This is a guide to running Linux with the Dell Studio 17 laptop.
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.
This page is just for discussing using Linux on the Dell Studio 17. For a general discussion about this laptop you can visit the Dell Studio 17 page on LapWik.
If you would like to edit this page please first view our Editing Guidelines.
For full specifications see the Dell Studio 17 specifications page.
| Name | Dell Studio 17 |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 2.16GHz |
| Screen | 17” WXGA+ Widescreen (1440 x 900 pixels; Aspect ratio is 16:10) |
| RAM | 3GB |
| HDD | 250GB |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 or 3650 or Intel Mobile GM965/GL960 |
| Sound | Intel 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller or 82801I (ICH9 Family) |
| Network | Ethernet, Dell 1397 802.11abg, Bluetooth |
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Yes | |
| Screen | Yes | |
| HDD | Yes | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | |
| Graphics | Yes | |
| Sound | Yes | To get speakers to turn off when headphones plugged in, see below |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Wireless | Yes | |
| Bluetooth | Yes | |
| USB | Yes | |
| Firewire | Not Tested | |
| Card Reader | Yes | |
| ExpressCard Slot | Not Tested | |
| Camera | Yes | |
| External monitor | Yes | |
| Multimedia keys | Yes |
The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 works on the Studio 15 with the openGL driver radeonhd (and so should also work on the Studio 17). Proprietary ATI modules provide full support. Instructions for doing this is available in the guides section of this site.
The Intel Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller works on the Studio 17.
Plugging in an additional monitor works.
The Dell 1397 wireless controller found in the Dell Studio 17 laptop is supported by proprietary drivers issued by Broadcom. More information can be found here: http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/10/03/linux-driver-available-for-dell-wireless-cards.aspx
Drivers are available here:
http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php
This driver is bundled with Ubuntu 8.10
To get speakers to turn off when headphones plugged in, see http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=6543839
Assuming no details change, it should be enough to add this to /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base:
options snd-hda-intel model=dell-m6
Rudimentary functionality is supported. Some of the extra features have been tested yet.
Discussion
This should probably note something for anyone dual-booting.
The Dell Studio 17 contains something called “Dell DataSafe” it writes to the MBR so if you don't disable it then it will corrupt the grub bootloader and make it so that you can no longer boot into your computer.
To fix you need to re-install the grub bootloader with the livecd: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RecoveringUbuntuAfterInstallingWindows
And then jump into Windows and disable it.
I've installed Kubuntu Karmic. It works everything without special settings. After install works fine.
Distro: Mandriva Spring 2010, 64 Bit, Free, KDE
What Works: Everything
What Doesn't: Wireless out of the box. Works using 'One', but with free, restricted repos had to be enabled.
Mandriva seems to run slower than Kubuntu did, but being able to run the latest packages is well worth a little speed trade-off. Plus, it is a distro that really supports and embraces KDE, unlike Ubuntu.
I installed Jaunty on Studio 1735 and sound does not work at all.
Playback list:
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: STAC92xx Analog [STAC92xx Analog]
card 1: HDMI [HDA ATI HDMI], device 3: ATI HDMI [ATI HDMI]
Codec: IDT 92HD73C1X5
I added the following line at the end of the alsa-base.conf file:
options snd-hda-intel model=dell-m6
And still no sound. Any help that you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thank you
NOTE: If you need more output please let me know
Running Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty
As said above, the sound volume is very low. Also, the Infrared receiver won't function. Everything else I tested seems to work properly.
Running jaunty on 1735 after trouble free years on other machines and earlier distros.
I cant get the sound to work at all, either speakers or headphone. tried editing alsa-base.conf with options snd-hda-intel model=dell-{various} with no success, and running audio tester indicates that this driver is in use somewhere, but I cant find what is tying it up. any advice?. (frustratingly, sound works fine on vista dual boot which I will ditch when I can get ubuntu to work properly
currently running ubuntu 8.10 on a dell studio 17 and everything works perfectly, sending files to my phone through bluetooth, connecting to wifi, webcam, after allowing propiertary drivers on the gfx card compiz works flawlessly. Haven't tried the card reader yet but so far no problems at all with anything.
hi there,
I got dell studio 14 laptop few days back. I have following problem with my audio jack in ubuntu 8.10.
When I plugin the jack ( anyone center or front) i get to hear the sound from laptop speakers. If i mute the “front” from volume control bar then all the sound will be muted.
And master is also muting all the sound.
I tried putting “options snd-hda-intel model=dell-m6″ in alsa-base ..but it didn’t work…
So do you have some solution for the same?
Thanks in advance.
I have Ubuntu 8.10, fresh install yesterday on my Dell Studio 17 laptop. I can't get Ubuntu to recognize my 46” Sony Bravia flatscreen correctly. It says that it detects a 72” Sony. I can only get output to the TV in very low resolution. Anything close to 1080 gives me “Invalid Format” on the TV. Any suggestions? Thanks!
The Bluetooth works fine under Ubuntu 8.10
I use Debian Lenny - everything works fine, except media keys =( … Sound works, but maximum volume is much lower than in WinXP… God knows why is it so…. The only problem concerns wi-fi, but I suppose that that's the problem of wicd: it cannot connect to AP's with WEP turned on… Freezes at obtaining IP address. But nevertheless, Debian runs much faster than any Windows on Studio 1735. Linux rules ;)
Using Ubuntu 8.10, everything works out of the box, including webcam and wireless (needs restricted drivers that come with Ubuntu), card reader, multimedia keys, an additional USB mouse and an additional external monitor. Bluetooth not tested, but it seems to be detected (I have no other Bluetooth device to test with).
scientific linux and rhel4 dont recognise the cdrom…can boot of the install cd BUT then the cd drive isnt seen.
hmmmmmmmm :(
I have opensuse 11.1 (KDE 3) running on a Studio 17 (1735). Opensuse 11.1 has modules for graphics (Intel GM965/GL960), sound, and wireless (Dell 1397). Works great. Installation had a couple minor glitches. Wireless did not get installed automatically, but were added using Yast (b43 and wl modules). Sound did not seem to work, but using KMix to adjust the sound levels fixed the problem. The default screen resolution was not optimal, but adjusting with YAST (to 1440×900) solved the problem. HDMI output to TV works (even 1080p), but did not get sound working through HDMI. Not sure if it is just a configuration issue or missing functionality.