This is a summary of my experience of installing Ubuntu 9.04 on the Lenovo 3000 G530 with 2Gb RAM and integrated Intel graphics. Other models have more memory and the option of an ATI graphics card.
This page is just for discussing using Linux on the Lenovo 3000 G530. For a general discussion about this laptop you can visit the Lenovo 3000 G530 page on LapWik.
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For full specifications see the Lenovo 3000 G530 specifications page.
| Name | Lenovo 3000 G530 |
| Processor | Intel Pentium Processor Intel Core 2 Duo Processor |
| Screen | 15.4” WXGA Widescreen |
| RAM | Up to 4GB |
| HDD | 160GB to 250GB |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW |
| Graphics | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD |
| Network | 10/100 Ethernet Intel WIFI Link 802.11a/b/g draft-n Realtek 802.11b/g |
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Out of the box Ubuntu 9.04 | |
| Screen | Out of the box Ubuntu 9.04 | |
| HDD | Out of the box Ubuntu 9.04 | |
| Optical Drive | Out of the box Ubuntu 9.04 | |
| Graphics | Out of the box Ubuntu 9.04 | |
| Sound | Out of the box Ubuntu 9.04 | |
| Ethernet | Out of the box Ubuntu 9.04 | |
| Wireless | Out of the box Ubuntu 9.04 | |
| USB | Out of the box Ubuntu 9.04 | |
| Card Reader | SD card works; couldn't get xD to work | |
| ExpressCard Slot | Not Tested | |
| Webcam | Works with Cheese from live CD; ought to work on HDD install but I haven't tested it |
Before installing I tested Ubuntu Jaunty, Mandriva 2009.1, Fedora 11 and OpenSUSE 11.1 and 11.2 milestone 7 in Live CD mode. All worked well except Mandriva and OpenSUSE 11.1 which didn't pick up the function keys and shortcut keys for volume and screen brightness.
A well-built machine with excellent Linux support. The only problem I ran into post-install was that I had used GParted to partition the hard drive (I need to dual boot for one or two specialist applications) after which Vista wouldn't boot. It is probably better to use Vista's own tool to shrink the drive first … though Lenovo sets up several partitions including a recovery partition, so be careful. A quick google search and my wife's Vista recovery CD solved the problem.
Discussion
Hi everyone.
On Ubuntu from the v.9.04 I guess to get wireless (wlan0) to work you need to install 'bcmwl-kernel-source' (before that:'dkms' 'fakeroot' and 'patch') This can be found on CD in 'pool' directory. Then reboot and wireless should work fine.
Note: After installing this 4 packages, your machine can freeze for a while, try to press 'escape' or just switch off the machine and start normal. In kUbuntu to install 'bcmwl-kernel-source' you'll need more packages to install.
Another way: put in the CD then
1) go to System → Administration → Software Sources → Other software → Add Volume
2) go to System → Administration → Restricted drivers → Activate (STA driver). Keep the CD in the drive
Note: In this case you can get a message CD-ROM not mounted message or sth like that - so i prefer the first way above. Or mount the CD at the beginnig.
Have fun.
Bold TextHi. I am using the PC stated in this discussion. Please do guide me whether this model has an out of box support for Kubuntu 9.04. Presently using the same version of Ubuntu. Thinking of Switching to KDE. Pls Guide me.
hey,
am using lenovo 3000 g 530……
my enter key stopped working instantaneously….cant rectify it…
plz guide
belligerentbrain
Hello World
its eco i'm using fedora-13 in lenovo g530. i have a problem with touchpad, single click or double click function is not working. so i'm using usb mouse.
help…………….
i had the same problem, the solution was…
edit config-file /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-synaptics.conf
Insert “Option” lines like…
Section "InputClass" Identifier "touchpad catchall" Driver "synaptics" MatchIsTouchpad "on" Option "TapButton1" "1" Option "TapButton2" "2" Option "TapButton3" "3" EndSectionprerequisit:
driver xf86-input-synaptics should be installed
I'm the same people who suggest Ubuntu fn-key brightnes solution (see below)
I've tried also Fedora 12 on this laptop (my G530 celeron upgraded to dualcore t7700!!).
Wireless Broadcom issue can be solved reading this article.
http://www.fedoraguide.info/index.php?title=Main_Page#Broadcom_b43_.28Official_driver.21.21.21.29
Brightness Fn-key issue on Ubuntu Lucid can be resolved reading this article. It works!
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1537663
With Ubuntu 10.04 everything works fine.
After several months now of Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid, I agree that it works fine. Cheese now works with the webcam. Only issue is display brightness keys don't work, but gnome power management icon handles that.
my Lenovo wifi card will not turn with Fedora 12. Please help.I have a Lenovo 3000 G530…Please Help…
hi,
I have ubuntu 9.04 on my Lenovo g530 and I cant connect to the wireless network. what to do??
Ubuntu Karmic: Display Brightness: If you add the power management brightness panel widget you can adjust the screen brightness. The issue must be with the key-mapping. I'm hoping this is fixed in Lucid.
@Gerry: I'd upgrade to Karmic or wait a few weeks for Lucid. I have been running Karmic since I bought this machine and it runs very well. Only problem is that Gnome-Do Docky doesn't automatically start sometimes after login.
Simanek, I had never used that brightness widget and didn't know it existed. Thank you for the suggestion, as it works fine. I have been using Karmic, since I switched to an SSD drive. Never tried Do or Docky; I do mostly app development.
Only issue with Karmic is they now include WxWidgets in the standard repository, so nobody else builds binaries. However, they forgot some of the pieces so I had to build from scratch.
From past experience, I wouldn't switch to Lucid right away. I put new releases in a virtual session for a month or so, and check the forums.
Thanks again,
Gerry
Dear all,
I have bought the same machine with 4GB. I want to try Open Suse 11.2 on this which is a 4446-A11. Has anyone experienced this with 11.2 ? Any advice help is appreciated.
cheers folks
Let me add to it, should it be the 64 bit versions i should install ?
I cannot change the screen brightness using karmic on this laptop (4446-24U)
On the screen brightness, that makes two of us;-)
All else has been stable and good, but the brightness is fixed. I suppose I could try booting from USB into DOS and see if that changes and stays. Otherwise, I haven't seen any hints on this issue. The updates on karmic haven't changed anything.
Fedora 12 with Lenovo G530 4446-23U. Install went fine, though I had to use a combination of Windows 7's partition shrinking and GParted to get a large enough EXT4 partition (Linux is my primary OS). Fedora's own resizing (from install DVD) did not work, but I don't know why. No wireless, but as noted above the Fusion repositories' kmod-wl (+ broadcom-wl) eventually solved this issue, though it took more than one attempt. Wireless perfect after this.
Power management on battery power is very unsatisfactory. I was used to exceeding Vista's power management on my old Toshiba, but this is quite poor, maybe 1.5 or 2 hours brand new.
SD card reader fine. Skype (so webcam & microphone) worked no problem, but upon hanging up and reconnecting within Skype it automatically lowered the input volume a lot. Easily fixed, but takes troubleshooting.
I posted earlier with Ubuntu Hardy and Lenova G530 4446 Model 36U.
Now, replaced the HD with a SuperTalent 64GB SSD.
Installed Ubuntu Karmic (2.6.31-14 kernel. Do NOT use -15 kernel, it breaks wifi.)
!WOW!
Karmic recognized the Broadcom wireless and prompted for install of restricted driver from their repository. It not only worked, but now has wireless scan for full functionality.
Increased the swap size during install to support hibernation. Both hibernation and sleep mode work fine. Battery lasts over 3 hours; I haven't run out yet.
With the SSD and Karmic, this thing now flies! Everything is much faster and more stable.
BTW, moved /tmp, logs and Browser cache to RAM, reducing writes to SSD and increasing performance.
Just to add that since I wrote the original review I have installed Cheese from the Jaunty repositories and it works fine - not that I have any use for a webcam personally.
I also tried the beta version of 9.10 but had a number of problems with that, including disk error messages at boot (maybe due to ext4 or GRUB 2) and printing problems, so I reverted to Jaunty. I may try to upgrade using the update manager when the final version is released, but stick with ext3.
Great summary, thank you for posting.
My laptop is the same as described above with built-in Intel graphics, webcam, 2GB ram, and 160GB harddrive. Installed Fedora Core 11 and updated to 2.6.30.8-64.fc11.i586 Kernel with Gnome.
Used the Vista partition shrink tool (thanks for the heads up!) on the main partition which was about 140GB (there are two additional smaller partitions for Lenovo stuff). Was able to shrink the main partition by 44GB (Vista would not let me shrink it more). Installed Linux from the “Live CD” on the free 44GB space for a dual boot system. The installation recognized the Windows partition and put it in the grub menu as “Other”. The Lenovo “care” screen still comes up but right after grub bootloader takes over.
As noted for Ubuntu the wireless did not work right out of the box in Fedora. But the newest kmod-wl from the rpmfusion repositories fixed it right away. No issues with the mouse as mentioned in an earlier post but have only had it installed now for 1 day. Even cheese webcam is working at full resolution 640×480 with no problem.
Just tried cheese for the webcam, as he noted above. Xorg went to 100% CPU and screen black. Might be worth moving to Jaunty to check there, as that's what he used above. However, this is a slightly different Levono model (3GB ram), so some hardware could be different.
Hmmm…, just saw that others are having cheese problems on other systems, and that's pretty recent.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/cheese/+bug/254235
Ubuntu Hardy 8.04 with Lenova G530 4446 Model 36U. Basic install fine, but no WIFI. This has the Broadcom BCM4315(4312 chip). Registered driver supplied with Hardy updates appears to work, but no scan for roving. Working fine at home with specific SSID supplied. Notes elsewhere indicate Ubuntu still working on this driver. Both sleep and hibernate appear to work. General performance good. Reasonable performance with Vmware Server running Windows.
After 2 weeks, intermittent issues. Gnome loses mouse buttons or cursor may freeze. Going in/out of sleep mode appears to restore functionality. Gnome completely locked twice and had to manually power off. From another computer via ssh, kernel and networking were still running. Need to troubleshoot via ssh if it happens at a convenient time. Issue frequency low enough so it's still usable.