Translation(s): none

DebianOn is an effort to document how to install, configure and use Debian on some specific hardware. Therefore potential buyers would know if that hardware is supported and owners would know how get the best out of that hardware.

The purpose is not to duplicate the Debian Official Documentation, but to document how to install Debian on some specific hardware.

If you need help to get Debian running on your hardware, please have a look at our user support channels where you may find specific channels (mailing list, IRC channel) dedicated to certain types of hardware.

Models covered
Aspire TimelineX 3830T

Overall Status

Core Components
Boot Standard Kernel:
LAN network card:
Detect CD/DVD:	[-]
Detect hard drives:
Extra Features
CPU Frequency Scaling
Hibernation
Sleep / Suspend
Xorg
- OpenGL
- Resize-and-Rotate(randr)	[?]
Switch to External Screen	[?]
Mouse
- Built-in (Trackpoint)	[-]
- Built-in (Touchpad)
Modem	[-]
Wireless/Wifi
Keyboard's Hotkeys

Legend :
= OK ; Unsupported(No Driver) ; $/!\$ = Error (Couldn't get it working); [?] Unknown, Not Test ; [-] Not-applicable
= Configuration Required; = Only works with a non-free driver and or firmware

Configuration

Kernel Parameters

The following kernel parameters should be set inside /etc/default/grub:

 GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="acpi_backlight=vendor acpi_osi=Linux resume=/dev/sda[#swap_partition]"

acpi_backlight=vendor
- Use this to be able to adjust backlight brightness.
acpi_osi=Linux
- Don't know why.. It is fancy
resume=/dev/sda[#swap_partition]
- To be able to resume from hibernation. [#swap_partition] is the number of the swap partition: ie. in my case sda7.
You must run update-grub to apply changes.

Display

See kernel parameters to be able to adjust backlight brightness.

Audio

Works.

Mouse

Trackpad works.

Power Management

In orden to resume from hibernation see kernel parameters.
The following scripts should be added to /etc/pm/power.d/ to extend battery life using pm-utils. They were modified from laptop-mode-tools package to make it work with pm-utils.
When running on battery with these scripts powertop should say Good in all devices of tunables tab. Don't forget to set execute permissions with chmod +x script.

backlight

```
   1 #!/bin/sh
   2 #
   3 # Backlight brightness control for pm-utils
   4 #
   5 
   6 ON_AC=150
   7 ON_BATT=100
   8 
   9 case "$1" in
  10     true)
  11         echo $ON_BATT > /sys/class/backlight/intel_backlight/brightness
  12                 ;;
  13         false)
  14             echo $ON_AC > /sys/class/backlight/intel_backlight/brightness
  15                 ;;
  16 esac
  17 
  18 exit 0
```

intel-sata-powermgmt

   1 #! /bin/sh
   2 # 
   3 # Laptop mode tools module: Power management for Intel SATA controllers
   4 # Modified for pm-utils
   5 #
   6 
   7 case "$1" in
   8     true)
   9         SATA_POWER="min_power"
  10         ;;
  11     false)
  12         SATA_POWER="max_performance"
  13         ;;
  14 esac
  15 
  16 for POLICYFILE in /sys/class/scsi_host/*/link_power_management_policy ; do
  17         if [ -f $POLICYFILE ] ; then
  18         echo "**Intel SATA link power saving set to $SATA_POWER for $POLICYFILE."
  19                 echo $SATA_POWER > $POLICYFILE
  20         else
  21                 echo "**Intel SATA link power saving enabled but not supported by system for $POLICYFILE."
  22         fi 
  23 done
  24 
  25 exit 0

runtime-pm

   1 #! /bin/sh
   2 # 
   3 # Laptop mode tools module: Runtime Power Management
   4 # Modified for pm-utils
   5 
   6 
   7 activate_runtime_suspend() {
   8         for device in $1/*; do
   9                 if [ -f $device/power/control ]; then
  10                         echo "auto" > $device/power/control;
  11                         echo "***Setting Runtime PM auto for device $device"
  12                 else
  13                         echo "***$device does not support Runtime PM"
  14                 fi
  15         done
  16 
  17 }
  18 
  19 case "$1" in
  20     true)
  21                 echo "**Activating Runtime PM for device type PCI"
  22                 activate_runtime_suspend "/sys/bus/pci/devices"
  23 
  24                 echo "**Activating Runtime PM for device type SPI"
  25                 activate_runtime_suspend "/sys/bus/spi/devices"
  26 
  27                 echo "**Activating Runtime PM for device type i2c"
  28                 activate_runtime_suspend "/sys/bus/i2c/devices"
  29         ;;
  30     false)
  31                 echo "**Linux Runtime PM disabled."
  32         ;;
  33 esac
  34 
  35 exit 0

usb_pm

   1 #!/bin/sh
   2 case "$1" in
   3     true)
   4        # USB powersaving
   5         for i in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*/power/autosuspend; do
   6             echo 1 > $i
   7         done
   8         for i in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*/power/control; do
   9             echo auto > $i
  10         done
  11         sysctl kernel.nmi_watchdog=0
  12     ;;
  13     false)
  14         for i in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*/power/autosuspend; do
  15             echo 2 > $i
  16         done
  17         for i in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*/power/control; do
  18             echo on > $i
  19         done
  20         sysctl kernel.nmi_watchdog=1
  21     ;;
  22 esac
  23 
  24 exit 0

vm_writeback_timeout_pm

   1 #!/bin/sh
   2 case "$1" in
   3     true)
   4        # Less VM disk activity. Suggested by powertop
   5         echo 1500 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_writeback_centisecs
   6     ;;
   7     false)
   8        #Return settings to default on AC power
   9         echo 500 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_writeback_centisecs
  10     ;;
  11 esac
  12 
  13 exit 0

wireless-power

   1 #! /bin/sh
   2 # 
   3 # Laptop mode tools module, modified for pm-utils
   4 #
   5 # PURPOSE: power saving for generic wireless adapters that support
   6 #          the iwconfig power command.
   7 #
   8 
   9 [ "$WIRELESS_POWER_SAVING_EXCLUDE_DRIVERS" ] || WIRELESS_POWER_SAVING_EXCLUDE_DRIVERS="iwl3945 iwl4965 iwlagn ipw3945 ipw2200 ipw2100"
  10 
  11 #
  12 # Find all the wireless devices that do not use an excluded driver.
  13 # Place the interface names on the list WIFI_IFNAMES.
  14 #
  15 findWifiIfs () {
  16         local SYSDEVICE EXCLUDED LINK_TARGET DRIVER IFNAME EXCLUDED_DRIVER;
  17         
  18         for SYSDEVICE in /sys/class/net/*; do
  19                 IFNAME=`basename $SYSDEVICE`
  20 
  21                 # Check if it is a wireless device
  22                 #
  23                 # Inverting return values, we get "0" for wireless device, 
  24                 # and "1" for non-wireless device.
  25                 ($IWCONFIG $IFNAME 2>&1 | grep -q "no wireless extensions.") && ret=1 || ret=0
  26                 if [ "$ret" = "0" ]; then
  27                         # Yes, it is a wireless device.
  28                         if [ -h $SYSDEVICE/device/driver ]; then
  29                                 # Read the driver name
  30                                 LINK_TARGET=`readlink $SYSDEVICE/device/driver`
  31                                 DRIVER=${LINK_TARGET##*/}
  32                                 
  33                                 EXCLUDED=0
  34                                 for EXCLUDED_DRIVER in $WIRELESS_POWER_SAVING_EXCLUDE_DRIVERS ; do
  35                                         if [ "$EXCLUDED_DRIVER" = "$DRIVER" ] ; then
  36                                                 log "VERBOSE" "Wireless interface $IFNAME excluded for wireless-power by driver name."
  37                                                 EXCLUDED=1
  38                                         fi 
  39                                 done
  40                                 if [ $EXCLUDED = 0 ] ; then
  41                                         # add the interface name to the list
  42                                         WIFI_IFNAMES="$WIFI_IFNAMES $IFNAME"
  43                                 fi
  44                         fi
  45 
  46                 fi
  47         done
  48 }
  49 
  50 # Find executables
  51 if [ -x /sbin/iwconfig ] ; then
  52         IWCONFIG=/sbin/iwconfig
  53 elif [ -x /usr/sbin/iwconfig ] ; then
  54         IWCONFIG=/usr/sbin/iwconfig
  55 else
  56         echo "**iwconfig is not installed!!"
  57         exit 0
  58 fi
  59 
  60 
  61 WIFI_IFNAMES=""
  62 findWifiIfs
  63 for IF in $WIFI_IFNAMES ; do
  64         case "$1" in
  65                 false)
  66                         echo "**On AC power: setting power saving mode for $IF to OFF."
  67                         if ( ! $IWCONFIG $IF power off) ; then
  68                                 echo "***Damn... Failed."
  69                         fi
  70                         ;;
  71                 true)
  72                         echo "**On battery: setting power saving mode for $IF to ON."
  73                         if ( ! $IWCONFIG $IF power on) ; then
  74                                 echo "***Damn... Failed."
  75                         fi
  76                         ;;
  77         esac
  78 done
  79 
  80 exit 0

WiFi

Works

System Summary

lspci

00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family DRAM Controller [8086:0104] (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0116] (rev 09)
00:16.0 Communication controller [0780]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 [8086:1c3a] (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 [8086:1c2d] (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller [8086:1c20] (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 [8086:1c10] (rev b4)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 [8086:1c12] (rev b4)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 3 [8086:1c14] (rev b4)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4 [8086:1c16] (rev b4)
00:1d.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 [8086:1c26] (rev 04)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation HM65 Express Chipset Family LPC Controller [8086:1c49] (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller [0106]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 6 port SATA AHCI Controller [8086:1c03] (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller [8086:1c22] (rev 04)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet [1969:1083] (rev c0)
03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Centrino Advanced-N 6205 [8086:0082] (rev 34)
04:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTS5209 PCI Express Card Reader [10ec:5209] (rev 01)
05:00.0 USB controller [0c03]: NEC Corporation uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller [1033:0194] (rev 04)

lsusb

lsusb -v | grep -E '\<(Bus|iProduct|bDeviceClass|bDeviceProtocol)' 2>/dev/null

Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceProtocol         1 Single TT
  iProduct                0 
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceProtocol         0 Full speed (or root) hub
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceProtocol         1 Single TT
  iProduct                0 
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceProtocol         0 Full speed (or root) hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceProtocol         0 Full speed (or root) hub
  iProduct                2 EHCI Host Controller
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceProtocol         1 Single TT
  iProduct                2 xHCI Host Controller
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceProtocol         3 
  iProduct                2 xHCI Host Controller
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceProtocol         0 Full speed (or root) hub
  iProduct                2 EHCI Host Controller
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 058f:b002 Alcor Micro Corp. 
  bDeviceClass          239 Miscellaneous Device
  bDeviceProtocol         1 Interface Association
  iProduct                2 1.3M HD WebCam
      (Bus Powered)
  bDeviceClass          239 Miscellaneous Device
  bDeviceProtocol         1 Interface Association
  (Bus Powered)

InstallingDebianOn
Acer
Aspire_TimelineX_3830T
Wheezy

Overall Status

Configuration

Kernel Parameters

Display

Audio

Mouse

Power Management

backlight

intel-sata-powermgmt

runtime-pm

usb_pm

vm_writeback_timeout_pm

wireless-power

WiFi

System Summary

lspci

lsusb

Resources

Attachments

Useful Links

Credits

InstallingDebianOnAcerAspire_TimelineX_3830TWheezy

Overall Status

Configuration

Kernel Parameters

Display

Audio

Mouse

Power Management

backlight

intel-sata-powermgmt

runtime-pm

usb_pm

vm_writeback_timeout_pm

wireless-power

WiFi

System Summary

lspci

lsusb

Resources

Attachments

Useful Links

Credits

InstallingDebianOn
Acer
Aspire_TimelineX_3830T
Wheezy