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Asus U56E
Author(s)
Scott Walsh (scott.walsh@snet.net)
Introduction
I have set up two of these very nice laptops using Mint 12 64 bit. There are a couple of required tweeks needed to get the touchpad working as a touchpad instead of a mouse and wireless setup. Once done with that, everything works great.
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Specifications
| Name | ASUS U56E |
| Processor | Intel® Core™ i5-2430M CPU @ 2.40GHz × 4 |
| Screen | 1366 x 768 running Intel® Sandybridge Mobile |
| RAM | 6 Meg |
| HDD | 650 Gigabyte |
| Optical Drive | description: DVD-RAM writer product: DVD-RAM UJ8A2ASW vendor: MATSHITA |
| Graphics | VGA compatible controller 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Card |
| Network | Card-1 Atheros AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet driver Card-2 Intel Centrino Wireless-N + WiMAX 6150 driver iwlagn |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Yes | No Problems | |
| Screen | Yes | No Problems | |
| HDD | Yes | No Problems | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | No Problems | |
| Graphics | Yes | Smooth video. Google Earth works nicely | |
| Sound | Yes | No Problems | |
| Ethernet | Yes | Connected instantly with no problems | |
| Touchpad | Yes, with a tweek | See Notes, below | |
| Wireless | Yes, but with a little work | See Notes, below | |
| Bluetooth | Not Tested | ||
| 56K Modem | No | No 56K modem | |
| USB | Yes | No Problems | |
| Firewire | No | No Firewire | |
| Card Reader | Yes | No Problems | |
| ExpressCard Slot | Yes | ||
| Camera | Yes | Mint 12 takes your picture during installation | |
Notes
Suspend and Hibernate do not work well, but I think this is a Mint issue rather than a laptop issue
Touchpad:
Initially, the touchpad works like a mouse.In system settings, there is no touchpad tab in the mouse applet to give you the typical touchpad options. To correct this, I installed version 0.10 of the psmouse-alps-dkms package. It is available at
http://people.canonical.com/~sforshee/alps-touchpad/psmouse-alps-0.10/psmouse-alps-dkms_0.10_all.deb
Double click to install and reboot. Your touchpad is now a touchpad.
Wireless:
The new 3.0.X kernel broke wireless for some laptops. The effect is constant request for authentication even if you know you are typing the right password. More description here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1862484 but the bottom line, for now, is this:
The *temporary* solution involves installing an older kernel, it seems we have to go back to kernel 2.6.38 to get it to work. The most recent version of that kernel can be downloaded from:
http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.38.8-natty/
According to the helpful person from that thread you will need three files:
linux-headers…all.deb
and either:
linux-headers….amd64.deb
linux-image…amd64.deb
or:
linux-headers….i386.deb
linux-image…i386.deb
… depending on your architecture (32-bit or 64-bit). Once you have the three files just double click them to install using the Software Center and restart the system remembering to select the older kernel in Grub.
If you do not have a boot menu displayed when you start up, install startupmanager which will let you set the default to the older kernel.
~$ sudo apt-get install startupmanager
You can run it from the menu after installation
Summary
I'm very happy with the ASUS U56E laptop.
Discussion
Hi,
I managed to fix the wireless problem on my Asus u56e using Ubuntu 12.04 and Fedora 17, but im having some issues involving Wired connections and Mikrotik router boards.
To access Mikrotik RB Graphical Interface i use a software called Winbox, it identify the RB's Ethernet MAC address and allow me to enter the GI and realize better and faster management.
Using Win XP, Win 7 or Other computer with Linux(Like my Desktop pc), it works perfectly but when i try to use it on my Asus u56e with Ubuntu or Fedora OS, it just dont allow me to connect.
I know its something with the Asus u56e wired Ethernet connection, because it let me connect through the wireless and RB's Wireless interface and on my other linux computer wired eth.
I've installed Mactelnet package to discover the MACs and i run Winbox through wine, but seems like my u56e doesn't establish wired connection when its connected to those RBs. However i can access it via text mode(but it doesnt require stable connection).
By the way, connecting to the internet through wired connection works properly.
Just to be clear.
Windows XP, 7 or other computers with linux
Winbox: Works properly.
Textmode: Telnet or Putty. works
Asus u56e with LINUX based OS
Text mode: Works properly.
*Winbox:
Wireless - Works properly Wired Ethernet - Connection timeout(with wireless on) - Internal Error(with wireless Off)Any ideas?
Thank you.