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.

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Page Contents Authors Introduction Editing This Page Specifications Linux Compatibility Notes Related Resources Summary

Authors

Bill Giannikos (bill2 at giannikos.com.au)

Introduction

This is a guide to running Linux with the Toshiba Satellite Pro P100 laptop, model PSPA4A-005002.

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Specifications

Processor	Intel Core Duo T2400 1.83GHz
Screen	17"
RAM	512MB
HDD	100GB
Optical Drive	DVD+-RW
Graphics	128MB nVidia GeForce Go7300
Network	Gigabit Ethernet, Intel 3945 80211abg Wireless, Bluetooth
Other	4 x USB, 2 x PCMCIA

Linux Compatibility

Device	Compatibility	Comments
Processor	Yes
Screen	Yes
Optical Drive	Yes
Graphics	Yes
Sound	Yes	See notes
Ethernet	Yes	Use e1000 driver
Wireless	Yes	Use ipw3945 driver
Bluetooth	Not Tested
56K Modem	Yes	Use Linuxant driver
Fringerprint Reader	Not Tested
USB	Yes
Firewire	Not Tested
SD Card Reader	Not Tested
PCMCIA	Yes

Notes

For the graphics chip you can use both the open source nv driver and Nvidia's proprietory one. For 3D support, you will need the proprietary driver.

Unfortunately the P100 has some major ACPI problems which causes sound not to function. You will need to extract your DSDT and use iasl to fix the problems. You can try to use this patch to fix your dsdt but there may be variances to your dsdt so it may not patch cleanly. In that case just modify your dsdt manually using the patch provided as a guide. The patch included is from BIOS 3.80. You can view this guide for detailed instructions on using a modified dsdt.

Here are two dsdt files for the P100, the first one is for a system with 1GB RAM while the second is for 2GB RAM. Both are for BIOS version 3.80.
dsdt-pp100-1gb.dsl
dsdt-pp100-2gb.dsl

Related Resources

Preparing your laptop for Linux
Configuring a nVidia graphics chip
Configuring the audio
Configuring the ipw3945 driver for the Intel 3945ABG wireless controller
Increasing battery life

Summary

The ACPI problems with the Toshiba Satellite Pro P100 make this a poor choice for Linux. It is extremely difficult to get this laptop working properly.

If you are looking to purchase this laptop you can visit Toshiba's Satellite page.

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