Re: Debian on a Toshiba Satellite A30 (Was Re: Debian on ThinkPad T41p: a report and a question)
On Tue, Sep 07, 2004 at 10:41:04AM -0700, dbarker@turing.cs.camosun.bc.ca wrote:
> Thus spake Martin Weinberg (martin.weinberg@comcast.net):
>
> > In short, (nearly, see below) everything worked out of the box.
>
> Lucky you. I've installed two machines from the RC1 disc one a desktop
> (AMD Athlon) one a Toshiba A30 notebook (my wife's machine).
>
> What puzzles me is the differenes between the two installs, both of
> which involved keeping the home partition from a previous (MEPIS)
> install.
>
> On the desktop XFree386 wasn't installed although chunks of KDE
> were. The X configurator produced a non-functioning config file -
> fortunately I had the MEPIS-generated one backed up and that worked
> fine.
>
> Also, I rashly answered 'auto' to the question about sound wrappers
> and sound doesn't work.
>
> On the notebook: tasksel didn't offer me the options of 'desktop' or
> any of the languages (distinct contrast to the desktop system), so no
> KDE, no gcc, no make etc etc.
>
> However sound seems to work perfectly (and no question about
> wrappers).
>
> I installed XFree386 and the configurator produced a perfect config
> file. I installed KDE - or thought I had. Turns out that kde-base
> doesn't seem to be required as a dependency by the other KDE
> components, but it won't run unless you do have it installed.
>
> The biggest problem, though, was the inconsistency of tasksel.
>
Since I end up with stuff I don't want if I choose a task, I selected
manual install from tasksel and used aptitude to get what I wanted ex
post facto. So, I selected the basic xfree86 packages, compilers,
autoconf stuff, gnome-desktop-envirnoment and a few other things to
start. Too bad, in retrospect, that I didn't select "desktop" just to
see how complete the configuration was. Anyway, after I had the basic
system up and running, I filled in the few blanks by hand. I think I
forget a few things that I needed for X on the first go around (a font
package) and ssh, vnc, and a few other goodies, but the apt
dependenicies automatically sorted out most of the missing pieces
before I realized that I had neglected them. I'm used to iterating
with aptitude; I guess I'm jaded.
I used the debconf script for XFree86 to get a skeleton but adjusted it
by hand for my non-standard laptop hardware. The changes were very minor:
1400x1080 resolution, radeon driver (not in the debconf list), get the
mouse device pointing to the correct hardware.
I was impressed with the much improve hardware detection.
So by "worked out of the box", I suppose that I really mean that there
were no (or almost no) Debian ununsported bits needed to get this
machine up and running. The whole process, inserting the CD to a
usably configured machines was about 2 hours. Another 45 min for a
new kernel and buidling the madwifi drivers so that I could unplug
my ethernet cable.
--Martin
> --
> |Deryk Barker, Computer Science Dept. | Music does not have to be understood|
> |Camosun College, Victoria, BC, Canada| It has to be listened to. |
> |email: dbarker@camosun.bc.ca | |
> |phone: +1 250 370 4452 | Hermann Scherchen. |
>
>
> --
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--
===========================================================================
Martin Weinberg Phone: (413) 256-3044
21 Gulf Road
Pelham, MA 01002
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