Attachment #31574 for bug #52547

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    <pubdate>$FreeBSD: doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/laptop/article.sgml,v 1.11 2003/03/31 21:32:37 keramida Exp $</pubdate>
   
    <abstract>
      <para>&os; works fine on most laptops, with a few caveats.
        Some issues specific to running &os; on laptops, relating
        to different hardware requirements from desktops, are
        discussed below.</para>
    </abstract>
  </articleinfo>

    <para>&os; is often thought of as a server operating system, but
      it works just fine on the desktop, and if you want to use it on
      your laptop you can enjoy all the usual benefits: systematic
      layout, easy administration and upgrading, the ports/packages

      Microsoft Windows).  This article aims to discuss some of these
      issues.</para>

  <sect1 id="xfree86">
    <title><application>XFree86</application></title>
      
    <para>Recent versions of <application>XFree86</application> work with most display adapters
      available on laptops these days.  Acceleration may not be
      supported, but a generic SVGA configuration should work.</para>

    <para>Check your laptop documentation for which card you have,
      and check in the <application>XFree86</application> documentation (or setup program) 
      to see whether it is specifically supported.  If it is not, use
      a generic device (do not go for a name which just looks
      similar).  In <application>XFree86</application> version 4, you can try your luck
      with the command <userinput>XFree86 -configure</userinput>
      which auto-detects a lot of configurations.</para>

    <para>The problem often is configuring the monitor.  Common
      resources for <application>XFree86</application> focus on CRT monitors; getting a
      suitable modeline for an LCD display may be tricky.  You may
      be lucky and not need to specify a modeline, or just need to
      specify suitable HorizSync and VertRefresh ranges.  If that
      does not work, the best option is to check web resources
      devoted to configuring X on laptops (these are often
      linux-oriented sites but it does not matter because both systems
      use <application>XFree86</application>) and copy a modeline posted by someone for similar
      hardware.</para>

    <para>Most laptops come with two buttons on their pointing

      simultaneous left-right click in your X configuration to 
      a middle button click with the line</para>

    <programlisting>Option "Emulate3Buttons"</programlisting>
      Option "Emulate3Buttons"
    </programlisting>

    <para>in <filename>XF86Config</filename> in the <literal>InputDevice</literal>
      section (for <application>XFree86</application> version 4; for version 3, put just the line
      <literal>Emulate3Buttons</literal>, without the quotes, in the 
      <literal>Pointer</literal> section.)</para>
  </sect1> 

  <sect1 id="modems">
    <title>Modems</title>
    <para> 
      Laptops usually come with internal (on-board) modems.


  </sect1> 

  <sect1 id="pccard">
    <title>PCMCIA (PC Card) devices</title>

    <para> Most laptops come with PCMCIA (also called PC Card)
      slots; these are supported fine under &os;.  Look through
      your boot-up messages (using &man.dmesg.8;) and see whether these were
      detected correctly (they should appear as
      <devicename>pccard0</devicename>,
      <devicename>pccard1</devicename> etc on devices like
      <devicename>pcic0</devicename>).</para>

    <para>&os; currently supports 16-bit PCMCIA cards, but not
      32-bit (<quote>CardBus</quote>) cards.   A database of supported 
      cards is in &man.pccard.conf.5;.
      Look through it, and preferably buy cards listed there.  Cards not
      listed may also work as <quote>generic</quote> devices: in 
      particular most modems (16-bit) should work fine, provided they 

      card, remove irq 5 (otherwise you may experience hangs when you 
      insert a card).  Check also the available memory slots; if your 
      card is not being detected, try changing it to one of the other 
      allowed values (listed in &man.pccardc.8;).
    </para>

    <para>If it is not running already, start the &man.pccardd.8; daemon.
      (To enable it at boot time, add
      <programlisting>pccard_enable="YES"</programlisting> to
      &man.rc.conf.5;).  Now your cards should be
      detected when you insert and remove them, and you should get
      log messages about new devices being enabled.</para>

    <para>There have been major changes to the pccard code
      (including ISA routing of interrupts, for machines whose
      PCI BIOS &os; can not seem to use) before the &os; 4.4
      release.  If you have problems, try upgrading your system.</para>
 
  </sect1> 

  <sect1 id="power-management">

    <title>Power management</title>

    <para>Unfortunately, this is not very reliably supported under
      &os;.  If you are lucky, some functions may work reliably;
      or they may not work at all.</para>

    <para>To enable this, you may need to compile a kernel with
      power management support (<literal>device apm0</literal>) or
      add the option <literal>enable apm0</literal> to 
      &man.loader.conf.5;, and
      also enable the &man.apm.8; daemon at boot time (line
      <literal>apm_enable="YES"</literal> in
      &man.rc.conf.5;).  For instance,
      listed in the &man.apm.8; manpage.  For instance,
      <command>apm -b</command> gives you battery status (or 255 if
      not supported), <command>apm -Z</command> puts the laptop on
      standby, <command>apm -z</command> (or zzz) suspends it.  To

      in console mode but not under X (that is, the screen does not
      come on again; in that case, switch to a virtual console
      (using Ctrl-Alt-F1 or another function key) and then execute
      the <command>apm</command> command.
    </para>

    <para>The X window system (<application>XFree86</application>) also includes display power
      management (look at &man.xset.1;, and search for
      <quote>dpms</quote> there).  You may want to investigate this.  However, this, 
      too, works inconsistently on laptops: it
      often turns off the display but does not turn off the

Return to bug 52547

Lines 19-32 Link Here

(-)article.sgml (-34 / +31 lines)
19	<pubdate>$FreeBSD: doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/laptop/article.sgml,v 1.11 2003/03/31 21:32:37 keramida Exp $</pubdate>	19	<pubdate>$FreeBSD: doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/laptop/article.sgml,v 1.11 2003/03/31 21:32:37 keramida Exp $</pubdate>
20		20
21	<abstract>	21	<abstract>
22	<para>FreeBSD works fine on most laptops, with a few caveats.	22	<para>&os; works fine on most laptops, with a few caveats.
23	Some issues specific to running FreeBSD on laptops, relating	23	Some issues specific to running &os; on laptops, relating
24	to different hardware requirements from desktops, are	24	to different hardware requirements from desktops, are
25	discussed below.</para>	25	discussed below.</para>
26	</abstract>	26	</abstract>
27	</articleinfo>	27	</articleinfo>
28		28
29	<para>FreeBSD is often thought of as a server operating system, but	29	<para>&os; is often thought of as a server operating system, but
30	it works just fine on the desktop, and if you want to use it on	30	it works just fine on the desktop, and if you want to use it on
31	your laptop you can enjoy all the usual benefits: systematic	31	your laptop you can enjoy all the usual benefits: systematic
32	layout, easy administration and upgrading, the ports/packages	32	layout, easy administration and upgrading, the ports/packages
Lines 39-68 Link Here
39	Microsoft Windows). This article aims to discuss some of these	39	Microsoft Windows). This article aims to discuss some of these
40	issues.</para>	40	issues.</para>
41		41
42	<sect1>	42	<sect1 id="xfree86">
43	<title>XFree86</title>	43	<title><application>XFree86</application></title>
44		44
45	<para>Recent versions of XFree86 work with most display adapters	45	<para>Recent versions of <application>XFree86</application> work with most display adapters
46	available on laptops these days. Acceleration may not be	46	available on laptops these days. Acceleration may not be
47	supported, but a generic SVGA configuration should work.</para>	47	supported, but a generic SVGA configuration should work.</para>
48		48
49	<para>Check your laptop documentation for which card you have,	49	<para>Check your laptop documentation for which card you have,
50	and check in the XFree86 documentation (or setup program)	50	and check in the <application>XFree86</application> documentation (or setup program)
51	to see whether it is specifically supported. If it is not, use	51	to see whether it is specifically supported. If it is not, use
52	a generic device (do not go for a name which just looks	52	a generic device (do not go for a name which just looks
53	similar). In XFree86 version 4, you can try your luck	53	similar). In <application>XFree86</application> version 4, you can try your luck
54	with the command <userinput>XFree86 -configure</userinput>	54	with the command <userinput>XFree86 -configure</userinput>
55	which auto-detects a lot of configurations.</para>	55	which auto-detects a lot of configurations.</para>
56		56
57	<para>The problem often is configuring the monitor. Common	57	<para>The problem often is configuring the monitor. Common
58	resources for XFree86 focus on CRT monitors; getting a	58	resources for <application>XFree86</application> focus on CRT monitors; getting a
59	suitable modeline for an LCD display may be tricky. You may	59	suitable modeline for an LCD display may be tricky. You may
60	be lucky and not need to specify a modeline, or just need to	60	be lucky and not need to specify a modeline, or just need to
61	specify suitable HorizSync and VertRefresh ranges. If that	61	specify suitable HorizSync and VertRefresh ranges. If that
62	does not work, the best option is to check web resources	62	does not work, the best option is to check web resources
63	devoted to configuring X on laptops (these are often	63	devoted to configuring X on laptops (these are often
64	linux-oriented sites but it does not matter because both systems	64	linux-oriented sites but it does not matter because both systems
65	use XFree86) and copy a modeline posted by someone for similar	65	use <application>XFree86</application>) and copy a modeline posted by someone for similar
66	hardware.</para>	66	hardware.</para>
67		67
68	<para>Most laptops come with two buttons on their pointing	68	<para>Most laptops come with two buttons on their pointing
Lines 71-87 Link Here
71	simultaneous left-right click in your X configuration to	71	simultaneous left-right click in your X configuration to
72	a middle button click with the line</para>	72	a middle button click with the line</para>
73		73
74	<programlisting>	74	<programlisting>Option "Emulate3Buttons"</programlisting>
75	Option "Emulate3Buttons"
76	</programlisting>
77		75
78	<para>in the XF86Config file in the <literal>InputDevice</literal>	76	<para>in <filename>XF86Config</filename> in the <literal>InputDevice</literal>
79	section (for XFree86 version 4; for version 3, put just the line	77	section (for <application>XFree86</application> version 4; for version 3, put just the line
80	<literal>Emulate3Buttons</literal>, without the quotes, in the	78	<literal>Emulate3Buttons</literal>, without the quotes, in the
81	<literal>Pointer</literal> section.)</para>	79	<literal>Pointer</literal> section.)</para>
82	</sect1>	80	</sect1>
83		81
84	<sect1>	82	<sect1 id="modems">
85	<title>Modems</title>	83	<title>Modems</title>
86	<para>	84	<para>
87	Laptops usually come with internal (on-board) modems.	85	Laptops usually come with internal (on-board) modems.
Lines 98-117 Link Here
98		96
99	</sect1>	97	</sect1>
100		98
101	<sect1>	99	<sect1 id="pccard">
102	<title>PCMCIA (PC Card) devices</title>	100	<title>PCMCIA (PC Card) devices</title>
103		101
104	<para> Most laptops come with PCMCIA (also called PC Card)	102	<para> Most laptops come with PCMCIA (also called PC Card)
105	slots; these are supported fine under FreeBSD. Look through	103	slots; these are supported fine under &os;. Look through
106	your boot-up messages (using <command>dmesg</command>) and see whether these were	104	your boot-up messages (using &man.dmesg.8;) and see whether these were
107	detected correctly (they should appear as	105	detected correctly (they should appear as
108	<devicename>pccard0</devicename>,	106	<devicename>pccard0</devicename>,
109	<devicename>pccard1</devicename> etc on devices like	107	<devicename>pccard1</devicename> etc on devices like
110	<devicename>pcic0</devicename>).</para>	108	<devicename>pcic0</devicename>).</para>
111		109
112	<para>FreeBSD currently supports 16-bit PCMCIA cards, but not	110	<para>&os; currently supports 16-bit PCMCIA cards, but not
113	32-bit (<quote>CardBus</quote>) cards. A database of supported	111	32-bit (<quote>CardBus</quote>) cards. A database of supported
114	cards is in the file <filename>/etc/defaults/pccard.conf</filename>.	112	cards is in &man.pccard.conf.5;.
115	Look through it, and preferably buy cards listed there. Cards not	113	Look through it, and preferably buy cards listed there. Cards not
116	listed may also work as <quote>generic</quote> devices: in	114	listed may also work as <quote>generic</quote> devices: in
117	particular most modems (16-bit) should work fine, provided they	115	particular most modems (16-bit) should work fine, provided they
Lines 128-166 Link Here
128	card, remove irq 5 (otherwise you may experience hangs when you	126	card, remove irq 5 (otherwise you may experience hangs when you
129	insert a card). Check also the available memory slots; if your	127	insert a card). Check also the available memory slots; if your
130	card is not being detected, try changing it to one of the other	128	card is not being detected, try changing it to one of the other
131	allowed values (listed in the manual page &man.pccardc.8;).	129	allowed values (listed in &man.pccardc.8;).
132	</para>	130	</para>
133		131
134	<para>If it is not running already, start the <command>pccardd</command> daemon.	132	<para>If it is not running already, start the &man.pccardd.8; daemon.
135	(To enable it at boot time, add	133	(To enable it at boot time, add
136	<programlisting>pccard_enable="YES"</programlisting> to	134	<programlisting>pccard_enable="YES"</programlisting> to
137	<filename>/etc/rc.conf</filename>.) Now your cards should be	135	&man.rc.conf.5;). Now your cards should be
138	detected when you insert and remove them, and you should get	136	detected when you insert and remove them, and you should get
139	log messages about new devices being enabled.</para>	137	log messages about new devices being enabled.</para>
140		138
141	<para>There have been major changes to the pccard code	139	<para>There have been major changes to the pccard code
142	(including ISA routing of interrupts, for machines whose	140	(including ISA routing of interrupts, for machines whose
143	PCI BIOS FreeBSD can not seem to use) before the FreeBSD 4.4	141	PCI BIOS &os; can not seem to use) before the &os; 4.4
144	release. If you have problems, try upgrading your system.</para>	142	release. If you have problems, try upgrading your system.</para>
145		143
146	</sect1>	144	</sect1>
147		145
148	<sect1>	146	<sect1 id="power-management">
149		147
150	<title>Power management</title>	148	<title>Power management</title>
151		149
152	<para>Unfortunately, this is not very reliably supported under	150	<para>Unfortunately, this is not very reliably supported under
153	FreeBSD. If you are lucky, some functions may work reliably;	151	&os;. If you are lucky, some functions may work reliably;
154	or they may not work at all.</para>	152	or they may not work at all.</para>
155		153
156	<para>To enable this, you may need to compile a kernel with	154	<para>To enable this, you may need to compile a kernel with
157	power management support (<literal>device apm0</literal>) or	155	power management support (<literal>device apm0</literal>) or
158	add the option <literal>enable apm0</literal> to	156	add the option <literal>enable apm0</literal> to
159	<filename>/boot/loader.conf</filename>, and	157	&man.loader.conf.5;, and
160	also enable the apm daemon at boot time (line	158	also enable the &man.apm.8; daemon at boot time (line
161	<literal>apm_enable="YES"</literal> in	159	<literal>apm_enable="YES"</literal> in
162	<filename>/etc/rc.conf</filename>). The apm commands are	160	&man.rc.conf.5;). For instance,
163	listed in the &man.apm.8; manpage. For instance,
164	<command>apm -b</command> gives you battery status (or 255 if	161	<command>apm -b</command> gives you battery status (or 255 if
165	not supported), <command>apm -Z</command> puts the laptop on	162	not supported), <command>apm -Z</command> puts the laptop on
166	standby, <command>apm -z</command> (or zzz) suspends it. To	163	standby, <command>apm -z</command> (or zzz) suspends it. To
Lines 170-180 Link Here
170	in console mode but not under X (that is, the screen does not	167	in console mode but not under X (that is, the screen does not
171	come on again; in that case, switch to a virtual console	168	come on again; in that case, switch to a virtual console
172	(using Ctrl-Alt-F1 or another function key) and then execute	169	(using Ctrl-Alt-F1 or another function key) and then execute
173	the apm command.	170	the <command>apm</command> command.
174	</para>	171	</para>
175		172
176	<para>The X window system (XFree86) also includes display power	173	<para>The X window system (<application>XFree86</application>) also includes display power
177	management (look at the &man.xset.1; manual page, and search for	174	management (look at &man.xset.1;, and search for
178	<quote>dpms</quote> there). You may want to investigate this. However, this,	175	<quote>dpms</quote> there). You may want to investigate this. However, this,
179	too, works inconsistently on laptops: it	176	too, works inconsistently on laptops: it
180	often turns off the display but does not turn off the	177	often turns off the display but does not turn off the