UpdateI broke this Ubuntu install when trying to replace grub with burg. I’ve been wanting to try out distros like Meego, ChromeOS or even Android. I will post if I manage to get something work.
I tried the recent version of Splashtop but that doesn’t go past the splash screen. My general recommendation is not to buy this and go for something with full Linux support – the netbooks/notebooks from system76 for example. If you have bought this, then read on!
I installed Ubuntu 10.04 on a Sony Vaio P series laptop recently. These are some notes I took during the process.
The Vaio VPCP11Z9E has the form factor of a netbook and is extremely light (600g approx) but has features not normally found in a netbook – WWAN, GPS etc., Here is a rundown of the specifications
- Intel® Atom™ Processor Z560
- 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM
- 128 GB SSD Flash Drive
- 8.0 inch display with 1600 x 768 max resolution
- Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 500
- GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G WWAN, Webcam etc.,
Full specifications here
The system came pre-installed with Windows 7 Professional, a lightweight Splashtop Linux instant on partition for web access and a Windows 7 recovery partition.
Installation
The Ubuntu desktop live cd iso can be downloaded from here. The same page has instructions on how to use the downloaded iso. Check Step 2 “Burn your CD or create a USB drive”
Once I have the Live system running, I did the installation from there. Here are some screenshots
Timezone selection
Selecting keyboard layout. /dev/sdb was my USB drive. Selected ‘No’
Prepare disk space (partitioning)
Confirm partition changes and installation
Create a new user
Installation progress
Configuration
Before configuration, it is essential to boot to Windows 7 and activate all wireless related functions. This can be done from the network applet in system tray. I came to know about this from some forum posts and don’t understand why this is the case! For example, if the bluetooth is switched off from the Windows side, the bluetooth functionality is disabled in Ubuntu.
Activate wireless functions in Windows
Graphics card (Intel GMA500)
The Intel Poulsbo drivers were not installed during the Ubuntu install process and need to be installed separately. Without this, the response was slow though the screen resolution was at maximum. I followed instructions from the Ubuntu wiki to get the Intel drivers installed. To summarize what I did here.
Open Terminal (gnome-terminal)
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gma500/ppa && sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install poulsbo-driver-2d poulsbo-driver-3d poulsbo-config
The wiki also suggested changing grub parameters
sudo gedit /etc/default/grub
Change
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
to
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash mem=1900mb nohz=off"
followed by
sudo update-grub
Reboot to use the new drivers.
Audio
This is the only major issue I have at the moment. There is no sound through the built-in speakers. It works when I connect the headset that came with the system. Microphone works too. I tested this by making a Skype test call
Update: Audio from internal speakers work with Ubuntu 10.10
WiFi
Worked. Just needed to select the access point and specify the passphrase. Got connected immediately.
Bluetooth
Phone
Paired my Motorola Milestone and could send and receive files.
Headset
Paired a Jabra BT3030 stereo headset and could route audio to it. I had to select the device in the Output tab of ‘Sound Preferences’
 Select the Bluetooth headset to send audio |
The sound wasn’t great at first as it was using the “Telephony Duplex (HSP/HFP)” as the profile for the headset. Changing this to “High Fidelity Playback (A2DP)” gave a better quality audio.
 |
Function (Fn) keys
The keys for controling volume, brightness work.
Wireless WAN (3G)
The SIM from a 3G modem can be inserted into a dedicated slot which can be accessed after removing the battery pack. The device then appears in Network Manager and a connection can be setup. It still needs the wireless switch to be left “On” to work.
 Wireless WAN (3G) |
Webcam
Appears to work as I could take a photo but then there is no display either in Skype or Cheese which I used for testing.
Trackball and touchpad on the sides of the display
Both work now. Thanks to Alex (see comments).
Add
i8042.reset i8042.nomux i8042.nopnp i8042.noloop
to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT in /etc/default/grub
and do an
update-grub
Not tested
GPS
Additional software
I could easily find and install most of the software I needed using ‘Synaptic Package Manager’. I also installed Boxee and Google Chrome by downloading the deb packages from the respective websites.
Performance
Here is a video I took which might give an idea about the performance of the laptop. First, I tried playing a youtube HD video. Playback is fine but no video is displayed in fullscreen which I tried towards the end of the youtube video. This could be a flash player specific problem as vlc and boxee work fine in fullscreen mode. Then I opened gimp and loaded a 1.3mb file. This is followed by launching OpenOffice, Firefox and Chrome.
To summarize, I find Ubuntu working really well on the Vaio P and have no problem using it for day to day tasks. But, I would not consider using it for heavy duty tasks and would avoid the small screen if possible,
Thanks a lot for posting these installation notes. I am considering buying the same machine and Windows is not an option.
Have you managed to solve the issue with the trackball or do you have to connect a mouse?
How responsive is the machine in every day use?
Regarding the track ball, have you tried this:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1150077
I consider buying the same model as you and will also install GNU/linux on it (probably ubuntu 10.04). Windows is not an option for me.
I would however like to hear how responsive the system is under ubuntu. I will primarily be using it for some programming, taking notes and writing articles so 90% of the time I will work in GNU Emacs, and that shouldn’t be a problem. I will however also use it for some image editing (generally nothing hardcore) and to play some videos/movies.
Thanks Alex! I got the trackball and the touchpad on the sides working. As for performance, I think it should be fine for the tasks you’d mentioned. Updated the post with a video, which would give you an idea.
Good to hear that you got the trackball to work. Thanks a lot for the video!
A couple of questions:
– How is battery life under Ubuntu?
– Does suspend/resume work? and what about hibernation?
Suspend happens but system does not resume. With hibernate, the system reboots. Not sure what’s going on here. Haven’t tested the battery life after its fully charged. Will update once I’ve tested it a couple of times.
OK, thanks for the info. On some other netbooks suspend has also failed when using the poulsbo driver. Some got it working by removing the package “vbetool”, install “uswsusp” and suspend using the command “sudo s2ram –force”. Maybe that also works on the vaio.
PS: I went ahead and ordered the same model as you and expect to receive it later this week
Regarding suspend there seems to be an issue with the wlan driver. One of these tips might be useful (I haven’t received my machine yet, so I haven’t tried it):
– http://ubuntu-virginia.ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=9673090&postcount=2
– http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1517137&highlight=lucid+sony
I received my Sony Vaio today and can confirm that the second tip works. I can suspend and resume without any problems.
I also had the issue with lack of sound in internal speakers, but fixed it by compiling a newer version of alsa-driver, alsa-utils, and alsa-libs following this tutorial:
http://monespaceperso.org/blog-en/2010/05/02/upgrade-alsa-1-0-23-on-ubuntu-lucid-lynx-10-04/
Thanks very much for all these links. Missing sound from internal speakers was a major issue. I am on vacation now but will test all these once I get a chance. One thing I noticed – tapping doesn’t work in the middle trackball. The one on the sides of display is fine.
I can confirm that tapping with the trackball doesn’t work. Have not found a solution yet. I however got scrolling (with trackball + middle click) to work thanks this tip:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=9666565&postcount=7
Regarding susoend/resume, I have now tested both the solutions in comment #9 and I now use the solution in the first link. I first tried the solution in the second link, and although it worked in most cases for some reason it was much more unstable and sometimes didn’t work at all.
Regarding webcam….
Try set “ximagesink” (X Window System (No Xv)) as video-output.
I set this option in cheese. It’s very very slow, but works.
Thanks you so much !
I have now switched to Ubuntu 9.10 which works a lot better when it comes to video and graphics.
I tried to install ubuntu 9.10 on my VPCP11Z9E severel times, but the moment I try to connect the system via wifi to internet and download a file it makes a hard crash and freezes. The problem is the same under X and only terminal use.
lscpu shows 2 cpu but booting with the nosmp option made no change.
the problem didnt exist with ubuntu 10.4 but I wanted to use the better video support of 9.10.
I didnt find any report of the same problem searching the internet.. Has anyone a clue?
hi Holger
I had the exact same problem and solved it by compiling compat-wireless from source (you can download the source from http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download/stable/, I chose 2.6.32.16). Se also a tutorial here (scroll down a bit): http://1kleinerbeitrag.blogspot.com/2010/06/ubuntu-910-on-sony-vaio-p-p11z-fully.html
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hi. I just installed Jolicloud on a Vaio VGN-P21Z.
Everything works fine except two things:
- The 3G Modem (WAN) does not show up under the wireless icon in righ top corner,
- Sleep: does not wake up.
Can somebody please comment on how did you get the 3G modem working under Ubuntu?
I must note that there is no other OS installed on the machine, so I can not just go to Win and activate the card, as proposed above….
Thanks in advance!
Hi,
I’ve had ubuntu running on my Vaio P for awhile (under 10.04 and now under 10.10). I had to dig around a lot to find all the settings, so I’m glad to see that you’ve compiled everything here in one place.
One thing I have not gotten working is double tap on the pointing stick. It works on the touchpad, but in Windows I’m able to double click by tapping the stick, while in Ubuntu I cannot. I’ve got all the grub lines as mentioned to get the devices working, but never the double tap.
Anyone have ideas for that?
Thanks!
PLEASE RESPOND DOES accelerometer display is?
Didn’t work as far as I can remember. My install is broken now!