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Lenovo G480
Introduction
This is a compatibility guide to running Linux with the Lenovo G480 laptop. If you have the Lenovo G480 and are running Linux on it please consider editing this page or adding a comment below with your compatibility details. By contributing you will help other people running this laptop or trying to make a decision on whether to buy it or not.
This page is just for discussing using Linux on the Lenovo G480. For a general discussion about this laptop you can visit the Lenovo G480 page on LapWik.
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Specifications
For full specifications see the Lenovo G480 specifications page.
| Name | Lenovo G480 |
| Processor | 3rd generation Intel Core i5-3210M 2nd generation Intel Core i3-2370M Intel Celeron B820 (1.60GHz, 2MB) |
| Screen | 14” HD 16:9 widescreen display |
| RAM | Up to 8GB |
| HDD | 500GB, 750GB, 1TB (5,400 rpm) 500GB (7,200 rpm) |
| Optical Drive | Tray-in Rambo drive |
| Graphics | Intel HD 4000 Graphics Intel HD 3000 Graphics |
| Network | Ethernet NIC: 10/100M Intel WiMAX/WiFi 6250 2 x 2 AGN Intel WiMAX/WiFi 6150 2 x 2 AGN |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Works | |
| Screen | Works | |
| HDD | Works | |
| Graphics Chip | Works | |
| VGA Out | Not Tested | |
| HDMI Out | Not Tested | |
| Optical Drive | Works | |
| Sound | Works | |
| Headphone Port | Works | |
| Microphone-In Port | Not Tested | |
| Ethernet | Works | |
| Wireless | Works | Install the Broadcom firmware if you can't get wireless to work. |
| Bluetooth | Works | Tested in Linux Mint 13 with MATE |
| USB | Works | |
| Card Reader | Not Tested | |
| Webcam | Works | Tested in Linux Mint 13 with MATE. Works fine on Skype |
| Keyboard | Works | |
| Fingerprint Reader | N/A | |
| Suspend/Resume | Works |
Notes
Summary
The Lenovo G480 works just fine with Linux.
Discussion
Ubuntu 12.04 - Linux Mint 13
Partitions The first problem was that Lenovo decided to use all four Primary Disk Partitions. Solution for this was simple Cut and Paste the contents of the D: partition to C: and check that it still worked and then after seearching the web for a Howto resizing the C: drive and deleting D:. This gave me rattling room for Linux Mint.
In the BIOS I set CD/DVD as first boot and turned UEFI off.
Installation of Mint was problem free.
Ethernet http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=12206899&postcount=6
Wireless http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=12394083&postcount=3
My first attempt failed with a dependency error re libc6-dev. Deleting the version in Synaptic that I had installed to get the wired connection working and running the code again got the wireless connection working on the second attempt.
Brightness http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=12279200#post12279200
sudo gedit /etc/default/grub and edit
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=“quiet splash” to read
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=“quiet splash acpi_backlight=vendor”
then
sudo update-grub
At next reboot the brightness keys worked.
Open CD/DVD Tray There is no button to press. In Terminal type “eject” without quotes then press <Enter>.