Installing GNU/Linux CentOS 5 (Final) on a Dell Alienware M15x Laptop

Revision history
Revision 1.0
 2010-02-01
 Initial publication
Install Centos 5.4 x86_64

This document describes how to install and configure the GNU/Linux CentOS 5 on a Dell Alienware M15x Laptop



Specifications:
Type
 		Description
 		Status
 		Notes
Processor
 Intel Core i7 720QM (1.60 GHz, 6 MB L2 cache, 4 cores, 8 threads)
 Work
 No special procedure required during installation
Main Memory
 6144 MB (1x4096 SODIMM, 1x2048 SODIMM, 1033MHz DDR3 SDRAM)
 Work
 No special procedure required during installation
Storage
 500 GB (SATA-II 7200 RPM)
 Work
 No special procedure required during installation
Optical
 DVD+/-RW 8x Double Layer
 Work
 No special procedure required during installation
Network
 Intel 82577LC Gigabit Ethernet
 Work
 No special procedure required during installation
Wireless
 Intel Pro/Wireless 5300 802.11AGN
 Work
See wireless notes
Screen
 15.6" FHD WLED 1920 x 1080 (1080p)
 Work
 No special procedure required during installation
Video
 Nvidia GeForce GT 240M, 512 MB (HDMI connector, VGA connector)
 Work
 See video notes
Firewire
 IEEE 1394 Ricoh (1 connector)
 Work
 No special procedure required during installation
USB
 USB 2.0 Intel 82801G controller (3 connectors)
 Work
 No special procedure required during installation
Memory reader
 SD/MMC-MS/Pro/xD Adapter Ricoh
 Work
 No special procedure required during installation
Audio
 Intel Ibex Peak High Definition Audio
nVidia Audio
 Work
 See audio notes
Battery
 Dell Battery Module, capacity 85 Watts
 Work
 No special procedure required during installation
Bluetooth
Work
 See bluetooth notes
Pcexpress slots
Unkown
 Not Probe
Multimedia keys
Work
 See multimedia keys notes
System BIOS
Work
 See BIOS updated notes


Hardware information reported by lspci command
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Clarksfield/Lynnfield DMI (rev 11)
00:03.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Clarksfield/Lynnfield PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev 11)
00:08.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Clarksfield/Lynnfield System Management Registers (rev 11)
00:08.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Clarksfield/Lynnfield Semaphore and Scratchpad Registers (rev 11)
00:08.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Clarksfield/Lynnfield System Control and Status Registers (rev 11)
00:08.3 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Clarksfield/Lynnfield Miscellaneous Registers (rev 11)
00:10.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation QPI Link (rev 11)
00:10.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation QPI Routing and Protocol Registers (rev 11)
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82577LC Gigabit Network Connection (rev 05)
00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation Ibex Peak USB2 Enhanced Host Controller (rev 05)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Ibex Peak High Definition Audio (rev 05)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Ibex Peak PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev 05)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Ibex Peak PCI Express Root Port 3 (rev 05)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Ibex Peak PCI Express Root Port 4 (rev 05)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation Ibex Peak USB2 Enhanced Host Controller (rev 05)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev a5)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Ibex Peak LPC Interface Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation Ibex Peak 6 port SATA AHCI Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation Ibex Peak SMBus Controller (rev 05)
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0a34 (rev a2)
02:00.1 Audio device: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0be2 (rev a1)
07:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 5300 AGN [Shiloh] Network Connection
09:07.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 05)
09:07.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 22)
09:07.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller (rev 12)
09:07.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 12)
09:07.4 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev 12)
ff:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation QuickPath Architecture Generic Non-Core Registers (rev 04)
ff:00.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation QuickPath Architecture System Address Decoder (rev 04)
ff:02.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation QPI Link (rev 04)
ff:02.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation QPI Physical 0 (rev 04)
ff:03.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Lynnfield Integrated Memory Controller (rev 04)
ff:03.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Lynnfield Integrated Memory Controller Target Address Decoder (rev 04)
ff:03.4 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Lynnfield Integrated Memory Controller Test Registers (rev 04)
ff:04.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Lynnfield Integrated Memory Controller Channel 0 Control Registers (rev 04)
ff:04.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Lynnfield Integrated Memory Controller Channel 0 Address Registers (rev 04)
ff:04.2 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Lynnfield Integrated Memory Controller Channel 0 Rank Registers (rev 04)
ff:04.3 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Lynnfield Integrated Memory Controller Channel 0 Thermal Control Registers (rev 04)
ff:05.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Lynnfield Integrated Memory Controller Channel 1 Control Registers (rev 04)
ff:05.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Lynnfield Integrated Memory Controller Channel 1 Address Registers (rev 04)
ff:05.2 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Lynnfield Integrated Memory Controller Channel 1 Rank Registers (rev 04)
ff:05.3 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Lynnfield Integrated Memory Controller Channel 1 Thermal Control Registers (rev 04)

Hardware information reported by lsusb command
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000 
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0c45:6412 Microdia
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0020 
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0020 
Bus 002 Device 006: ID 413c:8158 Dell Computer Corp. Integrated Touchpad / Trackstick
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000 
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0a5c:4500 Broadcom Corp. BCM2046B1 USB 2.0 Hub (part of BCM2046 Bluetooth)
Bus 002 Device 005: ID 413c:8157 Dell Computer Corp. Integrated Keyboard
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 187c:0512 


Wireless notes
You only need download and install the firmware iwl3945-firmware in RPM-file, after reload the iwlagn driver/module

To verify the sucessfull loaded driver, execute "dmesg | grep iwl" and you get the next result
iwlagn: Intel(R) Wireless WiFi Link AGN driver for Linux, 1.3.27ks
iwlagn: Copyright(c) 2003-2008 Intel Corporation
iwlagn: Detected Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5300AGN REV=0x24
iwlagn: Tunable channels: 13 802.11bg, 24 802.11a channels
phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'iwl-agn-rs'
Registered led device: iwl-phy0:radio
Registered led device: iwl-phy0:assoc
Registered led device: iwl-phy0:RX
Registered led device: iwl-phy0:TX


Video
The Video driver (in CentOS distribution) work without problems, but if you like a 3D efects, run video some fast, or you like to use LCD panel and external monitor simultaneous, you need download the nVidia driver for Linux. Note: You need install the kernel-devel package.
To install the nVidia driver you need boot the laptop without X-Windows enviroment, and execute NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-190.53-pkg2.run. If you like to modify the X-configuration fie by handle read this file. I change the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file,  I put only the add/modified sections.
Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
    Screen      1  "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Synaptics" "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "Files"
    RgbPath         "/usr/lib/X11/rgb"
    FontPath        "unix/:7100"
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load           "dbe"
    Load           "extmod"
    Load           "type1"
    Load           "freetype"
    Load           "glx"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
    Option         "Xinerama" "0"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Dell"
    ModelName      "1920x1200 Laptop Display Panel"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 75.0
    VertRefresh     60.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
    Identifier     "Monitor1"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Default Monitor"
    HorizSync       25.0 - 100.0
    VertRefresh     56.0 - 120.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Videocard0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce Go 7900 GS"
    BusID          "PCI:2:0:0"
    Screen          0
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Videocard1"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce Go 7900 GS"
    BusID          "PCI:2:0:0"
    Screen          1
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Videocard0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "metamodes" "DFP: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes      "1920x1200" "1680x1050" "1600x1200" "1600x1024" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen1"
    Device         "Videocard1"
    Monitor        "Monitor1"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "metamodes" "CRT: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes      "1600x1200" "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

This configuration permit you to use two simultaneus and independient monitor (separete X screen), the laptop is a screen0 and the external monitor is a screen1.


Audio
This machine have to Audio cards, Intel and nVidia, the last no work at this moment, to activete the Intel Audio controller, verify the file /etc/modprobe.conf have the next lines. by default, the index value es "1", change to "0"
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
options snd-card-0 index=0
options snd-hda-intel index=0
remove snd-hda-intel { /usr/sbin/alsactl store 0 >/dev/null 2>&1 || : ; }; /sbin/modprobe -r --ignore-remove snd-hda-intel


Bluetooth notes
It's posible when you run the "hcitool scan" yue get the messages "Inquery failed: Conection time out". You only need reset the bluetooth device. I recommended put the next line in the "/etc/rc.d/rc.local" file. See also this forum post.
hciconfig hci0 reset


Multimedia Keys
The multimedia keys have the next keycodes.
Action
 Keycode
 Function Name
Volume mute
 160
 XF86AudioMute
Volume down
 174
 XF86AudioLowerVolume
Volume up
 176
 XF86AudioRaiseVolume
Play/pause
 162
 XF86AudioPlay
Previous track
 144
 XF86AudioPrev
Next track
 153
 XF86AudioNext
Stop
 164
 XF86AudioStop

Add the next lines in the /etc/X11/Xmodmap file
!  Multimedia keys.
keycode 160 = XF86AudioMute
keycode 174 = XF86AudioLowerVolume
keycode 176 = XF86AudioRaiseVolume
keycode 162 = XF86AudioPlay
keycode 144 = XF86AudioPrev
keycode 153 = XF86AudioNext
keycode 164 = XF86AudioStop

You could configure the multimedia keys using the Keyboard Shortcuts from Prefernce menu or run gnome-keybinding-properties whichever suits your fancy. Go to the Sound category in the Actions column is expanded, then click on the desired action. The entry in the Shortcut column will change to "New accelerator...." Press the desired key for the binding, and the shortcut is made.
Action
 Shortcut
Volume mute
 XF86AudioMute

Or add the next line in the ~/.gconf/apps/gnome_settings_daemon/keybindings/%gconf.xml file
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<gconf>
        <entry name="volume_up" mtime="1190054305" type="string">
                <stringvalue>XF86AudioRaiseVolume</stringvalue>
        </entry>
        <entry name="volume_down" mtime="1190054303" type="string">
                <stringvalue>XF86AudioLowerVolume</stringvalue>
        </entry>
        <entry name="volume_mute" mtime="1190054292" type="string">
                <stringvalue>XF86AudioMute</stringvalue>
        </entry>
</gconf>


Updated BIOS
For update the flash BIOS under GNU/Linux Operating System, follow the next steps.
  1. Download the latest BIOS version, i.e. A07MXG61.EXE (Dell XPS M1710 download page)
  2. Verify or install the syslinux package (come with CentOS)
  3. Install the biosdisk package (mirror)
  4. Create the floppy image from BIOS file, move the image file to /boot directory and copy /usr/lib/syslinux/memdisk file to /boot directory
    1. biosdisk mkimage A07MXG61.EXE
    2. mv /tmp/A07MXG61.img /boot
    3. cp /usr/lib/syslinux/memdisk /boot
  5. Add the next line to /etc/grub.conf file
    title BIOS Flash A07
            kernel /boot/memdisk
            initrd /boot/A07MXG61.img
  6. Reboot and select "BIOS Flash A07"
    1. Don't turn off the computer in this process


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