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 Linux Compatibility Video Notes Related Resources Summary

If you are looking to purchase this laptop you can visit Lenovo's Thinkpad R series page.

Authors

Bill Giannikos (bill2 at giannikos.com.au)
Andres Gonzalez (dre2004 at gmail dot com)

Introduction

This is a guide to running Linux with the IBM-Lenovo Thinkpad R61 laptop. The R61 is a fairly standard looking laptop but includes the Centrino Duo chipset and the model tested here has a nice display.

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Linux Compatibility

Device	Type	Compatibility	Comments
Processor	Intel Core Duo T7300 2.0Ghz	Yes
Screen	15.4" WSXGA+	Yes	Highest Resolution 1680x1050
RAM	1GB
HDD	120GB	Yes
Optical Drive	DVD+-RW	Yes
Graphics	Nvidia GeForce Go 8400	only proprietary drivers
Graphics	nVidia Quadro NVS 140	only proprietary driver	nvidia-glx-new
Integrated Camera	Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd.	Unknown	Trying to get this to work now
Sound		Yes	Use the snd-hda-intel driver
Ethernet	10/100/1000	Yes
Wireless	Intel 4965AGN 802.11abgn	Yes	See notes
Bluetooth		Yes
56K Modem		Not Tested
USB	3 x USB2.0	Yes
Firewire	1 x Firewire	Not Tested
Express Card Slot		Not Tested
PCMCIA Slot		Not Tested

Video

Depending on the Model of R61 you have you will have a different Video Card.

These details are specific to the 89185MM.

Graphics Chipset	Device Info
NVIDIA NB8M-GS	01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0429 (rev a1)

The standard debian nvidia driver didnt work for Nvidia NB8M-GS chipset the commercial drivers were used instead. The latest version 100.14.11 worked fine.


These details are specific to the Quadro NVS 140M

Graphics Chipset	Device Info
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M	01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Quadro NVS 140M (rev a1) (prog-if 00 VGA)

The standard ubuntu 7.10rc nvidia driver (nv) didn't work for this chipset (the screen was blank and it was impossible to switch to text virtual consoles)
The commercial drivers were used instead. The latest version 100.14.11 worked fine.

Notes

The Nvidia GeForce Go 8400 and Quadro NVS 140M which are included with the R61 do not function with the built in nv driver so you will need to use the Nvidia proprietary driver. You can find installation instructions for the nvidia driver here.



Some cheaper models of the R61 include the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100. This has not yet been tested.

The 4965AGN wireless controller works fine on the R61, albeit they are a pain to install. You can get these drivers from http://intellinuxwireless.org/?p=iwlwifi. You can view installation instructions at our Configuring the iwl4965 driver for the Intel 4965AGN wireless controller guide.

You will need the CVS alsa drivers to get sound working properly. Not even the latest 1.0.14 drivers are new enough for the R61. You can find a little easier to use alsa snapshot packages here. Grab the latest. Update: Most Linux distributions no longer require this step.

Related Resources

Preparing your laptop for Linux
Configuring a nVidia graphics chip
Configuring the audio
Configuring the iwl4965 driver for the Intel 4965AGN wireless controller
Increasing battery life

Summary

It's a real ordeal to get the Thinkpad R61 working with Linux and it does require some very in depth configuration knowledge. Definitely not one for the newbie but you can get everything working with a fair bit of work. Update: Ubuntu 7.10 and more than likely other recently released distributions now include good support for this laptop. The sound and wireless work without extra configuration.


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