Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 21:08:48 -0700
From: owen@delong.sj.ca.us (Owen DeLong)

I've managed to get Linux working on my Armada 1592 DMT laptop.

In fact, it works so well that I can even HIBERNATE as well as
SUSPEND Linux.

Here are the gotcha's I found....

1.    Start with the 1520/30/40 configurations already on the laptop
homepage.
2.    Get version 3.0.0 of the PCMCIA drivers (I spent considerable time
bashing
         my head against the 2.9.6 drivers before learning that 3.0.0
existed).  2.9.6
        recognized anything I plugged in as a pcmem_cs.o compatible dumb
memory
        card, and claimed nothing had a CIS structure.  3.0.0 worked on
first attempt
        without even so much as a reboot.
3.    The XF86 Configuration from the other Compaq 1500 series pages
works just fine.

Hibernation Gotchas

On the 1592 (and I suspect other 1500 series and possibly other Compaq
laptops), hibernation
is controlled NOT by the OS, but by the BIOS and a Compaq Proprietary
diagnostic partition.

You can get the necessary utilities from Compaq for rebuilding your
laptop without paying for
them if you explain to 1-800-OK-COMPA[q] that you are running an Armada
xxx with Windows [NT|95]
and that you need to repartition your drive so that you can install
Linux, and therefore, the software
as shipped is "broken".  They'll send you 1 CD of additional stuff for
NT, or a 95 CD _AND_ an additional
stuff CD.  There's lots of information on the Compaq Support Forum about
how to go about using the
CD.  It's not too helpful, but it's not too difficult to muddle through.

DO NOT INSTALL the VMM stuff on the support CD.  I spent the entire day
trying to recover from that.

Anyways, back to Linux, The laptop ships with the following partitions:

    1    FAT16 1.5GB
    2    FAT16 1.5GB
    3    Compaq Proprietary Diagnostics
    4    Empty

Strangely enough, partition 3 is at the beginning of the disk.

I repartitioned my drive as follows:

    1    FAT16 2.0GB
    2    Linux Swap 128MB
    3    Compaq Diagnostics
    4    Linux Native 900+MB

I run LILO on the partition 4 bootblock, and NT/95 dual-boot on
Partition 1.  My active partition is 4.

The Compaq diagnostics can be booted from LILO as an "OTHER" type
partition, just like DOS.
I've labeled them as follows:

    w    Windows partition dual boot NT/95
    CPQ    Compaq Diags
    linux    Current linux kernel (/vmlinuz)
    prev    Previous linux kernel (/vmlinux-)
    dist    Linux kernel that shipped with CD (/vmlinuz.dist)

You can only hibernate one state at a time, and I believe the
hibernation file is written to the FAT
partition, so I think you _HAVE_ to have a FAT partition with enough
space for the hibernation
data file.  However, the BIOS appears to save LINUX state just fine, and
I have resumed and
hibernated several LINUX sessions without any strangeness whatsoever.
In fact, I've experienced
more problems with Windows applications not handling hibernation than
Linux.

Owen DeLong
owen@delong.com


--
***********************************************************************
"Every time you turn on your new car, you're turning on 20
 microprocessors.  Every time you use an ATM, you're using a computer.
 Every time I use a settop box or game machine, I'm using a computer.
 The only computer you don't know how to work is your Microsoft
 computer, right?"
        - Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, Inc.,
          from an April 1997 interview in Upside Magazine

***********************************************************************


