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Medion 9783
Author(s)
Ole Tange (http://ole.tange.dk)
Introduction
This is a guide to running Linux with the Medion 9783 laptop. This laptop was tested with Gentoo.
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.
Editing This Page
Feel free to edit this page if you have further information or corrections to add, or send an e-mail to admin@linlap.com if you don't know how to/can't be bothered editing this page.
Specifications
| Name | Medion 9783 |
| Processor | Pentium 4 2 GHz |
| Screen | 14” |
| RAM | 256+512 MB (1024 MB max) |
| HDD | 100 GB 44 pin ATA, TOSHIBA MK1031GAS |
| Optical Drive | QSI CD-RW/DVD-ROM SBW-242 |
| Graphics | ATI Technologies Inc Radeon Mobility M6 LY rev 0 |
| Sound | Intel Corporation 82801BA/BAM AC'97 Audio (rev 05) |
| Network | Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10) |
| 56K Modem | Ambient Technologies Inc HaM controllerless modem (rev 02) |
| USB | 2 ports USB 1.1, Intel Corporation 82801BA/BAM USB (rev 05) |
| Firewire | 1 port, Texas Instruments TSB43AB21 IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link) |
| PCMCIA | Texas Instruments PCI1520 PC card Cardbus Controller (rev 01) |
| Misc | IrDA Serial and parallel port, 4 way scroll button, 5 magic keys |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Yes | ||
| Screen | Yes | 1024×768 | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | CD-RW: Untested | |
| Graphics | Yes | S-Video: untested | |
| Sound | Yes | snd_intel8x0 | |
| Ethernet | Yes | 8139too | |
| 56K Modem | Yes | ||
| USB | Yes | uhci | |
| Firewire | Yes | ohci1394 and ieee1394 | |
| PCMCIA | Yes | ||
| IrDA | Yes | ||
| Serial and Parallel | Yes | ||
| 4 way scroll button | No | ||
| 5 magic keys | No |
Notes
Modem
The modem requires intel-v92ham.tgz and “pci=acpi” as a boot parameter, e.g., in /boot/grub/menu.lst. The modem device is called /dev/ham.
Conclusions
The most important things worked from day one. The laptop is heavy (4 kg) and noisy by 2006-standards. But it was cheap. The loudspeakers were very good when the machine was bought. Today they are still average compared to new laptops.
Discussion
scroll pad and 'magic' keys…
The scroll pad actually 'just works'. It is recognized as a scroll wheel plus two extra mouse buttons. The 'magic' keys can be made to work, I sent a patch to the author of the appropriate programs but this patch has not been merged yet (after 2 years… so I guess it won't…). The patch just adds some DMI info about the Medion 9783 so it is recognized.