Difference between revisions of "Toshiba Satellite A210 (701)"

Latest revision as of 18:10, 22 May 2015

CPU

The A210 exhibits a dual-core Turion 64 X2 TL-62 running at 2100 MHz (200 x 10.5) and with a 512KB L2 cache for each core. For traditional processors, the multiplier is the value multiplied by the speed of the FSB to get the clock speed of the processor. Turion processors have a memory controller integrated on the CPU die, replacing the traditional concept of FSB. The multiplier here applies to the 200MHz system clock frequency, not the HyperTransport speed which is 800MHz.

AMD Turion Architecture

Video Card

There's a dedicated utility for configuring the fglrx ATI driver called aticonfig. I was able to configure the card to accept the dual heads with the following command which generated an appropriate xorg.conf file.

aticonfig --initial=dual-head --screen-layout=above

To run a single monitor, use

aticonfig --dtop=clone

fglrxinfo
  display: :0.0  screen: 0
  OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc.
  OpenGL renderer string: ATI Radeon X1200 Series
  OpenGL version string: 2.1.7412 Release

aticonfig --query-monitor
  Connected monitors: crt1, lvds
  Enabled monitors: crt1, lvds

Webcam

lsusb shows the webcam to be a Chicony. Some of the webcam programs are unable to communicate with it, but skype show that it's working fine. Xawtv and Cheese also work with it. But I've found a better program now which has a far better picture too called luvcview which can be installed using apt-get.

Use the following command to obtain information about the webcam device

luvcview -d /dev/video0 -d /dev/video0 -L

Run the webcam window with the following command

luvcview -d /dev/video0 -f yuv

Wifi

The A210's come with an internal wifi card which shows up correctly in lspci as an Atheros AR242x. But no wireless network interface appears in the network configuration applet or from ifconfig.

The MadWifi driver works perfectly using the following procedure from root shell (from here). Before starting this process, it's best to disable the current drivers from System/Administration/Hardware Drivers.

svn co https://svn.madwifi.org/madwifi/branches/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6
cd ~/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6
make
sudo -s # password
make install
depmod -ae
modprobe ath_pci

Make sure that ath_hal and ath_pci are listed in /etc/modules, then re-enable the drivers from System/Administration/Hardware Drivers, and reboot. The only problem with this solution is that each time there's a kernel update it may have to be rebuilt, so keep the source in your ~/Source or /usr/src directory and rebuild after kernel update.

Note: a kernel update came through today and after reboot my wifi drivers are still working, with no need to rebuild. --nad 14:57, 24 June 2008 (NZST)

cd ~/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6
make clean
make install

Recently the madwifi.org site has been down, so instead of checking the driver out from their SVN server.

USB Problem

After some time USB devices freeze up and are inoperable until rebooting with devices detached. An lsusb revealed that the internal webcam is also a USB device, and so I wondered if that also froze when the problem occurred to the external devices. It was in testing this that I discovered that the freezing problem does not occur while the webcam is running, so until a proper solution is found, I have the webcam running and minimised onto an unused desktop.

Benchmark

I haven't found a good simple program to give a simple whetstone result for the CPU(s) yet. But as a basic benchmark comparison I did a two-pass rip of a DVD vob to a 1GB xvid file using dvd::rip. It took a bout 5.5 hours on the A10 (2200MHz Celery with 400MHz FSB), and about two hours on the A210, which made it just under 3 times the speed. However, I didn't realise at the time that you need to set it to cluster-processing to use both cores, so actually it's about 5.5 times faster.

Redemption claim

Follow the link in here
The list of redemption codes is available here
You need the model number (PSAFGA-077019) and the serial number on the back of the machine (silver sticker), and the code off the receipt.
Details of offer are in this pdf

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 == Video Card ==
 There's a dedicated utility for configuring the ''fglrx'' ATI driver called ''aticonfig''. I was able to configure the card to accept the dual heads with the following command which generated an appropriate ''xorg.conf'' file.
-<pre>
+<source>
 aticonfig --initial=dual-head --screen-layout=above
-</pre>
+</source>
 To run a single monitor, use
-<pre>
+<source>
 aticonfig --dtop=clone
-</pre>
+</source>
 *[http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php?title=Ubuntu_Hardy_Installation_Guide Ubuntu Hardy Installation Guide]
 *[http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Fglrx fglrx wiki]
@@ Line 18: / Line 19: @@
 *[http://xorg.freedesktop.org/releases/X11R6.7.0/doc/radeon.4.html Radeon xorg.conf options]
-== Webcam ==
+<source>
-''lsusb'' shows the webcam to be a ''Chicony''. Some of the webcam programs are unable to communicate with it, but skype show that it's working fine. ''Xawtv'' and ''Cheese'' also work with it. ''Cheese'' is the better one as it integrates more nicely with GNOME.
+fglrxinfo
+  display: :0.0  screen: 0
+  OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc.
+  OpenGL renderer string: ATI Radeon X1200 Series
+  OpenGL version string: 2.1.7412 Release
-== USB Problem ==
+aticonfig --query-monitor
-I'm having major problems with USB. If a few devices are connected then after some minutes all of them will stop working (this is even without using a hub and just connecting to all available usb ports on the laptop). After they've stopped, the system will shutdown during bootup spontaneously (and not at exactly the same point during bootup) until all devices are removed (even monitor and LAN will need to be removed sometimes before it will boot). So far it has always succeeded in booting when there's nothing plugged in except power.
+  Connected monitors: crt1, lvds
+  Enabled monitors: crt1, lvds
+</source>
-I don't know yet whether this is a hardware problem or a linux problem. First I'd like to see if Sven's behaves the same way in my set up. If not I'll have to reinstall it with vista and test it again then return the unit if still failing.
+== Webcam ==
+''lsusb'' shows the webcam to be a ''Chicony''. Some of the webcam programs are unable to communicate with it, but skype show that it's working fine. ''Xawtv'' and ''Cheese'' also work with it. But I've found a better program now which has a far better picture too called ''luvcview'' which can be installed using ''apt-get''.
-I'm now back on the old A10 lappie and nuking the A210 back to factory default system so I can test the USB's thoroughly. The last straw was when I tried to watch a movie and it was not able to render it smoothly, and about 5 minutes into it rebooted. I tried installing with an older version of Ubuntu 7.1 but it locked up during installation.
-== Benchmark ==
+Use the following command to obtain information about the webcam device
-I haven't found a good simple program to give a simple whetstone result for the CPU(s) yet. But as a basic benchmark comparison I did a two-pass rip of a DVD vob to a 1GB xvid file using ''dvd::rip''. It took a bout 5.5 hours on the A10 (2200MHz Celery with 400MHz FSB), and about two hours on the A210, which made it just under 3 times the speed. However, I didn't realise at the time that you need to set it to cluster-processing to use both cores, so actually it's about 5.5 times faster.
+<source>
+luvcview -d /dev/video0 -d /dev/video0 -L
+</source>
-== Windows Vista ==
+Run the webcam window with the following command
-I've had to reinstall the machine to factory defaults again by booting the recovery DVD's made after first boot. The discs don't contain any user information, the put it back to exactly the same state that it comes out of the box running an installer on first boot.
+<source>
+luvcview -d /dev/video0 -f yuv
+</source>
-I've been extensively testing USB devices and they seem to be working without any problem (it's difficult to tell because vista is so unstable that it's intefering with my observations!).
+== Wifi ==
+The A210's come with an internal wifi card which shows up correctly in ''lspci'' as an ''Atheros AR242x''. But no wireless network interface appears in the network configuration applet or from ''ifconfig''.
-Two of my drives may be full of windows virus's which may be why vista crashes when they're turned on. I've been running USB mouse and keyboard, one external drive and two memory sticks. I'm running in extended desktop and running video's off different devices onto both screens. It seems to be running smoothly and with good performance. So overall I'm pretty confident that the spontaneous shutdown's and USB problems are to do with Linux not with the hardware.
+The [http://madwifi.org MadWifi] driver works perfectly using the following procedure from root shell (from [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=816780 here]). Before starting this process, it's best to disable the current drivers from ''System/Administration/Hardware Drivers''.
+<source>
+svn co https://svn.madwifi.org/madwifi/branches/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6
+cd ~/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6
+make
+sudo -s # password
+make install
+depmod -ae
+modprobe ath_pci
+</source>
-I'm downloading Ubuntu 7.10 i386 since this should be the most stable Linux option to try even if it won't perform quite as well.
+Make sure that ''ath_hal'' and ''ath_pci'' are listed in ''/etc/modules'', then re-enable the drivers from ''System/Administration/Hardware Drivers'', and reboot. The only problem with this solution is that each time there's a kernel update it may have to be rebuilt, so keep the source in your ''~/Source'' or ''/usr/src'' directory and rebuild after kernel update.
+:'''Note:''' a kernel update came through today and after reboot my wifi drivers are still working, with no need to rebuild. --[[User:Nad|nad]] 14:57, 24 June 2008 (NZST)
+<source>
+cd ~/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6
+make clean
+make install
+</source>
-== Ubuntu 7.10 i386 ==
+Recently the [http://madwifi.org madwifi.org] site has been down, so instead of checking the driver out from their SVN server.
-I tried Debian and still the same trouble, so I'm assuming it's something to do with the Linux kernel, or at least a problem in common with all Debian-based distro's.
-=== Installation ===
+== USB Problem ==
-The first problem with the 7.10 installation is that the installation first boots in as a live CD to the desktop, then the installation application is launched from there. This is a problem because without the ''fglrx'' graphics driver, the desktop won't start. So at that point, hit ''CTRL+ALT+F1'' and install the driver first with the following commands,
+After some time USB devices freeze up and are inoperable until rebooting with devices detached. An ''lsusb'' revealed that the internal webcam is also a USB device, and so I wondered if that also froze when the problem occurred to the external devices. It was in testing this that I discovered that the freezing problem does not occur while the webcam is running, so until a proper solution is found, I have the webcam running and minimised onto an unused desktop.
-<pre>
-apt-get update
-apt-get install xorg-driver-fglrx
-depmod -a
-aticonfig --initial=dual-head
-</pre>
-After changing this, do ''CTRL+ALT+F7'' and hit enter to get it to retry in two minutes. The display manager will try again eventually and should take you to the desktop. You can then run the installation application from the icon on the desktop.
-On first boot of the installation, the same problem will occur so repeat the process. You'll need to log in after ''CTRL+ALT+F1'' using the details you specified in the installation application. After logging in this is a good time to set up your root user with ''sudo passwd root''. You don't need to wait for the window manager to retry after installing the driver (it may only retry during the installation boot anyway), just ''reboot'' and you should get in to the desktop of your newly installed 7.10.
+== Benchmark ==
+I haven't found a good simple program to give a simple whetstone result for the CPU(s) yet. But as a basic benchmark comparison I did a two-pass rip of a DVD vob to a 1GB xvid file using ''dvd::rip''. It took a bout 5.5 hours on the A10 (2200MHz Celery with 400MHz FSB), and about two hours on the A210, which made it just under 3 times the speed. However, I didn't realise at the time that you need to set it to cluster-processing to use both cores, so actually it's about 5.5 times faster.
-A notification will come up saying ''restricted drivers available'', enable the driver and reboot again. Now go through the normal Ubuntu update procedure to bring the system up to date.
-=== USB problem ===
-Unfortunately the USB problem is happening with 7.10 as well. It doesn't spontaneously shut down, but all devices stop working, and again it won't reboot until at least some are unplugged. The ''lsusb'' command shows that all the devices are present even when no longer responding. I should have tested it first with the LiveCD (doh!) because it even fails on that - but anyway if that had happened I would still have had to test if the updates fixed it so no time lost there. However, we now need to decide what we're going to do, because the laptop isn't very usable if it can't work with USB devices. At least 7.10 allows continued testing after things stop working, so maybe we can figure out what's going on. The next step may be to try a different Linux distribution like pure Debian or Mepis.
-=== Video problem ===
+== Redemption claim ==
-Unfortunately after updating the system, the dual-monitors are no longer perfect. The xorg.conf file needed to be modified for it to boot (current version [[Nad/xorg.conf|here]]), and even then there's a problem with the mouse pointer on the external monitor which makes it render as a large block of junk. I could not get the external monitor resolution to be correct in any configuration other than extended desktop, and the ''Screens and Graphics'' application no longer reflects the actual configuration.
+* Follow the link in [http://www.isd.toshiba.com.au/redemption/r_index.asp here]
-*[http://wiki.cchtml.com Unofficial Linux ATI driver wiki]
+*The list of redemption codes is available [http://www.isd.toshiba.com.au/redemption/r_currentredemptionlist.html here]
-*[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=301941 Setting up with ''aticonfig'' only]
+* You need the model number (PSAFGA-077019) and the serial number on the back of the machine (silver sticker), and the code off the receipt.
-*[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=273934 Getting GL working properly with ATI]
+* Details of offer are in this [[Media:2008-Q2 Satellite A210-701 - $100 Cashback HN.pdf|pdf]]
-*[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=581412 Similar problems to me]
-=== Audio problem ===
+== See also ==
-There's no audio available after the 7.10 installation, I haven't looked in to this yet.
+*[[Ubuntu Post Install]]
+*[http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-laptop-and-handheld-25/best-distro-for-toshiba-a210-632348/ Best distro for toshiba a210 ]
+*[http://howtoforge.com/the_perfect_desktop_slackware12 The Perfect Desktop - Slackware 12]
+*[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4908706 Ubuntu 8.04 on toshiba satellite: touchpad and usb mouse conflict]
 [[Category:Hardware]][[Category:Nad]][[Category:Sven]]

Difference between revisions of "Toshiba Satellite A210 (701)"

Latest revision as of 18:10, 22 May 2015

Contents

CPU

Video Card

Webcam

Wifi

USB Problem

Benchmark

Redemption claim

See also

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