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LG P310 Tarsia
Introduction
This is about compatibility of the LG P310 Tarsia with Linux (for a prospective buyer who is not sure whether he can run Linux on it). I've used openSUSE 11.1 with KDE 3.5 and so far it works fine.
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 | LG P310 Tarsia |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 2.53GHz |
| Screen | 13.3” widescreen (1280×800) |
| RAM | 4GB DDR3 |
| HDD | 320GB |
| Optical Drive | External DVD+-RW via USB |
| Graphics | NVIDIA 9600m GT/PCI/SSE2 |
| Network | Ethernet, Wireless , Bluetooth |
| Other | 3 x USB2.0, s-link, hdmi, vga output, secure lock, microphone, 2MP builtin Webcam |
Linux Compatibility (OpenSuse)
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Yes | |
| Screen | Yes | |
| HDD | Yes | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | |
| Graphics | Yes | |
| Sound | Yes | |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Wireless | Yes | However, I couldn't manage to get ad-hoc in master mode to work. |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Seems to work, it could recognize my mobile, but I didn't try to connect. |
| USB | Yes | |
| Card Reader | Not Tested | |
| Webcam | Yes | Works perfectly in skype. |
| HDMI | Not Tested | |
| VGA Output | Yes | Dual Screen/TwinView etc. works (only tested with nvidia driver) |
| Microphone | Yes | I had to change some settings in the kmixer until it worked. |
| S-Link | No | I couldn't get it to work. This is a special USB smart link made up by LG electronics. It might be useful for transferring data, but it looks like its a windows only thing (drivers). |
| Suspend to RAM | Yes | Screen brightness is changed (full brightness) after resume, but can be set to your preference again with one or two key presses. |
| Suspend to DISK | Yes | After resume, I had to restart the network though (was an easy task using YAST and its runlevel editor). Screen brightness is changed (full brightness) after resume, but can be set to your preference again with one or two key presses. |
| Volume Keys | Yes | The special keys for changing volume which are at the side of the notebook work fine as well. |
The key combination Fn+F11 for silent mode works perfectly as well. It gets calm and CPU max frequency is set to 800MHz (same in Windows). Fn+F9 for Mute audio works, too. But Fn+F6 for disabling WLAN does not work, but using the network manager for disabling WLAN works (at least WLAN stops, the light for WLAN turns off and energy consumption becomes less/expected battery runtime increases noticeable).
Linux Compatibility (Kubuntu 8.10 with KDE4.2 beta)
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Yes | |
| Screen | Yes | |
| HDD | Yes | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | |
| Graphics | Yes | It works well, including twinview using a large external display |
| Sound | Yes | |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Wireless | Not tested | |
| Bluetooth | Not tested | |
| USB | Yes | Yes, but at the moment, it does not recognize the external keyboard if it is already plugged-in at startup. It has to be plugged-in later |
| Card Reader | Not Tested | |
| Webcam | Not tested | |
| HDMI | Yes | With nice 1920×1200 resolution. |
| VGA Output | Not tested | |
| Microphone | Not tested | |
| S-Link | Not tested | |
| Suspend to RAM | Not tested yet | |
| Suspend to DISK | Half tested, not working yet | |
| Volume Keys | Yes | OK inkl. on-screen display of volume level. |
Notes
The key for turning off the touchpad does not work. You need to turn it off using the command 'synclient TouchpadOff=1'.
Summary
This laptop looks like to have great compatability with Linux, at least with openSUSE 11.1 and Kubuntu 8.10.
Discussion
Running same machine with Ubuntu 9.04, card reader works.
Hey there,
using P310-Camini on Ubuntu 9.04. The most of all features are working quite good instantly after installation. To use all features of the NVIDA Card and for automatic frequency changes of the GPU i installed the proprietary drivers - works great since there.
But 1 Problem I DO have: sound is working on ubuntu only using the internal speakers. I did not get the sound working through plugged in earphones :(
Any Solution for that? I played a lot with the sound-mixer settings but nothing worked.
Hey Alex,
I encountered the same problem with a plug in speakers. Its muted by default run alsamixer and under headphone unmute (press m), this should do the trick.
To get everything working with no problems (including suspend/resume), you need a distro running kernel 2.6.31.
right now afaik, only sidux and opensuse 11.2 use that kernel.
Also you need the latest NVIDIA proprietary drivers from http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html