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Installing Fedora Core 4 on HP Pavilion ZV6015us

This laptop is operating under Kernel version 2.6.12, previously it was operating under Kernel version 2.6.11.

Basic Installation of Fedora Core 4:
  • Why use Fedora Core 4
    • Fedora is the distribution for which more hardware works out of the box. I've seen reports of problems under Suse and Ubuntu that were non-issues under Fedora.
  • Obtaining Fedora Core 4
  • Installing
    • Boot from the Fedora DVD or CD and enter the following at the boot: prompt: "linux vga=771", just hitting enter without entering this will result in a black screen early in the install with no way to abort but rebooting.
    • Touchpad will not work during installation, either choose a text install or hit ctrl-alt-F1 and enter the following command (without the quotes) to enable the touchpad: "echo -n "reconnect" > /sys/bus/serio/devices/serio0/drvctl", this should make the installer recognize the touchpad.
    • Fedora install is fairly easy and intuitive, follow the prompts until Fedora is completely installed.
  • Post-Install modifications/tweaks
    • To make Fedora recognize the touchpad, add the following line to /etc/rc.local: echo -n "reconnect" > /sys/bus/serio/devices/serio0/drvctl
    • To fix the "fast clock" and "50% CPU utilization when idle": edit /boot/grub/menu.list:
      • Look for a line similar to: "kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.11-1.1369_FC4 ro root=LABEL=/1 rhgb quiet" and add "no_timer_check" at the end of the line.
    • To get 1280x800 resolution
      • Download the latest proprietary ATI Linux driver RPM for Radeon Xpress 200 Series at https://www2.ati.com/drivers/linux/64bit/fglrx64_6_8_0-8.13.4-1.x86_64.rpm (If the link doesn't work, look around https://support.ati.com, you should be able to find the latest driver).
      • Install the RPM by issuing the following command (as root): "rpm -ivh fglrx64_6_8_0-8.13.4-1.x86_64.rpm". 
        • If you get a message similar to the following: error: Failed dependencies: libstdc++.so.5()(64bit) is needed by fglrx64_6_8_0-8.13.6-1.x86_64 libstdc++.so.5(CXXABI_1.2)(64bit), then you need to install some required libraries, issue the following command as root: "yum install compat-libstdc++-33", you should now be able to install the ATI driver by using the command above.
      • Edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf and change the video driver from "vesa" to "fglrx", change the display depth to 24 bit, and the resolution to "1280x800".
    • To configure wireless:
      • Get the kernel development package by issuing the following command as root: "yum install kernel-devel".
      • Get the latest ndiswrapper source from https://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net.
        • Extract the source from the compressed file by issuing the following command: "tar -zxvf ndiswrapper-1.2.tar.gz" (substitute ndiswrapper-1.2.tar.gz with the actual file downloaded from the ndiswrapper web site).
        • cd to the new directory created when extracting the ndiswrapper source.


    General Hardware Specifications of the HP Pavilion ZV6015us:
    Hardware Components
    Status under Linux
    Notes
    AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Processor Works Initially the system clock will run twice as fast as it should, and the system will report 50% CPU utilization when idle. Both of these issues can be fixed by passing the "no_timer_check" boot parameter to the kernel.
    15.4" WXGA High-Definition BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800) Display Works No special procedure required during installation.
    ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M IGP 128MB Dedicated Video RAM Partially Works
    • Full 1280x800 resolution using the proprietary ATI driver.
    • Proprietary ATI kernel module fails to compile.
    1 GB PC2700 (333MHz) DDR-SDRAM Works No special procedure required during installation.
    100 GB 4200 RPM IDE (Ultra ATA/DMA) Hard Disk Works No special procedure required during installation.
    6-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader Doesn't Work Not supported.
    Integrated 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN Works No special procedure required during installation.
    Internal 56k Modem Not tested.
    DVD+/-RW Works No special procedure required during installation.
    Broadcom BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller Works Needs ndiswrapper.
    8-cell Lithium-Ion battery Works No special procedure required during installation.
    Touchpad Works Some configuration required to make it work.


    Unresolved issues
    • Integrated card reader not supported under Linux.
    • Proprietary ATI kernel module fails to compile.


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