running Linux on Sony ultra-portables

Hi all!

John's review is the only place in the whole internet where I found mentioning Vaio G11 and Linux (in the discussion, http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=181123&page=2. I love this notebook but I don't like Vista and I am considering changing completely to Linux. A couple questions:

1) Is it completely safe to delete Vista from the laptop? I don't want to use them at all.

2) Do you have any hints in particular regarding the installation of Linux? Was it really that painless as mentioned in the post?

3) In the discussion is mentioned Ubuntu 7.10. Is this the standard 'CD' distribution or something else, more specialized? I've seen somewhere also an installation DVD. Do you reckon Kubuntu 7.10 should work with the same smoothness? (I like KDE but have no experience with Ubuntu.) Is there any experience with other distributions for this (or generally similar Vaio) laptops?

Thanks a lot in advance for your comments!
David

 

The G series has much the same hardware as the TX and the TZ so I hope that some of the owners of these models will have also looked into Linux compatibility.

I first tried the Ubuntu 7.10 live CD and found that it did an very good job of detecting the hardware (an advantage of the hardware not being the latest technology). If you are happy with the way the live CD handles then there is an option to install Linux on the HDD. The only painful but was Linux's initial dual boot screen which I didn't like. In fact, I never got round to fixing that and eventually Linux got removed since I wanted the space.

Kubuntu Linux should work just as well provided you avoid any fancy graphics which may tax the GPU.

However, before you remove Vista you should try tweaking it: Put UAC in its kennel and set the visual display option to best performance + smooth the screen fonts. This is more of a Windows 2K look (which I prefer) and keeps down the work for the GPU. Also, unless you bought a 2GB version of the G11, putting a 2GB RAM module makes a very useful performance boost. You can also try the dual boot Vista / Linux option and only remove one OS when you are running low on space.

I don't know how well Linux will deliver on the battery run time, which is an area where Vista on the G11 does fine. As a test you could load the Linux live CD and then use a single application which is loaded into RAM.

As for removing Vista, you should have a Vista installation disk and download all the G11 Vista drivers and utilities from Sony and get them backed up. You should then be fine for Vista reinstallation.

John

 

Thank you, John. I'll give it a try and let the community know in the next couple weeks.

With regards to the RAM, the Vaio website ( http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/specifications/specifications.asp?site=voe_en_GB_prof&c=0&s=VGN-G&m=2555 ) says that G11XN/B is upgradable only to 1.5GB. I'm a bit confused now...

David

 

What Sony mean is that they never tried putting a 2GB module into the slot to see what happened (probably too expensive at the time when the G11 was being designed). The same problem affects many notebooks which were designed in 2006.

I hope the attachments below will encourage you to believe me rather than Sony's specs. However, although I've got 2.5GB on board, only 2GB is usable because the Intel 945GMS chipset can only address 2GB.

I have been recommending this Transcend module which I have in my G11. However, the price has taken a jump upwards. Play.com lists a cheap 2GB module but it says it is for Macs (I don't know why).

John

 

Linux (specifically Ubuntu) seems to run quite well on an SZ I've got sitting next to me here. The only things I have not gotten working at the moment that I can think of are webcam, fingerprint, and the bigger one, the speed/stamina switch. I can work it fine in the speed mode, but shut down and try and start in stamina and it doesn't like it so much.

There is a fix out there for that, but I have not had the time to search it out and implement it.

 

Hi John,

thanks a lot for your prompt replies. I haven't been in doubt in what you are saying it simply surprises me the fact that Sony would under(value; estimate) their products. I'm buying the module you have recommended.

David

 

Hi that sounds quite encouraging. G11 doesn't have webcam and I guess one can live without fingerprint (though it's really fancy I am not aware of any kind of speed/stamina switch on G11.

To sum it all, I can't wait till I meet my laptop again in two weeks and introduce it to Tux...

 

Hi all,

an update about my G11 after a while. Firstly, I've installed that 2GB module that John has recommended. I can feel the difference: the system now fits into memory It really worth the money...

Concerning Linux. I've tried two distributions, openSuSE 10.3 and Kubuntu 7.10. I didn't have too much time to play around with it so when openSuSE failed during the live distribution boot but Kubuntu didn't I went for Kubuntu.

The whole installation process was extremely smooth (maybe too much - I was a bit disappointed how few options I had during the install - everything went automatically). However, it worked out for me.

Kubuntu 7.10 rules now my G11. Here are couple things that don't work:

1. Fingerprint reader. I am not if this is the same issue as for the other Vaios as mentioned above. Basically, I can't find anywhere in my configuration where fingerprint reader could be set up. I know that on my desktop computer running openSuSE there is a specific item fingerprint reader in YaST. In any case, this is a low priority issue.
   
2. Fn keys. Contrast works fine (Fn+F5 and Fn+F6). Volume (Fn+F3 (volume down) and Fn+F4 (volume up)) reacts however it only switches between two values: volume 0% and volume 11%. Moreover, it doesn't seem to affect the actual volume at all (I still can hear the music even at volume 0%). Fn+F2 (mute) does not work either. Any idea how to fix this?
   
3. Video output. Last but not least - how to redirect display to video output (e.g. when used with data projector for presentation)? The Fn+F7 combination does not seem to have any effect.

David

 

I've bought a cheap webcam from Logitech ( http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/webcam_communications/webcams/devices/281&cl=us,en)
and to make it work with Skype was as simple as Plug&Play!!! I only needed to upgrade to Skype 2.0 (which seems to be still a beta version for Linux but works fine).

David

 

Hi i'm running Gentoo on my FZ18M without any problems.
For FN keys, and other special things maybe you should consider compiling the 2.6.24 kernel with the sonypi & sony-laptop modules (sony-laptop in Device Drivers -> Misc Devices -> Sony Laptop Extras & sonypi in device Drivers -> Character Devices -> Sony Vaio ..... )

This kernel include the iwlwifi drivers for intel wifi onboard chips (3945 for the FZ18M) (but you have to select the mac80211 in networking->wireless). It was a patch before this kernel, it's now included.
Read doc on how to use those modules if you need.

 

Hi,

I am a Linux newbie and I am not familiar with compiling my own kernel. My version is 2.6.22-14-generic (Kubuntu 7.10 distribution). Could you please direct me where to find info about kernel compilation with sonypi & sony-laptop modules? Thanks a lot in advance!!!

David

 

I have SZ660. I'm tried several distros.. Ubuntu, Mint, finally Fedora8... But brightness setting is didnt work.. SZ6 screen is too bright for my eyes...

I'm newbie in Linux and if anyone tell how to set brightness to me, please explain step by step... Thanks a lot...