=head1 NAME
How to install Debian GNU/Linux on an IBM Thinkpad T22 Laptop
=head1 OVERVIEW
Thanks to the L students of
many departments can get a laptop at very cheap cost. As a student of the
Department of Computer Science, I was happy to hear, that the laptop our
department offers was an IBM. Unfortunately, this Thinkpad came shipped with
Microsoft Windows 2000.
=head1 DESCRIPTION
This article describes how to remove the unwanted operating system and
install and configure Debian GNU/Linux on it. I will not provide guidance
in how to install Linux in general. If you leak of basic skills, try
L and the homepage of
the L.
=head2 Hardware configuration
=over
=item CPU
Intel Mobile Pentium III (Coppermine) with SpeedStep Technology 900MHz
=item Cache
256KB
=item RAM
128MB SDRAM (upgraded to 256MB)
=item Chipset
Intel 440BX
=item Display
14.1" active matrix TFT (1024x768)
=item Video Chip
S3 Savage IX-MV (8MB SGRAM, AGP 2x)
=item Harddisc
IBM Travelstar 30GN (20GB)
=item DVD
8x Matshita (Panasonic) DVD-ROM (SR-8175-M)
=item Soundcard
Cirrus Logic CS 4614/22/24
=item PCMCIA bus
Texas Instruments PCI1450
=item USB Controller
Intel 82371AB PIIX4
=item Network Interface Card
10/100MBit EtherExpressPro (onboard)
=item Modem
Lucent WinModem
=item IrDA
NSC PC87338 Controller
=back
=head2 Partition overview
Before installing GNU/Linux, we want do do some preparations. In case you
don't want to switch completely to GNU/Linux (as I did) you should take
care that you can restore the preinstalled operating system.
The Thinkpad was shipped I a Windows CD! However, IBM has included
a restore partition:
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 2422 18310288+ c Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/hda2 2423 2584 1224720 1c Hidden Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
The restore partition is booted from a bootloader in the MBR (press C at
boot). I strongly recommend that you create a restore floppy (press C and
follow the instructions). Once overwritten (like Windows 9x/Me and most Linux
installations do) you almost have no chance to boot from this partition.
After the IBM bootloader was overwritten, you can still create a recovery boot
disk as follows: boot from a Linux floppy/CD, mount F, C to
the recovery directory, copy F and F to a floppy,
boot DOS or Windows and write the bootdisk with "C".
The restore partition is capable of fully restoring the first Windows
partition, so we can do there everything we want.
=head2 Removing the region code protection from your DVD drive
My Thinkpad came with a I (check if your's is
the same!). Unfortunately this drive is RPC2 protected. The RPC2 firmware
is capable of handling region codes. The drive will refuse to play DVD's
which have no equal region code than the one stored inside your DVD-ROM.
This region code can be changed 5 times. After the last set, the drive will
be locked on this code. This has nothing to do with the software or
operating system you use!
=for html
Legal note: I will not take any responsibility for any damage you cause
(to your DVD, your Thinkpad or your dog) by reading this howto!
Patching your DVD voids the warranty of IBM. If you fuck up your DVD, then
it's your fault, not mine. Nobody will pay you another drive to play
around.
First you should check whether your DVD is working. Do this using the DVD
playback software IBM has included. This will also set an initial region
code, which is important for the firmware patch to work.
Second, you must find out which firmware you have. Under Windows 2000 you
cannot get this information -- you have to install Windows 98 (which is no
problem since the first partition is formated with FAT32). Use
L or
L to
find out which firmware you have and whether your drive is RPC2 protected
(My firmware was G228).
Then go to L and get the
appropriate patch. Flashing the wrong type of firmware will cause your
drive to malfunction or refuse operation! You have been warned.
=for html
You B run the patch software in B DOS mode (and B in a
DOS-Box). The DVD is attached to the secondary IDE master, so "C" should just work fine. Make sure that you don't accidently turn
your Thinkpad off during flashing -- this will certainly destroy your
drive.
Make sure your drive is now RPC1 by running Drive info. You win, when get
an "This drive has NO region protection" message. It means your drive has
become RPC1. Note: under Windows you will still have to deal with region
codes. This is because the playback software checks the region code and
refuses to play -- a good reason to upgrade to Linux.
=head2 Partitioning the harddrive
I did the partitioning in the following way:
Disk /dev/hda: 240 heads, 63 sectors, 2584 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 15120 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 37 279688+ 6 FAT16
/dev/hda2 38 72 264600 82 Linux swap
/dev/hda3 73 2584 18990720 83 Linux
The first partition is for hibernation. It must be a FAT formated
partition big enough to hold a hibernation file of the size: C.
This makes 266MB for me (256 + 8 + 2). My F is now filled by 98%. A
hibernation partition doesn't work! . IBM provides a L
(which extracts onto a floppy disk when run under windows). After formating
your hibernation pratition, you can boot anytime from this floppy disk and
set up a swap file. After rebooting, C should work.
As you can see, I removed the restore partition from IBM. If you want
the option of restoring Windows, leave it untouched.
=head2 Installing Debian GNU/Linux
The installation went surprisingly smooth. I installed Debian 2.2r3
(potato) from floppy disk and upgraded to woody using the C tool.
Check out L for a local mirror. A sample
sources.list for the local mirror of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
in Zürich can be found at L. You need to install
the Ethernet module which is called C (see below).
=head2 Configuration
=over
=item Network
The integrated Ethernet Pro 100 works with "C".
=item DVD
Is supported just like a normal ATAPI CD-ROM.
=item PCMCIA
Works fine (install the package pcmcia-cs).
=back
=head2 XFree86
The S3 chip is well supported. Although the driver is quite stable, X
freezed twice after some hours of work. I think with the line
"C