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Asus A6G
Introduction
This is a guide to running Linux with the Asus A6G laptop.
This guide is intended to provide you details on how well this laptop works with Linux and which modules you need to configure. For details on how to actually install and configure the required modules have a look at our guides section for distribution specific instructions.
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Specifications
| Name | Asus A6G |
| Processor | Intel Pentium-M 725 1.6Ghz |
| Screen | 15.4” WXGA |
| RAM | 512MB |
| HDD | 60GB |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 |
| Network | 10/100 Ethernet, Intel 2200 802.11g Wireless |
| Other | 4 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire, Webcam |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Yes | |
| Screen | Yes | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | |
| Graphics | Yes | |
| Sound | Yes | Use the snd-intel8x0 module |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Wireless | Yes | Use ipw2200 module |
| 56K Modem | Not Tested | |
| USB | Yes | |
| Firewire | Not Tested | |
| Card Reader | Yes | |
| PCMCIA | Not Tested | |
| Camera | No |
Notes
For the graphics chip you can use either the open source radeon module or ATI's proprietary fglrx module. For installation instructions, you can view our Configuring an ATI graphics chip guide. For 3D support, you will need the proprietary module. Some older versions of X may not have support for the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700, in this case you will need to use the proprietary module.
Summary
There were no problems in getting this laptop working when used with an up to date Linux distribution. It is recommended to use a Linux distribution with kernel version 2.6.16 or greater, such as Fedora Core 5 or Ubuntu 6.06.
Discussion
The only thing I'd like to add is that to make frequency scaling work (cpufreq), you have to use a patched speedstep-centrino module.
See for example this old post: http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-75810.html
And this Arch Linux package: http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=33104
The only distribution that had cpufreq working out of the box on my A6BG16 is Mandriva 2010.1.
Asus A6G
Here is my experience with A6G and Linux.
My spec:
Processor Intel Pentium-M 755 2.0Ghz
Screen 15.4” WXGA
RAM 1025MB
HDD 60GB
Optical Drive DVD+-RW
Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Network 10/100 Ethernet, Intel 2200 802.11g Wireless
Other 4 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire, Webcam
Linux Compatibility
Processor: Yes
Screen: Yes
Optical Drive: Yes
Graphics: Yes - The newest drivers from Ati doesn´t work. Last stabe one was 8.40 with Xorg 7.2
Sound: Everytime, on the start it plays, but after some minutes sound drops off.
Ethernet: Yes
Wireless: Yes
56K Modem Not Tested
USB: Yes
Firewire: Not Tested
SD Card Reader: Yes
PCMCIA: Not Tested
Webcam: Tested, but without results. It is not still working.
Tested distro: openSuse 10.2, 10.3, Mandriva 2007, Ubuntu 7.04, 8.04, Fedora 8, 9, Arch Linux