thinkpad 600 flags/settings

GREGC · n00b Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 25

I am going to start a fresh install of gentoo after using debian. I'd like to gain a speed increase for my thinkpad 600 over debian.

Is there anyone who has done the gentoo thing on a TP600, and if so, what USE flags and optimizations were used? Feel free to post.

Any help would be appreciated! Also, how to I examine ebuilds to determine what flags to set?

Greg

gcostanz · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 12:19 am Post subject:

I run Gentoo on a TP600x without any problems. I don't use the mwave modem, since I'm on a home lan. Here are my CFlags. I like to explicitly specify my USE flags. Your milage may vary on these. Good luck. I found the forums to be very helpful when I installed Gentoo on the TP.

GREGC · n00b Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 25

I will try these out tonight! Wish me luck. Your settings are pretty close to my guesses, with the exception of the KDE/QT choice. If I were to use fluxbox, and wanted to use some of the KDE or Gnome apps, should I enable KDE and Gnome? Does that make a difference to portage?

Did you have any trouble with sound? Did you use Alsa or OSS?

Thanks in advance for helping out a convert.

Greg

gcostanz · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 12:58 am Post subject:

I use Alsa. I just followed the HOWTO and everything went like clockwork. I found that the OSS drivers gave some white noise with gnome, but Alsa works great.

I use fluxbox as root, but not for day-to-day work. I wish it would play nice with gnome, but not yet... I don't use KDE, because it tends to run slow (in my opinion) on the TP600. So I use -kde in my flags. You should probably add +kde if you are even thinking about using KDE. But, it's large and it takes a while to compile...

GREGC · n00b Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 25

I use fluxbox on my deb install currently. I do like to use some of the apps that come with K, like the cd player and some of the utilities. I havn't booted up into K in a long while.

Did you have any problems setting up X? When I did the deb install, I have trouble getting the resolution set above regular vga. I was only able to get deb installed through knoppix.

I'll probabally bug you on Wednesday (I'll install Tuesday nite) about your X settings.

Greg

gcostanz · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 9:51 pm Post subject:

Greg,
here are the relevant parts of my XF86Config file. I used the configuration program for X and followed the HOWTO. Also, you may find this link very helpful:

http://panopticon.csustan.edu/thood/tp600lnx.htm

I'm still using xfree-4.2.1-r2. Here goes:

GREGC · n00b Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 25

Well, I started the install, using your setting, except using the i686 instead of pentium3 flag.

Boot strapping now for 7 hours (overnight) and still not done. Could there be a problem leaving the laptop alone for this long period of time? I am wondering if the APM is turning off the HD after a couple hours of inactivity (keyboard wise). Could that slow the install down? Also, what about leaving it plugged into a network, since there is no firewall installed on that machine?

Now I'm wordering how long the 2nd and 3rd stage will take!

Greg

gcostanz · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2003 9:43 pm Post subject:

I did a stage-3 install. You get up and running much faster, and I don't see the need to spend time compiling every last bit of the system. You still have to compile a kernel. I did not install any of the pre-compiled stuff (kde, gnome, X, etc).

I don't know how long the stage 1 should take, but I would not be worried about APM, since you are not running any daemon yet. I wouldn't worry about the network either-- there are no ports or services open yet, so what are they going to do (assuming they could even find your box)?

You should expect looong compile times for some things. I remember that X and gnome took about 15 to 20 hours. But it is worth it!

Heat is definately something to be concerned about when you are compiling. The processor is at 100% output for many hours, and it can generate a tremendous amount of heat. You should be careful to make sure that you have good airflow around the unit-- even the bottom. I place my unit on a cake rake on my desk when I have a compile that I expect to take more than 30 minutes. I close the lid just enough to make the display turn off-- not all the way. I know this from bitter experience-- having lost one disk drive from over heating during a compile.

Anyway, it sounds like you will probably have a working system by the time you read this. I hope so-- good luck.

p.s.-- make sure you read the kernel section of the HOWTO carefully. I compiled in everything-- even my pcmcia card. Add only what you know you will need.