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 Distribution Specific Notes Ubuntu Fedora 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)
Chris Merck (cmerck at stevens.edu)

Introduction

This is a guide to running Linux with the Hewlett-Packard nw8440 laptop. The nw8440 is one of the high end laptops available with an impressive array of high end components.

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Specifications

Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo T2600 2.16GHz
Screen	15.4" WUXGA+
RAM	1GB
HDD	100GB
Optical Drive	DVD+-RW
Graphics	ATI Mobility FireGL V5200
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	proprietary driver required for 3D
Sound	Yes	Use the snd-hda-intel driver
Ethernet	Yes
Wireless	Yes	Use ipw3945 driver
Bluetooth	Yes
56K Modem	Not Tested
USB	Yes
Firewire	Not Tested
SD Card Reader	Yes
PCMCIA	Not Tested
Fingerprint Reader	Yes	However there is no known compatible fingerprint comparison software

Notes

The open source radeon driver now supports the ATI Mobility FireGL V5200 found in the nw8440. Simply set your video driver to "radeon" in your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. However, this driver does not yet support 3D acceleration. If you want accelerated 3D (i.e. for compiz-fusion or 3D games) then install the proprietary ATI driver. Many guides exist for proprietary video driver installation.

Distribution Specific Notes

Ubuntu

Gutsy install works only with alternate installer iso. Also, internet connection required to load newer video driver during install (recent radeon or fglrx).

Fedora

Fedora Core 9 install works out of the box. If resolution is too low on first boot run the command "xrandr -s max" to use the full 1920x1200 resolution.

Related Resources

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

Summary

Apart for the extra steps in installing the proprietary ATI driver, there were no problems in getting the Hewlett-Packard nw8440 working 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.