Sony Vaio VGN-AR41E
From The Unknown
Contents |
Introduction
This page is about installing Gentoo Linux on a Sony Vaio VGN-AR41E.
Please, all discussions related to this article should take place here.
Due to constant spamming I have no other option but to restrict edits to logged in users.
So if you have something to add, please register an account.
Technical specifications
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 1.80GHz |
| RAM | 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz (upgraded to 2GB) |
| HDD | Seagate SATA 120 GB 5400rpm |
| WLAN | Intel PRO 3945ABG 802.11a/b/g |
| Screen | 17" WXGA+ (1440x900) |
| Optical drive | DVD+-RW/+-R DL/RAM |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT |
| Audio | Intel HD Audio |
| Extras | see below (lspci dump) |
Notes
- I strongly advise that you turn off / tune down the hard drive APM settings or it will wear out incredibly fast. (this is about the Load_Cycle_Count issue). Average notebook hard drives are said to work flawlessly to around 600k load cycle counts (check your hd techsheet); with the default factory APM settings, I got to 4k in the first 20 hours.
What didn't work by default
- WLAN --
fixed with the help of iwlwifi drivers;drivers are now in-kernel since 2.6.24.x - Webcam -- fixed using r5u87x
- Accelerated graphics -- fixed with the help of nvidia proprietary drivers;
- Multimedia keys -- worked, but needed to be assigned;
- Fn keys -- works after some driver editing, see below for backlight control;
- Audio output to headphones -- see below;
What got fixed manually
Audio output to headphones
Works with these options:
options snd-hda-intel probe_mask=3 model=vaio
What I find weird is that before that command I see a Realtek chip, and after it I see a SigmaTel. Maybe it has both? One for SPDIF and one of standard output.
- To enable the internal microphone
- First, open up a terminal and run amixer contents
- You should get something like so:
numid=2,iface=MIXER,name='Master Playback Switch' ; type=BOOLEAN,access=rw------,values=2 : values=on,on numid=1,iface=MIXER,name='Master Playback Volume' ; type=INTEGER,access=rw---R--,values=2,min=0,max=127,step=0 : values=127,127 | dBscale-min=-95.25dB,step=0.75dB,mute=0 numid=6,iface=MIXER,name='PCM Playback Volume' ; type=INTEGER,access=rw---RW-,values=2,min=0,max=255,step=0 : values=180,180 | dBscale-min=-51.00dB,step=0.20dB,mute=0 numid=5,iface=MIXER,name='Capture Source' ; type=ENUMERATED,access=rw------,values=1,items=3 ; Item #0 'Mic Jack' ; Item #1 'Internal Mic' ; Item #2 'PCM' : values=1 numid=4,iface=MIXER,name='Capture Switch' ; type=BOOLEAN,access=rw------,values=2 : values=on,on numid=3,iface=MIXER,name='Capture Volume' ; type=INTEGER,access=rw---R--,values=2,min=0,max=15,step=0 : values=0,0 | dBscale-min=0.00dB,step=1.50dB,mute=0 numid=7,iface=MIXER,name='Digital Capture Volume' ; type=INTEGER,access=rw---RW-,values=2,min=0,max=120,step=0 : values=60,60 | dBscale-min=-30.00dB,step=0.50dB,mute=0
What we care about is the bold stuff, yours will probably be off and set to a different input source. To set it like mine, do these:
amixer cset numid=5,iface=MIXER,name='Capture Source' 1
^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^
| | +--- Item #1 (which is internal mic, your index number may vary)
| +-------------------------- Just copy/paste this part from amixer contents above
+---------------------------------------------------- Utility and set mode
amixer cset numid=4,iface=MIXER,name='Capture Switch' on -- pretty much the same as above
And this should hopefully get your mic working.
Fn keys
Note: THIS WILL NOT GET YOUR BRIGHTNESS WORKING. It only helps recognize these keys were pressed, that is all. See below on how to fix brightness/backlight control.
Well, I've been trying to modify the sony-laptop driver, and I managed to get the keys to (at least) produce some ACPI events so we can bind them to different actions.
Note: The following guide assumes you compiled your own kernel, or have the sources from your distribution's kernel. It isn't something newbies are recommended to try without proper documentation first.
How I got the Fn keys to produce ACPI events:
- Edit /usr/src/linux/drivers/misc/sony-laptop.c (you need the linux kernel sources for this), find this section:
/* SNC-only model map */
static struct dmi_system_id sony_nc_ids[] = {
{
.ident = "Sony Vaio FE Series",
.callback = sony_nc_C_enable,
.driver_data = sony_C_events,
.matches = {
DMI_MATCH(DMI_SYS_VENDOR, "Sony Corporation"),
DMI_MATCH(DMI_PRODUCT_NAME, "VGN-FE"),
},
},
And add this:
{
.ident = "Sony Vaio AR Series",
.callback = sony_nc_C_enable,
.driver_data = sony_C_events,
.matches = {
DMI_MATCH(DMI_SYS_VENDOR, "Sony Corporation"),
DMI_MATCH(DMI_PRODUCT_NAME, "VGN-AR"),
},
},
make modules and make modules_install (assuming you compiled it as a module) and you should be all set.
To define actions, you need to play around in /etc/acpi. Maybe some explanations will follow, but not now. --eaglex 22:31, 15 January 2008 (EET)
Screen brightness
As seen here, the issue is now fixed.
To get brightness control working, download this, unpack it:
tar xvzf nvclock_hacked_seek.tgz cd nvclock0.8b3a ./configure make cd src ./nvclock -S <percentage>
where percentage is between 5 and 100%.
For users of debian based distributions (this includes ubuntu), you can find a already made .deb package in the bug report.
I found an easy (partial) solution downloading "nvclock_0.8b4-0_i386.deb" and installing it. Then with the command "sudo nvclock -S 60" I can set to 60% for instance. There is also the possibility to connect the related Fn buttons but I didn't succeeded and it's enough for me now. terrainvista
Hard Disk APM Modes
Through trial and error, I have found APM 192 to be the best hard drive power mode at the moment.
I can't cite anything specific. Having read the specs for the hard drive on this model, it has a mode where head parking happens and above that is a mode where the drive will conserve power but not park heads. This seems to be the best option for Ubuntu at the moment.
I've tried to guess when these modes change. With the APM mode to anything below 192, hard parking eventually occurs. At APM 192, head parking stops happening.
I have also monitored the temperate of the drive.
- My Findings
APM 192 peaks at ~33C for me, and no head parking occurs.
APM 254 peaks at ~39C.
Clearly, the most energy efficient APM setting without head parking *appears* to be 192.
In addition, the specs claim that the hard disk can deal with internal temperatures of at least 60C. It does not work in ambient temperatures of 60C, but then, neither does your body so it's not a problem:)
Power modes Heads Spindle Buffer Active (operating) Tracking Rotating Full power Idle, performance Tracking Rotating Self refresh—low power Idle, active Floating Rotating Self refresh—low power Idle, low power Parked Rotating Self refresh—low power Standby Parked Stopped Self refresh—low power Sleep Parked Stopped Self refresh—low power
The Specs - as far as I know, this is the right specs. I found it on their site.
Data Sheet
--Cyberkilla 16:18, 23 February 2009 (EET)
Tried it myself for a day or two at APM 192, but those frequent noises (15 s ext3 writeback pulling the hard drive out of whatever low power mode it is in) I just don't like, so it's back to 255 for me. Probably just paranoid, but I'd rather not take a chance at this time.
It obviously has some effect, went from an average of 35°C to an average of 32°C (for me).
--eaglex 15:35, 1 March 2009 (EET)
dumps
lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub (rev 0c) 00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 PCI Express Root Port (rev 0c) 00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Contoller #4 (rev 03) 00:1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 03) 00:1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 03) 00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03) 00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03) 00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 03) 00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 03) 00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03) 00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03) 00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03) 00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 03) 00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev f3) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801HEM (ICH8M) LPC Interface Controller (rev 03) 00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HBM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) IDE Controller (rev 03) 00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801HBM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 03) 00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03) 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GeForce 8400M GT (rev a1) 02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8055 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 13) 06:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection (rev 02) 08:03.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Cardbus Controller 08:03.1 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments PCIxx12 OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller 08:03.2 Mass storage controller: Texas Instruments 5-in-1 Multimedia Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO/xD)
/proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 15 model name : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7100 @ 1.80GHz stepping : 13 cpu MHz : 800.000 cache size : 2048 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 2 core id : 0 cpu cores : 2 fdiv_bug : no hlt_bug : no f00f_bug : no coma_bug : no fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 10 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts pni monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr lahf_lm ida bogomips : 3594.72 clflush size : 64
processor : 1 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 15 model name : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7100 @ 1.80GHz stepping : 13 cpu MHz : 800.000 cache size : 2048 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 2 core id : 1 cpu cores : 2 fdiv_bug : no hlt_bug : no f00f_bug : no coma_bug : no fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 10 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts pni monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr lahf_lm ida bogomips : 3591.00 clflush size : 64
Other possibly useful stuff
- Note: Windows XP drivers do not exist, so don't bother.
