Dell Inspiron 700m
Created by: Bill Giannikos,Last modification on Wed 15 of Aug, 2007 [05:21 UTC]by Bill Giannikos
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 Dell Inspiron 700m laptop. The Inspiron 700m is a subnotebook from Dell which has good support for Linux.Editing This Page
View our Editing GuidelinesSpecifications
| Name | Dell Inspiron 700m | Processor | Intel Pentium-M 735 1.7GHz |
| Screen | 12.1" WXGA | ||
| RAM | 512MB | ||
| HDD | 40GB | ||
| Optical Drive | DVD-ROM | ||
| Graphics | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 | ||
| Network | 10/100 Ethernet, Intel 2200 802.11g Wireless | ||
| Other | 2 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire | ||
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments | |
| Processor | Yes | ||
| Screen | Yes | ||
| HDD | Yes | ||
| Optical Drive | Yes | ||
| Graphics | Yes | ||
| Sound | Yes | Use the snd-intel8x0 driver | |
| Ethernet | Yes | ||
| Wireless | Yes | Use the ipw2200 driver | |
| 56K Modem | Not Tested | ||
| USB | Yes | ||
| Firewire | Not Tested | ||
| SD Card Reader | No | ||
| PCMCIA | Not Tested | ||
Notes
As default the native screen resolution of the Dell Inspiron 700m is 1280x800, however due to the way the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 functions this resolution would not be usable right away. You can view our Configuring the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 & 950 guide for more information.Some versions of this laptop use the Broadcom Corporation BCM4309 802.11a/b/g wireless controller. This wireless controller is functional when using the ndiswrapper driver. For installation instructions, you can view our Configuring the ndiswrapper driver guide. There are also some experimental drivers available for this card which are available here. At this time these drivers are still under development and may not be totally stable.
Related Resources
Preparing your laptop for LinuxConfiguring the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 & 950
Configuring the ndiswrapper driver for wireless controllers without native Linux drivers
Increasing battery life
Summary
There were no problems in getting the Dell Inspiron 700m working when used with an up to date Linux distribution. It is recommended to use a Linux distribution with kernel version 2.6.16 or greater, such as Fedora Core 5 or Ubuntu 6.06.Have you installed Linux on this laptop? If so how about leaving a comment about your success in the comments section below.
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