Least supported laptop for FreeBSD under $1k

[Kevin Oberman]

> From: Peter Schuller <peter.schuller at infidyne.com>
> Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 17:40:45 +0100
> Sender: owner-freebsd-mobile at freebsd.org
> 
> > for it new on ebay.  Only thing that doesn't seem to work (or maybe
> > I just haven't figured it out yet) is suspend & resume.  Closing
> > the lid brings this message:
> >
> > acpi0: Sleep state S1 not supported by BIOS
> 
> FYI, the are multiple suspend modes (see 'man acpiconf'). If you do a
> 'sysctl -a | grep acpi' you should find one where you can set the
> sleep-mode-on-lid-close to something else, such as S3 (I can't check
> which one right now; running with APM).
> 
> I don't have the same laptop as you do, but almost - an IBM T40p. On this 
> machine, suspend at level 3 almost works except dead USB and behavior 
> consistent with heavy load after the resume. You may want to try this with 
> your laptop.
> 
> As an alternative you can try using APM. APM suspend mostly works on
> the T40p; it might work on yours too.

APM suspend seems to work fine on most recent ThinkPads, but ACPI is
getting very good on CURRENT. The ATA problem with resume is the only
really big outstanding issue, although the failure of USB on resume may
be a show-stopper for some. Lots of folks are trying to figure out the
ATA problem, so I hope to see it resolved before too long.

If you are running 5.2 RC or CURRENT, just do "sysctl hw.acpi" to see all
of the acpi bits. It will tell you what sleep states are supported in
your BIOS. (IBM does not normally support S1 which a is fairly useless
state in any case as it only moderately cuts power consumption.)

Also, with CURRENT, it is more likely that you can use the built-in
802.11 card. I'm not sure which chipset is used in various versions, but
CURRENT support the popular Atheros and Bill Paul has been busy with an
NDIS implementation that lets you install Windows network drivers under
FreeBSD. (This is really cool!) So even the Broadcom chipset should be
able to be used. (N.B. This is still VERY new and your mileage may vary,
although several people have reported success. wpaul is committing stuff
on a daily basis to get the rough spots cleaned up.)

APM is also an option. Make sure that you BIOS is up to date for either
APM or ACPI.
-- 
R. Kevin Oberman, Network Engineer
Energy Sciences Network (ESnet)
Ernest O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)
E-mail: oberman at es.net			Phone: +1 510 486-8634