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.

Page Contents Authors Introduction Editing This Page Specifications Linux Compatibility Notes Related Resources Summary

Authors

Bill Giannikos (bill2 at giannikos.com.au)

Introduction

This is a guide to running Linux with the Asus A6U laptop, model A6QU32DL56PG. One of only a few laptops with the AMD Turion64 processor. Its Linux compatibility is not the best.

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Specifications

Processor	AMD Turion64 MT-32 - 1.8Ghz/512K
Screen	15.4"
RAM	512MB
HDD	60GB
Optical Drive	DVD+-RW
Graphics	SIS760GX+
Network	10/100 Ethernet, Broadcom 802.11g Wireless
Other	4 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire, Webcam

Linux Compatibility

Device	Compatibility	Comments
Processor	Yes
Screen	Yes
Optical Drive	Yes
Graphics	Yes	Use sis driver
Sound	Yes	Use snd-intel8x0 driver
Ethernet	Yes	Use 8139too driver
Wireless	Partial
Bluetooth	Not Tested
56K Modem	Not Tested
USB	Yes
Firewire	Not Tested
SD Card Reader	Not tested, probably wont work
PCMCIA	Not Tested
Webcam	Not tested, probably wont work

Notes

You will need to use the ndiswrapper driver for the Broadcom wireless controller. A Howto for ndiswrapper is available here, with the Windows drivers available here. There is also a set of native drivers called the bcm43xx drivers, but these were not tested.

Related Resources

Preparing your laptop for Linux
Configuring the ndiswrapper driver for wireless controllers without native Linux drivers
Increasing battery life

Summary

The Asus A6U is let down by the wireless component which makes installing Linux harder than other laptops.


Have you installed Linux on this laptop? If so how about leaving a comment about your success in the comments section below.