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Linux - Laptop and Netbook Having a problem installing or configuring Linux on your laptop? Need help running Linux on your netbook? This forum is for you. This forum is for any topics relating to Linux and either traditional laptops or netbooks (such as the Asus EEE PC, Everex CloudBook or MSI Wind).

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Old 01-21-2004, 05:22 PM   #1
avatardeviva
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Unhappy laptop crashes when unplugged


Hey - I have a Dell Inspiron 8100 with Mandrake 9.2, and its all working great except one thing. When I unplug the laptop the whole system crashes. Nothing moves, nothing happens. No errors or anything. I'm not wiz in linux, so I don't know what could possibly be going on. Is there any way to fix this? I would like to use the laptop as a laptop and not a desktop
 
Old 01-22-2004, 03:51 PM   #2
Brian1
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What do you mean by nothing happens. Does the desktop mouse freeze but the screen looks fine. If this happens try this when it happens close the notebook lid wait 5 secs then open it back up and see what happens. Just a thought here. Let me know if this helps.
 
Old 01-22-2004, 06:06 PM   #3
avatardeviva
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Well, I get no response from the mouse, no response from the keyboard or anything. The closing of the laptop lid doesn't do anything either - it just closes the lid . Although I did find that closing the lid while the computer wasn't frozen froze it too. So I guess the problem just keeps getting bigger. I didn't have this problem with mandrake 9.1.
 
Old 01-22-2004, 06:21 PM   #4
Brian1
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What kernel are you using?
Might need to use a newer kernel. Could be an issue with that kernel. Best to upgrade to anything but 2.4.22.
 
Old 01-24-2004, 12:26 PM   #5
avatardeviva
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How do I upgrade the kernel? I would have assumed it would be the newest one considering I have the newest mandrake right now.. and how would I check what version the kernel is?

This is the point in life I wish I payed attention in class
 
Old 01-24-2004, 04:39 PM   #6
megaspaz
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well i got the same model computer you got running on redhat 7.3 and i have no problems with it. what kind of power management module are you using with mandrake 9.2? it could be that inspiron 8100 doesn't support acpi stuff. apm works fine for me. so you may need to disable acpi and use apm. not really sure if that helps you at all, but i don't think it's the inspiron. i'd look at what mandrake 9.2 is using.
 
Old 01-25-2004, 01:29 PM   #7
Brian1
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No you are not running the lastest and greatest kernel. There are some topics here that show you how to build a new kernel. I also belive it that acpi might be your problem. I would build a new kernel and would include acpi first and see if that works. If not build a new one without acpi and add apm.
 
Old 02-03-2004, 11:11 PM   #8
digitalboi
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ok fellas found this out from another post on a forum, it was a known issue with mandrake 9.2, the solution was actually posted in mandrake 9.2 errata. here is what i did

type: su
then type: password

then type: vi /etc/lilo.conf (can use any editor you like such as pico,etc)

then in each image section there is a append line, you need to add "acpi= ht nolapic"

after u add those lines

type: lilo (rebuilds ur lilo.conf)

type: reboot

u should be able to unplug the laptop (w/o freezing) and when u send the halt signal it will actually turn all the way off


one thing i have a problem w/ maybe some1 knows
when i close the lid for my laptop now and open it back up the screen comes up but it is in halfs, i have to kill the x-server then startx again, does this happens to anyone else? Im running i dell inspiron 8100 as well.
 
Old 02-04-2004, 01:28 AM   #9
thegreatgatsby
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I had exactly the same problem with my Toshiba 9100 running xp.
It turned out to be a hardware fault - sent it back to Toshiba & they fixed it. works fine now.
 
Old 02-04-2004, 03:25 PM   #10
83K5
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Quote:
Originally posted by digitalboi
ok fellas found this out from another post on a forum, it was a known issue with mandrake 9.2, the solution was actually posted in mandrake 9.2 errata. here is what i did

type: su
then type: password

then type: vi /etc/lilo.conf (can use any editor you like such as pico,etc)

then in each image section there is a append line, you need to add "acpi= ht nolapic"

after u add those lines

type: lilo (rebuilds ur lilo.conf)

type: reboot

u should be able to unplug the laptop (w/o freezing) and when u send the halt signal it will actually turn all the way off


one thing i have a problem w/ maybe some1 knows
when i close the lid for my laptop now and open it back up the screen comes up but it is in halfs, i have to kill the x-server then startx again, does this happens to anyone else? Im running i dell inspiron 8100 as well.
does this only apply if you use lilo as a bootloader? if i'm using grub, how do I do it; I have this exact same problem and its driving me nuts. Thanks in advance.

Last edited by 83K5; 02-04-2004 at 03:29 PM.
 
Old 02-04-2004, 03:40 PM   #11
83K5
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in case anyone is in my situation (i.e. total n00b and using grub), here is how you do it (same as for lilo really, just different file to edit.)

edit the 'kernel' line for your linux boot option in /boot/grub/menu.lst

now follow digitalboi's post on appending the correct line in the file and adding the correct statement.

now, I can unplug and plug in my laptop at will, and it actually powers off when i tell it to. awesome, thanks for the help digitalboi.
 
Old 02-04-2004, 03:55 PM   #12
digitalboi
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no problem, glad to see u go everything running. now if u close ur lid does the screen split in half for you as well 83k5? what im trying to figure out is how to make it go into suspend mode when i closed my laptop. if any finds out how let me know
 
Old 02-04-2004, 04:14 PM   #13
83K5
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um, for me it works fine. if i close the lid, it seems to go into some flavor of suspend, then I open it back up, some text scrolls by, some lines appear on the screen, and then it goes black (power is still on though). move the mouse, and it brings up a password window, asking for my password. put that in, and its right back to KDE with everything fine.

now, on a related note (i think), it seems that if I leave the laptop idle for a little while, the brightness drops to the lowest level after about five minutes, then shortly thereafter the screen goes blank. hit any key and it comes back (this happens outside of KDE). is this some flavor of screensaver/powersaver? if so, how do I disable it?

edit: just saw this. the problem I just described happens in KDE also, and on resuming from that, the screen is split in half. absolutely no clue why though.

Last edited by 83K5; 02-04-2004 at 04:19 PM.
 
Old 02-12-2004, 12:41 PM   #14
mordak
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Just a simple thought, have you tested or checked the battery? I know when my battery gets low it just shuts off no warnings or anything. Maybe it's not seated properly or missing or just dead.
Good Luck,
Ken Gutkowski
 
  


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