Toshiba Tecra M3
Created by: Bill Giannikos,Last modification on Fri 17 of Aug, 2007 [12:25 UTC]by Bill Giannikos
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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Introduction
This is a guide to running Linux with the Toshiba Tecra M3 laptop.Editing This Page
View our Editing GuidelinesSpecifications
| Processor | Intel Pentium-M 740 1.73GHz | |
| Screen | 14.1" XGA | |
| RAM | 512MB | |
| HDD | 60GB | |
| Optical Drive | DVD-ROM/CD-RW | |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce Go 6200 | |
| Network | 10/100/1000 Ethernet, Intel 2200 802.11g Wireless | |
| Other | 2 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire | |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
| Processor | Yes | |
| Screen | Yes | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | |
| Graphics | Yes | |
| Sound | Yes | Use the snd-intel8x0 driver |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Wireless | Yes | Use the ipw2200 driver |
| 56K Modem | Not Tested | |
| USB | Yes | |
| Firewire | Not Tested | |
| SD Card Reader | Not Tested | |
| PCMCIA | Not Tested | |
Notes
For the graphics chip you can use either the open source 'nv' driver or NVIDIA's proprietary 'nvidia' driver. For installation instructions, you can view our Configuring a nVidia graphics chip guide. For 3D support, you will need the proprietary driver. Some older versions of X may not have support for the NVIDIA GeForce Go 6200, in this case you will need to use the proprietary driver.Related Resources
Preparing your laptop for LinuxConfiguring a nVidia graphics chip
Increasing battery life
Summary
There were no problems in getting this laptop working when used with an up to date Linux distribution. It is recommended to use a Linux distribution with kernel version 2.6.17 or greater, such as Fedora Core 6 or Ubuntu 6.10.If you are looking to purchase this laptop you can visit Toshiba's Tecra page.
Have you installed Linux on this laptop? If so how about leaving a comment about your success in the comments section below.
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Comments
Getting suspend to work
pm-suspend --quirk-dpms-on --quirk-vbe-post
You can make this change permanent by editing:
/usr/share/hal/fdi/information/10freedesktop/20-video-quirk-pm-toshiba.fdi
and adding the section
<!-- Toshiba Tecra M3 -->
<match key="system.hardware.product" string="TECRA M3">
<merge key="power_management.quirk.vbe_post" type="bool">true</merge>
<merge key="power_management.quirk.dpms_on" type="bool">true</merge>
</match>
I also submitted a patch for this, so it may not be required by the time you read this. You'll just need to check =)
Extra details on the M3
Firewire worked flawlessly, many devices tried, all correctly identified
SD Card reader worked but very slowly. When any SD card was inserted, both usb 2.0 ports slowed to USB 1.1 speed
PCMCIA port worked flawlessly
Using the ipw2200 driver, I found the ethernet and wireless cards swapping addresses. Pin the devices by editing /etc/iftab as per the example below for debian based systems, unsure about rpm based. Good signal quality reception.
EXAMPLE
ath0 mac 00:11:f0:c6:60:b3
eth0 mac 00:0e:4d:12:ac:77 arp 1
nveth* SYSFS{device/vendor} 0x10de
Additional info not already covered
When the opensource nv driver used instead of the proprietary nvidia driver, the notebook would sometimes fail to shut down and upon restart the cpu fan would crank up to full speed and hold there until the system was forcefully shut down with a long press of the power button. This is not distribution specific, I tried many distros, both rpm and deb based.
NVIDIA's proprietary 9755 driver enables good support for a secondary monitor and TV-Out. Earlier versions had dual monitor support, but no TV-Out.