Lenovo ThinkPad X300 Ubuntu 8.04 Installation Notes
First, let me tell you some first impressions about the machine. The keyboard is very good. It feels even a bit better than the one in my old T60. The display is very bright and sharp, but viewing angles could be better. WLAN worked right out of the box, as did the webcam.
The solid state drive is incredibly fast. I will never switch back to a hard disk after experiencing an SSD. Everything loads up in an instance. OpenOffice starts in about 5 seconds, which is very good compared to my T60. And the machine boots up and shuts down really fast (I haven’t timed those operations, though).
There are also a couple of annoyances which I hope will soon be fixed. Under ubuntu, the fan keeps running at nearly 6000 RPM and makes a lot of noise. It only stops when you let the machine settle a while with the display off, and starts again almost immediately you start using it again. This is the most annoying thing I can think of. Hopefully somebody finds a fix for this one. The temperatures of various components remain reasonably low in my opinion.The CPU runs at about 40 °C, and the rest of the components even lower. This is quite low compared to the T60 whose CPU ran between 80-90 °C. So I’m pretty sure the fan could be set to a lower speed, if only there was a way to do it.
Another annoying thing (which bothered me with the T60 as well) is that the battery status applet does not really understand two batteries. I have the 6-cell battery and also the 3-cell one which replaces the DVD drive. The status applet shows strange values for time left. I am suspecting it only uses one of the batteries in the calculation of the time remaining. This doesn’t affect the usage of the batteries, of course. So you will get additional runtime with the add-on battery. The estimates are just skewed.
Track- & Touchpad
I disabled the touchpad from BIOS because it disturbs me (I accidentally touch it with the palm of my hand). I use the trackpoint instead. To get middle button scrolling work nicely, I made my mouse section look like this in /etc/X11/xorg.conf:
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "on"
Option "Emulate3TimeOut" "50"
Option "EmulateWheel" "on"
Option "EmulateWheelTimeOut" "200"
Option "EmulateWheelButton" "2"
Option "YAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "XAxisMapping" "6 7"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection
The above configuration will allow both horizontal and vertical scrolling, and middle button clicking works, too.
Opera needs a little change in the configuration file. By default, scrolling horizontally makes Opera go back and forward. To fix this, edit /usr/share/opera/ini/standard_mouse.ini and comment out the Button6 and Button7 lines:
#Button6 = Back #Button7 = Forward
Suspend and Hibernate
Suspend needs a tweak before it works:
mkortela@sartre:~$ sudo sh -c 'echo SUSPEND_MODULES=\"e1000\" >> /etc/pm/config.d/local'
After resuming, the iwl4965 wireless module does not always seem to work without an rmmod/modprobe.
For some reason I wasn’t able to get hibernation working. It hibernates, but doesn’t find the image when rebooting. Perhaps something to do with my odd partition layout.
Sound
Getting sound working was the trickiest part. The 2.6.24 ALSA driver does not support the sound chip. I removed the old sound modules, and then downloaded a recent alsa-driver snapshot:
mkortela@sartre:~$ sudo rm -R /lib/modules/2.6.24-17-generic/ubuntu/sound/* mkortela@sartre:~$ sudo apt-get install build-essential mkortela@sartre:~$ wget http://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/tiwai/snapshot/alsa-driver-20080527.tar.gz mkortela@sartre:~$ tar zxvf alsa-driver-20080527.tar.gz mkortela@sartre:~$ cd alsa-driver/ mkortela@sartre:~/alsa-driver$ ./configure mkortela@sartre:~/alsa-driver$ make mkortela@sartre:~/alsa-driver$ sudo make install
After a reboot, sound was working.
I hate the PC speaker beeps, so I removed and blacklisted the module:
mkortela@sartre:~$ sudo rmmod pcspkr mkortela@sartre:~$ sudo sh -c 'echo blacklist pcspkr >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist'
3G WWAN
I decided to go for the 3G option. The 3G modem seems to work well. I have a 1 Mbit/s all-you-can-download plan from my mobile operator, Saunalahti. The best downstream speed that I have measured has been over 960 kbit/s. The actual speed fluctuates a bit even while the laptop is stationary. I haven’t tried the thing in motion, yet. Ping latencies (64 bytes) to the provider’s DNS servers are around 100 ms, sometimes under, sometimes over.
The device sends and receives SMSs happily, but I haven’t been able to get voice or fax working. They may not be supported (I don’t know for sure, though).
The device looks like this:
Bus 004 Device 007: ID 1199:6813 Sierra Wireless, Inc.
The kernel module is called “sierra”. Ubuntu has it installed and loaded by default. It will show up as the device “/dev/ttyUSB0″.
Hardware version:
at^hver ^HVER: "1.0"
Firmware version:
at!gver? !GVER: H1_1_8_3MCAP C:/WS/FW/H1_1_8_3MCAP/MSM6280/SRC 2007/03/08 18:17:59
Technologies supported by the card:
at*cnti=2 *CNTI: 2,GSM,GPRS,EDGE,UMTS,HSDPA
As you may have noticed, Minicom or any such application can be used to control the card and to get some information from it with some usual AT commands. Just connect to /dev/ttyUSB0.
at!gstatus? !GSTATUS: Current Time: 2236 Temperature: 49 Bootup Time: 0 Mode: ONLINE System mode: WCDMA PS state: Attached WCDMA band: IMT2000 GSM band: GSM900 WCDMA channel: 10663 GSM channel: 107 GMM (PS) state:REGISTERED NORMAL SERVICE MM (CS) state: IDLE NORMAL SERVICE WCDMA L1 State:L1M_PCH_SLEEP RRC State: DISCONNECTED RX level (dBm):-84
You can download some ready-made ppp scripts as well as get some interesting information from the following page:
http://www.sierrawireless.com/faq/ShowFAQ.aspx?ID=601
Here’s my pppd peer file and chat script that I use to connect to my mobile operator (Saunalahti):
/etc/ppp/peers/Saunalahti:
/dev/ttyUSB0 115200 lock crtscts noauth defaultroute connect "/usr/sbin/chat -V -f /etc/ppp/Saunalahti-chat" usepeerdns lcp-echo-failure 0 ipcp-max-failure 4 ipcp-accept-local ipcp-accept-remote nodetach
/etc/ppp/Saunalahti-chat:
SAY 'Connecting to Saunalahti\n' ABORT 'NO DIAL TONE' ABORT 'NO ANSWER' ABORT 'NO CARRIER' ABORT 'DELAYED' REPORT CONNECT TIMEOUT 10 '' AT OK ATZ OK 'AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.saunalahti"' OK ATD*99# CONNECT ''
Links and thanks:
http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2008/04/22/the-x300-review-part-2-running-ubuntu-hardy/
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Installing_Debian_(stable)_on_an_X300
http://tuxmobil.org/ibm.html
June 7th, 2008 at 23:46
Thanks for this. I’m using a spare x300 we’ve got for testing since my macbook went down and I have to say running it on linux is fab though I couldn’t get sound working (and am still having trouble with the microphone for skype even with the 6/6/2008 alsa driver).
Still, having sound back has made not having the mac around bearable. It’s a very very nice laptop though especially for linux. Making me rethink my macbook espceially since it’s the second fault in a year thta’s taken out the machine.
ciao and once again, thanks !
Daryl.
July 12th, 2008 at 14:36
Nice notes. I have just treated myself to a X300, 4 gigs RAM, 3g, wimax and the rest
I am using Fedora 9 on it, and everything is working perfectly by default (sound, 3g, 3d accel with new intel drivers by Tungsten gfx). Only mod i did was to add not only the e1000 module, but the usb hcd’s too to the Power Management config for proper suspends. Hibernate works with no issue also.
Also, note that the bluetooth chip was invisible until i did an ‘echo enable /proc/acpi/ibm/bluetooth’. Then magically a bluetooth adapter is seem. Note that i had to do this only once, and not an every boot. Hope this helps.
July 16th, 2008 at 12:28
This is a great write up, and I got sound and TrackPoint scroll working using your notes. Thanks!
Now I can give something back to you. I just found out how to quiet that noisy fan you mentioned (it happens on mine too). I blogged about it here: http://scie.nti.st/2008/7/16/noisy-fan-on-the-x300
Enjoy!
July 18th, 2008 at 14:36
I had problems getting the 3G to work, until I removed the 4-digit PIN-code on the SIM-card.
(I did this by popping the SIM into a phone, and deactivate the requirement for security-PIN there)
Thanks for a great tutorial
July 21st, 2008 at 20:01
Thanks for the fan tip, garry. It is always good to know how to script it! I also found a tool called “ThinkPad Fan Control” which runs as a daemon polling the temperature and setting the fan speed accordingly. It even includes a graphical user interface to adjust the trigger temperatures. The packages that I installed are (if I remember correctly):
tpfan-admin
tpfand
tpfand-profiles
The problem seems to be that there is no intermediate level between levels 2 and 3. Level 2 runs at less than 2000 rpm which is very quiet, but it can’t keep the machine cool. Level 3 however runs at a much higher speed, over 5000 rpm, which is not that quiet at all. Hope I could find a fix for this…
July 21st, 2008 at 20:36
To power down the 3G modem radio and thus save some power, use the following AT-command:
at+cfun=0
To power it up again:
at+cfun=1
To query status:
at+cfun?
August 4th, 2008 at 10:28
I am curious. Why did you pick 3G?
Also, how is battery life on Ubuntu? I’ve read that Vista sometime gets better battery life due to some power optimization.
I’m trying to decide between the X300 and the Dell M1330 (also with SSD)
August 7th, 2008 at 11:12
Hi - great information - I have been considering the X300 but have been put off by the apparent fan noise problem - just how noisy is the fan at 5000rpm? At the moment I’m using a T61 at work and the fan hardly ever cuts in but when it does it is not that noisy (bearable) would this be a comparable to the X300 noise level?
Thanks
August 15th, 2008 at 0:35
Davide,
I also have a T61, and an X300. The X300 fan at 5000rpm is noisier than the T61 fan. It is noticeable for sure. For me, it does not really bug me. A bigger problem with the X300 is the 250:1 contrast ratio screen. For such an expensive computer, and given all the other very nice things Lenovo put in the X300, they sure skimped on the screen. The screen basically sucks, it doesn’t not appear black when you have a black background except at the point at direct 90 deg. view. That is, viewing angle sucks, even when you’re looking straight at it. The X300 would be perfect if Lenovo put in the same screen that the MacBook Air has. *That* screen has great contrast and viewing angle.
September 2nd, 2008 at 0:50
Hi,
nice howto
Perhaps anybody here can help me out - I am using the 3G Modem with an O2 Active Data SIM and look for a way (AT command) to force the system to use GPRS.
Why? -> At my office, the UMTS Node broke down which is not recogniced by the card and so I stay there with the Bytes running down one by one. Customersupport told me to use GPRS until they fixed it, but I cant get it working.
Any ideas?
TIA
Oliver
September 3rd, 2008 at 23:44
@andresmh
> I’m trying to decide between the X300 and the Dell M1330 (also with SSD)
I just bought a dell m1330 and I’d caution against it. It’s very fast and quiet, the brighter screen version looks good but it is definitely not built to last. It’s more like an IKEA thingy. So if it’s going to sit on your desk I’d say it’s quite ok but if you intend to use it for its mobility you should be very very careful not to break it. In short the inside is great but the casing is cheap toy-like plastic.
The screen broke on mine (really broke as in ‘big crack across the screen’) after only one week. Not blaming anyone but myself. I just treated it exactly like I’ve treated all my other laptops: ‘firm and fast’ and none of them ever had any issues. If durability is important I’d probably not buy a dell.
September 10th, 2008 at 14:59
A couple of tips with regard the 3G modem, in case you don’t seem to be able to make a connection.
Minicom is really handy but a bit tricky to set up (for a beginner). Create a .minirc.dfl file in your home directory with the following contents:
pu port /dev/ttyUSB0
pu minit ~^M~ATZ^M
then just type ‘minicom’ in a terminal. You should see ATZ OK conversation at the top. You can issue commands now.
First off, check that the the 3G modem radio hardware is powered on. You should see the lit antenna symbol right next to the WLAN indicator (right of the blue ThinkVantage button). Mine wasn’t. I think the wireless connection wizard thing in Vista turned it off when I cancelled WWAN setup back in the day my SIM card was still in delivery.
Type this command in minicom:
at+cfun=1
Radio should be on now.
While you’re at it, check that your SIM card isn’t prompting a PIN code.
at+cpin?
This should say ‘READY’. If it doesn’t, put the SIM in your mobile phone and disable PIN code checking from the phone’s security settings. This won’t affect your regular mobile phone SIM card.
Alternatively, you can enter PIN code with
at+cpin=xxxx
where xxxx is the pin code. This could be put into the chat scripts, at least in theory.
October 12th, 2008 at 20:26
Very useful help, thanks!
* Re: Track- & Touchpad *
My preferences are almost identical to yours and your instructions
worked like clockwork. There’s one problem left, though: I’d like
to make the trackpoint more sensitive so that it reacts to less force.
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_configure_the_TrackPoint#Sensitivity_.26_Speed
suggests
sudo echo -n 250 > /sys/devices/platform/i8042/serio0/serio2/sensitivity
but directory serio0 contains no subdirectory serio2 and does
not permit to create one either. Any ideas what else I can try?
* Re: Sound *
Meanwhile some version numbers have been updated. Try
ls -ld /lib/modules/*-generic/ubuntu/sound
to find out what to use now instead of “2.6.24-17-generic” and visit
http://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/tiwai/snapshot/
to see what to use now insead of “alsa-driver-20080527.tar.gz”
With these updates everything works as described.
November 17th, 2008 at 19:55
About the sound, when I try install a new alsa driver with make, i recive the next error:
eduardo@malpeza:~/alsa-driver$ make
In file included from /home/eduardo/Escritorio/alsa-driver/acore/hrtimer.c:2:
/home/eduardo/Escritorio/alsa-driver/acore/../alsa-kernel/core/hrtimer.c: En la función ‘snd_hrtimer_callback’:
/home/eduardo/Escritorio/alsa-driver/acore/../alsa-kernel/core/hrtimer.c:29: error: declaración implícita de la función ‘hrtimer_forward_now’
make[3]: *** [/home/eduardo/Escritorio/alsa-driver/acore/hrtimer.o] Error 1
make[2]: *** [/home/eduardo/Escritorio/alsa-driver/acore] Error 2
make[1]: *** [_module_/home/eduardo/Escritorio/alsa-driver] Error 2
make[1]: se sale del directorio `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.24-19-generic’
make: *** [compile] Error 2
and after, make install does not work because there is no .ko files.
eduardo@malpeza:~/alsa-driver$ sudo make install
I tried with fresh install of ubuntu 8.04
May anybody help me??
January 26th, 2009 at 5:29
I appreciate a lot that fact that you spend time to post a sound fix for my x300 on Ubuntu. After many months I have got my sound finally working and I am grateful to you for this.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:28
I lost my visual effects when upgrading from Intrepid to Jaunty, any tips on how to get my video card working with “extra” visual effects again on my x300 (I think it’s an Intel x3100 graphics card)? Worked fine under Intrepid…
May 8th, 2009 at 10:36
the intel video card is currently blacklisted for visual effects due to an bug causing freezes. See here https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/359392 which includes a workaraound.
Ben
September 1st, 2010 at 18:07
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