Sony laptop issues...

[David Horwitt]

Digital Brain wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I have recently installed FreeBSD 5.3-RELEASE on my Sony laptop (and 
> would not like to go back to Linux). Most of the things are working, 
> including ACPI (mostly), pcmcia cards, usb ports. However, there were 
> some issues --
> 
> 1. Sound  (Intel Integrated Sound, using "pcm" driver)
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

... skipping

> 
> Q: How can I get this to work? It does work in Linux, only thing is, I 
> had to mute the "External Amplifier" to hear anything (using alsamixer). 
> Maybe some kind of "hint"
> to append in /boot/device.hints?

See the comments on the FreeBSD Laptop Compatibility list (http://gerda.univie.ac.at/freebsd-laptops/index.pl);
I had the same problem on my Vaio TR3 which were aided by the postings for the TR2 and TR5 which pointed me to
a patch. Maybe the same patch works for you, and/or your Sony is listed there.


> 
> 
> 2. Intel 2200BG integrated WIFI
> -------------------------------------------------
> 
> I know there is a native ipw driver for *BSD, and also ndiswrapper, but 
> I didn't try either yet.
> 
> Q: Which one do you recommend / gets most of the features to work OK 
> (i.e. AP scanning)?
> 
I use ndiswrapper; my experience with the iwi driver was that it wasn't _quite_ ready for prime time yet. It was
close when I tried it (a few revisions have been released since then). Ndiswrapper has been flawless for me.


> 
> 3. Display (preferred 1280x800 resolution)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Since I have an ATI Mobility graphics card, from the time I boot FreeBSD 
> until I start X,
Don't know anything about this; I have i810. Advice is to visit compatibility list.

> 
> 4. HP psc 1300 printer (USB Printer)
> --------------------------------------------------------
> 
I know nothing about this printer nor CUPS.


David Horwitt