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Fedora or SuSE for centrino laptop? - the verdict

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gian3000it@yahoo.it
*nix forums beginner

Joined: 13 Jun 2006
Posts: 25

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 4:55 pm Post subject: Note

Re: How do I use external parallel port floppy drive on Toshiba Portege?

gian3000it@yahoo.it wrote:

Quote:

In the BIOS, at Parallel Port Mode, I have only two choices: "Std.
Bi-Direct" and "ECP." I tried switching to ECP, but at Floppy
Disk I/O I still get "Floppy Disk = (3F2H/IRQ6/CH2)" just as it
was before - that is the port other than LPR1, and it is still a
fixed value, non-changeable.

OK, that was under Peripherals. Under I/O Ports I do get four
choices for Parallel Port: LPR1, LPR2, LPR3 and disable.
But not a choice for external diskette drive.

gian3000it@yahoo.it
*nix forums beginner

Joined: 13 Jun 2006
Posts: 25

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 4:44 pm Post subject: Note

Re: How do I use external parallel port floppy drive on Toshiba Portege?

Bill Marcum wrote:

Quote:

["Followup-To:" header set to comp.os.linux.portable.]
On 24 Jun 2006 07:54:39 -0700, gian3000it@yahoo.it
gian3000it@yahoo.it> wrote:
gian3000it@yahoo.it wrote:
The BIOS is set to look for the external diskette drive at a
port other than LPR1. It's a fixed setting that apparently
cannot be modified by accessing the BIOS the
standard way. Is there a way to tell the BIOS (or linux)
to look for the floppy drive at LPR1?

In the BIOS setup you have to choose whether the parallel port is used
for a printer or a floppy or disabled.

Dances With Crows
*nix forums Guru

Joined: 01 Mar 2005
Posts: 328

Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 11:33 pm Post subject: Note

Re: Use toshiba S5200 spécial features

On Sun, 05 Mar 2006 19:14:24 +0100, marc ebelin staggered into the Black
Sun and said:

Quote:

I've just installed ubuntu on my toshiba S5200

Is this a Satellite 5200, or a Satellite 5200-801? (Or do both
designations refer to the same model? Details usually count.)

Quote:

I'd like to know if I can use features as the remote, the Fn+F5 to
switch the display device, the memory card reader, or the clock?

http://tuxmobil.org/toshiba.html and looking up the 5200 gives a few
pages, at least one of which is 404ing right now.
http://godlewski.info/toshiba/index.html , maybe? It would help with a
few things like ACPI and the function keys.

None of the pages mentioned a remote of any type; can you describe this
more fully? Pressing a key combination to switch the display device is
common, but getting that working properly usually requires a change to
xorg.conf . This laptop probably has an nVidia video chip, so the thing
to do is to read Appendix I of the evil binary-only nVidia kernel
module's README. That doesn't sound encouraging for version 7676 of the
evil kernel module, so try a more recent version if you can.

Quote:

Moreover, the lightness at the start up is very dark and I change it
manually. Is it possible to start with a luminous screen?

Maybe. I dunno; the pages out there don't have as much info as you'd
like (though at least one of them's en français.) Ah well. HTH anyway,

--
Matt G|There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see
Brainbench MVP for Linux Admin / mail: TRAP + SPAN don't belong
http://www.brainbench.com / "He is a rhythmic movement of the
-----------------------------/ penguins, is Tux." --MegaHAL

cga
*nix forums addict

Joined: 07 Dec 2005
Posts: 54

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 6:15 am Post subject: Note

Re: Good place to buy a new laptop keyboard..?

Jerry Peters wrote:

[...]

Quote:

Has anyone had good/bad experiences with sites that sell laptop parts -
keyboards especially.. and might be able to make recommendations..?

Thanks,

I'd recommend parts-people.com which specializes in Dell parts. Had
to replace th touchpad on a C600, cost me $9.95 + shipping and it was
a brand new part, even though it was listed as a refurb. Also bought a
new keyboard for my old CPi D300, $19.95 + shipping. Parts have always
been shipped promptly and the prices are usually reasonable.

Jerry

parts-people.com did a very good job.. I got the replacement keyboard
last night.. it's the right part number and new as advertised..

Installation was a breeze. Only problem is that this black plastic they
used to dress up this particular generation of Dell laptops is
apparently not supposed to outlive the warranty more than a couple of
years (at best) before its becomes brittle and shows signs of turning
into dust.

There were already quite a few cracks on the underside but a new one has
appeared - top left hand corner right next to the Esc key.. and as a
result the new keyboard is somewhat loose in that area and gives a
wobbly feeling when you type.. looks like the next step might be to
change the laptop's case now.. And that's got to be a bit more
challenging than a simple keyboard replacement..! parts-people also have
this part in stock ($15.95).. it's getting late here in NYC so I'll
check the Inspiron manual tomorrow and see what's involved..

Jim
*nix forums Guru

Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 609

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:11 am Post subject: Note

Re: Good place to buy a new laptop keyboard..?

cga wrote:

Quote:

Jim wrote:

cga wrote:

[...]

Has anyone had good/bad experiences with sites that sell laptop parts
- keyboards especially.. and might be able to make recommendations..?

Thanks,

www.laptopbits.co.uk are very good for finding and supplying
keyboards. You'd be looking at somewhere in the region of £80 for a
Dell keyboard;

No s**t..!! USD 139.585 at today's exchange rate.. you got me worried
now since Jan said that you get what you pay for.. and I only paid
thirty bucks for mine..

your other option is to get a C&N external keyboard (£4.99 from all
good stockists)

that's rather reasonable.. I had to fork out 14.99 US dollars (+ tax)
for the cheapest they had at the local Compusa..

or better yet, a rubberised, waterproof and foldable keyboard

from The Computer Shop ( http://www.the-computer-shop.co.uk ) (NOT
affiliated with Granville Tech.!), £14.99 or so.

Compusa does sell one of these - their own generic brand - but since I
fancy myself as a touch-typist I really needed something a little closer
to a real keyboard.. Not that the piece of junk I bought comes close to
one..

HTH

Cheers.
Chris.

surprisingly enough, you can actually touchtype with the things. I'm no
touchtypist, but I can maintain error-free rates upwards of 50 to 60wpm.

Jerry Peters
*nix forums beginner

Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 45

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:18 pm Post subject: Note

Re: Good place to buy a new laptop keyboard..?

cga <cga2001@gmail.com> wrote:

Quote:

Jim wrote:
cga wrote:

[...]
Has anyone had good/bad experiences with sites that sell laptop parts
- keyboards especially.. and might be able to make recommendations..?

Thanks,

www.laptopbits.co.uk are very good for finding and supplying keyboards.
You'd be looking at somewhere in the region of £80 for a Dell keyboard;

No s**t..!! USD 139.585 at today's exchange rate.. you got me worried
now since Jan said that you get what you pay for.. and I only paid
thirty bucks for mine..

your other option is to get a C&N external keyboard (£4.99 from all good
stockists)

that's rather reasonable.. I had to fork out 14.99 US dollars (+ tax)
for the cheapest they had at the local Compusa..

or better yet, a rubberised, waterproof and foldable keyboard
from The Computer Shop ( http://www.the-computer-shop.co.uk ) (NOT
affiliated with Granville Tech.!), £14.99 or so.

Compusa does sell one of these - their own generic brand - but since I
fancy myself as a touch-typist I really needed something a little closer
to a real keyboard.. Not that the piece of junk I bought comes close to
one..

HTH

Cheers.
Chris.
Yeah, I was amazed at that price too. I replaced the keyboard on the

old CPi D300 I use for travelling for about $25 including shipping. I
certainly wouldn't have invested $140 in that machine; it's worth
maybe $200 or so (which is why I use it when travelling, if anything
happens to it I haven't lost much).

Jerry

cga
*nix forums addict

Joined: 07 Dec 2005
Posts: 54

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 8:47 pm Post subject: Note

Re: Good place to buy a new laptop keyboard..?

Jim wrote:

Quote:

cga wrote:

[...]
Has anyone had good/bad experiences with sites that sell laptop parts
- keyboards especially.. and might be able to make recommendations..?

Thanks,

www.laptopbits.co.uk are very good for finding and supplying keyboards.
You'd be looking at somewhere in the region of £80 for a Dell keyboard;

No s**t..!! USD 139.585 at today's exchange rate.. you got me worried
now since Jan said that you get what you pay for.. and I only paid
thirty bucks for mine..

Quote:

your other option is to get a C&N external keyboard (£4.99 from all good
stockists)

that's rather reasonable.. I had to fork out 14.99 US dollars (+ tax)
for the cheapest they had at the local Compusa..

or better yet, a rubberised, waterproof and foldable keyboard

Quote:

from The Computer Shop ( http://www.the-computer-shop.co.uk ) (NOT
affiliated with Granville Tech.!), £14.99 or so.

Compusa does sell one of these - their own generic brand - but since I
fancy myself as a touch-typist I really needed something a little closer
to a real keyboard.. Not that the piece of junk I bought comes close to
one..

Quote:

HTH

Cheers.
Chris.

Jim
*nix forums Guru

Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 609

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:16 pm Post subject: Note

Re: Good place to buy a new laptop keyboard..?

cga wrote:

Quote:

I'm a bit of a heavy-handed typist and as a result my 5+ year-old Dell
I7500's keyboard needs to be replaced.

Thoroughly cleaning it will not do.. some keycaps are loose.. some keys
not only send the code they should such as 'f' but also unless you are
extremely gentle the code that corresponds to a neigboring key such as
'v'.. etc.. no.. it is really falling apart and lately I've had to plug
in an external keyboard because there have been days I was not even able
to enter my password to login..

I have found a number of online sites that sell this particular
replacement keyboard for anything between $30-$50.. but I am not sure
which reseller I should do business with.. Some sites even have more
than one.. same part number.. but sold at different prices and no
information as to why they are priced differently.. whether they are
new.. refurbished.. sold "asis"..

Naturally I don't want to waste fifty bucks on something that will only
work marginally better than what I currently have and might start
malfunctioning after a couple of weeks.. or even something that might
not function correctly from the start..

Not sure what I should look for.. what I should be careful about..

Has anyone had good/bad experiences with sites that sell laptop parts -
keyboards especially.. and might be able to make recommendations..?

Thanks,

www.laptopbits.co.uk are very good for finding and supplying keyboards.
You'd be looking at somewhere in the region of £80 for a Dell keyboard;
your other option is to get a C&N external keyboard (£4.99 from all good
stockists) or better yet, a rubberised, waterproof and foldable keyboard
from The Computer Shop ( http://www.the-computer-shop.co.uk ) (NOT
affiliated with Granville Tech.!), £14.99 or so.

HTH

cga
*nix forums addict

Joined: 07 Dec 2005
Posts: 54

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:55 am Post subject: Note

Re: Good place to buy a new laptop keyboard..?

Jerry Peters wrote:

Quote:

In comp.os.linux.portable cga <cga2001@gmail.com> wrote:

[...]

Quote:

Thanks much Jerry..! I liked the look and feel of the site and I ordered
a keyboard that's advertised as new for just under USD 30.00. which
considering the importance of a working keyboard sounds very
reasonable.. Hopefully there will be no further/hidden problems that
could come to light when the replacement keyboard is installed
- like something wrong with the connector or whatever motherboard
component the keyboard connects to.. (controller..?).

Time will tell.

All apologies for tardy reply - cf. my reply to Jan in the same thread
for an explanation - and thanks for your recommendations.

Chris.

cga
*nix forums addict

Joined: 07 Dec 2005
Posts: 54

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:47 am Post subject: Note

Re: Good place to buy a new laptop keyboard..?

Jan Sevelsted wrote:

Quote:

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 00:26:04 -0500, cga wrote:

I'm a bit of a heavy-handed typist and as a result my 5+ year-old Dell
I7500's keyboard needs to be replaced.

[...]

Quote:

Has anyone had good/bad experiences with sites that sell laptop parts -
keyboards especially.. and might be able to make recommendations..?

Thanks,

Hi.

Sorry.

I missed your very useful replies/recommendations - due to the
aggravation and inconvenience of freeing up the laptop's "PS port" -
that DIN-looking thing - to plug in the external keyboard.. so I had to
get the logitech trackball to work as a usb mouse.. there's only one of
those PS ports - as I call them - at the back of this latptop.. add to
it that I was working on an "etch" debian testing install on the
laptop.. ambitioning to perform the quantum leap from a 2.4 to a 2.6
kernel with all that largely undocumented (?) udev/hotplug/devfs stuff
in my spare time when the laptop's keyboard began to act up.. well I
just forgot to check the newsgroups for a few days..

Quote:

Have you tried to get the original manufacturer's homepage and ask there?
Even Dell ought to be able to help you.

I tried their web page but I could not find the place where they sell
replacement parts.

A good thing to have in mind is

Quote:

that they may tend to overprice in the (vain?) hope that you'll buy
something new from them instead. (Been here...)

That I will remember..! I had not thought of that and it makes very good
sense..

What I told them, when I

Quote:

had to repair a friend's coffee-invaded laptop keyboard, was that that was
already considered and that a competing company had won out if the repair
would seem too costly. All of a sudden a lot of paper-rustling was heard
and I was told that "Oh, I just discovered that we've got a new
price-list (yeah, right). Now you can get it for xx euro's."

So I called their parts dept. but it was already closed. In any case
since I had found the part at the site recommended by Jerry Peters - and
didn't feel up to haggling with a Dell rep tonight anyway I figured it
might be a better idea to buy from a store that sells parts than a site
that's really only interested in selling you new computers.

Quote:

Another repair was a Compaq (now HP) laptop. They had all info on the
web-site (just required some digging).

:-)

Yeah.. I tried the search with just about every relevant keyword I could
think of and for some reason the search engine appeared to be more
willing to return information inviting me to acquire a Poweredge
server.. After twenty minutes of digging.. I quit.

Quote:

Compared to what the HP keyboard cost me (around $55), the quoted $50
seems alright.

For your own sake, don't fall in the trap of buying too cheap - you
usually get what you pay for :-)

Definitely..! I paid $15.00 for my external keyboard at Compusa.. and
it's worth every penny of it.. and not a cent more... I really must
budget $200.00 for a quality keyboard of the legendary Northgate type..

In any case as far as typing *all* the keyboards they had at the store
were of the same mushy wishy-washy (absence of..) quality.. The only
real difference between the one I bought and the more expensive
keyboards was the absence of all those "media.. internet.. whatever.."
buttons.. thank goodness for that.. Pretty weird imho that the keyboards
that they sell in stores these days are meant for anything *but* typing.

Quote:

HTH

Jan, OZ1DKE.

grin> Have you considered going a little easier on the new keyboard?
/grin

Well what happened is that I used the laptop to do typing drills.. quite
intensively..

Probably not a good idea... and may have something to do with its
untimely demise..!

As I see it, one of the objective of drills is to build strength into
the weaker fingers - I don't know what keyboard you use but on a
standard PC-US it would appear that the right-hand pinkie does about
half of the work. Try typing - ;p;[;];-;=;_;+;';";/;? - rapidly for
instance..!

Naturally, when I type emails.. memos.. programs.. etc. I use a much
lighter touch.. But you are right.. if I want to keep this new keyboard
in good working order for an extended period of time it might be a good
idea to stick to the external keyboard when I practice typing..

Thanks much for your interest.

Chris.

PS. It's been a while since you posted so I'm cc'ing you on this..

Jerry Peters
*nix forums beginner

Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 45

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 8:55 pm Post subject: Note

Re: Good place to buy a new laptop keyboard..?

In comp.os.linux.portable cga <cga2001@gmail.com> wrote:

Quote:

I'd recommend parts-people.com which specializes in Dell parts. Had
to replace th touchpad on a C600, cost me $9.95 + shipping and it was
a brand new part, even though it was listed as a refurb. Also bought a
new keyboard for my old CPi D300, $19.95 + shipping. Parts have always
been shipped promptly and the prices are usually reasonable.

Jerry

Jan Sevelsted
*nix forums beginner

Joined: 01 Nov 2005
Posts: 11

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 1:17 pm Post subject: Note

Re: Good place to buy a new laptop keyboard..?

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 00:26:04 -0500, cga wrote:

Quote:

I'm a bit of a heavy-handed typist and as a result my 5+ year-old Dell
I7500's keyboard needs to be replaced.

Thoroughly cleaning it will not do.. some keycaps are loose.. some keys
not only send the code they should such as 'f' but also unless you are
extremely gentle the code that corresponds to a neigboring key such as
'v'.. etc.. no.. it is really falling apart and lately I've had to plug in
an external keyboard because there have been days I was not even able to
enter my password to login..

I have found a number of online sites that sell this particular
replacement keyboard for anything between $30-$50.. but I am not sure
which reseller I should do business with.. Some sites even have more than
one.. same part number.. but sold at different prices and no information
as to why they are priced differently.. whether they are new..
refurbished.. sold "asis"..

Naturally I don't want to waste fifty bucks on something that will only
work marginally better than what I currently have and might start
malfunctioning after a couple of weeks.. or even something that might not
function correctly from the start..

Not sure what I should look for.. what I should be careful about..

Has anyone had good/bad experiences with sites that sell laptop parts -
keyboards especially.. and might be able to make recommendations..?

Thanks,

Hi.
Have you tried to get the original manufacturer's homepage and ask there?
Even Dell ought to be able to help you. A good thing to have in mind is
that they may tend to overprice in the (vain?) hope that you'll buy
something new from them instead. (Been here...) What I told them, when I
had to repair a friend's coffee-invaded laptop keyboard, was that that was
already considered and that a competing company had won out if the repair
would seem too costly. All of a sudden a lot of paper-rustling was heard
and I was told that "Oh, I just discovered that we've got a new
price-list (yeah, right). Now you can get it for xx euro's."

Another repair was a Compaq (now HP) laptop. They had all info on the
web-site (just required some digging).

Compared to what the HP keyboard cost me (around $55), the quoted $50
seems alright.

For your own sake, don't fall in the trap of buying too cheap - you
usually get what you pay for :-)

HTH

Jan, OZ1DKE.

<grin> Have you considered going a little easier on the new keyboard?
</grin>

Sir Chewbury Gubbins
*nix forums beginner

Joined: 19 Feb 2006
Posts: 1

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 9:12 am Post subject: Note

Re: Mandriva and Laptops

On 2006-02-17, ArameFarpado <amarok.wolf.despiste@netcabo.pt> wrote:

Quote:

Mark South wrote:

How do you know we're all guys? Could be girls, dogs, aliens, zombies....
Dogs don't compute...

And they can't look up.

Choobs

--
Sir Chewbury Gubbins <chewbury.gubbins@nelefa.org>
"Streaming through the starlit sky, travelling by telephone" - Syd Barret 1967

http://www.nelefa.org - Game Diary, Fiction, and Ramblings [ESC]:wq

Amarok
*nix forums addict

Joined: 16 Apr 2005
Posts: 69

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:45 pm Post subject: Note

Re: Mandriva and Laptops

Mark South wrote:

Quote:

How do you know we're all guys? Could be girls, dogs, aliens, zombies....
Dogs don't compute...

Quote:

Laptops have all those functions to save battery power in order to make
the battery last the maximum...

...and die just before you get to save your work Sad

sometimes

Quote:

Mention to us what kind of laptops you are talking about and you'll get
more back.

Don't know that yet... i just want to know from people that have allready

linux on laptops simple things like:
Hybernation stuff works?
You see how much battery you have and if it warns you to charge... ?

I've never installed linux on a laptop (just desktops) and i've been reading
a lot of crap about these matters, and so this is the reason for my
question here :)

Thanks
ArameFarpado

Mark South
*nix forums Guru

Joined: 21 Feb 2005
Posts: 333

Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 10:46 am Post subject: Note

Re: Mandriva and Laptops

On Thu, 16 Feb 2006 00:07:03 +0000, ArameFarpado wrote:

Quote:

Hi guys

How do you know we're all guys? Could be girls, dogs, aliens, zombies....

Quote:

Laptops have all those functions to save battery power in order to make the
battery last the maximum...

....and die just before you get to save your work Sad

Quote:

i've read a lot of controverse info about this matter, some of it look to me
a lot a crap, like burned processores and so on...

I might have to install linux in laptops, so i'm asking:
What is going on really? Does mandriva have good tools to control all those
power-saving circuits ? and what about the hybernation function ? works
fine ?

Depends on too much stuff outside the software to say anything definitive.
BIOS details and power bus control connections for example, APM or APCI
implementation and bugs etc etc.

Note I'm crossposting this to c.o.l.p to get some more useful input from
there.

Mention to us what kind of laptops you are talking about and you'll get
more back.

--
mark south: world citizen, net denizen
echo znexfbhgu2000@lnubb.pb.hx|tr a-z n-za-m
"Take it? I can't even parse it!" - Kibo, in ARK

Google

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