Linux on the Clevo 2700C Laptop

Last update: May 29th 2001

Disclaimer: This is freely available information which comes with absolutely no guarantees. Use at your own risk.

Summary: Installation was not quite straightforward due to difficulties related with properly configuring X11. The laptop is usable under Linux, but you'll not be able to use the full graphic capabilities and the internal modem (at least I was not able...).

Introduction: This file contains information relevant to installing and using Linux on a Clevo 2700C laptop purchased in april 2001.

The laptop is not a mainstream brand, at least in Italy. Clevo is a Taiwan based firm which seems particularly devoted to mobile computers.

The laptop is identified as Clevo 2700C on the backplate and at the Clevo web site (http://www.clevo.com.tw) it is listed as Clevo 2200C/2700C, but it is not clear which is which.

The one I'm dealing with comes with an 866 MHz Pentium III processor, 256 Mb RAM (but 64 Mb are stolen by the video system so you only use 198 Mb), 20 Gb hard disk, DVD-ROM, integrated ethernet controller and integrated 56 Kbps modem, a 14.1", XGA TFT screen with 1024x768 pixels resolution.

A first attemp to install RedHat 7.0 failed due to a number of problems: the cardmgr program (supporting PCMCIA cards) freezed the PC, the ethernet card was not recognized, so I didn't go further and tried RedHat 7.1 instead.

Installation: I thus installed a plain RedHat 7.1 distribution from CD-ROM with only limited problems.

The PC was already running Windows 2000 and I used Partition Magic to shrink the Windows partition and make room for Linux.

The RedHat 7.1 distributions provides a "laptop" installation mode and I used that one, whatever it means. The installation proceeded with no problem whatsoever, except for the X11 configuration as explained below.

X-Windows: During configuration the graphic subsystem was recognized as supported by the SVGA driver (it is a SiS 630) but it was not possible to find out the proper parameters for the screen. Even fiddling with the XF86Config file had no noticeable effect, the most I could do was starting X without chrashing but with funny screen. The solution was to use the FBdev driver.

In order to use the framebuffer driver (FBdev) you must first install the proper server. You may find the rpm on the distribution CD-ROM N. 2 as: ../RedHat/RPMS/XFree86-FBDev-3.3.6-35.i386.rpm and you can install it as usual with:

> rpm -ihv rpmfile.

Then you have to set up the proper link so that the server is started correctly:

> cd /etc/X11
/etc/X11
> ls -l X
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root           31 Apr 24 16:47 X -> ../../usr/X11R6/bin/XF86_SVGA*

You must remove the X symbolic link and redefine it as follows:

> rm X
rm: remove `X'? y
> ln -s ../../usr/X11R6/bin/XF86_FBdev X

Then you have to download the proper XF86Config file provided here and put it on /etc/X11.

Finally you must edit the /etc/lilo.conf file and add the two lines shown in the example with >>>> (Note: the example lilo.conf below is derived from another installation, some details may be different from the actual one):

           boot=/dev/hda
           map=/boot/map
           install=/boot/boot.b
           prompt
           timeout=50
           message=/boot/message
           linear
           default=linux
>>>>       vga=0x317

           image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.2-2
              label=linux
              read-only
              root=/dev/hda5
>>>>          append="video=atyfb:1024x768,font=SUN12x22"

           other=/dev/hda1
              label=win

and set it up with:

> lilo

At boot you should be able to see the penguin logo on top left of your screen and when the system comes up you should be able to start X11.

Note: You'll only use 16 bits per pixel allowing for 65532 colors despite the 64 Mb used by the graphic system. I believe it's a limitation of the framebuffer device driver, but I'm not sure. I tried to define the vga parameter in lilo.conf to 0x318 which is claimed to be the value for 24 bpp, but I got an "unsupported video mode" error at boot.

Network: The integrated Ethernet controller was recognized at installation and comes up with no problems.

Modem: The integrated 56Kbps modem is, according to the specification in the windows installation, a HAMR56 SmartRiser 56 winmodem or softmodem, as they put it. At the moment of writing I was not able to find a suitable driver.

Sound: Up and running automagically.

Acknowledgements: I have got useful hints from the Linux Laptop web page where I found a link to Clevo 2200C. The framebuffer device is described in a specific HOWTO.

Luca Fini (lfini

arcetri.astro.it) --- Home page