Acer Extensa 5220
Created by: Bill Giannikos,Last modification on Wed 09 of Jan, 2008 [01:47 UTC]by Tony
This guide is intended to provide you details on how well this laptop works with Linux and which drivers you need to configure. For details on how to actually install and configure the required drivers have a look at our guides section for distribution specific instructions.
Introduction
This is a guide to running Linux with the Acer Extensa 5220 laptop.Editing This Page
View our Editing GuidelinesSpecifications
| Name | Acer Extensa 5220 | |
| Processor | Intel Celeron-M 530SR 1.73Ghz | |
| Screen | 15.4" WXGA | |
| RAM | 512MB | |
| HDD | 80GB | |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW | |
| Graphics | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 | |
| Network | 10/100/1000 Ethernet, Broadcom BCM94311 802.11g Wireless | |
| Other | 4 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire, Webcam | |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
| Processor | Yes | |
| Screen | Yes | |
| HDD | Yes | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | |
| Graphics | Yes | See notes below |
| Sound | Yes | Use the snd-hda-intel driver |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Wireless | Yes | See notes below |
| 56K Modem | Not Tested | |
| USB | Yes | |
| Firewire | Not Tested | |
| Card Reader | Yes | |
| PCMCIA | Not Tested | |
| ExpressCard Slot | Not Tested | |
| Webcam | Yes | |
Notes - Video
The standard resolution of the screen in the Extensa 5220 is 1280x800. If you find that you can not use this resolution and only gives you the option for 1024x768 or the chip simply doesn't work at all it means that the i810 driver in your version of Xorg does not fully support the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100. In Ubuntu 7.04 you will need to install the xserver-xorg-video-intel driver. OpenSuSE 10.3, Mandriva Linux 2008 and Ubuntu 7.10 support this chip fully.Notes - Wireless LAN
You need to use the bcm43xx driver for the wireless controller. Unfortunately this driver is still fairly new and does not always work properly, especially versions in older kernels. I would recommend kernel 2.6.22 or greater for best support. You may have issues with power management however (ie the wireless no longer works after suspend/resume).In addition to the bcm43xx driver, you will need to install the firmware. Due to copyright restrictions, the creators of the bcm43xx driver can't just give you the firmware - you'll need to get it yourself. To do this, simply install the "bcm43xx-fwcutter" package. This will download the Windows driver for your wireless card, cut out the firmware from that driver, and insert it into the linux bcm43xx driver.
An alternative to using the bcm43xx driver is to use the NDISWrapper - some users have reported that the bcm card works better (better range) with the NDISWrapper. Refer to this article for NDISWrapper information: Configuring the ndiswrapper driver for wireless controllers without native Linux drivers
Related Resources
Preparing your laptop for LinuxIncreasing battery life
Configuring the ndiswrapper driver for wireless controllers without native Linux drivers
Summary
The Acer Extensa 5220 works well with a Linux distribution which uses kernel version 2.6.22 or greater and has up to date Xorg drivers. Mandriva Linux 2008, OpenSuSE 10.3, Ubuntu 7.10 and Fedora 8 support this laptop well.Have you installed Linux on this laptop? If so how about leaving a comment about your success in the comments section below.
Comments
extensa 5220
The extensa 5220 works perfectly when tweaked a bit..
My 1gb ram, 160 gb harddisk 2.3 ghz cpu is just spinning like a puss.
It is oh so blody lovely to get away from Windoze..
wireless
Now, the bcm43xx guys can't just give you the firmware - it's to do with all that complicated copyright stuff that a lot of linux development comes across. But the firmware *is* available from the BitCom website inside their Windows drivers. What *you* need to do is install the package called "bcm43xx-fwcutter" - this package will downloading the windows driver from the bitcom website, it will "cut" the firmware out of the windows driver and insert it into the linux driver (bcm43xx).
Like I mentioned, I use Ubuntu 7.10. So I used Synaptic to install bcm43xx-fwcutter. I really don't know how this would work on Mandriva, OpenSuSe or other distributions.
I got my information from http://dreesen.net/linux-extensa.html (installing Debian on Extensa 5220) — Ubuntu is a Debian-based distro.
Re: wireless
Re: wireless
Webcam works in Ubunto 7.10
One thing I have noticed, however, is that the internal microphone (to the left of the webcam above the LCD screen) doesn't seem to be working with Skype. Mind you, I haven't played around with mixer settings, it might be something simple.
Re: Webcam works in Ubunto 7.10
My comp is working fine with skype..
Write me at tobi-fp@hotmail.com if you need help tweaking.
Re: Webcam works in Ubunto 7.10