Problem installing Fedora FC3 x86_64 on HP zv6007us ( zv6000 series )

I dont know if this problem (Fedora Install) occurs with every zd6000 series, but, I have read some forums that Im not the only one that have this problem.
The installation freezes after boot choices parameters. I already try to use another cd installation, try to use different boot command parameters like:
noapic, nousb, noprob, nousbhotplug, nofireware, noohci1394, nofb, nopcmcia, apm=off, noaccel, resolution=1280x800 and Nothing... in diffent ways and Nothing again...
Im very disapointed !!!
Anyone have a solution for this problem ? PLEASE tell me !!!
Thanks!
Ighor.

Hi there I have owned the zv5000us laptop and have had no problems installing Fedora Core on it I've also had dual operating systems on the laptop and worked sweetly I assume the zv6007us series should work just the same.

nvm.. i just checked the specs.. its a 64 bit.. sorry
JJ

You mean that you type anything on the keyboard and it won't react?, I just found a workaround to this issue on these notebooks (zv6007us), press some of these keys several times: num lk, break, prt scr, sys rq (make sure you press simultaneously the FN key while pressing these), then the keyboard should suddenly reactivate (num lk and caps lock will turn off/on their leds) and you can type again.

Interestingly, this even happens with Windows. After you start the system, once you see the Windows logo on the screen the keyboard won't react (until startup has finished). Pressing the keys I told you seem to send some interrupt signals that reactivate the keyboard. You will need to use the trick on grub/lilo to selecto your OS (if you have dual boot) and then once again after Linux started, either in a graphical login (e.g. xdm) or with a text prompt.

HP support team has not been helpful, they just said Linux is not supported and recommended me to reinstall Windows (yeah... right). My installation is Gentoo2005 for AMD64, no drivers for ATI 200 Express yet, but it works in 1024x768 mode (stretched) with vesa driver on Xorg (I'm using Gnome).

Let me know if this worked for you.

cheers

Omar

Hey,
Pass the parameters VGA=771 at boot time. i.e at the prompt type in 'linux vga=771'. Thisshould work. If yr keyboard gets stuck during installation, hold the Fn and the Shift keys for about 5-7 seconds. This should reset the keyboard driver. I haven't had the keboard problem so far. I have a hpzv6000, so I know the VGA works. Also the touch pad isn't recognized during installation. So use an external USB mouse. That works.

Let me know if u face other problems

The display works great with without parameters using a zv6007 (can't still use 1280x800 but that's not so bad), but the keyboard definitely has problems. Your solution is much better than mine, just pressing FN+SHIFT reactivates the keyboard (instead of poking several keys).
The touch pad on the zv6007 doesn't work at startup, as with zv6000.

The keyboard problem is annoying but hopefully it will be resolved soon, however, I've read that some people have tested more than 3 Linux distros just to see which one solves the problem. Not having the touchpad is not too bad, but without a keyboard people are really freaking out. Thanks for the tips.

Take care,

Omar

Just to let you know, HP released a BIOS patch for zv6007us on june (several patches an upgrades were released on June actually, for Windows XP). It upgrades BIOS to version F.14 and seems to resolve a few glitches, including the keyboard thing (actually you have to wait a few seconds after typing the bios password, as if you were pressing the SHIFT+FN keys), but it works anyway. The file is called SP30575.exe and can be found on the drivers support page for this notebook.

The clock is still running twice as fast (I didn't mentioned this before...); the Bios patch doesn't solve this, using noapic as parameter for the kernel at boot solves the problem but then the ethernetcard (based on the Realtek 8139 chipset) won't work with noapic.

However, I just managed to make the wireless card work:

• 1) Install wireless-tool for your Linux distro.
  2) Compile and install the latest version of ndiswrapper (http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/)
  3) Get the the Windows drivers (you have to get bcmwl5.inf and bcmwl5.sys). If you are using a 64 bit version of Linux (Gentoo 2005 for AMD64 in my case), get the drivers from this ubuntu forum (32 bit drivers from Windows XP Home/Professional won't work): http://ubuntuforums.org/attachment.p...achmentid=186.
  4) Drop the drivers in some directory and install them with ndiswrapper: ndiswrapper -i /<some_dir>/<driver>.inf
  5) Verify that the driver was installed: ndiswrapper -l. You should see a "driver present, hardware present message"
  6) Load the driver: modprobe ndiswrapper.
  7) Verify that the driver is working: dmesg. (You should see something like: "wlan0: ndiswrapper ethernet device XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX using driver netbc564, configuration file 14E4:4320.5.conf").
  8) That's it, you can now configure your wireless link using iwcofig.

So, I still have to solve the clock issue; I'll wait for Gentoo to release the drivers for the ATI Xpress 200, other dstributions already have updated kernels but it doesn't look that bad at 1024x768.

Hope this helps lessen the burden of other zv6007 users.

Omar

To enable ethernet card, you have to activate both ACPI and APM at kernel compile!!!!

Unfortuntely, APM is not supported on 64bit Linux kernels. zv6007 has an AMD athlon 64 processor. Sure I can try a 32 bit version of Linux, but then I might just buy as well another laptop with 32 bit processor . Any other suggestions?

Ayway, I don't think that is the problem... I have ACPI turned on and both ethernet and wireless interfaces work well, only with the noapic parameter both network interfaces stop working. I guess I'll wait until the kernel timerhack patch is included or the APIC fixed in 64 bit versions of the Kernel. Having a working network interface is far more critical than a having fast clock, for me.

Try it because my laptop wasn't APM-compatible and the trick worked. Do what you want, dude...