Nov 27
Installing Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) on a Lenovo R61
Hardware Compatibility List:
| Hardware Component | Status | Comments |
| Intel Dual Core T7100 1.8Ghz | ok | |
| 15.4 in 1280×800 LCD | ok | |
| Intel Video Card | ok | |
| 2GB RAM | ok | |
| 120GB Hard Drive | ok | |
| Integrated Network Card | ok | |
| Intel Pro Wireless 3945ABG | ok | This version has a very nice enhancement of the management of WI-FI networks. The first thing I noticed is the little wireless icon on the bottom of the lid is now turned on (unlike in 8.04) when working.
Also, first time you login, a little popup informs you of available networks and ask if you want to configure one. In the past, I had to go in system / administration / networking. I had to set my WEP key and activate / deactivate the adapter a couple of time before it succeed to connect for the first time. Now you go to System / Preferences / Network Configuration where you can configure WI-FI as well as VPN, DSL, etc. Every next time you login, you are notified when connection is established and you have a small icon in the top bar that displays the connection status and signal strength. |
| Internal 56K modem | – | not tested |
| CD-RW/DVD-RW | ok | ok as a CD/DVD Reader. ok as a CD Writer for audio CDs with provided Brasero. I didn’t try writing DVDs. |
| 6 cells lithium-ion battery | ok | |
| Integrated sound card | ok | |
| Mouse buttons | ok | ok for left, right buttons as well as scroll wheel.Scroll wheel button does not work. |
| Track pad | ok | Moves the mouse, vertical scroll and tap to click. |
| Speakers | ok but… | Speakers are working but are not performing as well as in Windows. You have to set it very low to prevent the noisy sound (shrrrrrhrhrrr). Curiously, the volume can be set much higher under Ubuntu than Windows, so would it be an applied software amplification that degrades the quality of the sound??? |
Special Keyboard Keys:
| Hardware Component | Status | Comments |
| Volume Up/Down | ok | |
| Mute | ok but… | When clicking on the mute button, we de not receive visual feed back but it is effective. |
| Power Button | ok | Prompt and ask for shutdown, restart, suspend or hybernate.
Sometimes confusing because the prompt may not appear “on top” of your current window everytime. |
| Navigation Back/Forward | ok | Works in Firefox (was not working in Ubuntu 8.04!) |
| Fn + Light | ok | |
| Fn + Brightness up/down | ok | |
| Fn + Zoom (space bar) | not working | |
| Fn + CRT/LCD (F7) | – | not tested |
| Fn + Sleep (F4) | ok | Curiously, the wireless connection didn’t seem to wake-up after. I tried to navigate to google and it look like it triggered the connection process. |
| Fn + NumLock | ok | |
| Fn + Wireless on/off (F5) | ok | I don’t know if it I am not patient enough, but for the wireless to come back, it seems that I had to do a network request (same as coming back from a sleep — see above) |
1 comment
nice one mate, desperate for a lappie but getting any distro (even ubuntu) to run perfect on one is rare, and from what i have read ibm seems the safest option, very few problems compared to some.
I go back to ebay with confidence
ta