Hewlett-Packard nc8430
Created by: Bill Giannikos,Last modification on Mon 21 of Jan, 2008 [22:33 UTC]by kim chee
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 notebook page.
Authors
Bill Giannikos (bill2 at giannikos.com.au)Introduction
This is a guide to running Linux with the Hewlett-Packard nc8430 laptop. HP's nc8430 is a high level laptop with some impressive specifications.Editing This Page
View our Editing GuidelinesSpecifications
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2.0GHz | |
| Screen | 15.4" WSXGA+ | |
| RAM | 1GB | |
| HDD | 100GB | |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW | |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility Radeon x1600 | |
| Network | 10/100/1000 Ethernet, Intel 3945 802.11g Wireless, Bluetooth | |
| Other | 3 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire, Fingerprint Reader | |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
| Processor | Yes | |
| Screen | Yes | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | |
| Graphics | Yes | |
| Sound | Yes | Use the snd-hda-intel driver |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Wireless | Yes | Use ipw3945 driver |
| Bluetooth | Yes | (2.6.20 Kubuntu, works with KDE stack) |
| 56K Modem | Not Tested | |
| USB | Yes | |
| Firewire | Yes | (2.6.20 on Ubuntu 7.04) |
| SD Card Reader | Yes | (2.6.20 on Ubuntu 7.04) |
| PCMCIA | Yes | |
| Fingerprint Reader | Yes | Works, opensuse/deb packages are available/can be created using alien. See http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=503928&page=2. Userspace driver at http://www.ag-networking.com/ |
Notes
For the ATI Mobility Radeon x1600 graphics processor in the nc8430 you can use either one of the open source radeon driver or ATI's proprietary fglrx driver. Installation instructions for the fglrx driver can be found on our Configuring an ATI graphics chip guide. Best results are obtained from the proprietary driver since it provides 3D support.Related Resources
Preparing your laptop for LinuxConfiguring an ATI graphics chip
Configuring the ipw3945 driver for the Intel 3945ABG wireless controller
Increasing battery life
Summary
There were no problems in getting the Hewlett-Packard nc8430 to function when used with an up to date Linux distribution.Have you installed Linux on this laptop? If so how about leaving a comment about your success in the comments section below.
Comments