Loading Ubuntu Linux on a CF-18

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nine
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Loading Ubuntu Linux on a CF-18

#1 Post by nine »

CF 18 Linux Install Guide

This guide will get you started running Ubuntu linux on your CF 18. I've tried to keep it at a fairly high level, and only cover things that are specific to the 18.
This guide will also get you working with only a few changes on a CF-28, and possibly on other models as well

0. Installation

A standard install of Ubuntu 8.10 was used as the base. Most of the functions on the CF-18 will work out of the box, including sound and wired and wireless networking, so it makes an excellent starting point. There are plenty of guides for general Ubuntu installation, so I'm not going to go into details here. Boot the CD, answer a few questions, and let it do its thing. Once the install is complete, the first thing you will want to do is log in, connect to a network, and run the update manager to update your system. This will get you the latest updates and patches, and get you ready for the next steps.

1. Hotkey Driver
In order to enable the hotkey functionality, you will need to download, build, and install a driver.

The driver is available from http://www.da-cha.jp/letsnote The file you need is pcc-acpi-0.9.tar.bz2. download and save this file using firefox.
By default, firefox will save the file to your Desktop.
I suggest creating a "src" directory to work on this in:

cd ~ will change to your home directory
mkdir src will create the new directory
cd src to enter the new src directory
bunzip2 -c ../Desktop/pcc-acpi-0.9.tar.bz2 | tar -xvf - will extract the file and create a pcc-acpi-0.9 directory. Also a hint: The shell will do filename completion if you hit the tab key, so you can shortcut the entry of the filename. Hitting tab twice will show all possible completions

enter the pcc-acpi-0.9 directory (cd pcc-acpi-0.9) and run the following commands:

make
sudo make install
sudo depmod -a
sudo modprobe pcc_acpi

the sudo commands may prompt you for your password. Enter it if prompted.

check out your working hotkeys! All the fn+Fkey hotkeys should work at this point, as well as the front panel brightness buttons.

2. Touchscreen
To get the touchscreen working you will need to download and install a driver, and edit the xorg configuration file.
A note for our advanced readers: This driver is available via apt, but is an older version which does not work correctly with screen rotation

The driver is available from http://www.conan.de/touchscreen/evtouch.html The file you need is evtouch-0.8.8.tar.gz. Download and save this file using firefox.
Extract the driver using gunzip -c evtouch-0.8.8.tar.gz | tar -xvf -
this will create an evtouch-0.8.8 directory. enter that directory and run the following command:

sudo cp evtouch_drv.so /usr/lib/xorg/modules/input


this may prompt you for your password. Enter it if prompted.

You will then need to edit your xorg configuration file. Run the following command:

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak
sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf


this will start the gedit editor. If there is another editor you prefer, feel free to use it instead, just remember you will still need to preface the command with sudo

Update the file to match the following; note that anything on a line after the # symbol is a comment, and is not read by the system:

Code: Select all

Section "ServerLayout"
	Identifier  "Default Layout"
	Screen	    "Default Screen"
	InputDevice "TouchScreen" "CorePointer"
	InputDevice "TouchPad"	"SendCoreEvents"
EndSection


Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Default Screen"
	Monitor		"Configured Monitor"
	Device		"Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier	"TouchScreen"
Driver		"evtouch"
Option		"SendCoreEvents"	"true"
Option		"Device"		"/dev/input/by-path/platform-i8042-serio-3-event-mouse"
Option		"Name"			"CF-18 Touchscreen"
Option		"DeviceName"		"CF-18 Touchscreen"
Option		"ReportingMode"		"Raw"
Option		"Emulate3Buttons"
#Option		"Calibrate" 		"1"
#CALIBRATION VALUES
Option	"maxx"	"945"
Option	"maxy"	"927"
Option	"minx"	"78"
Option	"miny"	"75"
#Option	"x0"	"0" 
#Option	"x1"	"0" 
#Option	"x2"	"-2" 
#Option	"x3"	"0" 
#Option	"x4"	"4"
#Option	"x5"	"0"
#Option	"x6"	"0"
#Option	"x7"	"0"
#Option	"x8"	"0"
#Option	"y0"	"-4"
#Option	"y1"	"0" 
#Option	"y2"	"4"
#Option	"y3"	"0"
#Option	"y4"	"4"
#Option	"y5"	"0"
#Option	"y6"	"7"
#Option	"y7"	"4"
#Option	"y8"	"3"
Option 	"MoveLimit"	"3"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier	"TouchPad"
Driver		"mouse"
Option		"SendCoreEvents"	"true"
Option		"Device"		"/dev/input/by-path/platform-i8042-serio-4-event-mouse"
Option		"Name"			"PS/2 Touchpad"
EndSection
after editing this file, you will need to log out and back in for changes to take effect.

This should get you a working touchscreen, however the calibration is probably off. Unfortunately, the calibration program included with the driver is broken, so you will be stuck calibrating manually by changing the calibration values listed in the configuration. The minx and miny values control the upper left corner. work on those first, as everything else is based on them. then move to the maxx and maxy values. these set the bottom right corner. Once those are set, the x0-x8 and y0-y8 values can be uncommented, and used to tweak the calibration in the various portions of the screen. The numbered pairs go left to right then top to bottom, so x0 and y0 tweak the upper left, x8 and y8 are the lower right, and x4 and y4 control the center of the screen. Remember, after making changes, you need to log out and log back in for them to take effect.

3. Tweaks
3a. Screen Rotation.

screen rotation works out of the box from the command line using the xrandr command. However, with the desktop effects enabled, it will occasionally cause X to crash, causing you to lose any open windows. To disable effects, right click on the desktop and select Change Desktop Background, then select the Visual Effects tab, and select the None option.
To rotate the screen, run xrandr -o right
to rotate it back, run xrandr -o normal
you can also use left and inverted to get other orientations.

The following script will toggle between right and normal orientations.

Code: Select all

if [ "`xrandr|grep 'current 1024'|wc -l`" -eq "1" ]
then
    echo "Rotate right"
    xrandr -o right
else
    echo "Rotate normal"
    xrandr -o normal
fi
to use it, save it to a file (I called mine "rotate", and then set the file executable (chmod +x rotate) You can then make a launcher button on your desktop panel that runs the script and toggles rotation. A good place to put this file would be /usr/local/bin

3b. Suspend

By default, closing the display will only result in the screen going blank. To change this, Select System->Preferences->Power Management, and change the settings.

3c. Power
TODO: There are a bunch of tweaks to improve battery life, but I haven't had a chance to implement them yet.

3d. Wifi rf_kill
disabling the wifi card under network manager does not turn off the power to the radio. The following script will allow you to turn the radio on or off from the command line:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash

RFKILL=/sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2200/0000\:01\:03.0/rf_kill

case $1 in
(on|ON|On|oN)
echo 0 >> $RFKILL
;;
(off|OFF|Off)
echo 1 >> $RFKILL
;;
esac
I've placed this file in /usr/local/bin/wifi-power. as with the rotate script, you must set it executable to run it.

Thats all for now, Feel free to ask any questions you have. My intent is to come back and edit this post to add at least two things: power tweaks and grub(boot) tweaks. but if there is anything anyone would like me to tackle here, let me know

nine
Last edited by nine on Thu Mar 26, 2009 3:58 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Loading Ubuntu Linux on a CF-18

#2 Post by Rob »

Thanks man!!!! I've made this a sticky!

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marconi
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Re: Loading Ubuntu Linux on a CF-18

#3 Post by marconi »

Hi nine,
Thanks for posting this, I'm sure it'l get some attention.

I just tried to download pcc-acpi-0.9.tar.gz
its not on his site, its a bz2 instead unless im blind
so the command :
gunzip -c pcc-acpi-0.9.tar.gz | tar -xvf -
does not work for me..I know new-bee. But others may not be able to follow as well.
But thought I'd point that out.
Also some may not know how to change directories to unpack (like me).
FireFox chooses to just download to a folder called downloads in my pc.

Also, altho not directly related to the CF-18 , I have tried Ubuntu 8.10 on 5 different cf-28's with no luck.. 'x' crashes everytime .
I had to result to using 8.04 Alt installation for those. still touchscreen issues even using evtouch.

However for me, I am glad you found some drivers for the HOTKEYS for the Panies. That is missing from
the MINT 6 distro and I would like to try it. As that is what I am now running on the 29.
As far as the touchscreen, That might be a problem with Mint as xconf is automatic and not really editable.
So I may end up going back to Ubuntu if I dont get Mint right so I can edit.
Just my experience so far...

But I have to commend you on all that work, At least its working on a CF-18..
And "That" is great news indeed..

Chuck
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Re: Loading Ubuntu Linux on a CF-18

#4 Post by nine »

Chuck

Thanks for the comments. You're right about the file being a .bz2, don't know how I got that crossed up. I've edited the first post to reflect the change, and also added some more detail about creating directories and moving around. I've got Ubuntu 8.10 working on my 28, although I'm still having issues with suspend (actualy, it just won't resume from suspend). However, I did a rather unusual install procedure, because at the time I did not have a CD drive for that system.

You may want to try the xorg.cfg file I have posted above on your 28; I suspect it will work almost as is. You will probably need to change the "Device" lines for the touchscreen and touchpad, "/dev/input/by-path/platform-i8042-serio-3-event-mouse" is probably not right on the 28. you will also probably find the calibration numbers are -way- off, but they are not too hard to fix, although time consuming. I had the calibration program sort-of working at one point. I'm going to try to get it going again, and if I do, will add it to the first post.

good luck

nine
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Re: Loading Ubuntu Linux on a CF-18

#5 Post by marconi »

Thanks man...I appreciate your work on this.
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Re: Loading Ubuntu Linux on a CF-18

#6 Post by deluxe »

When trying to install the Hotkey Driver:

Unfortunately, when I try this:
enter the pcc-acpi-0.9 directory (cd pcc-acpi-0.9) and run the following commands:

make

I get an error:
cannot stat pcc_acpi.ko: No such file or directory.

Then if I (nevertheless) follow with:

sudo make install

I get an error reported:
""install: cannot stat 'pcc_acpi.ko': No such file or directory
make: *** [install] Error 1""

If I open pcc-acpi-0.9 then, sure enough, there is no file pcc_acpi.ko There is, however a file called pcc_acpi.c

Suggestions please??? Edit/add on: Even if I right -click on the pcc-acpi-0.9.tar.bz2 file(when it's still on the Desktop), and select "Extract here", when I open up the folder created there is still the pcc_acpi.c file..........so the extraction is OK, at least.
CF-18 newbie, running Puppy Linux currently.
Also own a Nokia n810 running Diablo, a Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000 running Cacko "Heavy", and assorted other laptops and Desktop PC's all running software from the dark side.
-----------------
Check out my blog: http://blogericious.blogspot.com/
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nine
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Re: Loading Ubuntu Linux on a CF-18

#7 Post by nine »

ok. It looks like I was using a patched version of the driver. :doh:

Looks like I got it here: http://www.netlab.is.tsukuba.ac.jp/~yok ... onic_acpi/

Just follow the instructions on the page :D

If you scroll down to the bottom, you'll see a link for pcc-acpi-0.9-hy20081212.tar.gz

save this file. You will need to extract it with gunzip -c <filename> | tar -xvf - , then follow the directions above. The directory created will be pcc-acpi-0.9-hy20081212, so cd pcc-acpi-0.9-hy20081212 then proced with make, etc.

sorry for the confusion

nine
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Re: Loading Ubuntu Linux on a CF-18

#8 Post by deluxe »

Well, I got the Hotkeys working fine, the changed driver worked well this time. Then I did all the necessary Touchscreen work to get to this point:

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak
sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

But I must have done something terribly wrong editing, then saving the xorg.conf file, because when I rebooted I got to the Ubuntu desktop screen, but neither my mouse nor touchpad nor keyboard would work. I was forced to reinstall ubuntu from scratch. Couldn't even get to a Terminal screen!

Anyway, I used the xorg.conf file you gave as an example for the editing...........however, my xorg.conf file had a load of extra lines in it than the totality of your example in the first post here. Could you, or anyone else, please post a FULL copy of their xorg.conf file, taken after they have the Hotkeys and touchscreen working. I don't want to screw this up again!!
You could mail it to me if you wish, neill1234 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com

Many thanks.
CF-18 newbie, running Puppy Linux currently.
Also own a Nokia n810 running Diablo, a Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000 running Cacko "Heavy", and assorted other laptops and Desktop PC's all running software from the dark side.
-----------------
Check out my blog: http://blogericious.blogspot.com/
-----------------

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Re: Loading Ubuntu Linux on a CF-18

#9 Post by nine »

deluxe

What is posted above is the entirety of my xorg.conf file. I guess I should make that more clear.

What version of the CF-18 do you have? The only place I've tested this is on a MK2/Touchscreen model. If you have a digitizer model, you will need a different xorg.conf file, which I believe you can find with a google search, although the mouse should still work with this file. I've also not verified this config on any other MKs, there may be slight differences in the way the touchscreen/mouse attach to the system that would cause your mouse/touchscreen to not work.

Also, If you have more problems, ctrl-alt-F1 should take you to a text-mode prompt from X. ctrl-alt-f7 will take you back. ctrl-alt-bkspace will kill the X server, although it should restart immediately. If you want to prevent it from restarting, running sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop will shut down X, and prevent it from restarting. change the stop to start to start it up again. If you are really stuck, you should have a recovery mode entry on the grub boot menu, that will prompt you if you want to start X during the boot process. Any of these should get you to a point where you can replace the xorg.conf file with the backup copy (cp xorg.conf.bak xorg.conf)

It sounds like you're making progress, don't give up yet!

nine
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Re: Loading Ubuntu Linux on a CF-18

#10 Post by deluxe »

I have a Touchscreen CF-18, however i don't know how to tell whether it's a MK 1 or whatever (I suspect it is, based solely on it having the older Win2K COA sticker on the bottom, and that I remember it coming early in a list of CF-18 for driver downloads, and that it's the 900 Mhz model).
It's model is CF-18BHAZXDM, if that sheds light.

I haven't given up (yet), though it was very frustrating when everything hit the fan.
BTW, I couldn't use the touchpad, screen, or keyboard, so I was truly hosed.......no possibility of ANY key combinations would have any effect on anything in that state.

I have saved my xorg.conf file now on my desktop, after my rebuild of Ubuntu today. Maybe it'll be like a good-luck talisman and ward off the evil software gods ;-)
Appreciate you help with all of this.
CF-18 newbie, running Puppy Linux currently.
Also own a Nokia n810 running Diablo, a Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000 running Cacko "Heavy", and assorted other laptops and Desktop PC's all running software from the dark side.
-----------------
Check out my blog: http://blogericious.blogspot.com/
-----------------

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