My Linux on Thinkpad T41p Guide

I recently bought myself a second hand [IBM Thinkpad T41p 2373GEU](http://www5.pc.ibm.com/us/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_2373GEU). Only recently I managed to install a Linux distribution in it. The distribution is, of course, [Gentoo Linux](http://www.gentoo.org). The greatest thing about this notebook is that the model and its variants are used by many greatest Opensource hackers. So it is easy to find support when things are not working.

The following is what I’ve done to make this notebook works under Linux. It is Gentoo specific, but some information could also be applicable to other distributions. It is T41p specific, but the same information could be useful to owners of other IBM Thinkpad notebooks: T40, T40p, T41, T42, T42p, R40, R40e, R41, R41e, R50, R50p, R51, X40, for search engines purposes :).

**Note**: Some parts of this guide is outdated. Please refer to [update to this document](https://priyadi.net/archives/2006/03/08/my-linux-on-thinkpad-t41p-guide-2/) for more information.

**Dual Booting Setup**

I changed the predesktop area protection under BIOS to ‘secure’, just in case. Using fdisk on Gentoo Boot CD I nuked the existing Windows partition, and then created the partition layout I wanted to use. This is what I use:

* /dev/hda1: 18GB, W95 FAT32 (LBA) (type c)
* /dev/hda2: 2GB, Linux swap (type 82)
* /dev/hda3: 500MB, Linux (type 83)
* /dev/hda4: the rest, Extended partition
* /dev/hda5: all of extended, Linux (type 83)

(I originally splitted the extended partition into two Linux partition for installing another flavor of Linux distribution, but decided that the disk space would be a bit too little for me if I did that)

After partitioning I rebooted and installed Windows XP from the predesktop area. It complained about partition, I let it fix it. After it fixed it, I rebooted to Gentoo Boot CD again just to make sure it didn’t do anything funny to my partition. It didn’t, so I went back to installing XP. Politely, it installed to the partition I marked as Windows partition, and didn’t touch other partitions.

When installing Gentoo, I edited /etc/rc.conf and set CLOCK=”local”, because Windows XP stores date in local time, not in UTC. And of course, much later on I also changed the default editor from nano to vim, but that goes without saying :).

Never forget to use swap partition twice as large as the system RAM if you plan to use software suspend.

**BIOS Settings**

I had to shut off power management in BIOS, it hung the system when I left the system compiling things. When booting, hit the ‘Access IBM’ key and go to setup. Went to ‘Power’, and ‘Config’. I changed ‘Power Mode for AC’ and ‘Power Mode for Battery’ to ‘Customized’. And under ‘Customize’ settings, I changed ‘Processor Speed’ to ‘Fixed Max’, ‘Suspend Timer’ to ‘Disabled’, ‘LCD off timer’ to ‘Disabled’ and ‘HDD off timer’ to ‘Disabled’. This fixed all the problem caused by power management in BIOS. I was using 2004.2 install CD, the newer version could fix this problem but I haven’t verified that yet.

Changed all PCI IRQ settings in BIOS from 11 to ‘Auto Select’. This reportedly fixes some instability issues with wireless networking.

**Compiler Optimization**

*Note*: it is planned that Gentoo 2005.0 will use GCC 3.4, Kernel 2.6, NPTL and udev by default, so it would be unnecesary to do some of the stunts below.

I managed to bootstrap Gentoo from stage1 using GCC 3.4 which contains specific optimization for Pentium-M processor. Before bootstrapping, I changed the default profile to gcc34 profile:

cd /etc
rm /etc/make.profile
ln -s ../usr/portage/profiles/default-linux/x86/2004.2/gcc34
make.profile

And then unmasked GCC 3.4 and supporting ebuilds in `/etc/portage/package.keywords`:

sys-devel/gcc ~x86
sys-libs/glibc ~x86
sys-libs/libstdc++-v3 ~x86
sys-kernel/linux26-headers ~x86

I also enabled NPTL by using ‘nptl’ and ‘nptlonly’ USE flags in `/etc/make.conf`.

I needed to bootstrap twice because stage1 shipped with GCC 3.3. In first bootstrap I used `CFLAGS=”-O3 -march=pentium3 -fomit-frame-pointer -pipe”`. Bootstrap installed GCC 3.4 and all the supporting packages above. After GCC 3.4 was installed, I rebootstrap again, this time with `CFLAGS=”-O3 -march=pentium-m -fomit-frame-pointer -pipe -fno-delayed-branch -fcaller-saves -freorder-blocks -freorder-functions -falign-jumps -finline-functions -frename-registers -fweb -fno-trapping-math -falign-functions=64″`. I got those information from [Acer Travelmate 803LCi guide](http://gentoo-wiki.com/Gentoo_Acer_Travelmate_803LCi_Manual#Acovea) on [Gentoo Wiki](http://gentoo-wiki.com/). I plan to do some [acovea](http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Acovea) runs when I finished configuring.

**Graphical Console**

I’m using ‘vesa-tng’ graphical console with mode ‘1024×768-24@60’. The required kernel parameter is: `video=vesafb:1024×768-24@60`, without it I got a measly 640×480 console. For some reason it won’t display anything if I use higher resolution.

*Update*: I no longer use graphical console as it doesn’t work with S3 suspend (sleep).

**Trackpoint and Touchpad**

Both were detected by psmouse module.

There is a [patch](http://www.clarkson.edu/~evanchsa/software/kernel/patches/) for Linux kernel in order to enable advanced features of Trackpoint such as tap to click. I didn’t install this myself, as I like Touchpad better.

Emerged ‘synaptics’, the driver for Touchpad and Trackpoint on X.

[tp-scroll](http://rsim.cs.uiuc.edu/~sachs/tp-scroll/) can be used to control Trackpoint scrolling (holding middle button). I don’t use this as I’m content with Touchpad’s edge scrolling. Besides, there are some cases where middle button dragging could be useful, for example for moving KDE panel’s applets and buttons.

**CPU Throttling**

After trying several CPU scaling daemon, now I’m settled with [powernowd](http://www.deater.net/john/powernowd.html) (`emerge powernowd ; rc-update add powernowd default`). The required kernel module is `speedstep-centrino`, but I compiled it in kernel instead.

**X**

I configured X by using `X -configure` to generate /root/xorg.conf-new. The generated xorg.conf-new used the ‘ati’ driver, I changed it to ‘radeon’, I don’t know if this makes any difference.

glxgears crashed X :(. I don’t expect spectacular glxgears performance with this stock driver, but I also didn’t expect running it would crash the system. I don’t plan to do extensive 3D gaming (under Linux anyway), and the ATI binary modules still require old version of X, so the standard Xorg radeon driver would be fine for me, except for this crashing problem. For now I simply comment out `Load “glx”` line to disable 3D entirely, just to be sure I won’t lock up the system by accidentally running 3D programs.

Emerged [radeontool](http://fdd.com/software/radeon/), an utility to control the LCD backlight, among others.

Added `Option “DynamicClocks” “on”` in video card section on /etc/X11/xorg.conf. This is to enable PowerPlay feature of the graphic chip.

**ACPI**

`emerge acpid ibm-acpi` and `rc-update add acpid default`. Added `ac`, `battery`, `button`, `fan`, `processor`, `thermal` and `ibm_acpi` to /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6 (not sure if I need all of them). For `ibm-acpi`, I added `experimental=1` to enable experimental features (cmos, LED and beep).

After modprobing ibm_acpi, Fn-F5 turns Bluetooth on and off. But see the section Thinkpad buttons for more information about this.

*Note:* ibm-acpi will be included in Kernel 2.6.10.

**Bluetooth**

Unmasked `net-wireless/kdebluetooth net-wireless/bluez-hcidump net-wireless/bluez-libs net-wireless/bluez-utils` and then installed them all: `emerge kdebluetooth bluez-hcidump bluez-libs bluez-utils`. I changed the default pin helper on `/etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf` to `/usr/lib/kdebluetooth/kbluepin` to get graphical pin dialog in KDE. Issued `rc-update add bluetooth default`.

**Infrared**

In BIOS, IrDA is set to port 0x2F8, IRQ 3 and DMA3. I took note and left them as is.

IrDA works with ‘nsc-ircc’ modules. However ‘pcimodules’ suggests ‘8250-pci’, which could trick autodetection to load ‘8250-pci’ instead. If ‘8250-pci’ is loaded it wouldn’t be possible to load ‘nsc-ircc’. In my case ‘nsc-ircc’ needs to be loaded with parameter `dongle_id=9 io=2f8 irq=3 dma=3`.

Emerged ‘irda-utils’, ‘setserial’ and ‘kbeam’. Added `setserial /dev/ttyS1 uart none irq 0` in `/etc/conf.d/irda`. Did an `rc-update add irda default`. Changed IRDADEV in /etc/conf.d/irda to ‘irda0’.

Then I bumped into another problem, there is no /dev/ttyS1 to ‘setserial’ (when using udev, device nodes are not created before module is loaded, and without devfs, there is no module autoloading). By booting into Knoppix I found out it can be fixed by loading ‘8250’.

IrDA can’t survive a sleep cycle! :( To fix this, I modified [/etc/init.d/irda](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/irda) so that it contains every commands required to restart irda, including loading and unloading modules. Then I put `RestartServices irda` in /etc/hibernate/hibernate.conf.

Sending and receiving using [KBeam](http://www.kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=14683) works great without any problem. KBeam will offer to lower IrDA speed to 115200 for compatibility on every startup, but I’ve found my P900 can communicate well without problem. But since I couldn’t make it stop complaining about it, I added `echo 115200 > /proc/sys/net/irda/max_baud_rate` in /etc/conf.d/local.start.

There are several [IrDA tips at Thinkwiki](http://www.thinkwiki.org/IrDA).

**Modem**

Added `snd-intel8x0m` in /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6. Emerged `slmodem`. Edited /etc/conf.d/slmodem, changed COUNTRY to my country (INDONESIA). For full list of country, run `slmodemd –countrylist`. Did `rc-update add slmodem default`.

It appears that I can’t make it work in Alsa mode. But I’ve made some success using ‘slamr’ module. So, instead of using ‘snd-intel8x0m’, now I’m using ‘slamr’. Minicom is now able to use /dev/modem and send AT commands to it successfully.

**Parallel Port**

Just an old fashioned parallel port. I wonder what’s the hideous looking port doing in a modern notebook like this. Using module ‘parport-pc’ with options `io=0x3bc irq=7 dma=1` (information is in BIOS) should put the driver out of polling mode which could lessen battery life. Beside ‘parport-pc’, it is also necessary to load ‘lp’ to make /dev/lp0 appear.

**DVD-CDRW**

Works fine with ‘ide-cd’ module. However, under kernel 2.6.9, CD burning needs to be performed under root.

**Sound**

Works with ‘snd-intel8x0’ module. I just put the appropriate configuration in `/etc/modules.d/alsa` and `rc-update add alsasound default`. The only problem is it doesn’t support playing multiple audio stream. To fix that I use Alsa’s [dmix](http://alsa.opensrc.org/index.php?page=DmixPlugin) plugin. I created `.asoundrc` in my home directory with the following content:


pcm.dmixer {
    type dmix
    ipc_key 1024
    slave {
        pcm "hw:0,0"
        period_time 0
        period_size 1024
        buffer_size 8192
   rate 44100
    }

    bindings {
        0 0
        1 1
    }
}

pcm.asymed {
        type asym
        playback.pcm "dmixer"
        capture.pcm "hw:0,0"
}

pcm.dsp0 {
    type plug
    slave.pcm "asymed"
}

pcm.!default {
        type plug
        slave.pcm "asymed"
}

pcm.default {
   type plug
   slave.pcm "asymed"
}

ctl.mixer0 {
    type hw
    card 0
}

(taken from [Dmix HOWTO at Gentoo Wiki](http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_ALSA_sound_mixer_aka_dmix))

**Gigabit Ethernet**

Works with ‘e1000’ module. This ethernet port will automatically detects the kind of cable I’m using, so I can use any ethernet cable, straight or crossover.

**Wireless Ethernet**

I’m using the [Madwifi](http://madwifi.sourceforge.net) driver. (`emerge madwifi-driver madwifi-tools wpa_supplicant wavemon` after unmasking them in `/etc/portage/package.keywords`). The required kernel modules are: `ath_pci ath_hal ath_rate_onoe wlan wlan_acl wlan_wep wlan_tkip wlan_ccmp wlan_xauth`.

I haven’t played much with this so I can’t confirm if they are really working.

**Suspend to RAM (sleep)**

According to [this page](http://umech.mit.edu/aja/linux/t42p/), I had to do several things in order to make S3 suspend works.

* Added acpi_sleep=s3_bios in grub.conf
* Don’t use fancy vga= setting in boot parameter (I removed graphical console from the kernel entirely)
* Remove ehci_hcd module. However in my case using ehci_hcd module while suspending works fine. It’s still working fine even if I suspended it while ehci_hcd is being used by a USB 2.0 device (my HDD enclosure). So, I’m leaving ehci_hcd loaded as it seems it doesn’t cause any problem.
* Remove fglrx and intel_agp modules (didn’t use either of them)

Suspending to RAM works by doing an `echo 3 > /proc/acpi/sleep`.

Problem I found when using S3 suspend: artsd sometimes but not always pops up a dialog box after resuming: *Sound server fatal error: AudioSubSystem::handleIO: write failed. len = -1, can_write = 1024, errno = 32 (Broken pipe). This might be a sound hardware/driver specific problem (see aRTs FAQ)*. To supress this message, I replaced `/usr/kde/3.3/bin/artsmessage` with a simple script:

#!/bin/sh
exec logger $*

This way, all arts message will end up in syslog instead.

Now I’m using hibernate-script used by suspend to disk below. Config file is /etc/hibernate/sleep.conf. To sleep I use `hibernate-sleep`. All provided by `hibernate-script` ebuild, I only needed to modify some settings in /etc/hibernate/sleep.conf.

**Suspend to Disk (hibernate)**

I patched the kernel using the [swsusp2](http://softwaresuspend.berlios.de) patches. After patched, `make menuconfig` will have additional choices under Power Management menu. I enabled all of them and recompiled. Apparently swsusp2 patches breaks several drivers (I tend to build as much drivers as I could as modules, just in case I’d need them). None of them are important though. I need to disable the offending drivers to continue with compilation. Need to recompile Madwifi driver (`emerge madwifi-driver`) after recompiling the kernel.

Emerged the userspace hibernate script (`emerge hibernate-script`) after unmasking it in `/etc/portage/package.keywords`. Added kernel parameter `resume2=swap:/dev/hda2`. Modified `/etc/hibernate/hibernate.conf` so that it would use swsusp2.

Hibernate works by issuing the command ‘hibernate’. It appears to be working so far, not as fast as Windows does, though.

**Laptop Mode**

Newer versions of Linux kernel supports [laptop mode](http://www.xs4all.nl/~bsamwel/laptop_mode/). It has been merged into mainline kernels, so no kernel patching required. All I have to do is to install its [userspace tools](http://www.xs4all.nl/~bsamwel/laptop_mode/tools/index.html). However it appears that it is not in portage yet. Being a lazy person myself, I searched for an ebuild. I found one [here](http://www.gentoo.de/viewcvs/gentoo-x86/sys-apps/laptop-mode-tools/). I downloaded the 1.03 version, renamed it into 1.04 (the newest version as the time of this writing), emerged it and rc-update add it.

To detect state changes (on AC or battery) between sleep cycle, I put `RestartServices laptop-mode` in /etc/hibernate/hibernate.conf.

**Thinkpad Specific Buttons**

This requires access to /dev/nvram. By default it is unreadable to normal users. To make it readable I created file `/etc/udev/permissions.d/10-priyadi.permissions` which contains `nvram:root:root:0666`. It also needs ibm-acpi module loaded in (see ACPI section above).

[TPB](http://www.nongnu.org/tpb/) is a daemon that will monitor Thinkpad specific keys. I don’t use it because KDE duplicates its function. It can be configured from within KDE Control Center -> System Administration -> IBM Thinkpad Laptop. KDE will monitor the following key combination:

* Fn-Space (zoom)
* Fn-PgUp (Thinklight)
* Fn-Home (brightness up)
* Fn-End (brightness down)
* volume up
* volume down
* mute
* Access IBM

It will display messages such as ‘Thinklight is On’ when Thinkpad specific keys are pressed, very nifty! Much better than TPB’s OSD or even Windows. The volume up, volume down, mute, Fn-Home (brightness up), Fn-End (brightness down) and Fn-PgUp (Thinklight) buttons do what they are supposed to do (complete with popup messages!). The rest (Fn-Space, and Access IBM key) can be configured in the Control Center to execute a specific command line. It also listed other keys my Thinkpad T41p doesn’t have: Home, Search and Mail button.

ibm-acpi module (see the ACPI section above) supports the following other keys:

* Fn-F3 (blanks/unblanks LCD)
* Fn-F4 (sleep)
* Fn-F5 (toggle wireless)
* Fn-F7 (switch display)
* Fn-F8 (not labelled)
* Fn-F9 (not labelled)
* Fn-F12 (hibernate)

To enable all of them, I put the following command in `/etc/conf.d/local.start` ([reference](http://ibm-acpi.sourceforge.net/README))


echo enable > /proc/acpi/ibm/hotkey
echo 0xffff > /proc/acpi/ibm/hotkey

After issuing the command, pressing one of those keys will trigger an ACPI event and Fn-F5 will no longer toggle Bluetooth. To make the keys work, I created two files [/etc/acpi/ibmkey.sh](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/ibmkey.sh) and [/etc/acpi/events/ibmkey](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/ibmkey). I also found out that sleep (Fn-F4) and hibernate (Fn-F12) buttons don’t generate ACPI events when pressed repeatedly, maybe this is a safeguard to prevent users from sleeping/hibernating the system right after waking up.

I managed to get these keys work, complete with beep feedbacks :)

* Fn-F3: blanks and unblanks LCD (using radeontool)
* Fn-F4: sleep (using /usr/sbin/hibernate-sleep)
* Fn-F5: disable both Bluetooth and 802.11abg
* Fn-F7: don’t use this (I don’t have external display)
* Fn-F8: I’m planning to use this to toggle 802.11abg on and off (its location is conveniently near 802.11abg’s LED)
* Fn-F9: toggles Bluetooth on and off (its location is conveniently near Bluetooth’s LED)
* Fn-F12: hibernate (using /usr/sbin/hibernate)

There are also another two IBM specific keys near cursor keys. In Windows they are used to navigate back and forward in web browser. However I’ve found the default action to be annoying as they are too easily get pressed accidentally. In Linux, I’ve found a great use for them, which is for switching desktop back and forward. To accomplish that, I created ~/.Xmodmap file containing;


keycode 234 = XF86Back
keycode 233 = XF86Forward

The next step is to make that file read by xmodmap. Sometimes it is not even necessary since X’s initialization script will take care of that. However, my desktop environment (KDE) doesn’t do that. I had to create a simple script ~/.kde/Autostart/xmodmap.sh containing:


#!/bin/sh
exec xmodmap ~/.Xmodmap

Finally, it’s a simple task to assign them in KDE Control Center -> Regional & Accessibility -> Keyboard Shortcuts.

In addition, it is very important for me to disable Ctrl-Alt-Backspace in X. Ctrl-Backspace is a fairly common key combination in word processing. But in Thinkpad keyboard, Alt is adjacent to Ctrl, and thus it is very easy for both keys to get pressed simultaneously by accident when I meant to press Ctrl. I lost some writings because of this. To disable Ctrl-Alt-Backspace, I edited `/etc/X11/xorg.conf` in section “Serverflags” like this:


Section "Serverflags"
Option "DontZap"      "yes"
EndSection

**Hardware Not Working**

* Accelerometer. Under Windows this will park the hard drive head when it detects movement.

**Praises and Rants**

* Yes! No Windows keys! My previous notebook has a very short space bar that only a bit longer than its shift key.
* The Esc key is too far away, a hideous way to annoy every [vi](http://www.vim.org) user. I repeatedly hit F1 whenever I try to hit Esc. I’m tempted to remap F1 or backtick key as Esc :)
* The Back and Forward button near the cursor keys is annoying. It is too easy to press them by accident. Thank god they don’t work in Linux :), and I don’t plan on [enabling them](http://dqd.com/~mayoff/notes/thinkpad/dqdnavkeys/). Finally found an excellent use for these previously unused keys: for switching desktop back and forward, see the section Thinkpad specific keys for more details on this.

**Miscellaneous**

[tpctl](http://tpctl.sourceforge.net/) is another Thinkpad related program, but I was unable to successfully compile it.

There is a [Linux driver for TCPA chip](http://www.research.ibm.com/gsal/tcpa/) used in this notebook, but I have no use for it.

Even if this model is relatively cool, calling this thing a ‘laptop’ is misleading, as it is [not meant to be used on your lap](http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/11/22/man_burns_penis_with_laptop/) :). The references about ‘laptop mode’ is unfortunate but necessary.

**Output of Several Utilities**

* [lspci -v](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/lspci)
* [lshw](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/lshw)
* [cat /proc/cpuinfo](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/cpuinfo)
* [fdisk -l](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/fdisk-l)

**Configuration Files**

* Kernel [.config](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/kernel-config)
* [/etc/make.conf](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/make.conf)
* [/etc/X11/xorg.conf](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/xorg.conf)
* [/etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/kernel-2.6)
* [/etc/conf.d/local.start](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/local.start)
* [/etc/hibernate/hibernate.conf](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/hibernate.conf)
* [/etc/hibernate/sleep.conf](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/sleep.conf)
* [/etc/init.d/irda](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/irda)
* [/etc/acpi/ibmkey.sh](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/ibmkey.sh)
* [/etc/acpi/events/ibmkey](http://schtuff.priyadi.net/t41p/ibmkey)

**Versions**

* gentoo-dev-sources-2.6.9-r10
* glibc-2.3.4.20041102 (+nptl +nptlonly +nls)
* gcc-3.4.3-r1
* xorg-x11-6.8.0-r3
* kde-3.3.1

**Useful Links**

* [Thinkpad Wiki](http://www.thinkwiki.org), a wiki dedicated to Thinkpad users, lots of useful Linux related information
* [Gentoo Wiki](http://www.gentoo-wiki.com)
* [Gentoo Forum](http://forums.gentoo.org), the legendary Linux technical support forum
* [Power management guide](http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/power-management-guide.xml) at Gentoo
* [Linux Laptop and Notebook Survey: IBM](http://tuxmobil.org/ibm.html) at Tuxmobil


TuxMobil - Linux on Laptops, Notebooks, PDAs and Mobile Phones

20 comments

  1. lebih nyaman lagi kalau si thinkpad udah masukin cd distro linux biar gak usah repot2 kayak diatas :) kan ibm pendukung linux juga loh.
    eh sekarang tanggung jawabnya udah ke lenovo hehehe

  2. the following .asoundrc seems to work a lot better with esd and cedega:

    — begin .asoundrc —
    # DMIX input device

    pcm.!output {
    type dmix
    ipc_key 1234
    ipc_key_add_uid 1
    slave {
    pcm “hw:0,0”
    period_time 0
    period_size 1024
    buffer_size 8192
    #rate 48000
    rate 44100
    }
    bindings {
    0 0
    1 1
    }
    }

    # DSNOOP output device
    pcm.!input {
    type dsnoop
    ipc_key 4321
    ipc_key_add_uid 1
    slave {
    pcm “hw:0,0”
    period_time 0
    period_size 1024
    #rate 48000
    rate 44100
    }
    }

    # ASYM duplex device
    pcm.!duplex {
    type asym
    playback.pcm “output”
    capture.pcm “input”
    }

    # Make the duplex device default

    pcm.!default {
    type plug
    slave.pcm “duplex”
    }

    # OSS Compability
    pcm.!dsp0 {
    type plug
    slave.pcm “duplex”
    }

    ctl.!mixer0 {
    type hw
    card 0
    }

    # end $HOME/.asoundrc

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  4. Thanks, your site was a great help (one of the best in the list http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/ibm.html).

    I am using Debian, but it’s not so much of a difference as far as these configs are concerned. In KDE, one can use a control-center extension to configure the synaptics driver graphically. In Debian, one just has to install a package “ksynaptics” — similar things should work elsewhere.

    The use of xmodmap is not a good thing. X now uses the more modern keyboard management system xkb (which is why KDE did not offer the settings right away). xmodmap is not compatible with this and its use may screw up your keyboard layout (unless you use a us keyboard I guess). To use the special keys 233 and 234 with xkb, see http://lists.debian.org/debian-x/2004/07/msg00602.html, especially the files at http://hile.dyndns.org/xkb-thinkpad.tgz. I hope that there will be a dedicated xkb Thinkpad layout in the future, so one just has to swap in the KDE control-center.

  5. Markus, thanks for your information. I also notice that switching keyboard layout in KDE (i.e. changing from US English to Dvorak or vice versa) will forget xmodmap settings.

  6. If the ESC key is too far, Ctrl-[ does the same thing. Plus you don’t have to move your hands off the home keys. ‘Course, then you notice that the the Thinkpad Ctrl key is in the wrong place… (at least on my T42).

  7. Such a useful guide!!!
    Many thanks. Could you also publish your /etc/tpbrc?
    I didn’t really understand how you managed to make the keybindings work.

  8. sounds very useful, i am going ot try it with suse 8.2
    if there is difference that i should know, please alertm me,
    best regards,
    Cedo:)

  9. Wah cukup ruwet juga ya…tapi cukup menarik….
    Laptop ku mau juga tak pasangin Linux..soale di kantor aku make’ Fedora…kayaknya asik-asik aja..

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