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Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430
Introduction
This is a compatibility guide to running Linux with the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 laptop. If you have the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 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 ThinkPad Edge E430. For a general discussion about this laptop you can visit the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 page on LapWik.
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Specifications
For full specifications see the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 specifications page.
| Name | Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 |
| Processor | Intel Core i3-2350M processor (dual-core, 2.30GHz, 3MB Cache) Intel Core i5-2450M processor (dual-core, 2.50GHz, 3MB Cache) Intel Core i7-3612QM processor (quad-core, 2.1-3.1GHz, 6MB Cache) |
| Screen | 14” 1366×768 Widescreen |
| RAM | Up to 8GB advertised, 12GB tested, 16GB rumored |
| HDD | Up to 750GB |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 3000 |
| Network | 10/100/1000 Ethernet ThinkPad 11b/g/n, 1×1 Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230 |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Works | |
| Screen | Works | |
| HDD | Works | |
| Optical Drive | Works | |
| Graphics Chip | Works | |
| VGA Out | Works | |
| HDMI Out | Works | |
| Sound | Works | |
| Built-in Microphone | Works | |
| Headphone Jack | Works | |
| Microphone Jack | Not Tested | I couldn't get the mic jack to work, but I think that it is just user ignorance. It appears that both internal mic and external are both available in this case, and so you need to choose which one in software. I couldn't find the option to do this in kmix. |
| Ethernet | Works | |
| Wireless | Works | The model tested had the ThinkPad 11/b/g/n chip which is Broadcom based. This requires firmware to be installed, however Ubuntu 12.04 handles this automatically. The Intel Centrino WirelessN 2230 (2×2 BGN & BT4) also works. |
| Bluetooth | Works | Intel Centrino WirelessN 2230 (2×2 BGN & BT4) Bluetooth works |
| USB | Works | |
| Card Reader | Works | Needs driver from Realtek's web site (Realtek RTS5229) |
| Fingerprint Reader | Not Tested | Fingerprint-gui (1.04) can be compiled successfully on Fedora with some changes to the code (http://pastebin.com/L3bD18ts). Ubuntu apparently provides precompiled packages for these. |
| Webcam | Works | |
| Touch Pad | Works | |
| Track Point | Works | |
| Suspend/Resume | Works |
Notes
The E430 has the same internals as the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E530 so their respective compatibility should be the same.
This laptop was tested with Ubuntu 12.04 and Fedora 17. Installation was straight forward with no issues to report.
Out of the box with Fedora, the battery status worked fine. However, after a few days the battery “disappeared” and I think it wasn't even charging. Passing the “acpi_osi=Linux” or “acpi_osi=Windows” options may or may not help. It seems that the best solution here is to boot into Windows, and configure the charge thresholds using Lenovo's battery tool. This configuration should last until you turn the computer off with AC disconnected (according to something I read on ThinkWiki). tp_smapi doesn't currently support this model.
There is no hard disk indicator LED on this laptop. Fortunately, it is possible to simulate an HDD indicator by flashing the red light on the ThinkPad logo: http://www.stahlke.org/dan/hdd_led
The Finger print reader does not work with Linux Mint
Summary
The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 work well with Linux.
Discussion
I have E430. Everything is working. The only thing that isn't working right is the touchpad. It's way too sensitive. Has anyone else had this problem and if so, did you find a solution?
Fingerprint reader works very well in Ubuntu 12.04 . It can login, authenticate for adding/removing software and even sudo-ing in the console.
Microphone slot will not work, but not because of Linux.
There is no chance to plug a basic microphone into this laptop. It only accepts a microphone when it's a part of a headset ( on a 4-pole jack ).
If you plug in a headset it still does not disable built-in microphone. To be exact, works only built-in microphone, not the headset one.
The fingerprint GUI works very well for E430. Please see the instructions in the following link
http://www.brankovukelic.com/2013/01/linux-mint-14-and-thinkpad-upek.html?showComment=1358311777163#c1283939951526384131
I was not able to to get the mic jack to work:( The internal mic works but there is no chance to switch on only the mic jack. I tried alsamixer (there is just “capture”), pavucontrol - there is just “analog input”, no option to change to “analog duplex stereo”. Dou you have any ideas how to solve this? I need this computer for making calls in busy enviroment so internal mic is not an option…
By default, you need to hold the Fn-key in order to access the F1-F12 keys (without the Fn-key they become volume, brightness, etc.). In the BIOS there is a way to switch this so that F1-F12 is the default function and volume/brightness need the Fn-key held. However!!!, regardless of how I set the BIOS, I get random switching between the two modes. So I never know if I have to hold the Fn-key and it will be random whether I get for instance an F2 press or a volume down press. Another Linux user reports the same problem. There is a discussion thread on the Lenovo forums: (link).
I'm on fedora 17 and nothing seems to be working right - the sound (from skype specifically) is crappy, and in other programs is OK, the wi-fi is not working so I had to resort to cables… I hope fedora addresses these issues, no wonder linux is loosing heavily on the desktop (and I'm an admin myself, yet I expect when I install OS it just works, we're not '92 any more)
BT5 not recognizing Centrino N-2230. any help please
I have gotten all hardware to work on this computer. Though I do have the 3rd Gen i5 3210M with HM77 chipset and HD4000 graphics.
I do want to point out that the Thinkpad b/g/n is now a Realtek device. It uses the rtl8192ce module and is pretty spotty at best, non-funtional at its worst. Please do not sell this device with Thinkpad b/g/n, use Intel Centrino 2200 instead.
I got the fingerprint reader working on Fedora with fingerprint-gui. The source code (fingerprint-gui-1.04) needed some modifications. Pasting code here seems to be problematic ('plus' signs disappear) so I've put it up on pastebin: http://pastebin.com/L3bD18ts
After patching the code, qmake was run with:
$ qmake-qt4 LIBPOLKIT_QT=LIBPOLKIT_QT_1_1
Hope this helps someone.
Having difficulty getting BT5 / Ubuntu to recognize the Intel Centrino N 2230. Any pointers. Installed the firmware-iwlwifi and wireless-tools, no luck there..
Fingerprint Reader works pretty well on Ubuntu. Tested it on 11.10, 12.04