HP2133

Revision 42 as of 2008-06-11 12:12:13

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Current Issues

  • CPU Scaling (fix below)

  • Wireless NIC (works fine with ndiswrapper)

  • Correct audio driver not available (ADI SoundMax AD1984A)

    • Headphone jack detection doesn't work (workaround for 2.6.24-16 and -17)

    • Microphone jack and internal microphone not recognized

Note: Both wireless NIC and audio driver (along with correct mixer and microphone input) work natively (no ndiswrapper required) out-of-the box with vanilla kernel 2.6.26-rc5. Wireless NIC alone works correctly with 2.6.25.4. If you decide to use this kernel, you're obviously missing VIA's binary unichrome driver, in that case you're left with openchrome which may be a usable alternative to some. You'll also need to recompile the out-of-tree Linux UVC driver by hand for the webcam to work if you use these kernels.

System Info

(KX868/9AT)

System: Hewlett-Packard HP 2133 F.02

Kernel Version: 2.6.24-17-generic

lspci:

00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M900 Host Bridge
00:00.1 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M900 Host Bridge
00:00.2 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M900 Host Bridge
00:00.3 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M900 Host Bridge
00:00.4 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M900 Host Bridge
00:00.5 PIC: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M900 I/O APIC Interrupt Controller
00:00.6 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M900 Security Device
00:00.7 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M900 Host Bridge
00:01.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 PCI Bridge
00:02.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M900 PCI to PCI Bridge Controller (rev 80)
00:03.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. P4M900 PCI to PCI Bridge Controller (rev 80)
00:0f.0 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. Unknown device 5372
00:10.0 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev b0)
00:10.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev b0)
00:10.3 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev b0)
00:10.4 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 (rev 90)
00:11.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237S PCI to ISA Bridge
00:11.7 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8251 Ultra VLINK Controller
00:13.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237A Host Bridge
00:13.1 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237A PCI to PCI Bridge
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. Chrome9 HC IGP (rev 01)
02:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11a/b/g (rev 02)
07:03.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5788 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 03)
80:01.0 Audio device: VIA Technologies, Inc. VIA High Definition Audio Controller (rev 10)

(KX872AA) (UK version)

Same as above, but:

02:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4310 USB Controller (rev 01)

Hardware details

HP 2133 Model Matrix

Model

CPU/FSB

RAM

Drive

WiFi

BT

OS

Remarks

KR922UT

1.0/400

512MB

4GB SSD

b/g

No

SUSE

KX869AT

1.2/800

1GB

120GB

a/b/g

No

SUSE

KX872AA

1.2/800

1GB

120GB

b/g

Yes

SUSE

UK

KX867AA

1.2/800

1GB

120GB

a/b/g

Yes

Vista

UK

KX868AT

1.2/800

1GB

120GB

a/b/g

No

Vista

KR939UT

1.2/800

1GB

120GB

a/b/g

Yes

XP/Vista

KR954UT

1.6/800

1GB

120GB

a/b/g

Yes

XP/Vista

KX870AT

1.6/800

2GB

120GB

a/b/g

Yes

Vista

KR948UT

1.2/800

2GB

160GB

a/b/g

Yes

XP/Vista

KR964UT

1.6/800

2GB

160GB

a/b/g

Yes

XP/Vista

Screen & Monitors

Device

Works?

Bug #

in Hardy 8.06 LTS

Screen

Yes

Correct resolution?

Yes (1280x768)

Correct refresh rate?

Yes (60 Hz)

Graphics

Chrome9 HC IGP

3D Acceleration

Yes, with VIA Driver: glxgears - 393.8 FPS

External monitor works?

Yes

External monitor - mirrors

Yes

External monitor - extend desktop

No

Power Management

Battery detected?

Yes

Hibernates?

Yes

Suspend

Yes

Dim monitor on battery

Yes

Blank monitor on inactivity

Yes

Lid Close

Yes

CPU frequency scaling

Yes (with fix)

Sound

Appears as HDA VIA VT82XX Sound Card (rev 10) actually ADI SoundMax AD1984A

Sound works?

Yes

Correct volume?

Yes

Hardware volume switch

Yes

Headphone jack

Yes

Mic jack

No

Wired Networking

NetXtreme BCM5788 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 03)

Wired NIC

Yes

Wireless Networking

BCM4312 802.11a/b/g (rev 02)

Wireless NIC

Yes (with ndiswrapper)

ExpressCard NIC

Untested

Firewire

Yes (With ExpressCard)

Bluetooth

Untested

Modem

None

Infrared

None

Touchpad & Mice

Touchpad

Yes

Touchpad - Doubletap = double click

Yes

Touchpad - Scroll down side

Yes

Touchpad - On/Off Button

Yes

External mouse - USB

Yes

Docking Station/Port Replicator

AC through replicator

Untested

USB

Untested

Serial

Untested

Parallel

Untested

External Monitor - VGA

Untested

External Monitor - DVI

Untested

Modem

Untested

NIC

Untested

PS/2

Untested

Additional Hardware

Fingerprint reader

None

CD/DVD drive

USB External Works and is Bootable

ExpressCard/54

Yes

SD Card Reader

Yes

Function and other keys

Fn key

Operation

Keycode

Works?

Bug #

in Hardy 8.06 LTS

+ Space

+ Esc

+ F1

Suspend

Yes

+ F2

Ext Monitor

No

+ F3

Dim Screen

Yes

+ F4

Brighten Screen

Yes

+ F5

+ F6

Lock

No

+ F7

+ F8

Mute

Yes

+ F9

+ F10

Volume Down

Yes

+ F11

Volume Up

Yes

+ F12

+ Pause

Break

Untested

+ Scroll

Num Lock

Untested

+ Insert

Print Screen

Yes

+ Delete

Sys Rq

Print Screen

+ Arrow Up

Page Up

Yes

+ Arrow Down

Page Up

Yes

+ Arrow Left

Home

Yes

+ Arrow Right

End

Yes

How-To: Installing Ubuntu from CD on the HP 2133 Mini-Note

Tested Configuration

  • The specific model tested for this Wiki was the KX869AT, which arrived with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10.1 pre-installed. These instructions should work for the KX868AT without modification. Other models of HP 2133 have slightly different hardware.

Disclaimer

  • The following instructions assume a complete install of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron) from scratch. Be sure to back up any data you feel is important. The following instructions have been kept as simple as possible to appeal to the widest audience.

Pre-Boot

  1. Download a copy of Hardy Heron and burn the image to an installation CD. Connect an external CD/DVD drive to the USB port and load the installation CD.
  2. Put your finger somewhere close to the F9 key, because the Mini-Note's BIOS options pass quickly. Start or restart the computer and press F9, which will bring up the Boot Device menu. Select your CD/DVD drive and hit enter.

Base Installation

  1. When the language menu comes up, select your preferred tongue and hit enter. At the Ubuntu install menu hit F6, which will bring up the Boot Options line. Add the word xforcevesa at the end of the line and hit enter. The installer will then load the kernel and begin the installation process. It is normal for the progress bar to freeze for a short period of time. Have patience.

  2. Eventually you should hear the welcoming sounds of Ubuntu through the Mini-Note's ample speakers, and see the Hardy Live session desktop. While WiFi is not available at this point, you should be able to connect to the internet through a wired ethernet connection if necessary. Double-click on the "Install" icon and follow the wizard through the subsequent screens, selecting your location and keyboard layout.

  3. Step 4 will ask you how you'd like to partition the disk. If you're comfortable with losing everything currently on the disk, select "Guided - use entire disk". Otherwise, choose the option that makes the most sense for you. Ubuntu works just fine sharing the drive with a Windows install, and it will even read and write to your NTFS partition out-of-the box. REMEMBER - If you choose the entire disk, you will kill everything else on your hard drive. BACK UP FIRST! Continue through the wizard, filling in your user information, password and computer name. When you're sure you're ready to wipe your hard-disk, hit "Install" on the final page.

  4. The "Installing System" dialog will come up next. Grab a tasty beverage and watch the progress bar slowly creep across the screen. When installation is complete, hit Restart Now. The CD should eject, and remove it from the tray/slot at this time. Press enter to restart your computer.

Drivers and Fixes

  1. As Ubuntu starts for the first time you may see some video artifacts from forcing the vesa video driver. You should still get a clear Ubuntu login screen and your speakers should work right from the start. Log in with the user you created during the install process. It's probably not a bad idea to run the Update Manager (System > Administration > Update Manager) to check for the latest security patches and bug fixes. Reboot if necessary.

  2. Video Driver Installation -- VIA now provides Ubuntu-ready video drivers for the HP 2133 at [http://linux.via.com.tw/support/downloadFiles.action this site]. WiFi is still not working, so use an ethernet connection to connect to the internet. If you have no ethernet connection, you'll need to go to the "WiFi Driver" section below and set up your WiFi card before continuing.

  3. Open up Firefox and head to the VIA website at the link above. Once there, be sure to select "Ubuntu 8.04 LTS" instead of "SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 SP1" in the "OS" selection box. Click on the GFX driver link and save the driver file somewhere you'll remember it. Firefox will save it to the desktop by default. Next, you'll need to download the new attachment:xorg.conf file. Save it somewhere convenient, like the desktop.
  4. Double-click on the downloaded file, and in the window that appears click the "Extract" button. Again select somewhere that makes sense (the Desktop is fine) and click "Extract" at the bottom right of the dialog. Close any remaining windows and open Terminal, in Applications > Accessories > Terminal. Assuming you extracted the driver folder to the desktop, type:

    cd ~/Desktop/via-chrome9.83.40558
    sudo ./vinstall
  5. Be sure to use the appropriate "via-chrome9..." folder name for your driver version. Before the new video will work, you'll have to make a couple more tweaks. Don't restart yet!
  6. Video and CPU Scaling Fixes -- Back in Terminal, type the following:

    sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst

    This will bring up the grub boot menu configuration file. Scroll to the bottom of the file and you'll find several boot options. Go to the first, titled "Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-17-generic" and in the "kernel" line, delete "xforcevesa". In its place, type:

    acpi_osi="!Windows 2006"

    This will enable CPU speed scaling, helping preserve the Mini-Note's already limited battery life. For more information about this bug (which is in the kernel, and not specific to the Mini-Note) see [https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/hardy/+source/linux/+bug/177076 this link].

  7. Remember where you put the replacement xorg.conf file, because we'll back up and overwrite the old one next. Assuming you saved the new unpackaged xorg.conf file to your desktop, type:

    sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.old
    sudo cp ~/Desktop/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf
    When that successfully completes, reboot your machine.
  8. Wireless Driver -- As of this writing, there is no functioning native linux WiFi driver available. The below instructions were taken from the excellent tutorial [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx/Feisty_No-Fluff here]. NOTE - If you have the 4GB SSD version of the Mini-Note, you may need a different driver! See the "Wireless Networking" section below.

    1. Update your apt repositories

      sudo apt-get update
    2. Install NDISWrapper and Blacklist Native Driver

      echo 'blacklist bcm43xx' | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
      sudo apt-get install ndiswrapper-utils-1.9
      mkdir ~/bcm43xx; cd ~/bcm43xx
    3. Download and Extract the sp38766 Drivers

      sudo apt-get install cabextract
      wget ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp38501-39000/sp38766.exe
      cabextract sp38766.exe
      • If you have problems accessing hp's web site try ftp.compaq.com
    4. Configure NDISWrapper and WPA Supplicant

      sudo ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf
      ndiswrapper -l
      sudo depmod -a
      sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
      sudo cp /etc/network/interfaces /etc/network/interfaces.orig
      echo -e 'auto lo\niface lo inet loopback\n' | sudo tee /etc/network/interfaces
      sudo ndiswrapper -m
      echo 'ndiswrapper' | sudo tee -a /etc/modules
      echo 'ENABLED=0' | sudo tee -a /etc/default/wpasupplicant

      Careful about line wrapping on the next bit of code. You should copy and paste everything in the box before running -- it is one long command.

      echo -e '#Hardy ssb/ndiswrapper workaround, added' `date` '\ninstall ndiswrapper modprobe -r b43 b44 b43legacy ssb; modprobe --ignore-install ndiswrapper $CMDLINE_OPTS; modprobe ssb; modprobe b44;' | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper
    e. Reboot.

What's Left?

Audio Quirks

  • The biggest flaw left is the audio driver. As of May 18, 2008 the internal microphone and the microphone jack are not recognized. The speaker workaround below solves the headphone detection issue for 2.6.24-17. Further kernel updates will probably break this fix, so choose wisely at update time. It will not fix the microphone problems.
  • For users with the 2.6.24-17 kernel update Download the following file to your desktop: attachment:alsa-driver-1.0.16_linux-headers-2.6.24-17-generic-1_i386.deb

    After it's finished, double-click on the file and the Package Installer window should come up. Click the "Install Package" button. When the installer is complete, open a terminal window again, and type:

    sudo mv /lib/modules/2.6.24-17-generic/ubuntu/sound/alsa-driver /lib/modules/2.6.24-17-generic.ubuntu.sound.alsa-driver.bak
    sudo ln -s /lib/modules/2.6.24-17-generic/kernel/sound/ /lib/modules/2.6.24-17-generic/ubuntu/sound/alsa-driver
    It's probably a good idea to restart after you're done. Speaker detection should now work if you're using the older kernel.
  • Advanced users looking for the audio fix for the older 2.6.24-16 kernel can find it here: attachment:alsa-driver-1.0.16_linux-headers-2.6.24-16-generic-1_i386.deb

Video Quirks

  • After the 2.6.24-17 kernel update, the Via video driver crashes if you attempt to enable 3D effects in Compiz. To enable them using earlier kernel versions, you have to run the following commands:

    sudo gedit /usr/bin/compiz

    Find the line that says:

    WHITELIST="nvidia intel ati radeon i810 fglrx"

    and change it to:

    WHITELIST="nvidia intel ati radeon i810 via"
    Save the file, close gedit and go back to the Terminal.
  • Additionally under 2.6.24-16, the video card and VIA driver have some limitations. In anecdotal testing, you can either enable Compiz 3D desktop effects OR watch video, but not both. Expect occasional 3D effects crashes to a standard 2D desktop.
  • With Compiz disabled Skype video works (although with no microphone input) but as soon as the "picture in picture" view comes up the video gets corrupted. Playback of remote video is fine with local video disabled, but this will be an issue for some.

Wireless Networking

  • Issues have been noted with the lowest and highest-end versions of the HP 2133.
    • The 4GB SSD version has a slightly different wireless card which doesn't include 802.11a. If you're having difficulties with wireless after using this wiki, please report them in the Mini-Note forum thread [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=749693 here].

    • The KX875AA (1.6GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD) is having anectodal networking issues with the stock install above, particularly on Kubuntu. While KNetworkManager is suspected, this is far from confirmed at this point.
    • KX872AA (1.2GHz, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, UK version) users who can't get wireless to work via ndiswrapper using the above driver and instructions may want to try installing the bcmwl5.inf driver from the [http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R174291.exe R174291.exe driver package] from Dell's website instead (ndiswrapper -r bcmwl5, then unzip .exe file and then install the bcmwl5 driver in the DRIVER_ROW directory in the same way as described above)

Installing an ExpressCard

  • ExpressCard/34 and ExpressCard/54 have been successfully tested after following the instructions [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ExpressCard here]. Briefly, after plugging the ExpressCard into the slot, you may have to enable it via this command:

    sudo modprobe pciehp pciehp_force=1
    Troubleshooting instructions can be found by following the link above. Cards successfully tested include:

Additional Info

  • The various forum posts below are good places to watch for the solution to this and other quirks. If you find solutions, please update this Wiki.


CategoryLaptop