Problem with Wine /2

Sorry for not posting in a while, but the laptop worked just fine lately, so there really was not too much to be said.
The problem with Wine described in the previous post still presents itself intermittently. Oh well, anyway I pretty much got used to it, so if I have to launch any Windows application, I just do that and then I go out for a cup of coffee, so that when I come back the app would be loaded and running. :-)

Another problem with Wine occurred lately though. Although it's not really a problem with Wine, it's more of a problem with Firefox. In fact, when I visit a site which has a flash application (for example YouTube's movies) Firefox stops working and a Wine Desktop appears. As soon as I close the Wine desktop, everything goes back to working fine again.
Still, it's an odd problem, and I can't seem to solve it.

I've already uninstalled and reinstalled both firefox and the flash plugin, with no success.
Even reinstalling Wine did not work... who knows?

Problem with wine

I'm not an alcoholic or something. I've just been having problems with WINE ("Wine Is Not an Emulator"), the Open Source implementation of Windows API on top of Unix/Linux.

It all worked well until a couple weeks ago. I don't know what was changed, but suddenly applications began to start very slowly (they can take even a few minutes before they are launched).

I've tried to downgrade to previous versions, tried previous kernel version, tried reinstalling wine... nothing. The problem remains.

On the contrary on my desktop PC, everything is fine. So I'm starting to believe it's a problem related with my laptop. :(

If anyone has any suggestion, I'm listening!

External monitor

Blog reader Juan let us know that he tested the following features of the SI1520 with Ubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04:

External monitor works: OK
External monitor - mirrors: OK
External monitor - extend desktop: OK

Thanks Juan!

CPU frequency scaling in Ubuntu

I've managed to activate CPU frequency scaling of my SI1520's Core 2 Duo processor in Ubuntu Feisty.
Everything passes through the CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor Gnome applet, which must be reconfigured to enable manual CPU frequency scaling.

The shell command to do this is:

$ sudo dpkg-reconfigure gnome-applets

You will have to answer “Yes” to the question regarding setting the suid of the cpufreq-selector executable. Now you can left click on the CPU Frequency Monitor Applet and choose the CPU frequency and/or operative mode (Conservative, Ondemand, Powersave, Performance).

Ubuntu Tip: Disable Synaptics touchpad while typing

Finally!!
If you are like me, and can't help but involuntarily touch the touchpad while typing on the keyboard, here is the solution (thanks to ubuntugeek.com):

1. Open a terminal and type: sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf_synbackup
2. Type gksudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
3. Look for the section called: Section “InputDevice” / Identifier “Synaptics Touchpad”
4. Just above the line that says "End Section" type this line: Option “SHMConfig” “on”
5. Save, close all the windows and restart Gnome (Ctrl-Alt-Backspace)
6. Open the sessions manager: System -> Preferences -> Sessions
7. In the Startup Programs tab click the "New" button
8. Type "Syndaemon" in the name field and "syndaemon -i 1 -d" in the command field
9. Close and restart Gnome (Ctrl-Alt-Backspace)
10. Voila!
    

Installation of Ubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04

Ubuntu Linux 7.04 is finally out: how does it behave on an Amilo SI1520?

Hardware Information

Screen & Monitors
Screen: Works
Correct resolution: Yes (after installing package 915resolution)
Correct refresh rate: Yes
3D Acceleration: Yes
External monitor works: Yes (tested by Juan)
External monitor - mirrors: Yes (tested by Juan)
External monitor - extend desktop: Yes (tested by Juan)

Power Management
Battery detected: Yes
Hibernates: Yes
Sleep: Yes (1)
Dim monitor on battery: No
Blank monitor on inactivity: Yes
Lid Close: Yes
Cpu frequency scaling: Yes (2)

Sound
Sound works? Yes
Correct volume? Yes (Although volume is pretty low)
Hardware volume switch: N/A (but Fn buttons to control volume work)
Headphone jack: Works
Mic jack: Does not work (I Couldn't manage to make it work)

Networking
Wired NIC: Works
Wireless NIC: Works
PCMCIA NIC: Untested
Firewire: Untested (Should work)
Bluetooth: Yes (Not personally tested. See Aron's comment.)
Modem: Untested
Infrared: N/A

Touchpad & Mice
Touchpad: Works
Touchpad - Doubletap = double click: Works
Touchpad - Scroll down side: Works
Touchpad - turned off while typing: Works (3)
External mouse - USB: Works
External mouse - Serial: Untested

Other Hardware
CD/DVD Burner: Works (Couldn't make it burn at speed >2x)
4-in-1 Card Reader: Works

Output of the lspci command:
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
01:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (rev 02)
07:08.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation PRO/100 VE Network Connection (rev 02)
07:09.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller
07:09.1 Generic system peripheral [0805]: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 19)
07:09.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd Unknown device 0843 (rev 01)
07:09.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 0a)
07:09.4 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev 05)


NOTES:
(1) Suspend to RAM works only with BIOS version 1.10. Later versions have something wrong and this feature will not work properly. You can downgrade to v1.10 if your laptop does NOT mount an Intel Core Duo (Yonah) D0 stepping processor (which basically means those CPUs coded T2x00). Check here for more detailed information.
(2) You can manually set the CPU frequency and the operative mode by reconfiguring the Gnome applets ($ sudo dpkg-reconfigure gnome-applets) and answering “Yes” to the question regarding setting the suid of the cpufreq-selector executable. Now you can left click on the CPU Frequency Monitor Applet and choose the CPU frequency and/or operative mode (Conservative, Ondemand, Powersave, Performance).
(3) Needs this trick

Last update: June 19, 2007

Touchpad finally working again after a Suspend/Resume in Feisty

As suggested by fellow user skipper (who I thank very much) there is a way to make the touchpad work after a suspend/resume.

The solution is a downgrade of the BIOS of the laptop to version 1.10. The problem, in fact, seems to be related to the two latest versions of the BIOS (v1.19 and v1.20). Anyone who does not necessarily need one of these two later BIOS versions, should downgrade to v1.10 to make suspend work.

If your SI1520 does not mount an Intel Core Duo (Yonah) D0 stepping processor (which means mainly those CPUs coded T2x00) you can downgrade to version 1.10. Otherwise you'll have to stick with a BIOS version >= 1.17 and with no touchpad after resume. :-(

v1.19 is officially the initial BIOS for Windows Vista 32bit, so downgrading could bring up problems with Vista. I couldn't find anything wrong in my brief test, but I don't plan to be using Vista much, so that's not so important to me.

Please leave a comment with your experiences with this matter, as it can help other fellow SI1520 owners. Thanks.

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4-in-1 Card Reader working again

Updating the kernel to version 2.6.20-15-generic in Ubuntu Feisty 7.04 beta (which should become soon a no-more-beta, since the definitive launch is expected for the end of this week) has fixed the problem with the internal 4-in-1 card reader of the SI1520 that was mentioned in this previous post.

Feisty beta's Network Manager OK Again

A new update of the Network Manager package for Ubuntu Feisty beta has been released today.
The first reports indicate that everything has gone back to normal.
I have not updated yet, so I can not verify. I will do ASAP.
But the network should now work again.

*EDIT*: I've just updated. Everything looks fine.

WARNING: Feisty beta, Updates of April 11, 2007

If you have installed Ubuntu Feisty beta on your SI1520:

DO NOT INSTALL TODAY'S UPDATES (April 11).

Something is wrong with the update, and the network manager stops working. As a consequence, network adapters are not recognized anymore, the wireless IPW3945 will not work, and the "cabled" network will work only after setting it up again (but you will not have any confirmation from the network manager icon, since this won't work).

You have been warned! ;)

*EDIT*:

Temporary solution:
Until the problem is solved, it is possible to downgrade the network manager to the previous (working) version:

sudo dpkg -i /var/cache/apt/archives/
network-manager_0.6.4-6ubuntu4_i386.deb
(please notice: it's a single line of code)

This will work if you still have the package in your cache.

Installation of Ubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04 beta

WARNING: Click HERE if you want information on installing Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn FINAL.

---

How does Ubuntu 7.04 beta behave on an Amilo SI1520?

Hardware Information

Screen & Monitors
Screen: Works
Correct resolution: Yes (after installing package 915resolution)
Correct refresh rate: Yes
3D Acceleration: Yes
External monitor works: Untested
External monitor - mirrors: Untested
External monitor - extend desktop: Untested

Power Management
Battery detected: Yes
Hibernates: Yes
Sleep: Yes (1)
Dim monitor on battery: No
Blank monitor on inactivity: Yes
Lid Close: Yes
Cpu frequency scaling: Untested

Sound
Sound works? Yes
Correct volume? Yes (Although volume is pretty low)
Hardware volume switch: N/A (but Fn buttons to control volume work)
Headphone jack: Works
Mic jack: Does not work (I Couldn't manage to make it work)

Networking
Wired NIC: Works
Wireless NIC: Works
PCMCIA NIC: Untested
Firewire: Untested (Should work)
Bluetooth: Untested (Should work)
Modem: Untested
Infrared: N/A

Touchpad & Mice
Touchpad: Works
Touchpad - Doubletap = double click: Works
Touchpad - Scroll down side: Works
Touchpad - turned off while typing: Does not work
External mouse - USB: Works
External mouse - Serial: Untested

Other Hardware
CD/DVD Burner: Works (Couldn't make it burn at speed >2x)
4-in-1 Card Reader: Works (2)

NOTES:
(1) Suspend to RAM works only with BIOS version 1.10. Later versions have something wrong and this feature will not work properly. You can downgrade to v1.10 if your laptop does NOT mount an Intel Core Duo (Yonah) D0 stepping processor (which basically means those CPUs coded T2x00). Check here for more detailed information.

(2) The built-in Card Reader works with kernel 2.6.20-12-generic and 2.6.20-15-generic. Booting with other kernels will result in not being able to use the card reader.