winbook & FreeBSD
Joseph Scott
I've recently been given the go ahead to look for a couple of notebooks
for work. Since I'd like to be able to dual boot FreeBSD on one I'm
interested in finding out what works and what doesn't with 3.2 ( or 3.3
since it's coming out soon ).
After spending sometime looking at different notebooks on the web I'm
starting to lean towards Winbook ( I know, isn't the name ironic since I
want it to run FreeBSD? ), specifically :
WinBook XL2
My main concerns of course are : Video, Network, Modem and Sound ( in
that order ).
The specs for the machine can be found at :
http://www.winbook.com/xl2400128.html
I think the video will probably be ok, but here's my choice of NIC's
from winbook :
AmbiCom 10bT Network Card
3COM 10 Mbps LAN PC Card
AmbiCom XL/XLi/XL2 10/100bT CardBus
3COM XL/XLi/XL2 10/100bT LAN CardBus
My understanding was that FreeBSD doesn't support cardbus, so the last
two are out. What about the 3COM 10Mb, it doesn't say what the chipset
is so it's not much to go on.
Does anyone else know if the stuff from Winbook will work OK with
FreeBSD?
Another question would be, if you had your choice of any notebook to run
FreeBSD on, what would you pick? ( The idea being, which notebooks
support FreeBSD the best. )
Thanks.
--
Joseph Scott
joseph...@owp.csus.edu
Office Of Water Programs - CSU Sacramento
To Unsubscribe: send mail to majo...@FreeBSD.org
with "unsubscribe freebsd-mobile" in the body of the message
David Booth
network. I have not been interested in modem or sound so have not tried anything
with them. The AmbiCom 10baseT card works fine although you can purchase a little
cheaper than winbook sells them for. Shop around on the net. I think that I paid
about $40 from J&R computers.
One caution about winbook is that they sometimes do not deliver what you order and
it a hassle sending it back to get it right (more than once.) I have heard this
from others and my experience has been consistent with this. They do seem to be a
good value though.
Dirk-Willem van Gulik
On Wed, 8 Sep 1999, Joseph Scott wrote:
...
> WinBook XL2
If you like those, give www.twinhead.(co.uk | com) a go as well. Quite
near and cheaper.
> AmbiCom 10bT Network Card
> 3COM 10 Mbps LAN PC Card
> AmbiCom XL/XLi/XL2 10/100bT CardBus
> 3COM XL/XLi/XL2 10/100bT LAN CardBus
Check out the list on www.jp.freebsd.org/PAO -> supported cards. And the
'Survey' contains usually more in dept information.
Dw
Joseph Scott
David Booth wrote:
>
> I have 3.2 stable running on an older winbook (an XP5). No problems with video or
> network. I have not been interested in modem or sound so have not tried anything
> with them. The AmbiCom 10baseT card works fine although you can purchase a little
> cheaper than winbook sells them for. Shop around on the net. I think that I paid
> about $40 from J&R computers.
That's good to know. I was hoping to get a 10/100 card since our
network at the office is all switched 100. Although a 10 card that
works beats a 10/100 one that doesn't anyday :-)
>
> One caution about winbook is that they sometimes do not deliver what you order and
> it a hassle sending it back to get it right (more than once.) I have heard this
> from others and my experience has been consistent with this. They do seem to be a
> good value though.
>
Hummmm. That wouldn't be very fun. I'll keep this in mind, thanks.
--
Joseph Scott
joseph...@owp.csus.edu
Office Of Water Programs - CSU Sacramento
Joseph Scott
>
> On Wed, 8 Sep 1999, Joseph Scott wrote:
>
> ...
> > WinBook XL2
>
> If you like those, give www.twinhead.(co.uk | com) a go as well. Quite
> near and cheaper.
Thanks, I'll take a look.
>
> > AmbiCom 10bT Network Card
> > 3COM 10 Mbps LAN PC Card
> > AmbiCom XL/XLi/XL2 10/100bT CardBus
> > 3COM XL/XLi/XL2 10/100bT LAN CardBus
>
> Check out the list on www.jp.freebsd.org/PAO -> supported cards. And the
> 'Survey' contains usually more in dept information.
>
> Dw
Hummmm. I was hoping to not need to mess with PAO. I was hoping that
as long as I got a NIC that played nice with 3.2 then I'd be ok.
Ludwig Pummer
>
> My main concerns of course are : Video, Network, Modem and Sound ( in
> that order ).
Video: ATI 3D Rage LT Pro
It works. I have an Asus/Chembook F7400 with the same video chip. I used
one of the Mach64/Rage card settings (if you pick the wrong one, X will
crash on initialization) in xf86config, killed all modelines except for
the 60Hz ones, and it works like a dream.
Network:
I'd go with the Ambicom. The 3com card is probably a 3c589, but 3com keeps
making new revisions of that same card. The Ambicom is a nice, simple,
generic NE2000 compatible, and the sample pccardd.conf file from
1999/05/15 already has that card listed (the AmbiCom 8002T).
Modem:
The Winbook drivers page for the XL2 says the modem is an LT WinModem.
_WinModem_. 'nuff said.
Sound:
This ESS Maestro is a PCI sound chip, as far as I have been able to figure
out (my laptop has the same sound chip). That means that sound support
will be a long ways away. However, I haven't taken a look at commercial
sound support, so you may or may not be able to get sound working for a
price.
> The specs for the machine can be found at :
>
> http://www.winbook.com/xl2400128.html
>
> I think the video will probably be ok, but here's my choice of NIC's
> from winbook :
>
> AmbiCom 10bT Network Card
> 3COM 10 Mbps LAN PC Card
> AmbiCom XL/XLi/XL2 10/100bT CardBus
> 3COM XL/XLi/XL2 10/100bT LAN CardBus
--Ludwig Pummer ( lud...@bigfoot.com )
Joseph Scott
Ludwig Pummer wrote:
>
> On Wed, 8 Sep 1999, Joseph Scott wrote:
> > WinBook XL2
> >
> > My main concerns of course are : Video, Network, Modem and Sound ( in
> > that order ).
>
> Video: ATI 3D Rage LT Pro
> It works. I have an Asus/Chembook F7400 with the same video chip. I used
> one of the Mach64/Rage card settings (if you pick the wrong one, X will
> crash on initialization) in xf86config, killed all modelines except for
> the 60Hz ones, and it works like a dream.
Any problems with certain res's? I'd like to run it at 1024x768 since
we'll be getting one of the bigger 14.1" screens no matter which laptop
we end up buying.
>
> Network:
> I'd go with the Ambicom. The 3com card is probably a 3c589, but 3com keeps
> making new revisions of that same card. The Ambicom is a nice, simple,
> generic NE2000 compatible, and the sample pccardd.conf file from
> 1999/05/15 already has that card listed (the AmbiCom 8002T).
Someone else mentioned using this card. I think it sounds like it may
be the "safe" bet.
> Modem:
> The Winbook drivers page for the XL2 says the modem is an LT WinModem.
> _WinModem_. 'nuff said.
Now that stinks! Part of the idea of having the laptop was being able
to dial in while away. Do you have any recommendations for a PC Card
Modem?
>
> Sound:
> This ESS Maestro is a PCI sound chip, as far as I have been able to figure
> out (my laptop has the same sound chip). That means that sound support
> will be a long ways away. However, I haven't taken a look at commercial
> sound support, so you may or may not be able to get sound working for a
> price.
I've got a PCI sound card in my box here at work, after applying the
ES1371 patch I don't have any problems with it, listening to it right
now. Using the pcm driver ( not the new one, stock 3.2R )
>
> --Ludwig Pummer ( lud...@bigfoot.com )
Thank you for the additional input.
--
Joseph Scott
joseph...@owp.csus.edu
Office Of Water Programs - CSU Sacramento
Ludwig Pummer
> Ludwig Pummer wrote:
> > Video: ATI 3D Rage LT Pro
> > It works. I have an Asus/Chembook F7400 with the same video chip. I used
> > one of the Mach64/Rage card settings (if you pick the wrong one, X will
> > crash on initialization) in xf86config, killed all modelines except for
> > the 60Hz ones, and it works like a dream.
>
> Any problems with certain res's? I'd like to run it at 1024x768 since
> we'll be getting one of the bigger 14.1" screens no matter which laptop
> we end up buying.
No problem for me. I run it almost exclusively at 1024x768 x [16,24]bpp.
It just took a few tries with xf86config to pick the proper high-res
monitor and tweak the monitor's sync ranges to only allow for 60Hz video
modes. And then I removed the higher refresh range modelines, just to be
on the safe side. I found that an XF86Config generated with XF86Setup (or
xf86setup?) didn't have the long list of available modelines. Also, the
Mach64 server didn't handle the normal DefaultColorDepth option in the
config file, so I whipped up a little 'startx' script of my own that runs
the real startx with the proper command line options.
> > Modem:
> > The Winbook drivers page for the XL2 says the modem is an LT WinModem.
> > _WinModem_. 'nuff said.
>
> Now that stinks! Part of the idea of having the laptop was being able
> to dial in while away. Do you have any recommendations for a PC Card
> Modem?
Sorry, I've never needed to use a PCMCIA modem under FreeBSD. Way back
when I tried (2.2.6-R with PAO) I couldn't get the serial port to work
properly and gave up since it wasn't important. Any PCMCIA
non-Winmodem modem you find should work just fine. If you want a list of
modems that run out-of-the-box, use CVSwep and look at
/etc/pccard.conf.sample
> > Sound:
> > This ESS Maestro is a PCI sound chip, as far as I have been able to figure
> > out (my laptop has the same sound chip). That means that sound support
> > will be a long ways away. However, I haven't taken a look at commercial
> > sound support, so you may or may not be able to get sound working for a
> > price.
>
> I've got a PCI sound card in my box here at work, after applying the
> ES1371 patch I don't have any problems with it, listening to it right
> now. Using the pcm driver ( not the new one, stock 3.2R )
The ESS is not an ES1371. Hence, it doesn't work with stock 3.2R or
3.2R+PAO.
> Joseph Scott
> joseph...@owp.csus.edu
> Office Of Water Programs - CSU Sacramento
Hey! I'll be up at UC Davis in less than 3 weeks (just what Davis needs,
more Computer Science majors :) )
--Ludwig Pummer ( lud...@bigfoot.com )
To Unsubscribe: send mail to majo...@FreeBSD.org
Joseph Scott
Ludwig Pummer wrote:
>
> > Any problems with certain res's? I'd like to run it at 1024x768 since
> > we'll be getting one of the bigger 14.1" screens no matter which laptop
> > we end up buying.
>
> No problem for me. I run it almost exclusively at 1024x768 x [16,24]bpp.
> It just took a few tries with xf86config to pick the proper high-res
> monitor and tweak the monitor's sync ranges to only allow for 60Hz video
> modes. And then I removed the higher refresh range modelines, just to be
> on the safe side. I found that an XF86Config generated with XF86Setup (or
> xf86setup?) didn't have the long list of available modelines. Also, the
> Mach64 server didn't handle the normal DefaultColorDepth option in the
> config file, so I whipped up a little 'startx' script of my own that runs
> the real startx with the proper command line options.
Excellent, as long as it's doable with out taking a hammer to it :-)
> Sorry, I've never needed to use a PCMCIA modem under FreeBSD. Way back
> when I tried (2.2.6-R with PAO) I couldn't get the serial port to work
> properly and gave up since it wasn't important. Any PCMCIA
> non-Winmodem modem you find should work just fine. If you want a list of
> modems that run out-of-the-box, use CVSwep and look at
> /etc/pccard.conf.sample
Thanks, I took a look and I may end up getting a PCMCIA modem and
disabling the built it one. I dunno, maybe I can get them to take it
out for me.
> > I've got a PCI sound card in my box here at work, after applying the
> > ES1371 patch I don't have any problems with it, listening to it right
> > now. Using the pcm driver ( not the new one, stock 3.2R )
>
> The ESS is not an ES1371. Hence, it doesn't work with stock 3.2R or
> 3.2R+PAO.
True, my point was simply that there are some PCI based sound cards
that work with 3.2. The specs say that its "SoundBlaster Pro, MS Sound
System" compatable. I don't know if that will actually buy me anything
though.
>
> Hey! I'll be up at UC Davis in less than 3 weeks (just what Davis needs,
> more Computer Science majors :) )
Maybe we can get some sort of BSD user group in the Sacto/Davis general
area. So far I've only been able to find Linux groups, and it's not
nearly as fun going to those :-(
>
> --Ludwig Pummer ( lud...@bigfoot.com )
--
Joseph Scott
joseph...@owp.csus.edu
Office Of Water Programs - CSU Sacramento
Michael Hallgren
I'm playing with FreeBSD (3.2, PAO) on my Dell Inspiron 7k. So far (up to X)
the only problem I've encountered is the one of making the 3Com Megahertz
10/100 Cardbus card work.
Someone's been successful with such a card ? (In case yes, please gimme a
clue ;)
Cheers
Michael
Michael Lucas
FreeBSD 3x does not support CardBus cards. Sorry. :(
==ml
Michael Hallgren
Hi,
> Hello,
>
> FreeBSD 3x does not support CardBus cards. Sorry. :(
Do we know wether or not it's on some already started whish list ? ;)
(What's the major technical implication/problem, that is ?)
Michael
Michael Lucas
However, -current has its own problems -- not just for mobiles, but
for servers. This is not a good time to be running -current,
especially on a mobile.
==ml
Michael Hallgren
> The folks up in -current are whacking on it as we speak.
Nice !
>
> However, -current has its own problems -- not just for mobiles, but
> for servers. This is not a good time to be running -current,
> especially on a mobile.
Yes,... seen on the list.
mh
Michael Hallgren
non-Cardbus. Someone knowing wether or not it might turn out more successful
than my 3Com Cardbus card.
Checking the lists on the PAO Web, info claims some closely related (?) card
was good for modem functions... What about LAN (10/100), what about ISDN,
GSM ?
Michael
> The folks up in -current are whacking on it as we speak.
>
> However, -current has its own problems -- not just for mobiles, but
> for servers. This is not a good time to be running -current,
> especially on a mobile.
>