Laptops :: Inspiron 3200 DSL HD- Install



--A doc i wrote a while ago, and just ran into again...
--------------

The laptop in question is a:

Dell Inspiron 3200
Proxim Rangelan DS PCMCIA wireless card
Crystal cs423x sound
Neomagic128XD (2160)
and a Iomega ZipCD 650 USB Cd-r

-------WIRELESS--------

Without internet, I am nothing.
Proxim Rangelan...aka Zcomax....aka Intersil. Prism2. Not 2.5. It has no WPA support - WEP 64 ands 128 only. However, you can get AP mode functioning correctly with the 0.83 firmware, although you must use windows to flash it.
http://www.goonda.org/wireless/prism2/ has lots of good information, including a link to the firmware update.
wlanctl-ng _can_ be tamed! Maybe these examples can help:

load your prism module and associate with AP. Pump = DHCP, remember? if not, use 'ifconfig wlan0 ip.address.here' to assign yourself one. Note that syntax for the script is 'scriptname ssid'

code
#!/bin/bash
echo attempting to connect to $1
modprobe prism2_cs
wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_ifstate ifstate=enable
wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_autojoin ssid=$1 authtype=opensystem
pump -i wlan0
iwconfig
/code-----
and a basic disconnect script:

code
#!/bin/bash
echo disconnecting...
wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_ifstate ifstate=disable
pump -k
rmmod prism2_cs
iwconfig
/code

WEP is a little more confusing, but easy once scripted. if you use a passphrase, DSL has nwepgen installed to automagically make you one. run 'nwepgen passkey' to create... and then edit the following:

code

#!/bin/bash
if [ -z "$1" ]
then
echo $0: usage: $0 " on|off ssid "
exit $3
fi

if [ "$1" = "on" ]
then
modprobe prism2_cs
wlanctl-ng wlan0  lnxreq_ifstate ifstate=enable
# setup WEP
wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKeyID=0
wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset \
    mibattribute=dot11ExcludeUnencrypted=true
wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset mibattribute=dot11PrivacyInvoked=true
wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset \
    mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKey0=b7:f2:ea:39:1a
wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_autojoin ssid=$2 authtype=opensystem
exit $0
fi

wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset \
    mibattribute=dot11ExcludeUnencrypted=false
wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset mibattribute=dot11PrivacyInvoked=false
pump -i wlan0
echo
echo "Please change key and/or authtype by editing /usr/bin/wiwep"


/code

I was a bit blown away by how much i had to learn to get wireless working. I hope this can aim other newbies in the right direction.
-------Sound Card--------


code

#!/bin/bash
echo remember to do this as root...
echo cleaning up:
rmmod cs4232
rmmod ad1848
rmmod sound
rmmod soundcore
echo probing and installing:
modprobe sound
modprobe ad1848
insmod uart401
insmod cs4232 io=0x530 irq=5 dma=1 dma2=0 mpuio=0x330 mpuirq=5
echo ..done.

/code

The above, combined with checking the BIOS at boot (esc) for proper settings should get it working just fine!

-------Neomagic @ X--------


The best you can get from stock DSL with this is 800x600 framebuffer. Scrolling in Dillo, Firefox, anything really is _absulutely_terrible_. It's functional for minimal X use, but if you intend to install, youll want to get 'xserver-svga' from apt-get....or follow these handy instructions posted at DSL's forum:
http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin....;t=3760

Ive mirrored the xerver and config file here too, but youll want to check out the post.
knoppix_svga.tgz

-------Iomega 650 USB Cd-r--------


Meh. Mine is old, and moody. Theoretically the following works, it just depends on certain variables for the one i posess, like temperature, current sugar ant population (they took to living in it), etc. But it should work fine for you.
'cdrecord -scanbus' will tell you where it is exactly. On the Dell, this is 1,0,0
'mkisofs -J -r foldertoburn/ | cdrecord -v dev=1,0,0 -multi -pad -data -' :the golden command that turns a folder of mp3s into a nice cd. Piping rocks. Don't forget the dash on the very end, this tells cdrecord to take input from mkisofs' output.
Youll want to run an 'lsmod' before you burn tho, as the hid module gets loaded often for this drive, and does not need it (human interface device). If yours is cranky like mine and hangs just before burning, you can spend a few minutes unloading and reloading the necessary drivers interchangeably until you reach some bizarre combination that makes the damn thing work. Ill unload the usb-core and reload it, then the usb-uhci and usb-storage...and then try to burn again, and it will normally work.

original here.