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

If you are looking to purchase this laptop you can visit HP's notebook page.

Authors

Bill Giannikos (bill2 at giannikos.com.au)

Introduction

This is a guide to running Linux with the HP-Compaq 6710B laptop. The 6710B is a mid to high end laptop but without a overblown pricetag.

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Specifications

Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2GHz
Screen	14.1" WXGA
RAM	1GB
HDD	120GB
Optical Drive	DVD+-RW
Graphics	Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Network	10/100/1000 Ethernet, Intel 3945 802.11g Wireless, Bluetooth
Other	4 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire

Linux Compatibility

Device	Compatibility	Comments
Processor	Yes
Screen	Yes
HDD	Yes
Optical Drive	Yes
Graphics	Yes	See notes below
Sound	Yes
Ethernet	Yes
Wireless	Yes	Use the ipw3945 driver; also make sure "LAN/WLAN switching is turned off in the BIOS settings
Bluetooth	Yes	RFKILL=Y in kernel, follow any guide then
56K Modem	Not Tested
USB	Yes
Firewire	Yes
SD Card Reader	Yes	Can be problematic to get running, see http://mmc.drzeus.cx/wiki/Controllers/Ricoh?highlight=%28ricoh%29
PCMCIA	Not Tested

Notes

Due to ACPI issues with older kernel versions, it is recommended you use a Linux distribution which includes kernel version 2.6.21 or higher, such as Fedora 7, with the HP 6710B.

Installing Ubuntu Feisty using the LiveCD will likely result in the error:

/bin/sh: can't access tty; job control turned off

At prompt the enter: 'modprobe piix' and then 'exit' (no quotes) to continue the boot. However afterwards you will likely have problems with the graphics driver.

The Intel driver in all current Linux distributions is too old to properly support the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100. It does not allow you to set the proper screen resolution. You will need to update the Intel driver for your distribution before the correct screen resolution can be used. You can download the driver here. I will write up a guide on installing this driver in the next few days. (Here is a guide on how to install the driver on Ubuntu 7.04)

Wireless LAN won't work if a network cable is attached to the laptop at the same time if "LAN/WLAN switching" is enabled in the BIOS settings.If the setting is enabled you will see that an ipw3945 device was detected and configured but there will be no ifconfig or iwconfig entries for the device. Pretty confusing when doing a network install using the wired network card and then trying to get the WLAN interface working, so better disable this setting during installation at least.

Related Resources

Preparing your laptop for Linux
Configuring the ipw3945 driver for the Intel 3945ABG wireless controller
Increasing battery life

Summary

The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 is the main issue with running Linux on the HP-Compaq 6710B. All other features work well and up coming Ubuntu Linux distribution should solve the screen problem with the 6710B.



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