Table of Contents

IBM-Lenovo Thinkpad T61

Introduction

This is a guide to running Linux with the IBM-Lenovo Thinkpad T61 laptop. The T61 is a high end laptop from Lenovo with a price tag to match.

For full specifications see the Lenovo ThinkPad T61 specifications page.

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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Linux Compatibility

DeviceTypeCompatibilityComments
ProcessorIntel Core 2 Duo (Merom) 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.4 GHz 800MHz FSB, 2-4MB L2 Cache CPUYes
Intel Core 2 Duo (Penryn) 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6 GHz 800MHz FSB, 3-6MB L2 Cache CPUYes
Screen14.1” WXGAYes
RAM1GB
HDD120GBYes
Optical DriveDVD+-RWYes
GraphicsIntel X3100Yes
nVidia Quadro NVS 140mYes
Sound YesUse the snd-hda-intel module
Ethernet10/100/1000Yes
WirelessIntel 3945ABG 802.11abgYesuse the ipw3945 driver
Intel 4965AGN 802.11abgnYes
Bluetooth Yes
56K Modem Not Tested
USB3 x USB2.0Yes
Firewire1 x FirewireYes
PCMCIA Slot Not Tested

Notes

Graphics

Version of the T61 with the Intel X3100 should work without any extra configuration on most recently release Linux distributions.

Version with the NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M should also work just fine in 2D mode with recent distributions, however you will need the proprietary nvidia module for 3D support. See the guides section for details.

Wireless

Some models of the T61 use the 4965AGN wireless controller. This works with the iwlwifi drivers. Installation instructions are available here.

Edit (9 Jan 2009)

The Linux 2.6.27 kernel has built-in support for both the 3945 and 4965 wireless cards, and the drivers are now called iwl3945 and iwl4965. Gentoo users should also run emerge iwlXXXX (XXXX for whichever card) - this installs some necessary micro code.

Audio

You will need at least version 1.0.15rc2 of the ALSA modules to get sound working properly. Some older Linux distributions may only have an older version of ALSA so you may need to install the latest version manually. Fedora 8 and Ubuntu 7.10 are known to work just fine.

Summary

Quite a lot of work and Linux experience is required to get the Lenovo Thinkpad T61 working with Linux. Definitely not a install and use laptop but you can get everything working with a 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.