General Hardware Specifications of Aspire 3002LCi:
Hardware Components
|
Status under Linux
|
Notes
|
Mobile AMD Sempron processor 2800+ (1.6 GHz) |
Works |
No special procedure required during installation. |
15.0 XGA TFT LCD Display |
Works |
Select Generic LCD Display in Installer (1024x768 @ 70Hz) Max: 24-Bit Color (16.7 Million Colors) |
Integrated SiSM760GX Video Card - Shared Video Memory (BIOS select to 32MB, 64MB or 128MB) |
Works |
No special procedure required during installation. |
256MB PC2700 DDR 333MHz SoDIMM RAM (Max 2GB [1GB x 2]) |
Works |
No special procedure required during installation |
40 GB Ultra ATA, 2.5" Hard Drive |
Works |
No special procedure required during installation |
Floppy Drive - NONE (Purchase/use a USB Floppy Drive, if needed) |
Works |
Had no problem using my CompUSA USB 3.5" floppy drive. |
Integrated 10/100 Network Card |
Works |
No special procedure required during installation |
Internal 56k V.92FAX/Modem |
Reported To Work |
Not Tested |
24x (CD-RW) / 8x (DVD) Integrated Combo Drive |
Works |
No special procedure required during installation |
Internal Broadcom Corporation 4318 (rev 02) 802.11b/g Wireless Networking (Wi-Fi Certified) |
Works |
Requires 'NdisWrapper' & Acer's Windows XP Driver (See below for how to setup & activate.) |
Lithium-Ion Battery (1.5 hour battery life) |
Works |
No special procedure required during installation |
DirectSound Sound Card |
Works |
No special procedure required. Fedora Core 7 installs both ALSA & OSS |
Misc Specifications:
Input Device
Keyboard
Touchpad
4-Way Scroll Button
Interface Provided
1 Display / Video VGA
3 Hi-Speed USB
1 Audio Line-in / Microphone
1 Audio Line-out / Headphones
1 Modem Phone Line
1 Network Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX
Slots Provided
2 Memory Banks (1 Free)
1 CardBus [PCMCIA] Type II Slot
Dimensions & Weight
Depth 11 in
Height 1.5 in
Weight 6.2 lbs
Width 14.3 in
This laptop is operating under Kernel version 2.6.22.5-76.fc7
Basic Installation of Fedora Core 7:
- Why to use Fedora Core 7
Simply put:
-- it's stable & runs well
-- requires little work to setup/configure
-- all hardware appears to be supported
- Obtaining Fedora Core 7
-- Download ISOs directly from RedHat (http://fedora.redhat.com)
-- Make install DVD/CDs from the ISOs downloaded
-- Use DVD/CDs to install Fedora Core 7 to the laptop
- Installing
-- Nothing special. Install the OS normally.
-- Unlike some of my previous write-ups, I had no problems which prevented use of the GUI installer with FC7.
-- As such, use of the text install mode (by typing 'linux text' at the boot prompt) was not necessary.
-- Also no special kernel parameters are needed, to make things work correctly.
- Post-Install modifications/tweaks
-- login as 'root'
-- setup necessary YUM repos
-- reboot
-- as 'root', run commands 'yum -y update', and then 'yum -y upgrade'
-- reboot
-- follow steps below to setup the WLAN
Setting up additional features for Fedora Core 7
- Getting Wireless LAN to operate correctly
Use the below steps to get the NetworkManager Applet to work correctly with your Wireless LAN. (* NOTE: do all the following while logged in as 'root')
-- download NdisWrapper (I used ndiswrapper v1.47 - since it was the most current version) -- install all necessary dependency packages (i.e. kernel-header, kernel-devel, gcc, wireless-tools, wpa_supplicant, etc...)
For Example, these are some of the packages I have installed, according to YUM:
kernel.i686 2.6.22.5-76.fc7 installed
kernel.i686 2.6.22.4-65.fc7 installed
kernel-devel.i686 2.6.22.4-65.fc7 installed
kernel-devel.i686 2.6.22.5-76.fc7 installed
kernel-headers.i386 2.6.22.5-76.fc7 installed
gcc.i386 4.1.2-12 installed
gcc-c++.i386 4.1.2-12 installed
gcc-gfortran.i386 4.1.2-12 installed
gcc-gnat.i386 4.1.2-12 installed
gcc-java.i386 4.1.2-12 installed
gcc-objc.i386 4.1.2-12 installed
gcc-objc++.i386 4.1.2-12 installed
libgcc.i386 4.1.2-12 installed
wireless-tools.i386 1:28-4.fc7 installed
wpa_supplicant.i386 1:0.5.7-3.fc7 installed
-- Sometimes you have to symlink the modules directory to this directory: ln -s /usr/src/kernels/`uname -r` /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build * NOTE: where "`uname -r`" is automatically replaces with the name of the directory returned by ls /usr/src/kernels/ of the kernel you are using. Also the "`" is NOT an apostrophe, but is the back tick character. This character typically shares the key for the tilde ("~") character. Normally you will find this key next to the "1" key on your keyboard]). (I used YUM to download all of these necessary packages. Just make sure all kernel packages use the same ix86 version [i.e. the kernel I used was an i686 version, so I needed to install the i686 kernel-devel & kernel-header packages specifically. As such, if you download the i586 packages for an i686 kernel, you will have problems compiling/usage ndiswrapper]) -- download the Acer Aspire 3002LCi Window XP wireless driver. -- unzip the ndiswrapper tarball & the wireless driver some place on your hard drive -- in the ndiswrapper folder, run commands 'make distclean', 'make' & 'make install' -- then change directory to your wireless driver folder -- run command 'ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf' -- then go into System ==> Admininstration ==> Services -- in the Services window, check NetworkManager & uncheck NetworkManagerDispatcher, then save the settings -- close Services window -- then go into System ==> Administration ==> Network -- in the Network window, under the Devices tab, remove any references to any wireless configuration (this should simply leave 'eth0' [the hardware ethernet connection] listed) -- in the Network window, under the Hardware tab, remove any references to any wireless hardware (this should simply leave 'Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS]' [the hardwire ethernet hardware] listed) -- save the changes in the Network window & close that window. -- reboot -- run the 'start_wlan.bat' batch file (see below) as root. -- run command 'ndiswrapper -m' -- run command 'ndiswrapper -ma' -- run command 'ndiswrapper -mi' -- reboot & login normally -- from this point, you can use the NetworkManager applet to connect to your wireless LAN. (by clicking on the NetworkManagement applet [next to the clock] & using the 'Connect To Other Wireless Network' option, to login to any wireless network) or you can use the start_wlan.bat batch file below. (ensure you disable wireless option in the NetworkManager applet, by right click the applet icon and uncheck the Enable Wireless option, before you run the start_wlan.bat batch file.)
- Getting Suspend-to-Disk to operate correctly
-- never tried this -- default is prompt to logout/shutdown/reboot
- Getting the touchpad to operate as more than a PS/2 mouse
-- touchpad was auto-detected and worked correctly immediately upon installation. -- touchpad center button works as a center button and can scroll (up/down & left/right) in most programs. -- in Firefox, you can do special navigation tricks when you tap/slide the touchpad in certain ways.
- Any other additional features you can think of
-- the PCMCIA card slot was detected, but I never tried to use it.
(Un)resolved issues
- Problem setting the Shared Video RAM in BIOS to 128MB
-- upgrading RAM resolved this issue
- Sound may come out distorted
-- upgrading RAM seamed to help resolve this issue
- Computer randomly hangs (uh-oh)
-- upgrading RAM seamed to help resolve this issue -- ensure you updated your packages via 'yum' & have added the extra kernel parameters to '/etc/grub.conf'
- Battery meter doesn't function correctly
-- I have verified this has been fixed in FC7, when doing a new/clean install of FC7. -- However you will need to upgrade to the BIOS to version 3A32, before installing FC7. -- You can download the BIOS from the Acer Euro Support Site or directly from their FTP site. -- In order to update the BIOS, you will need to use the winflash utility from Acer (you will need Windows for this app) or you can use OpenDOS and the phlash16 application (this is how I upgraded mine). -- NOTE: the meter battery issue is not automatically fixed if you upgrade from FC4 (or older) to FC7. -- I was told that you can manually fix this, if you edit your dsdt file, after upgrading to BIOS version 3A32 or 3A24. I was also told instructions on how to manually fix this issue is here.
- Anything else that raises concern
-- AIGLX/Compiz Desktop Effects (System ==> Preferences ==> Desktop Effects) does not seam to work at this time. All information seams to point to a 3D support &/or DRM Module issue with the SiS video card driver. -- WLAN network issues are typically fixed by reinstalling 'NdisWrapper' after upgrading to a new kernel.
Configuration Files
- Any Configuration files that you needed to modify
Well this is not exactly a config file, but the following batch file is what I use to activate the wlan. -- paste the below into a file named 'start_wlan.bat' -- chmod the file '755' -- run as 'root' when you want to connect
--------------------------------------------------------------
#!/bin/sh
echo 'Starting Home WLAN'
/sbin/modprobe -r bcm43xx
echo 'Setting Dependency Mod...'
/sbin/depmod -a
echo 'Mod Probing ndiswrapper...'
/sbin/modprobe ndiswrapper
#echo 'Scanning For All Wireless LAN Access Points...'
#/sbin/iwlist wlan0 scan
echo 'Setting Specific Wireless Network Access Point...'
/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 essid YOUR_ESSID
echo 'Scanning For Specific Access Point...'
/sbin/iwlist wlan0 scan
#echo 'Setting Wireless LAN To Managed Mode...'
#/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 mode Managed
echo 'Setting WEP Encryption Key...'
/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 key restricted YOUR_WEP_KEY
echo 'Setting Specific Wireless Network Access Point...'
/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 essid YOUR_ESSID
echo 'Bring Up Wireless LAN Interface...'
#/sbin/ifconfig wlan0 up
/sbin/dhclient wlan0
#/sbin/dhcpcd wlan0
--------------------------------------------------------------
Replace 'YOUR_ESSID' with your Wireless LAN's ESSID.
Replace 'YOUR_WEP_KEY' with your Wireless LAN's WEP key.
* Notes:
-- This batch file assumes your WLAN is setup with DHCP & uses WEP security
-- If you don't use WEP, then you can comment out that line.
-- The rest of the lines are comments for making the commands clearer &/or to test under different WLAN configurations.
More Specific Information. Specific stuff such as:
- df -hl
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/VolGroup00-LogVol00
35G 25G 7.7G 77% /
/dev/sda1 99M 19M 76M 20% /boot
tmpfs 569M 0 569M 0% /dev/shm
- lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 760/M760 Host (rev 03)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SG86C202
00:02.0 ISA bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS963 [MuTIOL Media IO] (rev 25)
00:02.1 SMBus: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS961/2 SMBus Controller
00:02.5 IDE interface: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 5513 [IDE]
00:02.6 Modem: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] AC'97 Modem Controller (rev a0)
00:02.7 Multimedia audio controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] AC'97 Sound Controller (rev a0)
00:03.0 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 1.0 Controller (rev 0f)
00:03.1 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 1.0 Controller (rev 0f)
00:03.2 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 2.0 Controller
00:04.0 Ethernet controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS900 PCI Fast Ethernet (rev 91)
00:06.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1410 PC card Cardbus Controller (rev 02)
00:0b.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02)
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 661/741/760 PCI/AGP or 662/761Gx PCIE VGA Display Adapter
- ndiswrapper -l
bcmwl5 : driver installed
device (14E4:4318) present (alternate driver: ssb)
- glxinfo
name of display: :0.0
display: :0 screen: 0
direct rendering: No
server glx vendor string: SGI
server glx version string: 1.2
server glx extensions:
GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating,
GLX_EXT_import_context, GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap, GLX_OML_swap_method,
GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_hyperpipe,
GLX_SGIX_swap_barrier, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig, GLX_MESA_copy_sub_buffer
client glx vendor string: SGI
client glx version string: 1.4
client glx extensions:
GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context,
GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_MESA_allocate_memory,
GLX_MESA_copy_sub_buffer, GLX_MESA_swap_control,
GLX_MESA_swap_frame_usage, GLX_OML_swap_method, GLX_OML_sync_control,
GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGI_swap_control, GLX_SGI_video_sync,
GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig, GLX_SGIX_pbuffer,
GLX_SGIX_visual_select_group, GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap
GLX version: 1.2
GLX extensions:
GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context,
GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_MESA_copy_sub_buffer,
GLX_OML_swap_method, GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGIS_multisample,
GLX_SGIX_fbconfig, GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap
OpenGL vendor string: Mesa project: www.mesa3d.org
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa GLX Indirect
OpenGL version string: 1.4 (1.5 Mesa 6.5.2)
OpenGL extensions:
GL_ARB_depth_texture, GL_ARB_draw_buffers, GL_ARB_fragment_program,
GL_ARB_imaging, GL_ARB_multisample, GL_ARB_multitexture,
GL_ARB_occlusion_query, GL_ARB_point_parameters, GL_ARB_point_sprite,
GL_ARB_shadow, GL_ARB_shadow_ambient, GL_ARB_texture_border_clamp,
GL_ARB_texture_compression, GL_ARB_texture_cube_map,
GL_ARB_texture_env_add, GL_ARB_texture_env_combine,
GL_ARB_texture_env_crossbar, GL_ARB_texture_env_dot3,
GL_ARB_texture_mirrored_repeat, GL_ARB_texture_non_power_of_two,
GL_ARB_texture_rectangle, GL_ARB_transpose_matrix, GL_ARB_vertex_program,
GL_ARB_window_pos, GL_EXT_abgr, GL_EXT_bgra, GL_EXT_blend_color,
GL_EXT_blend_equation_separate, GL_EXT_blend_func_separate,
GL_EXT_blend_logic_op, GL_EXT_blend_minmax, GL_EXT_blend_subtract,
GL_EXT_clip_volume_hint, GL_EXT_copy_texture, GL_EXT_draw_range_elements,
GL_EXT_fog_coord, GL_EXT_framebuffer_object, GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays,
GL_EXT_packed_pixels, GL_EXT_paletted_texture, GL_EXT_point_parameters,
GL_EXT_polygon_offset, GL_EXT_rescale_normal, GL_EXT_secondary_color,
GL_EXT_separate_specular_color, GL_EXT_shadow_funcs,
GL_EXT_shared_texture_palette, GL_EXT_stencil_wrap, GL_EXT_subtexture,
GL_EXT_texture, GL_EXT_texture3D, GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp,
GL_EXT_texture_env_add, GL_EXT_texture_env_combine,
GL_EXT_texture_env_dot3, GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias,
GL_EXT_texture_mirror_clamp, GL_EXT_texture_object,
GL_EXT_texture_rectangle, GL_EXT_vertex_array, GL_APPLE_packed_pixels,
GL_ATI_draw_buffers, GL_ATI_texture_env_combine3,
GL_ATI_texture_mirror_once, GL_ATIX_texture_env_combine3,
GL_IBM_texture_mirrored_repeat, GL_INGR_blend_func_separate,
GL_MESA_pack_invert, GL_MESA_ycbcr_texture, GL_NV_blend_square,
GL_NV_fragment_program, GL_NV_light_max_exponent, GL_NV_point_sprite,
GL_NV_texgen_reflection, GL_NV_texture_rectangle, GL_NV_vertex_program,
GL_NV_vertex_program1_1, GL_SGI_color_matrix, GL_SGI_color_table,
GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap, GL_SGIS_texture_border_clamp,
GL_SGIS_texture_edge_clamp, GL_SGIS_texture_lod, GL_SGIX_depth_texture,
GL_SGIX_shadow, GL_SGIX_shadow_ambient, GL_SUN_multi_draw_arrays
visual x bf lv rg d st colorbuffer ax dp st accumbuffer ms cav
id dep cl sp sz l ci b ro r g b a bf th cl r g b a ns b eat
----------------------------------------------------------------------
0x22 24 tc 0 24 0 r y . 8 8 8 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x23 24 tc 0 24 0 r y . 8 8 8 0 0 16 8 16 16 16 0 0 0 None
0x24 24 tc 0 32 0 r y . 8 8 8 8 0 16 8 16 16 16 16 0 0 None
0x25 24 tc 0 32 0 r . . 8 8 8 8 0 16 8 16 16 16 16 0 0 None
0x4e 32 tc 0 32 0 r . . 8 8 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ncon
-->
- 'start_wlan.bat' Output Example
--------------------------------------------------------------
# ./start_wlan.bat
Starting Home WLAN
Setting Dependency Mod...
Mod Probing ndiswrapper...
Setting Specific Wireless Network Access Point...
Scanning For Specific Access Point...
wlan0 Scan completed :
Cell 01 - Address: 00:18:39:73:CB:23
ESSID:"YOUR_SSID"
Protocol:IEEE 802.11g
Mode:Managed
Frequency:2.422 GHz (Channel 3)
Quality:92/100 Signal level:-37 dBm Noise level:-96 dBm
Encryption key:on
Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s
11 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s
48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
Extra:bcn_int=100
Extra:atim=0
Setting Wireless LAN To Managed Mode...
Setting WEP Encryption Key...
Setting Specific Wireless Network Access Point...
Bring Up Wireless LAN Interface...
Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client V3.0.4-RedHat
Copyright 2004-2006 Internet Systems Consortium.
All rights reserved.
For info, please visit http://www.isc.org/sw/dhcp/
/sbin/dhclient-script: configuration for wlan0 not found. Continuing with defaults.
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/network-functions: line 78: wlan0: No such file or directory
Listening on LPF/wlan0/0a:1b:2c:3d:4e:5f
Sending on LPF/wlan0/0a:1b:2c:3d:4e:5f
Sending on Socket/fallback
DHCPREQUEST on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPNAK from 192.168.1.1
DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 3
DHCPOFFER from 192.168.1.1
DHCPREQUEST on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPACK from 192.168.1.1
/sbin/dhclient-script: configuration for wlan0 not found. Continuing with defaults.
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/network-functions: line 78: wlan0: No such file or directory
bound to 192.168.1.5 -- renewal in 82856 seconds.
--------------------------------------------------------------
* Note: Above MAC address, SSID & Channel info was changed for security reasons
- Other Relevant/Useful Info
-- Despite some posts that I've read to the contrary, you do not need to hold down or press the WLAN button on the front of this laptop to make the WLAN hardware initialize at the time of boot-up. The batch file provided is all you need to activate the WLAN. * UPDATE: If after installing the NdisWrapper & running the batch file, however still cannot connect to your WLAN, you should press the WLAN button once & then re-run the batch file. With some kernels, I found this may be necessary... -- Pay very close attention to the NdisWrapper setup instructions. If you skip steps, your WLAN will not work correctly. -- Keep a copy of the NdisWrapper setup instructions, source code & Windows XP WLAN drivers files on your laptop's hard drive. You will need to use it again... -- When you install a new kernel (even via an APT or YUM upgrade) you will need to reinstall NdisWrapper to make the WLAN work once again. * UPDATE: You should not need to redo everything. You should only need to run the 'make distclean', 'make' & 'make install' commands & then reboot. Reinstalling the Windows XP driver should not be necessary, as it should remain after reinstalling the same version of Ndiswrapper to your new kernel. -- Upgrading from FC6 to FC7 with the CDs is straight forward. I had no problems with packages. But I do recommend doing a clean install of FC7 for best results where possible.
- My Acer 3002LCi Laptop Review (short, sweet, & to the point)
I like this laptop for general purpose usage, especially when running linux. After rebates, I paid a little over $400 [RAM upgrade excluded] years ago. It's no gaming machine, but that is not the reason why I purchased it. Adding additional RAM greatly enhances the performance of this system. Battery life is sad (only 1.5 hours at best), but I've read in some forums that after-market batteries can be purchased to nearly double the battery life. However I have never seen any for sale online. General Sound & MP3 playback (via XMMS with the Enhanced Stereo module enabled) is ok. DVD playback via Xine was good, but jerked a little during heavy action scenes without the RAM upgrade. After the RAM upgrade, DVD playback & overall graphical performance was much smoother. The laptop fan doesn't seam to come on nearly as much or as loud as some claim. My only annoyance with this laptop is with the touchpad. It is very sensitive. Slight touches or vibrations while typing will cause the pointer/cursor to jump. There is no way to adjust this, so type carefully or use the Fn+F7 key combo to enable/disable the touchpad as needed! ;-) After a while you just get used to typing on it, and the jumping cursor is not as much of an issue. Other then that, I like the laptop for my everyday usage. Overall I would give this laptop a 8.5 out of 10.
Useful Links:
Plus other useful things I may have forgotten
YUM Repositories Used:
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