Installing Mandrake 8.1 on a Winbook X1I have gotten Mandrake 8.1 up and running using XFree86 3.3.6. The X1's specs are here: http://www.winbookcorp.com/support/x1/x1specs.htm The biggest headache on this laptop is the SiS630 video chipset. I have spent several weeks fighting with it to get X to run........... finally i have one solution. I still have yet to do sound, but once i do, i'll update this page. March 19, 2002 Some links: Linux Winbook forum - (good luck getting much feedback there. Pretty dead) Contents: Install: X | Editing lilo.conf | USB Mouse Problems/Bugs: Swapping graphical and Concole modes Install in expert mode. When you get to the configuring of X part, choose Generic | Generic Display Panel 1024x768. Under the Advanced section, set your vga to 791. I used XFree86 3.3.6 without experimental 3D acceleration only because i am very new to Linux and most likely will not be the best person to know how to fix the bugs that would show up. When you are asked if you want to test the configuration choose "NO." Also, say "NO" to letting X startup automatically since you will need to do some editing from the console first. Let the install finish and reboot into Linux. I also used Lilo as a bootloader so if you use Grub or anything else, i have no help for you. (sorry). Once you are at the prompt, log in as root. Navigate to "/etc/" and use vi to edit the file "lilo.conf". (Here's a quick page on using vi - http://www.mandrakeuser.org/docs/admin/arecov.html ) If you are too lazy to read all that i'll cover what you need to do anyhow.... Hit "i" to begin editing. The file should have something like this on the top:
Now, if vga is not set to 791 here, do it. Check out the sections for each boot image - these all start with "image=". (my default since i'm dual booting this and windows 2000 gave me 4 options - linux, linux-nonfb, failsafe, and windows) If your "linux" image section has a "vga=" line in it, comment it out by putting a # in front of it. My install had set "vga=788" there. I originally had changed it to 791 but X still wouldn't boot. So comment that line out, save the file (shift + Z + Z). Next run "lilo" at the console. If all went well it should output a list of all the images in the file saying things like "linux added successfully, linux-nonfb added successfully". Reboot, and choose linux. You should notice a higher res screen right off the bat. (When i had first installed Mandrake and tried to run Linux, X would give me the melting grey screen. So i had tried booting in to nonfb mode, and X booted fine. So, checking the two sections against each other in the lilo.conf, i noticed the nonfb section didn't have the "vga=" line at all. So commenting it out in the linux section worked). I have a USB mouse with a scroll wheel that wouldn't work at all so i was using a beat up PS2 one for a little while. But getting i to work is very easy. Log in as root and use vi to edit your XFree86Config file which is in "/etc/X11". In the section "Xinput" type in the following:
According to this page here - http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/XFree86-Second-Mouse/xfree3.html the ZAxisMapping line is needed for the wheel to work as well as the IMPS/2 being the protocol. Read that page anyhow, since basically all i did was follow those instructions, and that page has stuff for setting up a serial one as well. Problems/Bugs: Swapping graphical and Concole modes My method described above for getting X to work has some drawbacks. By doing this method, you won't be able to go back and forth between graphical and console modes. If you are in X and logout, you WILL be at a console, but your screen won't show anything. Or it may show garbled junk. Needless to say you CAN still type commands, BUT you won't be able to see anything you type. I searched on Google and found a post that backs this up too: quote: "One (very small) downside to this is that you cannot switch back to text mode (exiting X gives you a screen full of (very pretty) garbage). You can still type commands, you just can't see them." My screen is just blank. His obvously posted garbage.
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