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General Hardware Specifications of Aspire 3002LCi:

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 2.6.23.9-85.fc8

• Why to use Fedora 8

  Simply put:
  -- it's stable & runs well
  -- requires little work to setup/configure
  -- all hardware appears to be supported
  

• Obtaining Fedora 8

  -- Download ISOs directly from the Fedora Project site.
  -- Make install DVD/LiveCDs from the ISOs downloaded.
  -- Use DVD/LiveCDs to install Fedora 8 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 FC8.
  -- 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
  

• Getting Wireless LAN to operate correctly
  Use the Broadcom or NdisWrapper to get the NetworkManager Applet to work correctly with your Wireless LAN.
  -- use the Broadcom or NdisWrapper wireless instructions found on the Fedora Guide site.
  -- or follow the steps on how I manually setup NdisWrapper within my Acer3002LCi Fedora 7 write-up
• 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.

• 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'
• Battery meter doesn't function correctly
  -- I have verified this has been fixed in FC8, when doing a new/clean install of FC8.
  -- However you will need to upgrade to the BIOS to version 3A32, before installing FC8.
  -- 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 older versions of Fedora Linux.
  -- 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.

• Nothing special here to modify/setup...

• 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 (If you want to find out why, try setting LIBGL_DEBUG=verbose)
  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 (2.1 Mesa 7.0.2)
  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
  0x4f 32 tc  0 32  0 r  .  .  8  8  8  8  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 0 Ncon
  

• 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.
    * UPDATE: If after installing the NdisWrapper, however still cannot connect to your WLAN, you should press the WLAN button once & reboot. 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, if you manually installed NdisWrapper as described in my FC7 write-up.
  -- 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; if you manually installed NdisWrapper as described in my FC7 write-up.
  -- Upgrading from FC7 to FC8 via DVD was straight forward. I had no problems with packages. But I do recommend doing a clean install of FC8 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. It's no gaming machine, but that is not the reason why I originally 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. The touchpad is very sensitive, but that can be adjusted in the OS. Other then that, I like the laptop for my general everyday usage. Overall I would give this laptop a 8.5 out of 10.

• Acer - Laptop Manufacturer
• Linux on Laptops
• TuxMobile
• Fedora 8 - Fedora Guide
• Fedora 8 - Tips & Tricks
• Fedora 8 - Installation Guide
• Fedora 8 - Services

Plus other useful things I may have forgotten

• Fedora
• FreshRPMs
• Dries
• Livna
• ATrpms
• Adobe Systems Inc.