Installing Kubuntu Linux on a Sony Vaio TZ21MN

I have installed Linux on this VGN-TZ21MN/N subnotebook several times to get it right. At first I tried Debian which worked reasonably well, but a Kubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon, derived from Debian/Lenny) installation adds more comforts such as properly working brightness keys, a properly working power manager and even most media buttons on the front work correctly (these are useful for controlling applications such as Amarok). Be sure to visit the Ubuntu forums for some additional useful information. This page is listed on TuxMobil.

Instant On Partitioning Wireless network Video ACPI Sound Camera Miscelaneous Status (what works) Attachments

Instant On

By default this notebook comes with Windows Vista Business pre-installed which in turn comes with a recovery partition. Considering this a complete waste of space I instantly decided to remove it (actually, I repartitioned the whole hard disk). By doing this I unfortunately also removed the Instant On functionality that this Vaio series sports. This small application allows for the notebook to start within seconds by pressing only the AV mode button on the front. The system can then play DVDs and audio CDs.

Since there were no CDs whatsoever included with this Vaio TZ notebook (recovery CDs can be created), I "found" a Vista copy and temporarily reinstalled it. This allowed me to install the Instant On functionality by downloading the file SOAOTH-01531100-UN.exe from the Vaio website. I tried several other Instant On setup files under Windows XP and also tried to run it using Wine, but they were able to detect that I wasn't using Vista or that I had the wrong brand of notebook, so if you're looking for a proper installation file, you do need the one that exactly matches your notebook and its version of Windows. The Instant On application only needs less than 100 megabytes, so after reinstalling it can be copied off the Vista partition and onto a tiny 100 megabyte NTFS partition at the beginning of the hard disk. After copying the necessary files there should be a file structure present on the NTFS partition as shown in the screenshot.
Back to contents

Partitioning

Because I haven't gotten suspend to disk to work properly and I rarely need a swap partition (I use a swap file if I need swapping at all), my disk only contains three partitions:

Back to contents

Wireless network

Using the default (2.6.22.14) kernel the wireless module seemed to work well. After compiling a new 2.6.23.14 kernel and installing the new iwlwifi modules the wireless connection seemed to work at home using WEP. But only after trying to connect to the secured wireless network at school I found out that this new daemonless module didn't seem to function all the way. This caused me to revert back to the "old" ipw3945 modules, including the daemon which is started automatically when the ipw3945 module is loaded.
Back to contents

Video

The video card works fine with the "intel" module for the Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller. I won't include an xorg.conf file here because X.Org seems to figure out the configuration by itself, even though the screen has a size of 1366 by 768 pixels. Even 3D acceleration seems to work automagically with this module. I'm not sure what the graphics card should be achieving but glxgears gives me around 695 frames per second. This allows for games such as Torcs, Open Arena and Planet Penguin Racer to run. Compiz seems to run in Kubuntu and it looked even cooler in Debian (its repository probably included another version of Compiz), but I'm not using it on a regular basis because it requires the notebook to run in performance mode and needs to be configured properly (something which I haven't committed an awful lot of time to as of yet).

Because I wasn't able to get the frame buffer that is shown at start up, as well as the other five terminals that spawn at boot to use a higher resolution than (probably) 640x480, I enabled the frame buffer and the Tux logo in the kernel (2.6.23.14) after which these small imperfections were undone.

The external VGA port can be put to use by executing xrandr --output VGA --auto --mode mode here.
Back to contents

ACPI

Due to the small screen and the power saving abilities of the Intel processor, this machine lasts for about five hours or longer without plugging it in. As said before, the brightness keys (Fn combinations) work fine in Kubuntu. The notebook is able to suspend to memory successfully, but for some reason it tends to hang on wake up after doing this several times. I have yet to find out which device prevents the machine from waking up properly.
Back to contents

Sound

The line "options snd-hda-intel model=hippo" needs to be added to /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base to make the sound work including the jack sensing. Several other lines could also work, but this is the only one that seems to make it work the right way. Alternatives that may have less functionality or affect other hardware:
options snd-hda-intel model=auto
options snd-hda-intel model=sony-assamd
Back to contents

Camera

The built in camera worked by installing the r5u870 module into the default kernel (don't forget to install the kernel sources and the full gcc before trying), but it seemed to conflict with the sound card configuration or another setting for some sinister reason. So in short; it does work, but not like a breeze. I got it working in Kopete using an MSN account. I haven't tried installing the webcam module with the 2.6.23.14 kernel yet.
Back to contents

Miscellaneous

• Try to set the installer resolution to 1024x768x16 when getting a garbled screen.
• Remove the package named dolphin to get Konqueror back in KDE.
• Install the package libncurses5-dev to be able to run make menuconfig.
• Install the packages libxine1-ffmpeg and w32codecs from debian-multimedia.org to get proper video playback in Xine and Kaffeine.
• Note: in Kubuntu the touchpad works automatically, including the ability to scroll using the right side of the pad.

Back to contents

Status

Tested and working (one way or another): wireless network interface, normal network interface, processor powersave and performance settings, video acceleration, vga out, cd writing, dvd writing, dvd playing, touchpad, Fn keys, media buttons, power button, lid switch, suspend to memory, sound output, internal microphone, external microphone, built in camera, usb ports, bluetooth (tested with phone).
Not tested: Sony card/stick (MagicGate), modem.
Not working: SD card reader.
Back to contents