HP Pavilion dv2120us
Created by: Bill Giannikos,Last modification on Thu 16 of Aug, 2007 [09:10 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.
If you are looking to purchase this laptop you can visit HP's Pavilion notebook page.
Introduction
This is a guide to running Linux with the HP Pavilion dv2120us laptop. Linux support on the dv2120us is average because of the Broadcom controller included.Editing This Page
View our Editing GuidelinesSpecifications
| Name | HP Pavilion dv2120us | |
| Processor | AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52 1.6GHz | |
| Screen | 14.1" WXGA | |
| RAM | 1GB | |
| HDD | 120GB | |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW | |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 | |
| Network | 10/100 Ethernet, Broadcom 1390 802.11g Wireless | |
| Other | 4 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-hda-intel driver |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Wireless | Yes | |
| Bluetooth | Not Tested | |
| 56K Modem | Not Tested | |
| USB | Yes | |
| Firewire | Not Tested | |
| SD Card Reader | Yes | |
| ExpressCard Slot | Not Tested | |
Notes
Graphics
The NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 graphics chip in the Pavilion dv2120us is supported by both the open source 'nv' driver and NVIDIA's proprietary 'nvidia' driver. Further installation instructions can be viewed at our Configuring a nVidia graphics chip guide.Wireless
The dv2120us includes the Broadcom 1390 wireless controller which unfortunately does not have any native drivers for Linux. To get wireless working you will need to use the ndiswrapper driver. You can view our Configuring the ndiswrapper driver guide for more details about ndiswrapper. The windows driver is available from here.Related Resources
Preparing your laptop for LinuxConfiguring a nVidia graphics chip
Configuring the ndiswrapper driver for wireless controllers without native Linux drivers
Increasing battery life
Summary
Because of the Broadcom controller, unfortunately the HP Pavilion dv2120us is not the best laptop to use with Linux.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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