make install

Run/etc/rc. d/rc3.d/S45pcmcia again to view the port information and log information. In this case, port eth0 usually appears, and Ping is used for verification, and then the default route is configured. These are the same as common desktops and will not be repeated.

Conclusion

There are many websites and news discussion groups on installing Linux on a laptop, if you are interested, you can search for "linux on laptop" on websites such as YAHOO and Sina to find many useful websites. Here, I recommend a comprehensive Linux installation site for laptops:

Http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/linux-laptop/

This site collects the guide, experience, and many specific configuration templates for installing Linux on popular laptops on the market. I once referred to the instructions and contacted the author of the corresponding webpage for timely help. In addition, I also hope to communicate with you some tips during the installation process. If you are interested, you can contact us via our email (sungaiair@yahoo.com or cybersec@sina.com ).

Through this article, I hope to help anyone who is preparing or installing Linux on their laptop.