SuSE Linux and

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V7010

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Go to SuSE 9.3 news section

By Fausto Marzoli <faumarz(atchoo!)yahoo(dot)com>
Last update: 16 January 2006

This report is based on experience made with SuSE 9.2, 9.3 and 10.0.
State of the art at the date 20 December 2005:
SuSE 10.0 installed (from scratch) - all working axcept ACPI suspend modes (suspend to RAM and to disk).

Date	Argument
16 Jan 2006	Telit MG10 GSM/GPRS USB Modem
06 Jan 2006	Transcend JetFlash 128MB USB stick
04 Jan 2006	512MB RAM expansion installed (works with `mem=702M` kernel option)
20 Dec 2005	ACPI Frequency Scaling works
16 Dec 2005	Mute and volume control keys work
09 Dec 2005	KDE and browsing/dns/and-so-on: uninstalling IPv6
04 Dec 2005	16K stack kernel patch for LinuxANT driverloader
03 Dec 2005	Firefox 1.5
18 Nov 2005	wlan0/1 card problem
03 Nov 2005	SuSE 10.0 installed

Processor: Intel Celeron D325 2.53GHz
Northbridge: ??? (ICH5R ?)
Southbridge: ??? (i865PE ?)
Hiper-Threading compatible: ???

Yast2 installs automatically (graphic version) without any problem.
NOTE for the P4 3.06 processor model: maybe you will have to disable the "hyperthreading" in the BIOS settings for a proper startup of KDE and a proper shutdown of the machine, otherwise it will hang right before poweroff (thanks to Joost van der Lugt for the suggestion).

June 2005: I've found that the "desktop" boot kernel option may cause problems, so I removed it:
http://portal.suse.com/sdb/en/2003/10/pohletz_desktop_90.html

Interfaces

1 x type II in PC Card slots (32-bit Card Bus): Works automatically without any problem.
External VGA Port: I don't know
USB (2.0) Ports: Work
3 in 1 Card Reader (SD, MMC and memory stick): I don't know
1 x microphone in, 1 x headphone out: Work

Port Replicator interfaces (optional): 2 x USB (2.0), 1 x VGA, 1 x parallel, 1 x serial, 1 x LAN RJ-45, 1 x PS/2, 1 x audio line-out, 1 x DC-in: I don't know

Communications

Built-in LAN Broadcom 4401KFC 10/100
Works: automatically recognised and configured by Yast. You can also configure it as "Start when plugged" installing the optional module "ifplugd" (but I don't like it, I prefer manual start).

Built-in LAN Conexant PRISM GT 802.11b/g Wireless LAN
Intersil ISL3886 (Prism Xbow/Javelin) 54g Inbuilt Wireless Adapter.
I've tried a lot of open-source solutions for enabling internal WLAN, without success. The only way I've found for enabling the internal wlan card is using LinuxANT DriverLoader (unfortunately commercial...) with the original Windows XP driver.
The LinuxANT driverloader works perfectly: the installation with the .run utility that you can download from LinuxANT website installs it automatically, and if you have gcc installed the DriverLoader can also automatically recompile itself when you will update the kernel later. You need to have the .SYS and .INF files from original Windows XP driver, and you can find it in your Windows installation directory"C/Programmi/GlobespanVirata/Winxp" (or you can download them here).
After you've installed the LinuxANT DriverLoader and configured it with the original .SYS driver file (the configuration is very simple in a web-based graphical interface) you can configure the wlan card with Yast, where you will find a new "Generic Wireless Card". I've configured it with "Manual start" and now I can connect to the wlan using the small KInternet icon in the KDE panel. I use the same KInternet icon also for the ethernet lan and the modem.

NEWS: I have read in the new page "Installing SuSE 9.2 Pro x86 on Fujitsu Seimens Amilo A7640" that the Intersil ISL3886 (Prism Xbow/Javelin) 54g Inbuilt Wireless Adapter (the same used for both Amilo V7010 and A7640) works also with Ndiswrapper; when I tried it with ndiswrapper I wasn't able to make it work, maybe they started supporting it later. I've not tried, but if you find that it works please tell me.
21 June 2005 - NEWS from the V7010 user Joost van der Lugt: he was able to get ndiswrapper to load properly, but had to unload the automatically loaded modules by SUSE (prism54 and it's dependency), and this needed some trials and errors.

Built-in modem Conexant 24068-31AMC 56Kbps, V.92
This is a soft-modem (or win-modem, or lin-modem, call it as you want: the result is that it is not a real AT modem, and the operating system have to deal with low-level communications). I've bought the LinuxANT driver for this one, too, and it works perfectly. After installing the LinuxANT softmodem driver you'll find a new "Generic Modem" with Yast that you can configure and use with KInternet as I wrote for wlan and ethernet.

Audio

AC97 Compliant Codec: Conexant Cx24068-31AMC; Internal stereo speakers
It works, but I can not configure any MIDI Mixer (in KDE). The result is that you can play only one sound at a time.
Yast find out a IXP150 AC'97 Audio Controller, maybe I will try with other sound cards if MIDI works.
NEWS: After trying without success setting other sound cards and also installing the LinuxANT Riptide driver (does not compile) I've found out the problem: in the KDE Control Center Sound Options, the sound system is set on "Automatic"; KDE automatically uses OSS (or an OSS emulation, I suppose), and OSS does not work good with this sound card. I've tried setting ALSA there, and the sound result good even when playing more sounds toghether.
The only problem I had then is that my MPlayer did not play sound! I had to work a bit to recompile it with ALSA support, but finally I got working MPlayer, too.
If you want to know how, I've prepared a page about compiling MPlayer here. (For instructions on how to install Mplayer on SuSE 10.0, go to SuSE 10.0 news section)

Keyboard and pointing device

Keyboard with Windows keys (87 keys) 19 mm pitch, 2.5 mm key stroke
It works: I've configured it with Sax2 as a "Generic 104-key PC", and with this configuration the "Menu" buttons (windows-like) work, too.
Touch-sensitive control pad with two mouse buttons and two scroll buttons
It works: I use it toghether with a KRAUN external optical USB mouse, and I've configured them with Sax2 as:

( 0 ) | Synaptics Touchpad | /dev/input/mice
( 1 ) | USB-Mouse IMPS/2 on USB | /dev/input/mice

Status LEDs: Work
Special keys:
Fn+F3 = Mute: Doesn't work (but you can make it work, see below)
Fn+F4 = Touchpad enable/disable: Works (unfortunately you do not have any led on the touchpad enable status)
Fn+F5 = I don't know
Fn+F6 = Screen light +: Works
Fn+F7 = Screen light -: Works
Fn+F8 = Volume Up: Doesn't work (but you can make it work, see below)
Fn+F9 = Volume Down: Doesn't work (but you can make it work, see below)
Fn+F10 = I don't know (seems not working)
Fn+F12 = Wireless LAN ON/OFF: Works (unfortunately you do not have any led on the wlan enable status)
NEWS: sometimes reading the manuals helps... I've found out that the right LED below the touchpad is the WLAN LED. This LED does not work under linux: the Fn+F12 key correctly switches ON/OFF the WLAN card, but the LED is always ON. BREAKING NEWS: after downloading the last kernel update with YOU (and after an automatic recompiling of the LinuxANT DriverLoader during the first reboot) the wlan LED works. Great!

4 Quick Touch applications buttons

They work, but you have to do some manual configurations and installations.
Your kernel should notify hotkeys press with messages like this (you can see them in the kernel console, ctrl+alt+F10):
atkbd.c: Unknown key pressed (translated set 2, code 0xf4 on isa0060/serio0). atkbd.c: Use 'setkeycodes e074 <keycode>' to make it known.
What you have to do is to make this keycodes recognised by the console and then by the Xfree graphical system.
To make the hotkeys visible in console (you have to do that also if you do not plan to use them in the console), login as root and write a simple script like this:
--------------------------------------------------------------------- #!/bin/sh # Imposta i codici per i tasti speciali hotkey del V7010 setkeycodes e074 147 setkeycodes e073 159 setkeycodes e072 151 setkeycodes e071 178 ---------------------------------------------------------------------Name the script file something like "hotkeys", make it executable and copy it in the /etc/init.d/
Open Yast and click on System, Edit Runlevel: activate the runlevel 5 for the new service "hotkeys".
This make the script executed on startup, when runlevel 5 (graphical) starts.
The first hexadecimal number (e074 .. e071) is the key hardware code, while the others decimal numbers are the codes you want to assign to the key in the console. You can also choose decimal codes different from mine; you can see the codes used in a console with the showkeyscommand.
Then, you have to do something similar for the Xfree/Xorg system: for some unknown reason, the decimal codes viewed by Xorg is different from the console decimal codes... so you have to verify them using the xevcommand run from a graphical console. If you used the same codes I used for the console, you'll find that the hotkey 1 will give 147 both in console and in X, while the other hotkeys give different codes. Well, write down the codes, open a new text file and write:
--------------------------------------------------------------------- !! V7010 Hotkeys Config keycode 147 = F21 keycode 233 = F22 keycode 201 = F23 keycode 143 = F24---------------------------------------------------------------------Using the keycodes you've checked before. Now save the file in your home dir as .Xmodmap and restart your X system: you should find that pressing the hotkey 1 correspond to F21 and so on. You can associate events to these hotkeys using the KDE control center (keymap, khotkeys, key shortcuts). Personally I've associated them to File Manager, Firefox, Calculator and KWrite.

Note: at the beginning I thought that was necessary to install the Acer Hotkey Module first, but after some testing I've found out that it's not necessary. If you are interested in them, they can be found here: http://www.informatik.hu-berlin.de/~tauber/acerhk/
I wasn't able to compile the sources, I think because of incompatibility with SuSE standards (the sources are originally for Debian) but there is a prepackaged RPM version for Fedora Core 3 from Ismael Olea.

Mute, Volume Up and Volume Down function keys

16 December 2005: They don't work immediately, but you can make them work.
First of all, add to the ~.Xmodmap file you created for the hotkeys these lines:
keycode 160 = F25
keycode 174 = F26
keycode 176 = F27
keycode 163 = F28

Now restart the X server.
Then create three text files in your home ~/bin directory, name them "togglemute.sh", "incvolume.sh" and "decvolume.sh" and make them executable. Here is the files content:

---------------------------------------------------------------------#!/bin/sh # togglemute.sh dcop kmix Mixer0 setMute 0 $( [ "$(dcop kmix Mixer0 mute 0)" = "true" ] && echo "false" || echo "true" )---------------------------------------------------------------------#!/bin/sh # incvolume.sh VOL_CUR=`dcop kmix Mixer0 masterVolume`; VOL=`expr $VOL_CUR + 13`; dcop kmix Mixer0 setMasterVolume $VOL---------------------------------------------------------------------#!/bin/sh # decvolume.sh VOL_CUR=`dcop kmix Mixer0 masterVolume`; VOL=`expr $VOL_CUR - 8`; dcop kmix Mixer0 setMasterVolume $VOL---------------------------------------------------------------------
Then edit the K menu adding these applications and associating them to the previously registered hotkeys F25, F26, F27.

Graphics

Integrated graphics controller based on ATI Mobility Radeon 9000IGP shared system memory, up to 128 MB video memory
Max. resolution for external displays: Up to 1600 x 1200 / 32 bpp / 60 Hz
Works. I've configured it with Sax2 as: ATI RS300 5835 radeon (automatically recognised by Yast2). I've manually abilitated the 3D Acceleration, and it works. WARNING: there is a 3D flight simulation game installed with SuSE 9.2 (GL-117?) that hard-crashes with this configuration: do not use this game (I've uninstalled it).

Display 15.1-inch XGA TFT, 1024 x 768 pixel
Works. I've configured it with Sax2 as: LCD 1024X768@60HZ

Hard disk drives internal

40 GB hard disk drive UDMA 100 (4200 rpm)
Automatically recognised and configured with UDMA100.

Drives (internal)

DVD-ROM, DVD/CD-R/RW combo drive
Works: automatically recognised and configured; with K3B I can write CDs easly.

Mobile management

PXE, WfM 2.0 compliant DMI, WoL, WoM; ACPI compliance
Works partially. Power management works good. Suspend to disk seems to work: it suspends but it can not resume from disk (X server does not restart); when LinuxANT driverloader module is installed, suspend to disk doesn't work (do not suspend, without any crash or other problems). Suspend to RAM and Standby DO NOT WORK: don't try them, because you can even have problems with filesystems.

Other

I suggest you to regularly download and install all the SuSE patch with YOU (Yast Online Update). They fix a lot of minor bugs and problems.

I've tried a Transcend JetFlash 128MB USB, and I found out that this flash pen does not work under linux with the original format. You have to configure it with Yast Partition Manager, create a partition inside it (usually sda->sda1) and format the partition with FAT32. Then it works (both in windows and linux).

You've found some other info? Tell me. My email is on the top of the page.
You can find other useful info on Amilo M7400 here:
http://www.angelfire.com/linux/notebook/fujitsu/m7400.html

News on SuSE 10.0

16 January 2006: after a long research on GPRS modem compatibility with linux, I bought a Telit GSM/GPRS USB Modem and it works immediately, without any problem!
You just have to install it under Windows, activate the SIM data card, and disable the PIN request with the windows software. Then boot linux and insert the USB modem: it will be immediately recognized as /dev/ttyACM0.
The following info are for Wind Italy provider.
Run Yast/Modem and you'll find a new modem named "Motorola PCS Motorola Phone (I250-000)".
Configure it with 115200baud, init 1 = AT and init 2 = AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.wind"
Then create a new provider named "wind gprs" , phone nr. *99#, username = user, no password.
Thats all. It works.

06 January 2006: I got a Transcend JetFlash 128MB USB stick. It works, but with veeeery slow data transfert because of a kernel bug in VFAT sync method.
To use it with a fast data transfert, you must disable the sync option in the mounting procedure, that can be done mounting it manually or following this procedure:

Mounting hotplugged devices without "sync"

If writing to USB storage devices like USB sticks or USB hard drive is rather slow or if you do not want synchronized writing to these devices, disable the sync mount option.

Create the directory /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/95userpolicy:
mkdir -p /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/95userpolicy/

Create a file with the name nosync.fdi and the following contents:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<deviceinfo version="0.2">
<device>

<match key="block.is_volume" bool="true">
<match key="volume.fsusage" string="filesystem">
<match key="volume.uuid" string="==UUID==">
<merge key="volume.policy.mount_option.sync"
type="bool">false</merge>
</match>
</match>
</match>
</device>
</deviceinfo>

Adjust the line <match key="volume.uuid" string="==UUID=="> according to your hardware. Run 'lshal' to retrieve the "volume.uuid" and enter this id instead of ==UUID==

Finally restart the HAL service with rchal restart

In the Transcend JetFlash 128MB USB stick the "==UUID==" is "1A44-9380"

04 January 2006: I installed a 512MB RAM expansion from Kingston (module KFJ-FPC101/512), for a total of 768MB.
I found out that boot time was considerly increased, and that at the boot beginning the video refresh speed was very slow. I suppose that the reason is an incorrect RAM detecion by the kernel: the kernel detects 768MB RAM while the BIOS reserve 64MB (you can change it in 32/64/128MB) for the video buffer.
So the actual free RAM is 704MB. The BIOS diagnostic screen shows 702MB RAM free, in fact.
So I added the kernel option "mem=702M" to the kernel boot line, and the boot time became quick again as before.

20 December 2005: ACPI Frequency Scaling (need kernel compilation).
I always had the problem that ACPI frequency scaling did not work. I had a kernel error message about not being able of loading the governor, or something similar.
Now I've found a solution: I recompiled the kernel with optimization for the Intel Pentium 4/Celeron CPU.
In the kernel config CPU section, select the Pentium 4/Celeron CPU (not necessary, but it will speed up the system).
In the kernel config Freq. Scaling section, select Pentium 4 optimizations (Pentium 4 clock modulation) as builtin in the kernel, and then userspace as governor. Recompile the kernel and you'll have a freq. scaling capable ACPI!

09 December 2005: I've always found some problems with KDE and browsing/dns/and-so-on, starting from SuSE 9.1. These problems made me use Firefox (great browser) instead of Konqueror (the browser I always used before) for browsing the web. But now I finally found the solution: the problem is the IPv6 enabled; if you disable it, KDE browsing and DNS solving is very good. In order to disable IPv6 you have to:
/etc/modprobe.conf by default was:
alias net-pf-10 ipv6 #install net-pf-10 /bin/true
Change "alias net-pf-10 ipv6" to
alias net-pf-10 ipv6 install ipv6 /bin/true

Another method is to disable IPv6 in the kernel and recompile it (I've done so, too).

04 December 2005: after founding some problems with running dosemu (crashes) expecially in X mode, I decided that the reason was the kernel 8K stack limit and the LinuxANT driverloader. So I downloaded the 16K stack patch from LinuxANT website and recompiled the kernel with the 16K option. Now all seems to work very good, even quicker in X applications. To do that, follow these instructions:

Install the kernel sources package with Yast
Download the 16K patch from LinuxANT, login as root, go to the /usr/src/linux and install it with the command: patch -p1 -i linux-2.6.13-16kstacks.patch
Run "make menuconfig" (maybe you lack a library devel package that I don't remember: if the commands says that you don't have a devel package, install it with Yast and repeat the command)
Select the 16K stack in the Kernel options and exit saving the configuration
Run "make bzImage && make modules && make modules_install && make install" and go to sleep (it takes a long time...)
Reboot your system and re-install the LinuxANT driverloader

After that, you will find that the system response is quicker and there will be no more crashes.

If for any reason you have problems when rebooting (hangs, crashes...), NO PANIC: insert the SuSE installation CD, boot from it, select "install" and when prompted for the installation type select "Advanced" and "Boot system". Your system will be booted using the original kernel from the CD. Then start Yast and re-install the original kernel package(s) and reboot.

03 December 2005: I installed Firefox 1.5 downloaded from the Mozilla website. Great. If you install the "CuteMenus Crystal SVG" extension it seems integrated with KDE. With the "Mostly Crystal" theme it is even better.

18 November 2005: Found the first problem, probably due to installing an Xorg patch with YOU; after installing that patch (or maybe after changing the runlevels, I don't know) there seems to be a conflict with the WLAN card LinuxANT driverloader.
The result is that the system shows two WLAN cards instead that one only: wlan0 and wlan1.
wlan0 does not work, wlan1 does work. The workaround is to disable wlan0 with Yast and configure wlan1 to be used.

03 November 2005: while SuSE 9.3 is a bullshit, SuSE 10.0 is GREAT!!!
All is working without any particular problem. Please read the 9.2 section on how to use the hotkeys, WLAN and Conexant Softmodem.
Soundcard works better, boot time is reduced, even the suspend to disk works!!!
Well, suspend to disk works if you do not install the LinuxANT drivers for wlan and modem: after installing them the suspend does not work (hangs) and may cause file system corruption. I think I will try later to find some solution.

A little problem: because of the use of the gcc compiler version 4.something-prerelease (why??? why using a prerelease for a compiler???????) you can't easly compile MPlayer yourself.
But you can download it already compiled from "packman" website, following these instructions:

Open YaST, and the Software category is already selected by default. Click on the Installation Source icon. This will bring up a window that will allow you to add software repositories so that you can download the add-on software. You'll notice that your CD or DVD installation media is already listed. Go ahead and disable it by clicking the Enable Or Disable button -- we're going to add an Internet address that will replace your discs. That way if you need to add software from the CDs or DVD, you can get the packages from the Internet instead of putting a disc into your computer. If you need to, you can just as easily enable the CD/DVD source later.

Click the Add button, then click on HTTP in the popup menu. Add the following Internet address to the Server Name field and then click on OK:

packman.rsync.zmi.at/suse/10.0

If that repository link does not work, you can choose one of the mirrors from this list:

ftp://packman.links2linux.de/pub/packman/MIRRORS

Then search for MPlayer, check it for the installation and click "check dependencies"; you'll find that the following packages will be added: lame, mad, w32codec-all, arts, DirectFB, libdv, lirc.
If someone lacks, search for it and add it. Then start the installation and wait for the download/install to finish.

News on SuSE 9.3

June 2005: after one month using SuSE 9.3 I've downgraded back to 9.2 (fortunately I always have a dual boot with the previous version). If you have an Amilo Pro V7010, I suggest to use 9.2 instead of 9.3.
The problems with the 9.3 are:
- Etherhet card does not work in manual mode (seems kernel problem)
- Conexant modem with Linuxant driver does not work (hangs the operating system, seems a kernel problem). The suggestion that Linuxant gave to me seemed to work, but with the last kernel update it does not work again.
- KDE internet browsing is not so good as in 9.2 (dns problems, partially solved by patches)
- OpenOffice 2.0 Prerelease lacks some important (for me) features, like some printing settings and importing old Staroffice file formats. It is possible now to download and install from the SuSE upgrade server the old Openoffice 1.1.3, but I think it was a bad choice to include a prerelease in the distribution.
So the conclusion for me is: I will use 9.2 until there will be a new release. When there will be a new release (9.4? 10.0?), I will try again the 9.3 with all the patches available in that moment. For now, 9.2 is better.

Here below you can find my initial impressions with 9.3.

I've just installed SuSE 9.3 (May 2005).

Booting time is considerly reduced.

Installation does not recognize the display (sees 640x480): you have to manually configure it during installation as LCD 1024x768@60Hz.

Audio seems to work a little better now. I've tried the IXP drivers (autodetected by YAST) and the VIA drivers, and it seems that the VIA drivers work better.

Suspend to disk still does not work: it suspends, but does not start X system nor console after resuming. You can try to add to the kernel options (using YAST Bootloader editor) something like vga=normal acpi_sleep=s3_bios,s3_mode but I'm not sure it will work. For me it does not work because I have LinuxANT driverloader installed and the driverloader module does not stop before sleeping (even if you add it in the POWERSAVE_UNLOAD_MODULES_BEFORE_SUSPEND2DISK in /etc/sysconfig/powersave/sleep).
I will try something later, I think.

There is a big problem with the KDE DNS system, that make Konqueror browser and Kmail (and Knode, and all the KDE applications that need DNS) work bad. To solve this problem you must disable the nscd service using the Yast "Runlevel Editor". Maybe there will be a patch for this problem in future (I hope).
NEWS: (09.05.2005) A patch of KDE base libraries (kdelibs3) partially solve the problem: you can enable back the nscd service. Browsing with Firefox is better anyway.
NEWS: (10.05.2005) A patch of glibc has improved the nscd working. Now seems good.
NEWS: (11.05.2005) The glibc patch does not solve the nscd problem: for example using KMail, the email send server (SMTP) sometimes is not detected correctly. I had to disable nscd service again.

I can't configure the ethernet card to be used in manual mode! I can't understand why! It seems a kernel problem ("ioctl: SIOCSIFFLAGS: can not allocate memory") with Broadcom BCM4401 ethernet board.
I wrote to SuSE support and they told me (in a matter of a few hours!) that it seems a kernel or b44 module bug, so I wrote a "bug report" to the "SuSE bug reporting web site". For now the situation is stalling.

AND I FOUND OUT ANOTHER PROBLEM: (09.05.2005) KInternet hard crashes when I try to connect using the modem and LinuxANT Softmodem drivers! Too bad...
NEWS: (13.05.2005) I wrote to LinuxANT HSF support mailing list, and they immediately answer me the solution: here is their reply:

[...] the problem could be related to the modulation used. As a workaround, you could try with different modulations to see if there is a difference. To do so, please try with each of the following init. strings and hopefully one of them will solve the problem: --- AT &F W1 +ER=1; +DR=1; +MS=V90,0 AT &F W1 +ER=1; +DR=1; +MS=V90,1 AT &F W1 +ER=1; +DR=1; +MS=V34,0 AT &F W1 +ER=1; +DR=1; +MS=V34,1 AT &F W1 +ER=1; +DR=1; +MS=V32B,0 AT &F W1 +ER=1; +DR=1; +MS=V32B,1 AT &F W1 +ER=1; +DR=1; +MS=V32,0 AT &F W1 +ER=1; +DR=1; +MS=V32,1 ---I've tried the first init line (deleting the YAST-generated one) and it works!
So now I have:
Init line 1: ATZ
Init line 2: AT &F W1 +ER=1; +DR=1; +MS=V90,0
Init line 3: <empty>

This page has been written as a rough guide and the author takes no responsibility for any problems resulting in the use of the steps provided.

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