This is a guide to running Linux with the HP EliteBook 6930P laptop.
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.
This page is just for discussing using Linux on the HP EliteBook 6930p. For a general discussion about this laptop you can visit the HP EliteBook 6930p page on LapWik.
If you would like to edit this page please first view our Editing Guidelines.
For full specifications see the HP EliteBook 6930P specifications page.
| Name | HP EliteBook 6930P FW125p |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo P9400 (2.53GHz) |
| Screen | 14.1” WXGA+ Widescreen |
| RAM | 4GB |
| HDD | 250GB (5400 rpm) |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 |
| Network | 82567LM Gigabit Network,WiFi Link 5100AGN , Bluetooth |
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Works | |
| Screen | Works | |
| HDD | Works | |
| Optical Drive | Works | |
| Graphics | Works | |
| Sound | Works | See below |
| Ethernet | Works | |
| Wireless | Works | |
| Bluetooth | Not fully Tested | obex transfer file works on my Nokia |
| 56K Modem | Not Tested | |
| USB | Works | |
| Firewire | Works | |
| SD/MMC Card Reader | Works | See below |
| ExpressCard Slot | Not Tested | |
| FingerScan | Not Tested | has anyone tried https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ThinkFinger ? |
| TouchPad | Works | |
| Camera | Works |
sudo echo "options snd-hda-intel model=laptop" >> /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf
Gentoo users:
sudo echo "options snd-hda-intel model=laptop" >> /etc/modprobe.d/alsa.conf
This will give sound on the speakers after a reboot.
The on-board hardware volume controls work after installing “keytouch” (http://keytouch.sourceforge.net/) and selecting the HP nc6320 keyboard.
Works with kernel 2.6.30.1 (and possibly slightly older versions) with the following modules enabled:
* CONFIG_MMC_SDHCI=m
* CONFIG_MMC_SDHCI_PCI=m
* CONFIG_MMC_RICOH_MMC=m
When a card is inserted, it will show up as ”/dev/mmcblk0p1”.
Note: As of 2.6.31.6, the “ricoh_mmc” module may interfere with resuming from suspend. You will need to remove this module before suspending and resuming will work properly.
I run the latest ubuntu-8.10-beta-desktop-amd64 on it. Downloaded on 23.10.08. i am not quite sure why the loudspeakers dont work.
For a new architecture, this install went very smooth… no need to hunt down modules and fiddle with the kernel.
Discussion
Hey guys,
Running a dual-booted system with Windows XP Professional and openSUSE 11.4. SUSE is running perfectly. The only issues I had were with the installation itself, so it may be a good idea to run through those problems in case anyone else will experience them.
Firstly,
Install openSUSE with the DVD version; I ran into some problems trying to use the KDE live-cd version. To be specific, as soon as I tried to run in a live environment, install SUSE or check the installation media, I had a huge graphics screw up: the whole screen was completely fuzzy. Perhaps it's just me but just a heads up anyway.
Secondly,
During install, I was left without a boot-loader after letting the installer run its course. After hours of trying to resolve the situation, with some help from online forums I figured out that it's best to install GRUB to the MBR instead of the default setting. Again, it may just be my system but keep that in mind.
Other than that, openSUSE runs perfectly and without a hitch.
hi computer greats!
I have just installed Ubuntu 10.10 and i was totally unable to run the webcam. Its just never run, i see the camera is there but cheese, skype was unable to get me any pictures. xawTV software seems to freeze when i run it. I had to get a secondary external webcam which understandly works fine with those above mentioned softwares. Ny solutions?
Hello,
the accelerometer is not listed in your list of working devices. And it works like a charm as it is also mapped to a joystick - isn't it cool? Try playing gltron or googleearth flight simulator.
Mik
I've tried the ThinkFinger solution for the fingerscan device, but it dit not work. It seems to need the fingerscan along the USB units: “Initializing…USB device not found.”
Hey, this page is very useful, but can someone tell me if the ethernet driver is compatible with linux-based Backtrack 4? How woud I go about installing the driver?
Hi,
Unsure about BT4, but BT5 KDE (32-bit) installs beautifully on this laptop in a dual-boot config with Windows XP. Can't figure a proper way of testing whether the integrated bluetooth is working (!), but the wireless card works “out of the box” - kudos to backtrack-linux for such a compatible release.
Hi,
Unsure about BT4, but BT5 KDE (32-bit) installs beautifully on this laptop in a dual-boot config with Windows XP. Can't figure a proper way of testing whether the integrated bluetooth is working (!), but the wireless card works “out of the box” - kudos to backtrack-linux for such a compatible release.
I installed Debian Lenny + openmotif 2.3.1 + Citrix Receiver Version 11.100 on a 6930p.
When I use Citrix to open a Windows NT 5.2 desktop, some texts in Windows menus and displays are totally invisible.
I tried it with both Gnome and KDE, same difference.
Hi, I have similar problem on 64bit CentOS (RHEL clone), with the same version of receiver, same version of openmotif and with KDE environment. Minimize, restore and close buttons has invisible symbols too. Do you find some solution till now? Regards, BK
AAAAGGGGRRRRR,
after many hours of yesterday searching and testing I found SOLUTION.
Yesterday I found some information that changing color depth helped someone,
but did not help other.
Of cource I tried Tools - Settings - Window - Default Window Colors … and nothing hapens.
Today I found color setting in Tools - Settings - Citrix XenApp - Session Options (change Server to it) - Colors.
I changed it to 32 Thousand ….. and ….. Heureka …. IT WORKS.
Regards, BK
solution for suspend / resume problems with ricoh_mmc (sd card reader) in karmic koala (9.10):
Add SUSPEND_MODULES=“ricoh_mmc” into /etc/pm/config.d/suspend_modules
found here: launchpad
I've installed Ubuntu 9.10 on my 6930p and the Firewire drive was recognized with no issues.
The webcam does not seem to work properly after an OpenSuse 11.2 install… and there's very little on google about it. Can anyone tell me what driver it's using?
Hi,
I am using Ubuntu 9.10 and it works fine in VLC. “lsmod | greo video” shows:
uvcvideo 65260 0
videodev 43360 1 uvcvideo
v4l1_compat 16804 2 uvcvideo,videodev
v4l2_compat_ioctl32 13344 1 videodev
And dmesg | grep video shows the following:
uvcvideo 65260 0
videodev 43360 1 uvcvideo
v4l1_compat 16804 2 uvcvideo,videodev
v4l2_compat_ioctl32 13344 1 videodev
Hope this helps.
Marco
here opensuse 11.2 and it works.
tested with
luvcview -f yuv
(it do not work without the option -f yuv )
hi,
does someone can explain to me why i have a Intel graphic card, and not a Radeon HD?
lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Memory Controller Hub (rev 07)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 07)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 07)
I also show an Intel Graphics card.
Hi,
I had some problems (graphics and ACPI mode) with OpenSuSE 11.1 on it. After upgrading to OpenSuSE 11.2 graphics problems are resolved. Booting with ACPI enabled (I could not see the status of the battery in OpenSuSE 11.1) is also working properly now.
I am having hp 6930p with ubuntu 9.04 and
Linux laptop 2.6.28-16-generic #55-Ubuntu SMP Tue Oct 20 19:48:24 UTC 2009 i686 GNU/Linux
The trackpoint (the little black mouse in the middle of the keyboard) is working but it is very hard to move. I tried everything in System → Preferences → Mouse but it only affects the settings of my *touchpad* but not the *touchpoint*. I also tried configure-trackpoint but got the message : Trackpoint is not detected. Check your kernel and TrackPoint driver.
Anyone knows how to change the speed, sensitivity, or the acceleration of the *trackpoint*
The trackpoint is also a problem on the HP 8530w. It can suddenly, and for no apparent reason, become very hard to move. You can adjust the sensitivity with commands such as:
xset mouse 25/10 2.5
but it won't stop the inconsistency. However typing that command frees it up… until next time it decides to get difficult, which could just be a few minutes.
I've seen this too (over a few years now). I don't know of a solution, but I can stop it temporarily by using xset such as “xset mouse 25/10 2”
did anybody manage to get the wlan working with OpenSUSE 11.0?
hi,
i don't know how you make wireless work, but on my side, expect no secure wireless, nothing work when i try to crypt my private network
Hello,
For fixes look at the 8530w page, we have similar issues with similar solutions…
http://www.linlap.com/wiki/HP+EliteBook+8530W
bye
falstaff
hi all
you marked the webcam as “working” on ubuntu 9.04, but i still have a problem with it :
the image has bad colors (colors like infra red cam ! ). i have tested tons of soft (cheese, xawtv, skype, asmn ….) but the problem is the same
seams to be a rgb issue or something like that …
did somebody face an issue like that on this laptop ?
thanks
I have installed opensuse 11.1 on the hp 6930p. Installation worked after disabling “fan always on…” in BIOS. Another issue was to enable boot from MBR and to disable boot from extended partition in the GRUB settings.
The 'options snd-hda-intel model=laptop' mentioned above doesn't resolve completely a problem with mute. It is possible to playback through the internal loudspeakers, but the mute led often goes red.
Additionally, I am not able to record from the internal or an external microphone. Brightness slider in the power management has no effect.
update
The issue with a microphone solved. One should just enable 'capture' in the mixer.
update 1
I have managed to adjust brightness only using xbrightness.
To activate the volume control buttons one can install keytouch, selecting the HP nc6320 keyboard.
I was unable to install SLED 11, until I added the pci=nomsi option to the kernel parms. After that the install ran great, both proc's and batteries detected. No acpi issues. However, I can't get sound to work out of the speakers with snd-hda-intel=mobile, I've also tried =laptop. No diff. Also the fingerprint reader isn't recognized. Any hints on getting the fingerprint reader working?
HI friend…
Sorry for my bad English.
I have same problems.
For the audio I resolve it with this solution:
- adding the line 'options snd-hda-intel model=laptop' to the file '/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base'
…and Now is OK!
I have intalling the Ubuntu 8.10 64bit with the acpi=off… but now the machine do not tuned off… why?
Another questions… for the Battery? I do not see the level's battery! Why?
Thank for all.
Bye, Roberto from ITALY.
With acpi=off you are turning off the power management features of the laptop, that's why shutdown and battery levels don't work.
HI friend…
Sorry for my bad English.
I have same problems.
For the audio I resolve it with this solution:
- adding the line 'options snd-hda-intel model=laptop' to the file '/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base'
…and Now is OK!
I have intalling the Ubuntu 8.10 64bit with the acpi=off… but now the machine do not tuned off… why?
Another questions… for the Battery? I do not see the level's battery! Why?
Thank for all.
Bye, Roberto from ITALY.
Installed ubuntu 8.10 without problem (except fan).
I have 4GB RAM, bios sees it, but I just have 3GB when I see hardware configuration under linux.
Does anyone know how to fix that?
You're probably using the 32bit version of Ubuntu. You will need the 64bit version for 4GB of RAM or more.
the trick with the sound mutting worked !
(adding the line 'options snd-hda-intel model=laptop' to the file '/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base')
in order to solve the freezing problem at startup one needs to put in acpi=ht as a kernel argument. for instance, in my GRUB startup (a double boot with windows), in the grub.conf file i wrote:
# grub.conf generated by anaconda # # Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file # NOTICE: You do not have a /boot partition. This means that # all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /, eg. # root (hd0,5) # kernel /boot/vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/sda6 # initrd /boot/initrd-version.img #boot=/dev/sda default=0 timeout=15 splashimage=(hd0,5)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz hiddenmenu title Fedora (2.6.27.15-170.2.24.fc10.x86_64) root (hd0,5) kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27.15-170.2.24.fc10.x86_64 ro root=UUID=fc6608e2-6c45-42ef-8df0-f747269db7e8 acpi=ht initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.27.15-170.2.24.fc10.x86_64.img title WinXP rootnoverify (hd0,0) chainloader +1the acpi=ht option is better than the acpi=off because it kills the acpi, which causes problems, but it keeps the dual core functionality.
with acpi=off you can startup, but only one CPU core is recognized by linux (which in my case is fedora 10).
Hi,
did anyone manage to run fingerprint reader on it?
Both ubuntu 8.04 a& 8.10 both boot ok, however I had to f6 it at the boot screen and add acpi=off and pnpbios=off to get it to boot.
It seems that this causes the laptop to have no idea if it's on A/C or on Battery. When it is on battery is has no idea about how much power it has left at all.
Devices
Hello, I'm thinking of getting one of theese. Could some one post the result from lsusb and lspci?
Sound and brightness, no problem.
i originally filled out the empty page template.
Brightness is easily fixed, just add the brightness applet to the panel. that's it.
As for sound, all it need is adding a single line to /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base
options snd-hda-intel model=laptop
one thing that does not work yet is the card reader. After plugging an SD card, dmesg shows no record at all… but it seems to be possible to make it work by compiling the sources… haven't tried that.
some people also mentioned that they needed to kill pulseaudio. Anyhow sound works just fine after reboot.
bug reports
The full story of the bug mentioned by Julian and qweasd can be found here:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/284319
My review of this machine can be found here:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LaptopTestingTeam/HPCompaq6930p/Intel
The brightness control (Intel video card) is something that bugs me, but now I found a workaround that works ok as long as I boot the machine on A/C power:
xrandr –output LVDS –set BACKLIGHT_CONTROL native
Regarding the “Fan always on”: I didn't change anything in the BIOS, and Ubuntu live CDs 8.04 and 8.10 are booting fine. I installed without problems from 8.10 Alternate CD. I used that because I wanted LVM and encryption.
… only this problem?
hi at all!!
on my model FL494AW ubuntu don't start in any manner…
there are some prooblem with pnpbios, acpi and some ather problem…
i'm disperate!!!!!
Are you using Ubuntu 8.10?
Hi.
I have the same model and managed to install ubuntu by disabling the bios option “Fan always on when on AC power”
I also succeded to install ubuntu 8.10 by disabling the bios option “fan always on…”. But I wonder if this will cause any problems with overheating, or the like. Any ideas??
Yes!!! I'm soooo happy! I've tried 7 different distros before I found this post! I confirm, turning off “fan always on…” and presto no more Kernel panic, freezes, stuck CPU#1, etc, etc …..
sound problem
I've the same sound problem and still no solution….
RE: Check This Bug
It is the same as the bug on the link below yes.
Check this bug:
http://www.mail-archive.com/ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com/msg1079614.html
You experienced this?
Sound not working
I have found that the sound is not working due to a issue with the hp quicklaunch mute button.
it is always set to mute and you cannot unmute it.
not having any joy with drive either at the mo for this one.
How about mute & brightness buttons?
Check this bug:
http://www.mail-archive.com/ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com/msg1079614.html
You experienced this?