Installing Archlinux x86_64 on Dell new Mini 10
(Inspiron 1012-9118)
Last updated: May the 10th, 2010
Document History:
- 2010/03/24: initial release
- 2010/03/27: Crystal HD tested (works), precisions about kernel and intel xorg driver versions needed.
- 2010/05/10: correction: Atom N450 is a single core dual thread proc, not a dual core one.
General Hardware Specifications of Dell new mini10 (Inspiron 1012
(1012-9118):
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Hardware Components
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Status under Linux
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Notes
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Intel Atom N450 64bits single core dual thread Processor, 1.66 GHz
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation.
|
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10.1 WXGA LCD (glossy)
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation
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Intel GMA 3150 8MB Video Card
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation
|
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Broadcom Crystal HD media accelerator card
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation |
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1GB DDR2 RAM
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation
|
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250 GB 2.5'' 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation
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3-in-1 Flash Memory Reader
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation
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Realtek 8101E/8102E Ethernet Network Card
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation
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Webcam (Suyin 1.3MP) & microphone
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation
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Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation
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Hauppauge WinTV MiniCard (Dell digital TV receiver)
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Works
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Needs firmware installation
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Dell 1397 miniPCI Wireless Networking
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Works
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Needs firmware installation
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58 WHr Lithium-Ion Battery
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation
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Integrated Intel HDA Sound Card
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Works
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No special procedure required during installation
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This laptop is operating under Kernel version 2.6.33
Basic Installation of Archlinux x86_64:
Why to use Archlinux x86_64 :
because of the processor and the graphic card
which need fairly recent kernel and xorg server. According to Phoronix, xorg-video-intel must at least be 2.10.0 to recognize the GMA3150 graphic card integrated in the Atom N450 Pineview architecture, and while prior versions of the linux kernelI are able to deal with the Atom N450 (Pineview-M series), 2.6.33 brings improvement to Intel KMS (Pineview specific). I would rather have
installed Debian Stable but even Debian Unstable does not seem
recent enough (needs Debian Experimental parts). Despite being a
rolling release distribution which forces its admin to continuously
upgrade, I do appreciate Archlinux for its stability and KISS
principle. X86_64 because it is a dual core 64 bits proc.
Obtaining Archlinux x86_64 :
download an Archboot hybrid image (rather than a regular Arch image,
due to recent hardware of the netbook). Transfer it to your usb key.
See Arch Wiki.
Installing : just follow the
installation procedure. See Arch Wiki.
Post-Install modifications/tweaks : for the wifi card and
the
digital TV you need firmwares that are to be copied to /lib/firmware
. Pay attention to the fact that the Broadcom BCM4312 wifi card is a
14e4:4315 version. See links hereunder.
Setting up additional features for Archlinux x86_64
Not OS specific (same problem in
preinstalled Windows 7 Starter Fr): Brightness function keys
(Fn-F4,Fn-F5) need to setup the BIOS to function properly (something
like « Function keys : FUNCTION» instead of « Function
keys : MULTIMEDIA »).
Getting the touchpad to operate
more smoothly: install and execute gsynaptics.
Cpu frequency scaling, sensors,
suspend/hibernate, just look at the Archwiki.
Nothing particular: just explore the ArchWiki.
Unresolved issues
Configuration Files
More Specific Information. Specific stuff such as:
$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge:
Intel Corporation Pineview DMI Bridge
00:02.0 VGA compatible
controller: Intel Corporation Pineview Integrated Graphics
Controller
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Pineview
Integrated Graphics Controller
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel
Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller
(rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7
Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel
Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.3
PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port
4 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7
Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller:
Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev
02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7
Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller:
Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev
02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7
Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel
Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge:
Intel Corporation Tigerpoint LPC Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA
controller: Intel Corporation 82801GR/GH (ICH7 Family) SATA AHCI
Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7
Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
05:00.0 Ethernet controller:
Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast
Ethernet controller (rev 02)
07:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom
Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g (rev 01)
0b:00.0 Multimedia
controller: Broadcom Corporation Device 1615
$ lsusb
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux
Foundation
1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 005: ID 413c:8160 Dell Computer Corp.
Bus 004 Device 003: ID 413c:8161 Dell Computer Corp.
Bus 004
Device 004: ID 413c:8162 Dell Computer Corp.
Bus 004 Device 002:
ID 0a5c:4500 Broadcom Corp. BCM2046B1 USB 2.0 Hub (part of BCM2046
Bluetooth)
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1
root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 064e:8101 Suyin Corp.
Bus 001
Device 003: ID 2040:2011 Hauppauge WinTV MiniCard [Dell Digital TV
Receiver]
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0bda:0158 Realtek Semiconductor
Corp. USB 2.0 multicard reader
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002
Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001
Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001
Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Contact Information
Links:
Plus other useful things you may have discovered
Any impressions on the laptop in general - build, hardware etc. :
While I dislike this netbook touchpad (I hope I will get used to it),
very different from my Inspiron 1300 one, I appreciate Dell effort to
bring up a netbook with a good Linux compatibility. It is silent
(such a relief...) and seems rather well built.
PROS : silent (fanless), WXGA 10.1'' display (1366x768),
integrated TV tuner, general linux compatibility, smaller than a
11.6'' or 12'' netbook with a sufficient WXGA resolution better than
the average WSVGA one found on other 10.1'' netbooks
CONS : glossy LCD (reflects), glossy cover (becomes easily dirty),
white chassis, tricky touchpad