How to install Linux and X-Windows on the Clevo2200c

(a.k.a. Clevo 2700c, a.k.a. Gericom Overdose 3)

Disclaimer

If you break it it's your fault not mine.

Chapter1 - Choose your flavour.

Chapter2 - Installing the Base System

Hello everyone out there in Linux Land – just giving back more than I took out. This is a 'hard' install (in my books) and I would like to share the experience with you and perhaps make your installation a little less painful.

Chapter 1 - Vanilla or Strawberry sir?

First up, this is not a particularly Linux-Friendly piece of hardware. But then, Windoze is not exactly renowned for being a particularly person friendly piece of software so I guess it about evens out.

For a while now (see Linux Format magazine issue xx, Letters Page xx) I have been trying various flavours of Linux on my old laptop and decided on SuSE 6.4 for more reasons than I care to bore you with. So, having got a newer laptop (the Clevo in question) there was only one choice for me. Plus, seeing as I am an Oracle guy I was kind of limited (or to look at it another way I was fortunate that my choice was supported by my RDBMS of choice too). Anyway, I digress. The software we will be installing on the Clevo (heretoafter sometimes known as that poxy machine) is: SuSE Linux 7.1 Personal Edition. If you have another Linux variant in your hand (or you are rich enough to afford the professional edition) you should bear this in mind.

Chapter 2 - Installing the base system

A clean install is always the preferable way to go. So, after you take the machine out of the box poke in the SuSE bootdisk and boot up. Note: This also has the advantage of not using the pre-installed Windows and enabling you to return the sealed copy to your retailer for a refund. Bonus!

Point 1: Use the boot FLOPPY not CD #1 – this will NOT work! If you do expect the Laptop to reboot.....over and over again.

So after it has booted and loaded the initrd (initial RamDisk) it will probably be complaining about needing the modules disk for the PCMCIA chipset it has just detected. This is the i82365 chipset and is not handled in SuSE7.1 as it was in SuSE6.4 (which just said: I don't know what this is but I do have i82365sl so I'll give that a go) – shame). DO NOT attempt to load this because it wont actually work (a SuSE problem? Possibly). Just swivel over to CANCEL and hit return. Eventually it will ask you to load DISK-1 so do this and continue.

So, there are two ways you can go from here. It will find the hard disk with Windoze on it – you can take the long way round and start over with FIPS to resize this partition giving you space for Linux or you can take over the whole disk. Take it over!!! Assimilate it!!! Just make sure you nuke that M$ product good and proper (also if you use it you probably can't return your M$ CD as 'unused' can you?). Also, another point to note, Sticking LILO on the MBR with the pre-loaded Windoze will make the system unbootable as this is the HIBERNATION area..... <downer>.

So, having nuked the existing partition table you may continue.

Next, if you want, you can choose the REISER FileSystem – I did and I like it. I like it a lot (for reasons which will become apparent later on in chapter 3.

Load up whichever type of install you like – I did the default with office. You'll need to add a few extra items however but I'll tell you about them after the first install.

Ok, so now you have installed the base and done the reboot and found out that YaST2 is no longer running in a nice graphical window. Did you stare for a while at the blank screen wondering what was going on? I did. It was screen-7 with a blinknig cursor. How long did it take you to think to hit CTRL-ALT-F1?

Anyway, insert CD #2 here to get Acrobat and StarOffice 5.2. This is the last easy part. After this it only gets harder.....

Chapter 3 – X

So, with any luck you will be up and running with the base system and a few other features. Good. Prepare yourself for a foray into 'hacker land'. Configuring the X-Windows system on this laptop is a pain. On others, yep, not too bad, but this one. Oh boy.

To configure X I had to resort to reading the manual, and when that didn't pan out, browsing the WWW from another machine. Links to the pages I used are at the bottom of the page and this document takes aspects from those documents to apply to my specific installation (thanks guys).

--> Check you have the right Xserver installed.

Basically there is only one way (at the moment) of getting a working Xserver on this laptop. You have to use the frame buffer driver.

(1)

First of all you need to ensure that you have XF86_FBdev installed. This is the X-server for the vesa framebuffer device and is mostly used on the PPC architecture.

l /usr/X11R6/bin/XF86_FBDev

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 2184219 Jan 19 2001 XF86_FBDev*

If you've got this, skip the next step.

--> Installing the FrameBuffer Xserver

You will find this in the xsrv series on CD #1 or on the SuSE website.

Suck it off the CD now before going any further and install it.

(2)

Configuring the frame buffer driver

By default you usually get your X executable pointing to the SVGA driver. But, you guessed it, you need to point this at the FB driver. To do this, err, do this:

cd /etc/X11

This changes your directory to the location of the X server startup link.

rm X

This removes the existing link. Don't worry, it's not a file, it's a link.

ln -s /usr/X11R6/bin/XF86_FBDev ./XF86_FBDev

This points the X startup command to the frame buffer Xserver.

(3)

Using the frame buffer Xserver

Now you have to configure lilo to use this driver. You do this by editing the lilo.conf file which you will find in /etc

Before you edit this file you may want to make a copy of it - you never know. Also, do you have a rescue disk yet?

Now you are good and paranoid we'll continue.

--> In the global section alter the line that looks like:

vga=normal

to read

vga=0x317

(that is a ZERO not a capital 0)

That will do because we are going to do something different to what is mentioned in one of the documents available on the web.

Finally, to install your changes enter lilo at the command line.

Hopefully this will not error. If it does copy your backup file back, re run lilo to see if all is okay then edit the file again. Backups are not only for cowards, they are for bad typizt too!

Now, in true Windows style - reboot your machine! This won't take long. Gotta love that 1GHz CPU....

So, when the system comes back did you notice the screen font was different? If not, something has gone wrong or you need to clean your glasses.

How about the Penguin in the top left corner? See that?

If you have got no new font and saw no Penguin then there is a good chance that the rest of this document will not work for you.

:-(

If, on the other hand, you did see these changes carry on.

(4) Running SaX - oh yes, you can use it now.

Okay, here is where the magic begins. After logging in as root enter this command at the prompt:

sax -s FBDev -d /dev/psaux -l en -g on

What these options mean are:

sax	SaX is SuSE's graphical x configurator.
-s FBDev	This tells SaX to use the FBDev Xserver
-d /dev/psaux	This says which device to use for the mouse.
-l en	Which language. en = english
-g on	Use GPM as the repeater - cool if your mouse is stuffed.

In just a few seconds you will see the familiar sax opening screen with the even lovelier SuSE logo tiled in the background.

(5)

Presented here are the details presented on each tab of SaX along with the changes you need to make. If you alter your setting to those shown all will be okay even if it looks a bit weird right now. Trust me, we are a way from finishing yet.

A) Mouse

Protocol MouseSystems

Device /dev/gpmdata

Baud 1200

Alter this to:

Vendor Genius

Name GM-F303

Leave the rest unchanged.

B) Keyboard

Generic 104-Key PC

Lang U.S. English

Leave it all unchanged - you can test it if you like.

C) Card

This is all defaulted to ===AUTO DETECTED=== but you need to change this to:

Vendor: Generic Server Selection

Name: FRAMEBUFFER

then hit 'expert' (even if you are not)

Xserver: FBDEV

Memory: (this defaults to 1024K) - mine is set to 16MB so set your to whaever you configured in the computers BIOS. If you can't remember don't worry - you can change it later.

RAM DAC: 60

D) Monitor

The detected settings will be:

Hsync: 29-64

Vsync 47-90

Set the monitor to:

Vendor: LCD

Name: XGA 1024x768@60Hz

At this point the info will automatically change to

Hsync: 31.5 - 60

Vsync 58-62

Type: LCD

Make a note of this as we will be editing the XF86Config file real soon now. Sorry.

E) Desktop

Default colours are 16bit (you cannot change this it is a limitation of the FrameBuffer driver)

Resolution 1024x768 (just about right seeing as you have a 1024x768 capable display).

Okay, almost there. Hit 'test' so see if it is all okay. If not - maybe you missed something (or I made a typo).

There, all done. Save that config and exit SaX

(6)

XF86Config is the file used to tell the Xserver how to run, what it should look like and a whole load of other things. I'm sure there is someone out there who is having a laugh at this 'setup guide' and I have either duplicated work or missed a short cut out but, hey, I'm no XFree86 expert. I'll admit that.

So cd to /etc and make a copy of your XF86Config file (for safety's sake) then vi it.

cd /etc

cp XF86Config XF86Config.safe

vi XF86Config

Now we'll make a few changes.

Just type these commands, I'm pretty sure they will work for you and at the end of it all you should have a working XF86Config file.

a) Locate the Pointer section

Type:

/Pointer

Here you will see the MouseSystems and /dev/gpmdata you saw in step 5A above (I know you changed it but it didn't save on my machine - maybe it didn't on yours either.

Alter

Protocol "MouseSystems"

Protocol "PS/2"

and alter

Device "/dev/gpmdata"

Device "/dev/mouse"

NOTE: /dev/mouse should be a symbolic link for /dev/psaux if not and you don't want to make a link substitute /dev/mouse with /dev/psaux

b) Locate the Monitor section

Type:

/Monitor

Alter:

HorizSync 31.5-60

HorizSync 29-64

and alter

VertRefresh 58-62

VertRefresh 47-90

these are the settings you saw (and noted) in 5D above.

That is all for XF86Config. Easy.

Now the moment of truth.

At the command prompt type:

startx

(and cross your fingers)

If everything is okay you should now have a functioning Xserver.

Next all you have to do is run alsaconf for the sound card (detected as trident oddly enough) but that, unluckily for you, is not covered here.

That is all for this X windows setup. I wish you luck and inshallah it will work for you.

Links/Sources/References

Installing Linux on the CLEVO 2700C

Linux on the Clevo 2700C Laptop

GERICOM - OVERDOSE 3 & CLEVO 2200C