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 Author Introduction Editing This Page Specifications Linux Compatibility Notes Related Resouces Summary

Author

Bill Giannikos (bill2 at giannikos.com.au)

Introduction

This is a guide to running Linux with the Asus W7S laptop.

Editing This Page

View our Editing Guidelines

Specifications

Name	Asus W7S
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2GHz
Screen	13.3" WXGA
RAM	1.5GB
HDD	160GB
Optical Drive	DVD+-RW
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 8400M
Network	10/100/1000 Ethernet, Intel 4965 802.11abgn Wireless, Bluetooth
Other	3 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	See notes below
Ethernet	Yes
Wireless	Yes	See notes below
Bluetooth	Not Tested
56K Modem	Not Tested
USB	Yes
Firewire	Not Tested
Card Reader	Not Tested
ExpressCard Slot	Not Tested
Webcam	Partial	Works with the linux-uvc driver, but quality doesn't seem good

Notes

The ethernet controller needs kernel 2.6.21 or greater to function.

The GeForce 8400M in the Asus W7S is not supported by the open source 'nv' driver found in most Linux distributions. In this case you will need to install the proprietary nvidia driver, see below for details on how to do this. Recent Linux distributions should be able to support the 8400M in 2D mode but the proprietary drivers are needed for 3D support.

The Intel 4965AGN wireless controller in the W7S needs the iwlwifi driver to function. This driver may be difficult to install depending on the kernel and distribution combination you are using. At this time Ubuntu 7.10, Mandriva Linux 2008 and OpenSuSE 10.3 support this controller as standard but you can view the guide below for a more up to date list of distributions which support this controller plus instructions for distributions which don't support it fully.

Like the wireless, depending on the distribution you use, the audio system may not function. In this case you will have to install at least version 1.0.15rc3 of the ALSA drivers. Audio with Ubuntu 7.10 works fine.

Related Resouces

Preparing your laptop for Linux
Configuring a nVidia graphics chip
Configuring the audio
Configuring the iwl4965 driver for the Intel 4965AGN wireless controller
Increasing battery life

Summary

A very recent Linux distribution, such as Ubuntu 7.10, is recommended for the Asus W7S. Older Linux distributions require quite a bit of configuration work but new distributions with at least kernel 2.6.22 work fine.


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