Ubuntu Wiki

• Contact: Nemti & ["F3000"]

• Make: Acer
• Brand: Extensa
• Model: 5220

• Website: [http://acer.com.au/acer/akc/portablepc.nsf/Page/RWPF2D97F75D3893C36CA2573620049801B Product Introduction Text]

Current Issues

• Suspend doesn't work properly

• Sound doesn't work after coming back from hibernation -- See Notes -> Sound

• WLAN LED is inverted (lights when WLAN is off, dark when WLAN is on) -- See Notes -> WLAN

• LiveCD requires all_generic_ide parameter at bootup (when LiveCD boot menu loads, press F6 and add all_generic_ide to the prompt then press ENTER). -- Needs confirmation, reported in [https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/14966 question #14966] (in Russian). -- Parameter is not needed with 7.10 (gutsy).

System Info

• system-manufacturer: Acer
• system-product-name: Extensa 5220
• system-version: 0100

Hardware details

Notes

3D Acceleration

Requires xserver-xorg-video-intel. Then change 'Driver "i810"' to 'Driver "intel"' in /etc/X11/xorg.conf. A more recent driver for Feisty can be found at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=494943

• In Gutsy it doesn't run (xserver-xorg-video-intel is automatically installed and "intel" automatically configured in xorg.conf). I tried going System, Administration, Screens and graphics and selecting all intel drivers and the 965 model. In the same computer, Feisty runs succesfully the recommended procedure.

  • This seems to be related to bug #136598, I was able to fix it by running sudo aptitude purge xserver-xgl. However, be aware, as a consequence you won't be able to run things like Beryl until this bug is fixed. Removing xserver-xgl also fixes an issue where only the logout button is shown on the shutdown dialog (possibly bug #136598).

"can't access tty" error on startup

(Bug #106864) Do modprobe piix && exit. I'm not sure how to fix this permanently, so you'll need to do this every startup.

This issue seems to be fixed in gutsy. The initramfs shell still appears, but a simple ctrl+D is all that is needed.

WLAN

Install bcm43xx-fwcutter. Post-installation configuration may fail due to a 404 error, if so, change http://boredklink.googlepages.com/wl_apsta.o to http://xeve.de/down/wl_apsta.o in /usr/share/bcm43xx-fwcutter/install_bcm43xx_firmware.sh, and run sudo dpkg --configure bcm43xx-fwcutter

If you'd prefer to use a native windows driver with ndiswrapper (as this method sometimes works better), you can use the guide at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx/Feisty_No-Fluff following step 2b when you get to it.

WLAN works "out of the box" in Gutsy (using restricted driver).

Hardware Switch/LED: The switch on the front side of the laptop which enables and disables WLAN works, but the LED which indicates WLAN state is inverted. It lights when WLAN is disabled and is dark when it's enabled. Loading bcm43xx with option noleds=1 does not help, neither does the acerhk module: Setting the WLAN state through acerhk simply does not work. Note: It works exactly the same in Vista (LED is off, when WLAN is activated and on when WLAN is disabled), so perhaps this is a new Acer "policy" or design decision...

Card reader

In order to use the card reader, you may need to do sudo modprobe tifm_sd && sudo modprobe mmc_core. This is no longer an issue in gutsy.

Suspend & Hibernate

The system goes into both of these states successfully, however problems arise when coming out. After hibernation, the power button continues flashing and WLAN does not work. When trying to come out of suspension, the system powers off.

In Gutsy, suspend still does not work. Hibernate works, but sound does not work after coming back from hibernation. It works again only after rebooting.

F-3000: My experiences (at 27.11.2007): Both suspend and hibernate works well when entering into those states, but when awakening from them, problems arise with suspend, as it ends up to unix mode with flashing cursor and yellow word "Linu" after it. Hibernate seems to work otherwise 100%, but simply shutting down and starting up the laptop is actually faster.

External Monitor

Hotplugging of external monitors doesn't work at the moment (although I've read this will be fixed in Gutsy). Note I haven't tested these, but for the impatient:

• http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=561865

• http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-21600.html

So, until then, the external monitor only gets recognised after restarting the X Server. Also, if the external monitor isn't widescreen, the bottom of the LCD screen gets cut off.

CD/DVD

I've found detection problems with a Feisty installed in 2 computers (inserting a CD-ROM or DVD-Video it doesn't mount anything), but with Gutsy it's solved.

Sound Devices

Midi

Midi on the sound card doesn't work, so you'll need to install a software midi server such as timidity.

Sound

To normal use sound devices you must:

• install "linux-backports-module"
• add line: "options snd-hda-intel model=acer" to file: /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base
• reboot your computer

This also fixes sound not working after hibernate.

Webcam

In order to use the webcam, you'll need to install linux-uvc (http://linux-uvc.berlios.de/) (installation guide: http://openfacts.berlios.de/index-en.phtml?title=HowTo_compile_for_Ubuntu_6.06_LTS). I've tested it with:

• luvcview -f yuv

• gst-launch v4l2src ! ffmpegcolorspace ! ximagesink

• ffmpeg -f video4linux2 -s 320x240 -r 5 -i /dev/video0 -f m4v out.m4v

• kopete configuration dialog

Note: Not all Extensa 5220s have a webcam. The version that comes with Linpus Linux does not have it.

External Links

• [http://kmuto.jp/debian/hcl/wiki/index.cgi?pci%3aextensa%205220 PCI bus list]

• [http://acer.com.au/Acer/akc/rwpattach.nsf/PublicbySrc/Extensa+5220-100508Mi..pdf/$file/Extensa+5220-100508Mi..pdf Product Specifications (PDF)]

• [ftp://ftp.work.acer-euro.com/notebook/extensa_5220 Manual, BIOS updates, Utilities + Drivers (Windows XP + Vista, but may be useful e.g. network drivers) (FTP)]

• Information for other Linux Distributions:

  • [http://dreesen.net/linux-extensa.html Debian]

  • [http://gentoo-wiki.com/HARDWARE_Acer_Extensa_5220 Gentoo]

  • [http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Acer_Extensa_5220 Arch Linux]

  • [http://www.linlap.com/wiki/Acer+Extensa+5220 General Linux]

CategoryLaptop