Configuring Pikachu

Summary: Configuring a Toshiba Portégé 320CT laptop with GNU/Linux (Debian testing woody) and the K Desktop Environment (KDE)..

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Configuration
   1. Hardware
   2. Software
3. Hardware Setup
   1. BIOS Settings
4. Linux Setup
   1. Install Linux
   2. Configure Initial Package Set
   3. Configure Sound
   4. Create User Accounts
   5. Upgrade to Testing
   6. Configure NFS and Automount
   7. Install KDE
   8. Install Additional Packages
   9. Save Configuration
   10. Configure Dialup
   11. Configure Mail
   12. Configure Desktops
5. Applications
   1. Amaya
   2. Toshiba Linux Utilities

1. Data Files
2. Scripts
3. References and Resources

Introduction

I (Ted Ruegsegger) prepared this document as:

• A log of what I did to construct and configure the machine

• A record of the machine's hardware and software configuration, which I'll endeavor to keep up-to-date as I make changes

• A reference to guide me and others in building similarly-configured PCs

Configuration

Hardware

Software

Hardware Setup

It's probably a good idea to install the flash BIOS upgrade and any others, obtained from the Toshiba website (see References).

BIOS Settings

To access the BIOS, hit Esc right after boot, before the Toshiba logo shows (if you miss, hit Ctrl-Alt-Del immediately and try again). Use PgUp/PgDn to switch between the two pages.

Set (and note) the parameters for the various devices, in particular, the sound card.

On page 2, under PC CARD, set Controller Mode=PCIC Compatible, or the PCMCIA ethernet card won't work.

Linux Setup

Install Linux

Install a minimal GNU/Linux system from the stable installation media, in my case the first CD for Debian GNU/Linux 2.2r2 (potato). Some notes:

1. Pikachu has no CDROM drive. Since I had lots of disk space and already had a copy of the CD on the disk, I simply booted from the rescue floppy (and loaded the RAMDISK image from the root floppy), as described below.

   Installation options are documented in more detail, if a bit convolutedly, in the Debian Installation Manual, beginning at Installing from a Linux Partition.

2. My CD copy was on a separate ext2 partition that wouldn't be overwritten by the installation. I used /home/cdrom/deb22r2-1/.
3. Create a rescue floppy and a root floppy from the rescue.bin and root.bin images on the first CD's install/ subdirectory, in my case /home/cdrom/deb22r2-1/install/, using
   dd if=file of=/dev/fd0 bs=1024 conv=sync ; sync
   These floppies need to be flawless, or one or the other will fail. It may take several tries to get good ones.
4. Boot from the rescue floppy and load the root floppy when prompted.
5. Partition the disk thus and mount / and /home:

   Disk /dev/hda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 1222 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes
   Device	Cyls	Start	End	MB	Type	Mount Point
   /dev/hda1	522	1	522	4095	83 Linux native	/
   /dev/hda2	32	523	554	251	82 Linux swap
   /dev/hda3	668	555	1222	5240	83 Linux native	/home
   Total	1222	1	1222	9586

   

   The filesystems for the system under construction are temporarily mounted under /target/

6. When the Debian install starts, specify an installation from an already mounted filesystem and then point it (using the <...> browse feature) at the directory containing the archives:
   

   /target/home/cdrom/deb22r2-1/

7. Specify PCMCIA support (i82365 controller).

8. Install modules, in order:

   Category	Module	Options
   misc	opl3	io=0x388
   misc	sb	io=0x220 irq=5 dma=0 mpu_io=0x330 For some reason, configuring it as what it actually is (Yamaha OPL3-SA3) gets poor results. It works best as SoundBlaster 16.
   usb	input
   usb	hid
   usb	mousedev
   usb	usb-ohci

9. Configure the network (these values are for my network):

   Fully-qualified domain name	pikachu.home
   IP address	192.168.0.100
   Subnet mask	255.255.255.0
   Gateway	192.168.0.1
   DNS servers	131.131.157.250 131.131.220.201

10. Install LILO on the master boot record /dev/hda

11. Make a boot diskette.

After the new kernel boots,

1. Enable MD5 and shadow passwords.
2. Apt configuration: specify "filesystem" and point it at /home/cdrom/deb22r2-1.
3. Package installation: run the simple package installer, selecting nothing; it will install some default packages.
4. Defer exim configuration (select 5, no configuration).

Configure Initial Package Set

1. At the first login prompt, log in as root and create the mouse device:
   mkdir /dev/input
   mknod /dev/input/mice c 13 63

   

   Use the install_usb_mice.sh script.

2. Run the simple package installer again:
   tasksel -s
   and, again, select nothing; it will install more default packages, as recommended in the installation instructions under Simple Package Selection -- The Task Installer.
   • Select something reasonable for the lynx home page, like http://pikachu/
   • gpm defaults to -m /dev/psaux -t ps2 -Rms3
Change it to
     gpm -m /dev/input/mice -t ps2

Configure Sound

1. Verify that sound is correctly configured:

   cat /dev/sndstat

2. Test sound using the sample files sample.au and sample.midi:
   cat sample.au >/dev/audio
   Install playmidi using dselect and run;
   playmidi sample.midi

Create User Accounts

1. Install the /etc/skel/ files from the reference copies.
2. Create user accounts with UIDs and GIDs matching those on the file server, so we can all access our file-server directories under /users, but make the default home directories local, that is, under /home.
3. Also, create a local guest account (uid 60000, gid 60000) with an easy, welcoming password.
4. Add all these users to the audio group.

Accomplish this easily by using the create_accounts.sh script.

Upgrade to Testing

Edit the /etc/apt/sources.list file, adding pointers to the testing sources. Then run
apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade

This will take a long time if your net connection is via modem; best to let it run overnight.

It will ask configuration questions for the various packages. In most cases, the defaults are fine.

Configure NFS and Automount

In /etc, install the hosts file and the automount maps from the reference copies. Be sure the server's /etc/exports file includes Pikachu for the appropriate shares.

Run dselect and install autofs.

Install KDE

1. Run dselect and install:
   kdebase and its dependencies, including kdm, kdebase-crypto, xserver-xfree86, one or more window managers (I use wmaker), menu, xfonts-100dpi, xfonts-75dpi, and xfonts-scale.
2. Answer the questions to build /etc/X11/XF86Config-4. You'll need to add some extra information to support the 1024x600 mode.
3. Test the X server:
   X &> x.out
   If the X display comes up, cycle through the different resolutions (Ctrl-Alt-Fn-;), verify that the mouse works, and terminate X (Ctrl-Alt-Backspace). Examine the x.out file for server messages and debug as needed until X is working.
4. Start kdm:
   /etc/init.d/kdm start
5. Verify that the menu on the login screen includes, besides default and failsafe, kde2 and any other window managers you've installed.

Install Additional Packages

Install and upgrade software as needed. As recommended in dselect Documentation for Beginners, it's a good idea to run /etc/cron.daily/find after installing new software, so locate can find the new files. Essential packages include man-db, ntp and ssh. I also install apache (and possibly apache-ssl), php, postgresql, xless, xpdf, and xterm.

Save Configuration

Always save copies of modified configuration files under /home/config (reference copies are in the config subdirectory relative to this document). Some comments:

Configure Dialup

1. Note that the PCMCIA modem is automatically enabled at (and /dev/modem is linked to) /dev/ttyS1.
2. For each account that will need it, set up kppp by starting it and clicking the Setup button:

   Accounts tab

   Create a new account:

   Dial tab

   Assign a connection name and specify the ISP's dialup number.

   DNS tab

   Specify the ISP's DNS server addresses.

   Gateway tab

   Check Assign the Default Route to this Gateway.

   Device tab

   Set Modem Device to /dev/modem.

   Set Connection Speed to 115200.

   Modem tab

   Set the volume.

   Click Modem Commands:

   Set Volume/high to M1L3.

   Click Terminal:

   Set ATW2 and save it with AT&W (this reports connect speed).

   PPP tab

   Check the following options:

   PPP: Dock into Panel on Connect

   Automatic Redial on Disconnect

   Show Clock on Caption

   Disconnect on X-server Shutdown

   Minimize Window on Connect

   with appropriate settings for the available ISPs.

Configure Mail

For each account that will need it, set up kmail by starting it and specifying the ISP's mail and news servers.

Configure Desktops

Run appfinder to add non-KDE applications to the menu.

Some handy settings for the KDE desktop:

Focus policy:

select Focus follows mouse

check Click Raise

Configure the Panel:

hide the Taskbar

check Auto Hide Panel (small delay, fast speed)

Applications

Some notes on apps.

1. Amaya
2. Toshiba Linux Utilities

Amaya

The version of Amaya that comes with the stable distribution is very old. I recompiled the sources for the testing version to make an Amaya package that runs under potato. If that doesn't suffice, get the Amaya web browser/editor from the World Wide Web Consortium at http://www.w3c.org.

Toshiba Linux Utilities

Jonathan Buzzard's tools (see References). At time of writing, stable release was 1.1 and developmental release was 990830. Fan turns fan on and off, but always reports it as off. Developmental release has some buggy Makefiles (tries to install nonexistent manpages; installs executables in /usr/local instead of /usr/local/bin). Tuxtime crashes a lot, but does detect low battery: When I configured Pikachu, the battery was defective, and the alarms kept popping up every few seconds. They were exactly correct, but I couldn't find a way to shut them off!

All the same, these promise to be very useful when Buzzard finishes them.

Data Files

Scripts

References and Resources

Toshiba Portégé 320CT Series documentation

http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Toshiba.woa/wa/ssDownload?series=59
The detailed specs and support bulletins are useful. The User's Guide at the bottom of the download list has some value, but it runs only under Windows. However, the individual pages can be saved as Postscript, if needed.

Toshiba Linux Utilities

Jonathan Buzzard's "small series of programs to control the more Toshiba specific aspects of their laptops. In particular they allow many of the settings controlled by either Toshiba's MaxTime or Power Saver utilities to be changed under Linux. The code is licensed under the GNU Public licence (GPL)." Utilities available so far (not all of them "stable" releases yet) at http://www.buzzard.org.uk/toshiba/ include:

• TuxTime: Linux replacement for MaxTime, to control the power saving options of the laptop.
• Fan: manages the operation of the cooling fan.
• Passwords: manages the user and supervisor passwords in the EEPROM.
• Hotkey: graphic popups for Fn key actions
• Display Switch: Supplies this missing function for Librettos

His Technical Documentation is useful, too, at http://www.buzzard.org.uk/toshiba/docs.html

Toshiba's Linux support for Toshiba PC page

http://linux.toshiba-dme.co.jp/linux/

Linux on Portégés mailing list

Web-based subscription at http://www.onelist.com/community/linux-on-portege

XF86Config Archive

A database of XF86Config files used by Linux and FreeBSD users. If you need an XF86Config file for your notebook or laptop, check out this site. (Some documents available in Japanese only.) http://www.yy.cs.keio.ac.jp/~sanpei/note-list.html

Linux on Laptops

http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/linux-laptop/

Linux on the Toshiba Portege 3010CT / 3015CT

Derek Simkowiak describes his laptop's configuration in considerable detail.. While it's not the same model, many of his tips apply to mine (I'm especially grateful that he told me how to access the BIOS!). http://www.kd-dev.com/~dereks/toshiba/

Debian Installation documentation

On the first CD in
/dists/potato/main/disks-i386/current/doc/index.html
and on the web at
http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/