btt@nethouse.com wrote:
>Hello...
>
>I have the option to purchase an IBM Thinkpad 760E for $389. It
>appears to be in good condition. Does anyone have a laptop like this
>who as succesfully installed linux and could comment on how well or
>how not-so-well it runs. Are the pcmcia cards (like, say, for LAN)
>pretty stable under linux?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Bill
>
>
>
>
Hi Bill,
I used to have a 760EL that I tried several distros on for about a
year. I had no problems with LAN cards (Linksys) and it was perfectly
stable. PCMCIA modem cards are another story. All of the ones that I
have had experience with have been Winmodems. I recommend Mandrake 7 or
7.2 on the 760 because it is the least troublesome distro that I have
tried on a 760. Mandrake is almost a *select packages and walk away
until it is finished* install on the 760. If you do not want sound (I
never could get the sound to work right on mine with Slack), Slackware
was the second easiest to install.
Gotcha's:
1. The Trident display drivers do not work with XFree version 4. To
use X 4 you have to select *unlisted SVGA* for the drivers. The Trident
drivers are perfectly happy with Xfree 3.3 though.
2. The 760 will not boot from the cdrom. Mandrake 6 and 7 have the
option to start the install from within DOS by using loadlin. Look on
the CD for a directory called DOSUTILS and you'll figure it out from
there :) Otherwise you are looking at the traditional bootdisk routine.
3. RedHat can be installed if you use text mode install. The GUI
install will autodetect the Trident chipset and install Xfree 4 behind
your back, leaving you looking at a black screen when it does. :-(
4. You have a slow CPU and not much RAM. If performance is an
issue, forget KDE and Gnome. Use FVWM or Blackbox and you will be a lot
happier.
5. None of the distros that I have tried detected the sound card
during install. With Mandrake and RedHat use sndconfig after
installation to set up the sound card.
6. DO NOT select the *optimize HD setting* tickbox during the
install (especially if you dual boot) unless you like living
dangerously. Sometimes it works OK, most times it doesn't. Use HDPARM
after installation to set that.
If you have any other questions/problems, feel free to ask. I gave
my 760EL a workout with several distros when I was getting my Linux certs.
Jeff
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