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List:       freebsd-mobile
Subject:    Thinkpad T23 Setup (part 3)
From:       "Michael W. Collette" <metrol () metrol ! net>
Date:       2002-05-14 10:31:22
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Not a lot that I left on this subject.  Just a couple of comments and 
questions.

First off, this is one really amazing mailing list.  This will be my second 
laptop I've put FreeBSD on, and the first one that I actually owned.  Each 
time, the folks on this list proved to be an invaluable resource for getting 
things working.  I only hope these couple of posts contribute a little back.

As for whether or not a Thinkpad T23 is a good choice for FreeBSD... YES!  
Once through the nasties of getting some of the devices tweaked, this laptop 
rocks.  The screen is outstanding, with a bright, crisp display.  The 
keyboard is simply the best in the industry.  FreeBSD feels right at home on 
here.  I especially like the automatically suspending the laptop when you 
close the lid, then resuming by itself once you open it.  I've worked with a 
lot of laptops over the years, and this is the first one I've owned.  So far, 
I'm really impressed.

Some additional recommendations for the setup.  Since I rarely reboot, and 
often change up between an external mouse and the little pointer thingy I 
went into the bios and told it to leave the pointer on all the time.  If you 
don't, it'll shut it off when it sees an external mouse until you reboot.

Honestly don't know if you need to do this, but the default PCI configuration 
has everything set to IRQ 11.  While I was trying out different configs I 
changed all of them to "Auto Select".  Since things seem to be working okay, 
I haven't changed them back.

You should probably spend some time in the Power setup.  You need to keep in 
mind that "Hibernation" isn't supported in FreeBSD.  I doubt you'll miss it 
though.  The following are some of the power settings I have in the bios.  
This is from some rather messy notes I took, so it'll have different text on 
the actual screen.

AC [Max Performance]
Battery [Custom]
  Processor [Fixed Max]
  Suspend Timer [Disabled]
  LCD Off [45 Minutes]
  HDD Off [Disabled]
  Hibernate [Disabled]
  Low Battery [Suspend]
  Suspend When LCD Closed [Suspend]
  RediSafe [Enabled]
  SpeedStep [Enabled]
    Mode AC [Max]
    Mode Batt [Auto]
  Screen Blank [Enabled]
  Power Switch [On/Off]
  Suspend to Hibernate [Disabled]
  CD ROM [Normal]
  CPU Power [Auto]
  PCI Bus Pwr Management [Disabled]

The other important setting in here is that PC Bus Pwr thing.  After too many 
web pages being read I don't recall the source, but there was something nasty 
if that was enabled.

Some questions still yet:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I haven't played much with the console video modes yet.  I'd like to crank 
things up on there beyond that 80 column display.  Anyone played with that 
yet?

Is there any way to get the Fn key to actually be usable as a sort of Shift 
key.  Kinda like a Windows key on 104-keyboards.  My initial playing with 
this in X doesn't register that key when used with any other combo.  For 
example, I'd like to have KDE launch Konqueror when I press Fn-K.  I don't 
think it can be done, but it sure would be cool.

I didn't get a chance to tweak that X config for external monitors.  This 
thing can drive 1600x1200 on an external.  Not a big deal, but would be nice 
just the same.

Haven't been able to get the NumLck to work yet.  I personally never use a 
laptop's number pad.  Where this is an issue is in dealing with X.  How in 
the heck do you work in the hot keys for resizing the display without a 
keyapd?

Lastly, if anyone has any improvements on the configs and tweaks I've posted 
thus far, PLEASE toss in some corrections.  I don't have any illusions about 
being an expert on any of these topics.  All I did was manage to get them 
working reasonable.

Later on,
-- 
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark 
to read."
 - Groucho Marx



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