Laptop Configuration for Ubuntu Linux

Overview

Laptop hardware can be difficult to get properly configured. Unsupported video cards, wireless cards, and various other hardware issues often frusterate new and vetran Linux users when configuring their Linux laptop.

The Laptop Configuration for Ubuntu Linux project attempts to ease configuration of laptop hardware under one of the most popular Linux desktop distributions currently available, Ubuntu Linux. By automating the configuration steps required to properly configure a Ubuntu laptop, this project makes setting up your laptop as simple as running the Ubuntu Laptop program.

Goals

Currently the project is geared towards Dell Latitude D620 laptops running Ubuntu Linux. I am continually adding hardware support as more users submit their hardware needs to me.

The first goal is to support all hardware configurations of the Dell Latitude D620. The next goal will be to support all hardware for all Dell Latitude models. A future goal will be to support Dell Inspiron and other Dell laptop models.

These goals will only be met with the help of users. I am relying heavily on feedback from users who download this program and give it a try on their Dell laptop.

If this program works for you please send me a short message with your hardware configuration so I can add it to the list of supported configurations. If the program fails to configure your laptop please let me know your hardware configuration so I can add support for it to the program.

If you know how to program in Python please feel free to send me the hardware support fix as a patch and I will add it to the program.

History

This project started out as a means for automating the configuration of the unsupported hardware on my new Dell Latitude D620. I wanted to automatically configure all aspects of my laptop and tweak the configuration to my liking.

What used to take me hours now only takes minutes. After I completed the program I realized that other Dell laptop owners would probably benifit from this program as well, so I decided to release it on SourceForge under a GPL open source license.

What It Does

• Blacklist "pcspkr" kernel module (prevents annoying beeping from internal speaker)
• Blacklist "bcm43xx" wireless network driver (interferes with ndiswrapper)
• Set ACPI CPU "max_cstate" to "C2" (prevents high pitch noise from cpu)
• Adjust Synaptics Touchpad (improves responsiveness and sensitivity)
• Installs and configures proprietary graphics driver (adds 3D support)
• Installs and configures wireless card (utilizes ndiswrapper for unsupported cards)

Supported Hardware