Debian Squeeze on TP 770, can't get power management working

[Kristian-770]

Hi all,
I have this wonderful machine and would really like to use it. But, I can't for the life of me get neither APM nor ACPI working. I don't need advanced functionality, I just like being able top shut down the machine with a command and not having to press the button as I tend to forget doing that...

BIOS info says IDET30WW, 12/16/98 - I guess this is the one it was born with, and I'm nervous to try updating it.
This is my dmesg: http://pastebin.com/L8FhVrgz

I have tried all the boot flags I could think of, no luck. Also tried getting a newer kernel and some module hack for APM... no luck. I would be grateful if someone can help.

Kristian

[mnowell69]

Have you tried the THINKWIKI website??

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_make_APM_work

[Kristian-770]

Hi mnowell69,
Yes, I have been there... it is weird that I get the kernel errors that I do, considering apm.ko is very much there.

You seem to have a 770 as well - which OS do you run on it, and does APM/ACPI work properly?

Kristian

[mnowell69]

I have one with factory win 95 installation, 1 with factory upgraded to 98 and 2 with win 2000. I hope to try win xp on my 770x once my new memory sticks have arrived. Naturally the APM works with no issues under windows, and i have never tried to use linux on them because i am using them for old gadgets etc that need legacy windows support. Sorry i couldn't help you further

[Kristian-770]

Linux is usually working very well on TP's, also legacy models. I recently put Debian on a 380Z and the performance was swell, with everything working out of the box.

Have you managed to upgrade the BIOS on the 770's without a diskette drive?

Kristian

[mnowell69]

I haven't actually tried updating without a diskette drive. I have 5 spare drives sitting around the house so i have no problems.

[Kristian-770]

I found this, looks good like I am on my way to something!
http://dag.wieers.com/howto/thinkpad/770/

[Kristian-770]

Found this also, been trying to burn a cd with the modified file, but no luck... I boot into the update utility, but I still get the missing battery error:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions ... it-463906/

[Kristian-770]

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... &view=next
This could be of interest also...

[Kristian-770]

Okay, I managed to update the BIOS! I will put the info in the general 770 thread...

[mnowell69]

don't you have a functioning battery in your 770? or is the bios hack useful for a cd rom bios update?

[Kristian-770]

The hack lets you install from CD without a battery - there's a description in the main 770 thread.

[pkiff]

Kristian-770,

Glad that you figured out how to get your BIOS udpated. I've moved your posting about how to update the BIOS without a floppy over to its own thread here:
770 BIOS Upgrade from CD instead of Floppy

Phil.

[Kristian-770]

Hi Phil,
I hope someone can use the BIOS info.

As for the APM, I am still struggling... I have confirmed that these Distros have working APM
- Last darn Small Linux that was produced (4.4.10) - it holds a 2.4.* kernel
- Last darn Small Linux Not! that was produced (01RC4) - it holds a 2.6.* kernel
(I am not at home and thus unable to give the exact kernel names)

So, it should be possible to make a circa 2.6.20 kernel work with Debian... I have had no luck compiling it this far, though.
Also, this is of interest: http://dag.wieers.com/howto/thinkpad/770/ - he has the .config for a 2.4.4 kernel.
Here is someone talking about running Fedora on the machine with a fairly recent kernel: http://www.linux-laptop.net/hosted/thin ... 0-fc5.html

So... I have a feeling I could make it work with Debian Squeeze and a properly configured kernel - anyone here with a 770 model and good maketools skills?

[Kristian-770]

I figured it out finally! Posted it here as it is really a software problem:
http://www.thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopi ... 88#p657088

K.