T400 and uBuntu 8.10

anyone try installing it? does it come with all the drivers?

 

Ubuntu 8.10 does have a new kernel with new drivers. I am reasonably confident it supports the Montevina platform ThinkPads out of the box. 8.04 did not have proper drivers for the Intel Wi-FI 5100/5300 or the 4500MHD Graphics processor. The new version also has an updated GNome/File Browser and supports WWAN out of the box. I plan on installing Ubuntu 8.10 as a secondary operating system on my x200 tablet tonight (it just showed up an hour ago). I will report back with my experience. If it works fine on mine, it should work fine on the T400 (about the only hardware difference is the ATI card in the T400).

 

yeh cant wait on that report.

 

So how is the IPS? I know I am going to be jealous but I need to know

 

8.10 works fine on the W500. Almost everything works out of the box save suspend/resume and switchable graphics on the fly.

 

It is fantastic. Check my signature for a link to unboxing pictures and screenshots on my Flickr.

 

I just ran the live cd on my t400 it didnt work the first time, so I went into bios and set integraded gpu only, and it ran with 0 issues, I am actually posting this over wifi in ubuntu right now.

udate: wow, I just figured out that compiz works on a live cd with out enabling any drivers!!!!
-trackpoint works
-brightness works
-volume works
-thinklight works
-speedstep works
-bluetooth/wifi works toggling works better than in vista! (you can just switch between Wifi+BT/WIFI/BT/OFF by pressing fn + f5)
-power consumption 13w
ask if you have any questions... (ask fast before I boot back into vista... lol)

more info... http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Install_Ubuntu_8.10_(Intrepid_Ibex)_on_a_Thinkpad_T400

 

wow i may have to torrent this tonight and install.

whats the battery life like with your 9 cell?

also, when i installed 8.04 on my t400 a few weeks back the ubuntu bootloader became primary over the windows bootloader. does that occur with 8.10?

 

This is normal behavior, as the Windows bootloader is a gigantic piece of crap, meaning it cannot load non-Windows operating systems. This means that you would have to have the Windows bootloader load GRUB, which would then load Ubuntu. So I would suggest just keeping GRUB.

 

Nice pics of your X200t. My T42 had the IPS display. Sometimes I really miss. I wish they'd offer another, even if it was an expensive upgrade.

 

i'm liking it. ubuntu finally works out of the box as should.

 

Wow! Those are some sweet angles! How about the CPU? Do you miss the P8600? (Hint: please say you really miss it, otherwise I might throw my regular X200 out of the window)

 

Does suspend/resume work?

 

not fully, it works once in about 10 times....

 

This is standard because LILO/GRUB are more versatile than the Vista Bootloader. However, it is possible to restore the Vista Bootloader, make it default, and have it load Ubuntu via a chainloader. This is the setup that I require because I use TrueCrypt and it needs a Windows bootloader. The setup is a bit rough and requires copying your Linux Bootloader to a text file, using a Vista install DVD to repair the Vista bootloader, and pasting your Linux Bootloader into EasyBCD. This is not easy but it was required for my special case.

 

i couldn't boot the 8.10 with ATI only the intel one, are you sure you were able to boot it ?

also how do you switch cards on linux?

 

yeh 8.10 doesnt with with ATI on the T400 either. you gotta make sure your using intel or you wont boot into the OS.

 

MaX PL: T400 and W500 has DDR2 or 3 ?!

 

i have DDR3, look at my sig.

 

I honestly haven't had enough time to test out the performance too heavily. However, for Vista, Office, Firefox, video playback (including 1080P) and normal other tasks I don't feel any difference. The SL9400 will certainly be slower (about 20%) when doing a large video encode (Handbrake), compiling a program, compressing files with 7zip, or applying large Photoshop filters than the P8600. But for many tasks the processor is secondary to performance (drive speed, RAM, GPU, bus speed matter more).

I definitely am loving the viewing angles though. I can actually put the screen all the way back (parallel with the keyboard) and text is still readable and colors pretty accurate. The screen is also very bright and represents color pretty well. I ran some test patterns and it had a minor problem with neon green (blinding and a broken gradient) but all other colors are fantastic. I would say the screen is much better than the x200, and probably a lot better (albeit lower resolution) than the x200s.

I am trying to install Ubuntu Studio 8.10 right now, but am having a little bit of trouble with my encryption settings. I am sure I'll figure it out eventually though.

 

I am typing this from Ubuntu Studio 8.10. It took me a few tries to get it installed properly (a triple boot setup w/ encryption is a bit complicated) but Ubuntu is installed now and works pretty well.

Drivers for Ethernet, Sound, and the video card (Intel GMA4500) were installed and working without any issue at all. I can easily get online when plugged in and quickly download the few packages that have been updated since the distro was released on Thursday. Suspend and hibernate work for me without any hassle.

Most of the special keys on the keyboard also work just fine. Volume up/down/mute works although mute does lacks an on screen display. I can use Fn+Home/End to adjust display brightness, Fn+F2 to lock the computer, Fn+F3 to display battery information, Fn+F4 to put the computer to sleep, Fn+F5 to turn radios on/off (only Bluetooth works right now), and Fn+F12 to make the system hibernate. I can even use Fn+Arrow keys to control media players and the back/forward keys in Firefox. I am sure Fn+PgUp would activate the Thinklight if my Tablet was so equipped.

However, I have NOT yet been able to configure my Wireless adapter (Intel Wi-Fi 5100) or my WWAN card (AT&T Erickson). Further, the wacom digitizer does not seem to work for moving the cursor (although it may work in a graphics program). I thought all 3 of these would work in 8.10 (support for new WLAN cards and WWAN modems was touted as a feature). Also, although the TrackPoint works fine, the middle button scroll (in my opinion one of the best things about the TrackPoint) does not (it works as a normal third button). If any of you have suggestions on how to enable these features (especially the Wi-Fi 5100) I would appreciate it very much as the lack of these features may prevent me from using Ubuntu heavily.

 

i see, i thought lenovo only sells DDR2

thanks for the headup

 

You don't have to go through that whole process if you want to use the Windows bootloader instead of GRUB. Basically you want to install GRUB onto your /boot partition (not the MBR), then copy the first 512 bytes of that partition onto a disc. Copy that over to your Windows install and modify the boot loader to point to it.

There is a guide at Thinkwiki:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Rescue_and_Recovery

And here are instructions on how to add Linux to the Vista bootloader menu (don't follow the main directions; follow the ones from Falcon006’s second comment):
http://www.canerten.com/dual-boot-linux-and-windows-with-windows-boot-manager/

I just did this last night and got it to work. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I had a little bit of trouble when I restored the Vista boot loader last night (my chainload didn't work). I am going to reinstall Ubuntu soon, and I will test your method, that definitely sounds a bit easier.

How do you recommend I copy the first 512 bytes of that partition (I will have a ext3 /boot partition on a logical volume [not primary]). Can I copy it to a file, can I use a USB key, or do I actually need a floppy or physical hard disk?

 

so is there a guide on how to get 8.10 installed perfectly. as in dual boot with vista and get the vista boot loader as primary.

essentially i want vista to be the OS my computer loads if i dont manually choose one. i remember with 8.04 grub was the primary bootloader.

 

you can set vista to be your default in grub

 

thanks.

also, does anyone recommend the use of Wubi as opposed to actually partitioning my vista partition and then installing ubuntu?

 

wow, i am really sad i didn't get the tablet especially since work was paying for it.

for me the thing was that i really don't care about the tablet functionality and at the same time i had NO idea that the regular X200 screen would be THIS bad. i have honestly never worked on a worse screen in the past 15 years that i have been programming ...

oh well. so jonlumpkin did lenovo charge you the restocking fee when you returned your X200?

 

You'll need to use the Ubuntu install CD to boot into a Linux environment, then mount your /boot partition. Then use dd to copy the first 512 bytes of the /boot partition to a file. Put that file on a USB stick and reboot.

If your boot partition is on /dev/sda3, the dd command you want to use is:
dd if=/dev/sda3 of=grub.img bs=512 count=1

The guide from Thinkwiki that I linked has more detailed instructions: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Rescue_and_Recovery

 

I kind of met Afty halfway and found a really easy way (for those of us that don't want to use a live CD and use DiskDruid) to get Vista to boot Ubuntu.

Install Ubuntu with a logical /boot volume (100 MB is plenty) as well as a '/' volume (I also used a 'swap' volume and '/home' volume, all logical). Make sure you write down the volume name for the boot volume (in my case it was Sda5). When prompted to install GRUB to the MBR say NO. Then install Grub to the /boot volume (in my case '/dev/sda5').

Boot into Vista normally. Install and launch EasyBCD. Go into the section to manage the bootloader and add entries. Create a new entry named Ubuntu and map it to your /boot volume (in my case 'sda5'). Save the bootloader.

Reboot and you should see a new entry for Ubuntu in the Vista bootloader. Click this and it will chainload Grub. You can then boot Ubuntu or select Windows and it will go back to the Vista bootloader. I also added XP to the Vista bootloader using the same method. It works very well and is pretty easy.

 

I believe that Wubi has several limitations that prevent it from being as good as a dedicated install. I think there is a much larger memory footprint, standby doesn't work, hibernate is impossible, and maybe a few other problems.

Installing Ubuntu is actually pretty straightforward (mine was complicated because I run a heavily encrypted setup and need to use the Vista bootloader). The Ubuntu installer is able to easily resize your Vista partition without damaging your files. You can then opt for a very simple install where you just set a root (/) partition of 5GB or greater (more/less depending on the packages you want) and install GRUB to the MBR.

Alternatively you can use a setup more like mine with Ubuntu spread across 4 LOGICAL volumes (you must use logical because if you have that many primary partitions for Ubuntu, you wouldn't be able to have Vista or R&R). I used a small (≈100MB) /boot partition, a 5GB swap partition (this should be at least as big as your installed RAM because Linux uses the swap for hibernate), a 5GB /root partition, and another partition for /home (I used 10GB) to store your documents/media. DO NOT install GRUB to the MBR, but rather to the /boot partition (make sure you note the exact partition name when you are setting it up). Then boot into Vista and create an entry for Ubuntu in the Vista bootloader using EasyBCD.

 

yeh i just installed Wubi and cannot use stanby.

i seems fine for now. i'm not very familiar with ubuntu anyhow so i'll likely use Wubi til i get a feel for things.

 

i dont know if its Wubi or 8.10 as a whole, but i dont get battery life nearly as good as i do in Vista. also, bootup is roughly 10 to 15 seconds longer than with Vista.

 

There are a few extra tricks in the Thinkvantage power manager (disable USB ports, turn off radios individually, deeper sleep states, etc.) that at the moment cannot be done under Ubuntu. It is actually relatively common that Linux gets slightly worse battery life than Windows on a Thinkpad.

However, I am actually surprised that your boot time is worse, mine is as fast if not faster with Ubuntu.

 

Interesting, thanks for posting that. Looks much easier than fooling around with the Live CD and bcdedit.

 

kde is so sexy

 

This is true....except I'd spell Krap with a capital K....

 

Well, here's a guy who knows what he's talking about!

 

I am running into the same problem .. I cannot seem to get Ubuntu Studio to configure my Wifi5300.. I was able to get it functional in the regular Ubuntu 8.10 load. I currently have to use the wired connection on my T400 to get internet.

I tried adding the wlan0 in my /etc/network/interfaces and configuring it in there.. but so far not working.

Let me know if you get yours working and how you were able to do it in Ubuntu Studio. Thanks!

Sam

 

That is unfortunate, because I really like the implementation of Ubuntu Studio. I will download a live CD of regular Ubuntu 8.10 tomorrow and see if I run into the same issues or extra hardware shows up (My tablet digitizer isn't working either, and this is something I would definitely want to work in a media centric load). Are you running the 64 bit or 32 bit version of Ubuntu? This may have some effect on the results (I am running the 64 bit version).

If stock Ubuntu 8.10 works, I may have to use that and try to add the Ubuntu studio packages/theme afterwards. Wireless is absolutely essential, the pen input is a nice touch, but I can live without that.

 

Yes.. I was able to connect wirelessly on 8.10 (regular).. and I agree.. I like Ubuntu Studio a bit more.. (dunno why)... and for some reason, no wifi on that one. On regular Ubuntu.. there is an applet that shows up on the panel for you to do a scan for wifi networks.. and makes configuring a lot easier.. but Studio does not have this icon.. been looking for it.. but only eth0/lo0 show up. I was able to have a wlan0:avahi listing.. but cannot modify any of its settings.

 

I am going to try this conversion method tonight and see if it works.

Apparently you can install regular Ubuntu (the guide is for 7.10, but 8.10 should work as well), and then with a set of sudo apt-get commands you can download all of the packages, themes, splash screens, etc. of Ubuntu Studio. This should give you the benefit of the drivers from Stock Ubuntu, as well as the superior theme/media applications of Ubuntu Studio. I imagine the install footprint will be a little larger, and there will be several standard Ubuntu apps included that are normally stripped from Studio, but if Wireless and the Digitizer works, I am all for it.

 

i get screen tearing when opening apps at times, apps such as openoffice or simply maximizing firefox from the taskbar.

how do i resolve this?

 

That sounds like a graphics driver issue. The first thing I would do is switch to the integrated graphics in the BIOS (Ubuntu can't switch on the fly like Vista). If the problem goes away then you know the issue is related to the ATI driver.

You can then choose to either run with the integrated processor, or try to hunt down (or build yourself) proper drivers for the ATI card. I would recommend that you just try the integrated card in Ubuntu. It is more than adequate for desktop applications/video playback and should give you better battery life. The discrete card is best used for gaming in Windows.

FYI, I put regular Ubuntu (not Studio) on my x200 tablet. 802.11 Wireless now works, and the AT&T WWAN (Ericsson F3507G) is also detected (I don't have an activated SIM so I can't test performance on it). However, the digitizer pen is not working at the moment. I am typing this up in Ubuntu while downloading all of the Ubuntu Studio applications/themes using the package manager. I should know in about 2 hours whether or not this method will give me an Ubuntu Studio equivalent install with functional wireless Internet.

 

well actually i only use the integrated video because i could never get ubuntu running with switchable graphics enabled, so i have integrated as primary in both vista and ubuntu.

so the issue is occurring with integrated video and i dont know what to do.

 

That is odd, because my x200 Tablet has the exact same IGP (Intel 4500 MHD) and Ubuntu looks fantastic for me. What flavor of Ubuntu are you running? x86 or x64? Did you enable any non-standard window effects? Do you experience this problem in Vista? Can you explain your exact problem better than "tearing"?

 

I got a self made version of Ubuntu Studio up and running. All I had to do was install Ubuntu as normal, and once I had booted into Ubuntu, select all of the Ubuntu Studio packages in synaptic and wait about 3 hours for it to download/install (my Internet connection sucks). It then took me about 30 minutes to change the desktop background and rearrange the toolbar so I only had a top one.

This self made version of Ubuntu Studio runs great. I have support for 802.11, Bluetooth, WWAN, almost all of the Fn+Keys, and just about everything else without issue. The only thing I haven't got to work yet is the active digitzer/wacom screen. I will put some more effort in to this, and should be able to get it working.

The one downside of this method (compared to a straight Studio install), as I figured, is footprint. I set my partitions to a 5GB Swap, 5GB root, 10GB home. I am getting very low on space on the root partition. If any of you try this method, I suggest setting a root partition to 8GB or greater to avoid long term problems.

 

running 8.10 that i grabbed from here: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download but you know, now that i think about it, i probably got the 32 bit version. i do have some windows effects going and no it doesnt happen in vista.

as far as the tearing, say for example i drag a window from desktop one to another desktop, the screen breaks up into black fragmented pieces. or say i maximize a window from the taskbar, the window will show lines of color for a split second.

and...

hell actually i just realized why it may be happening. i stated i'm running 8.10, but what i'm really using is Wubi 8.10. do you think thats the problem?

 

Entirely possible. I had issues kind of similar to this when I tried out 8.04 on the x200 (non tablet). I suggest you download the 8.10 AMD64 Alternate ISO and install that. It can shrink your Vista partition and install itself very easily. This is the version I am using on the x200 Tablet and I am not having any problems (except that the digitizer isn't working currently).

 

I was able to do the same thing.. however, one of the ubuntu studio packages failed to be found.

ubuntustudiolauncher is the name. The rest installs no problem. I still have the bottom bar.. and I am assuming that ubuntustudiolauncher is suppose to correct that. =)

At least I got my wifi working now.

Thanks for the URL on how to do this.. it was pretty painless.

Sam