diff --git a/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/laptop/article.sgml b/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/laptop/article.sgml index 08c202080d..1f88c00576 100644 --- a/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/laptop/article.sgml +++ b/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/laptop/article.sgml @@ -1,181 +1,184 @@ %man; %freebsd; %authors; %mailing-lists; ]>
FreeBSD on Laptops $FreeBSD$ FreeBSD works fine on most laptops, with a few caveats. Some issues specific to running FreeBSD on laptops, relating to different hardware requirements from desktops, are discussed below. - + FreeBSD is often thought of as a server operating system, but it works just fine on the desktop, and if you want to use it on your laptop you can enjoy all the usual benefits: systematic layout, easy administration and upgrading, the ports/packages system for adding software, and so on. (Its other benefits, such as stability, network performance, and performance under a heavy load, may not be obvious on a laptop, of course.) However, installing it on laptops often involves problems which are not encountered on desktop machines and are not commonly discussed (laptops, even more than desktops, are fine-tuned for Microsoft Windows). This article aims to discuss some of these issues. - - XFree86 + + XFree86 - Recent versions of XFree86 work with most display adapters - available on laptops these days. Acceleration may not be - supported, but a generic SVGA configuration should work. - - Check your laptop documentation for which card you have, - and check in the XFree86 documentation (or setup program) - to see whether it is specifically supported. If it is not, use - a generic device (do not go for a name which just looks - similar). In XFree86 version 4, you can try your luck - with the command XFree86 -configure - which auto-detects a lot of configurations. - - The problem often is configuring the monitor. Common - resources for XFree86 focus on CRT monitors; getting a - suitable modeline for an LCD display may be tricky. You may - be lucky and not need to specify a modeline, or just need to - specify suitable HorizSync and VertRefresh ranges. If that - does not work, the best option is to check web resources - devoted to configuring X on laptops (these are often - linux-oriented sites but it does not matter because both systems - use XFree86) and copy a modeline posted by someone for similar - hardware. - - Most laptops come with two buttons on their pointing - devices, which is rather problematic in X (since the middle - button is commonly used to paste text); you can map a - simultaneous left-right click in your X configuration to - a middle button click with the line - - -Option "Emulate3Buttons" - - - in the XF86Config file in the InputDevice section (for XFree86 - version 4; for version 3, put just the line Emulate3Buttons, - without the quotes, in the Pointer section.) - - - - Modems - - Laptops usually come with internal (on-board) modems. - Unfortunately, this almost always means they are winmodems whose - functionality is implemented in software, for which only windows - drivers are normally available (though a few drivers are beginning - to show up for other operating systems). Otherwise, you - need to buy an external modem: the most compact option is - probably a PC-Card (PCMCIA) modem, discussed below, but - serial or USB modems may be cheaper. Generally, regular - modems (non-winmodems) should work fine. - - - - - - PCMCIA (PC-card) devices - - Most laptops come with PCMCIA (also called PC-card) - slots; these are supported fine under FreeBSD. Look through - your boot-up messages (using dmesg) and see whether these were - detected correctly (they should appear as - pccard0, - pccard1 etc on devices like - pcic0). - - FreeBSD currently supports 16-bit PCMCIA cards, but not - 32-bit (CardBus) cards. A database of supported cards is in - the file /etc/defaults/pccard.conf. Look - through it, and preferably buy cards listed there. Cards not - listed may also work as generic devices: in particular most - modems (16-bit) should work fine, provided they are not - winmodems (these do exist even as PC-cards, so watch out). If - your card is recognised as a generic modem, note that the - default pccard.conf file specifies a delay time of 10 seconds - (to avoid freezes on certain modems); this may well be - over-cautious for your modem, so you may want to play with it, - reducing it or removing it totally. - - Some parts of pccard.conf may need editing. Check the irq - line, and be sure to remove any number already being used: in - particular, if you have an on board sound card, remove irq 5 - (otherwise you may experience hangs when you insert a card). - Check also the available memory slots; if your card is not - being detected, try changing it to one of the other allowed - values (listed in the man page &man.pccardc.8;). - - - If it is not running already, start the pccardd daemon. - (To enable it at boot time, add - pccard_enable="YES" to - /etc/rc.conf). Now your cards should be - detected when you insert and remove them, and you should get - log messages about new devices being enabled. - - There have been major changes to the pccard code - (including ISA routing of interrupts, for machines whose - PCIBIOS FreeBSD can not seem to use) before the FreeBSD 4.4 - release. If you have problems, try upgrading your system. + Recent versions of XFree86 work with most display adapters + available on laptops these days. Acceleration may not be + supported, but a generic SVGA configuration should work. + + Check your laptop documentation for which card you have, + and check in the XFree86 documentation (or setup program) + to see whether it is specifically supported. If it is not, use + a generic device (do not go for a name which just looks + similar). In XFree86 version 4, you can try your luck + with the command XFree86 -configure + which auto-detects a lot of configurations. + + The problem often is configuring the monitor. Common + resources for XFree86 focus on CRT monitors; getting a + suitable modeline for an LCD display may be tricky. You may + be lucky and not need to specify a modeline, or just need to + specify suitable HorizSync and VertRefresh ranges. If that + does not work, the best option is to check web resources + devoted to configuring X on laptops (these are often + linux-oriented sites but it does not matter because both systems + use XFree86) and copy a modeline posted by someone for similar + hardware. + + Most laptops come with two buttons on their pointing + devices, which is rather problematic in X (since the middle + button is commonly used to paste text); you can map a + simultaneous left-right click in your X configuration to + a middle button click with the line + + + Option "Emulate3Buttons" + + + in the XF86Config file in the InputDevice + section (for XFree86 version 4; for version 3, put just the line + Emulate3Buttons, without the quotes, in the + Pointer section.) + + + + Modems + + Laptops usually come with internal (on-board) modems. + Unfortunately, this almost always means they are + winmodems whose + functionality is implemented in software, for which only windows + drivers are normally available (though a few drivers are beginning + to show up for other operating systems). Otherwise, you + need to buy an external modem: the most compact option is + probably a PC-Card (PCMCIA) modem, discussed below, but + serial or USB modems may be cheaper. Generally, regular + modems (non-winmodems) should work fine. + + + + + + PCMCIA (PC-card) devices + + Most laptops come with PCMCIA (also called PC-card) + slots; these are supported fine under FreeBSD. Look through + your boot-up messages (using dmesg) and see whether these were + detected correctly (they should appear as + pccard0, + pccard1 etc on devices like + pcic0). + + FreeBSD currently supports 16-bit PCMCIA cards, but not + 32-bit (CardBus) cards. A database of supported + cards is in the file /etc/defaults/pccard.conf. + Look through it, and preferably buy cards listed there. Cards not + listed may also work as generic devices: in + particular most modems (16-bit) should work fine, provided they + are not winmodems (these do exist even as PC-cards, so watch out). + If your card is recognised as a generic modem, note that the + default pccard.conf file specifies a delay time of 10 seconds + (to avoid freezes on certain modems); this may well be + over-cautious for your modem, so you may want to play with it, + reducing it or removing it totally. + + Some parts of pccard.conf may need + editing. Check the irq line, and be sure to remove any number + already being used: in particular, if you have an on board sound + card, remove irq 5 (otherwise you may experience hangs when you + insert a card). Check also the available memory slots; if your + card is not being detected, try changing it to one of the other + allowed values (listed in the man page &man.pccardc.8;). + + + If it is not running already, start the pccardd daemon. + (To enable it at boot time, add + pccard_enable="YES" to + /etc/rc.conf). Now your cards should be + detected when you insert and remove them, and you should get + log messages about new devices being enabled. + + There have been major changes to the pccard code + (including ISA routing of interrupts, for machines whose + PCIBIOS FreeBSD can not seem to use) before the FreeBSD 4.4 + release. If you have problems, try upgrading your system. - - - - - Power management - - Unfortunately, this is not very reliably supported under - FreeBSD. If you are lucky, some functions may work reliably; - or they may not work at all. - - To enable this, you may need to compile a kernel with - power management support (device apm0) or - add the option enable apm0 to /boot/loader.conf, and - also enable the apm daemon at boot time (line - apm_enable="YES" in - /etc/rc.conf). The apm commands are - listed in the &man.apm.8; manpage. For instance, - apm -b gives you battery status (or 255 if - not supported), apm -Z puts the laptop on - standby, apm -z (or zzz) suspends it. To - shutdown and power off the machine, use shutdown -p. - Again, some or all of these functions may not work very well - or at all. You may find that laptop suspension/standby works - in console mode but not under X (that is, the screen does not - come on again; in that case, switch to a virtual console - (using Ctrl-Alt-F1 or another function key) and then execute - the apm command. - - - The X window system (XFree86) also includes display power - management (look at the &man.xset.1; man page, and search for - dpms there). You may want to investigate this. However, this, - too, works inconsistently on laptops: it - often turns off the display but does not turn off the - backlight. - - + + + + + Power management + + Unfortunately, this is not very reliably supported under + FreeBSD. If you are lucky, some functions may work reliably; + or they may not work at all. + + To enable this, you may need to compile a kernel with + power management support (device apm0) or + add the option enable apm0 to + /boot/loader.conf, and + also enable the apm daemon at boot time (line + apm_enable="YES" in + /etc/rc.conf). The apm commands are + listed in the &man.apm.8; manpage. For instance, + apm -b gives you battery status (or 255 if + not supported), apm -Z puts the laptop on + standby, apm -z (or zzz) suspends it. To + shutdown and power off the machine, use shutdown -p. + Again, some or all of these functions may not work very well + or at all. You may find that laptop suspension/standby works + in console mode but not under X (that is, the screen does not + come on again; in that case, switch to a virtual console + (using Ctrl-Alt-F1 or another function key) and then execute + the apm command. + + + The X window system (XFree86) also includes display power + management (look at the &man.xset.1; man page, and search for + dpms there). You may want to investigate this. However, this, + too, works inconsistently on laptops: it + often turns off the display but does not turn off the + backlight. + +