FreeBSD : Compaq Presario V3417AU
I have been using FreeBSD on Compaq Presario V3417AU notebook for quite sometimes and did not bother/forgot to post the setup notes and until few of my blog visitors dropped me query emails on Compaq presario V3000 series + FreeBSD 7. If you are looking for post on Compaq Presario V3010AU, you can find it here.
Like Compaq V3000 series, V3417AU comes with a layer lamination, subtle looking pinstripe patterns on the chassis, which ensures greater protection from scratches. As usual, I don’t pay for M$ Windows licence as the unit comes with FreeDOS preinstalled.
THE SPECIFICATIONS
The HP Compaq presario V3417AU specs stated as per HP website :-
Processor : AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-60 2.0 GHz, Level 2 cache 512 KB + 512 KB
Standard memory : 1024 MB DDR2 667 MHz (512MB x2)
hard disk drive : 120 GB 5400 rpm
Optical drive : 8X Super Multi DVD Writer (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support
Modem : High speed 56K modem
Network interface : 10/100 LAN nForce Ethernet integrated
Bluetooth : Integrated Bluetooth®
External I/O ports : 1 VGA, 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 IEEE-1394, 1 RJ-11, 1 RJ -45, S-video TV out, 1 headphone-out, 1 microphone-in, 1 Expansion Port 3 connector, AC Adapter, 2 Omni - directional microphones
Expansion slots : One ExpressCard/54 slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)
Display size : 14.1″ WXGA High Definition BrightView Widescreen Display max resolution 1280 x 800
Video adapter : NVIDIA® GeForce Go 6150
Speakers and microphone : Altec Lansing® speakers, Dual omni-directional microphones
Keyboard : Full-sized Keyboard
Pointing device : Touch Pad with dedicated vertical Scroll Up/Down pad
Power supply type : 65 W AC Adapter
BIOS version : F.34
Weight : 2.4 kg (5.31 lbs)
FREEBSD INSTALLATION
The installation was an easy one. Booting straight away from FreeBSD 7.0-RC1 CD which could be obtained from FreeBSD site and run installation as usual. I’m not going to discuss installation of FreeBSD in detail. Please refer to the FreeBSD handbook as it is complete and loaded with screenshots. Remember to install ports and src.
WORKING DEVICES
1) Sound system
Works out of the box with FreeBSD 7. Altec lansing speak, headset jack, microphone are working as expected. All you need to do is enable snd_hda and sound related kernel module in /boot/loader.conf.
sound_load="YES"
snd_hda_load="YES"
2) Nvidia Geforce 6150 Go display
It’s recommended to install official nvidia driver the ports. Maximum shared memory that I could allocate from BIOS was only 128MB. I could never get what HP claimed on its website (up to 287MB Total Available Graphics Memory) even with additional 2GB memory module added.
# cd /usr/ports/x11/nvidia-driver && make && make install
Enabling nVidia loading upon startup by adding
nvidia_load="YES" in /boot/loader.conf
linux_enable="YES" in /etc/loader.conf
and configure xorg.conf as usual with xconfigurator of your choice; Xorg -configure, xorgconfig and etc. If you want to have a peek of my xorg.conf, it is here.
3) Firewire
Working properly though did not test completely. If you need firewire network emulation, add if_fwip_load=”YES” to /boot/loader.conf.
4) DVD +/- burner
Working properly. Install cdrtools, cdrdao, dvd+rw-tools via ports and start burning.
5) SMP and AMD PowerNow!
For SMP support, you need to recompile kernel with SMP option.
cpufreq support, on the other hand, does not require kernel compilation. Just enable cpufreq kernel module and enable powerd in rc.conf.
/boot/loader.conf
acpi_load="YES"
cpufreq_load="YES"
machdep.cpu_idle_hlt=”0″
hint.acpi_throttle.0.disabled=”1
/etc/rc.conf
powerd_enable="YES"
After a reboot, you will notice these in dmesg
cpu0: <ACPI CPU> on acpi0
powernow0: <PowerNow! K8> on cpu0
cpu1: <ACPI CPU> on acpi0
powernow1: <PowerNow! K8> on cpu1
6) nForce 10/100 Ethernet
This NIC works pretty much out of the box. Again, load it up via /boot/loader.conf
nfe0: <NVIDIA nForce 430 MCP13 Networking Adapter> port 0x30b8-0x30bf mem 0xb0007000-0xb0007fff irq 17 at device 20.0 on pci0
NON-WORKING DEVICES
1) Broadcom WIFI
With ndis, I only managed to load the device, associate with APs but it will never work. No packets could be transported via the device. Not much of help after I posted to freebsd-current@ mailing list.
2) Ricoh card reader
As of this post, there is no driver available for FreeBSD 7. Enabling mmc/mmcsd in kernel config did not help. However, you can use SD host controller with 6.3 with this driver. You can refer to my previous post for simple instruction. Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick, MMC, XD host controllers are in non-working stage.
3) ACPI suspense/resume/hibernation
Not working in neither UP nor SMP mode.
4) Win modem
Not working as expected. Even with ltmdm driver from the ports.
5) ExpressCard
Failed to detect.
6) Integrated bluetooth
Failed to detect.
MISCELLANEOUS
/boot/loader.conf
machdep.cpu_idle_hlt=”0″
hint.acpi_throttle.0.disabled=”1″
# Kernel Modules
acpi_load=”YES”
cpufreq_load=”YES”
smbios_load=”YES”
sound_load=”YES”
snd_hda_load=”YES”
nvidia_load=”YES”
if_nfe_load=”YES”
if_fwip_load=”YES”
# WIFI
if_ndis_load=”YES”
bcmwl5_sys_load=”YES”
wlan_scan_ap_load=”YES”
wlan_wep_load=”YES”
wlan_ccmp_load=”YES”
wlan_tkip_load=”YES”
wlan_xauth_load=”YES”
wlan_acl_load=”YES”
CONCLUSION
This laptop is generally value for money and it is partially working with FreeBSD system. You can consider using it with FreeBSD 6.3 as Ricoh and broadcom work compared to FreeBSD 7 which is totally broken.
