Table of Contents

Dell Inspiron 700m

Introduction

This is a guide to running Linux with the Dell Inspiron 700m laptop. The Inspiron 700m is a subnotebook from Dell which has good support for Linux.

This guide is intended to provide you details on how well this laptop works with Linux and which modules you need to configure. For details on how to actually install and configure the required modules have a look at our guides section for distribution specific instructions.

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Specifications

NameDell Inspiron 700m
ProcessorIntel Pentium-M 735 1.7GHz
Screen12.1” WXGA
RAM512MB
HDD40GB
Optical DriveDVD-ROM
GraphicsIntel Graphics Media Accelerator 900
Network10/100 Ethernet, Intel 2200 802.11g Wireless
Other2 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire

Linux Compatibility

DeviceCompatibilityComments
ProcessorYes
ScreenYes
HDDYes
Optical DriveYes
GraphicsYes
SoundYesUse the snd-intel8x0 module
EthernetYes
WirelessYesUse the ipw2200 module
56K ModemNot Tested
USBYes
FirewireNot Tested
Card ReaderNo
PCMCIANot Tested

Notes

As default the native screen resolution of the Dell Inspiron 700m is 1280×800, however due to the way the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 functions this resolution would not be usable right away. You can view our Configuring the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 & 950 guide for more information.

Some versions of this laptop use the Broadcom Corporation BCM4309 802.11a/b/g wireless controller. This wireless controller is functional when using the ndiswrapper module. For installation instructions, you can view our Configuring the ndiswrapper module guide. There are also some experimental modules available for this card which are available here. At this time these drivers are still under development and may not be totally stable.

Summary

There were no problems in getting the Dell Inspiron 700m working when used with an up to date Linux distribution. It is recommended to use a Linux distribution with kernel version 2.6.16 or greater, such as Fedora Core 5 or Ubuntu 6.06.