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Acer Aspire 5738G
Introduction
This is a compatibility guide to running Linux with the Acer Aspire 5738G laptop.
This page is just for discussing using Linux on the Acer Aspire 5738G. For a general discussion about this laptop you can visit the Acer Aspire 5738G page on LapWik.
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Specifications
For full specifications see the Acer Aspire 5738G specifications page.
| Name | Acer Aspire 5738G |
| Processor | Intel® Core™2 Duo processor |
| Screen | 15.6” 1366 x 768 Widescreen |
| RAM | Up to 4GB |
| HDD | to 500GB |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW Blueray |
| Graphics | NVIDIA® GeForce® G105M |
| Network | 10/100/1000 Ethernet Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 5100/5300 (dual-band quad-mode 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N) Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 5150/5350 Wi-Fi®/WiMAX™ dual-mode module |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Works | |
| Screen | Works | |
| HDD | Works | |
| Optical Drive | Works | |
| Graphics | Works | Needs the nvidia driver, see notes |
| Sound | Works | |
| Ethernet | Works | |
| Wireless | Works | |
| Bluetooth | Works | |
| Modem | Not Tested | |
| USB | Works | |
| Card Reader | Works | |
| Fingerprint Reader | Not Tested | |
| Webcam | Works |
Notes
This laptop was tested with Ubuntu 9.04 64bit.
Graphics
For the display to work correctly you will need to install the latest NVIDIA proprietary drivers. See the guides section on this site for details on achieving this on various different Linux distributions.
Touchpad
The touchpad works fine but the 5738G includes a button to temporarily switch it off. Unfortunately in Linux this isn't so temporary and requires a reboot to get it working again.
Summary
After installing the NVIDIA drivers the Acer Aspire 5738G works very well with Linux, this one is on the recommended list.
Discussion
Can anyone confirm that the geforce 105m does work with hdmi-audio-out when connected to external monitor?
I wondered, can I use the driver from acers support site for windows 7?
When installing the latest driver from nvidia, the hdmi-audio-out doesn't work.
Please help
The touchpad problem does *NOT* require a reboot regardless of your kernel config (I haven't yet tried the suggested change to grub). If it stops working, switch to a text terminal and run “sudo rmmod psmouse” followed by “sudo modprobe psmouse” and it'll work again.
I have installed Linux with KDE to this kind of laptop. My problem is, that I can not switch off (and on) the webcam and seemingly the bluetooth. It does not matter that I try as Acer laptop, Acer C300, Acer Ferrary or symply Laptop/notebook/emachine in KDE settings. Can anyone help me with this?
This laptop creates a lot of heat due to ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 4570.
It sometimes reboots due to temp higher than 90 centigrade.
Touchpad once locked does not opened unless rebooted.
Location of touchpad wrt keypad is not researched properly by ACER and due to which most of the time touchpad is touched and it ruins the typing experience.
Only this is that this laptop is cheap but still it is more WINDOWS oriented than Linux.
I tried in Karmic,Lucid and now Maverick Ubunut linux, RHEL,Sabayon, Gentoo, and only in Karmic it was creating less temp ~48-50 centi
in other distros it was around ~68 and goes normally around 80centigrade while some computing is going on
better dont buy this laptop
What about modem is it work properly i want to start internet on red hat linux 5.0
how should i configure it i have same laptop
Ah….and webcam works perfectly :)
There's only a problem: the hard disk temperature is higher than windows (5-6 C)
For touchpad bug add follow in grub options (/etc/default/grub):
i8042.nomux i8042.reset
and about the touchpad bug??
Is there any info about the webcam compatibility?
http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/linux/Pages/radeon_linux.aspx?type=2.4.2&product=2.4.2.3.32&lang=English
Follow instructions… Work perfect!
What about if the graphic driver is ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 4570. Does anyone can confirm that it works fine whit it?
Thanks
ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 4570 works perfect, 3D effects included.