From Gentoo Linux Wiki

[edit] Hardware

 
  00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82845 845 (Brookdale) Chipset Host Bridge (rev 04)
  00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82845 845 (Brookdale) Chipset AGP Bridge (rev 04)
  00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM USB (Hub #1) (rev 02)
  00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM USB (Hub #3) (rev 02)
  00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 42)
  00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801CAM ISA Bridge (LPC) (rev 02)
  00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801CAM IDE U100 (rev 02)
  00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 02)
  00:1f.6 Modem: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 02)
  01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV17 [GeForce4 440 Go] (rev a3)
  02:00.0 Ethernet controller: 3Com Corporation 3c905C-TX/TX-M [Tornado] (rev 78)
  02:01.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI4451 PC card Cardbus Controller
  02:01.1 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI4451 PC card Cardbus Controller
  02:01.2 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments PCI4451 IEEE-1394 Controller
  

The lspci should be standard on the 8200 except for a few components such as the processor, hard drive, graphics card, etc. Everyone should have the same motherboard, chipset, USB controller, and other fairly standard hardware.

[edit] Installation

When installing Gentoo I used the x86 minimum install CD. As long as the CD is for the x86 architecture you shouldn't have any problems. So download or purchase the disk and get busy.

The liveCD detected all of the proper hardware for my 8200 so I would assume it should do the same for yours. With the 2005 LiveCD I had to enter the nodhcp option at boot in order to get my ethernet to connect properly. With the 2006 I've yet to have that problem. In order to do the install without using two computers or printing out the install guide, all you have to do is just press Alt+F2 to bring up a new console then use links to get to hanbook. Just switch back to your install with Alt+F1.

[edit] Kernel Configuration

[edit] Sources

I have yet to use any sources except the Gentoo and vanilla sources, so I can guarantee they work properly. Configuration would be no different than any other laptop as long as you adhere to the proper hardware requirments that are listed above in the lspci but may differ slightly depending on your specific model. I have used 2.6.17 and 2.6.18 with my 8200 and they both work flawlessly with all of the hardware I have tested them with so far.

[edit] The "high pitch noise" problem

In order to prevent high-pitch whining from the processor or other internal components, use APM instead of ACPI, for the 8200's ACPI support seems to be very inadequate. There are several posts in the forums about this problem. See for example http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-9754.html

[edit] Kernels 2.6.13 and above

In kernels version 2.6.13 and higher, just make menuconfig and select the option to decrese the amount of interrupts:

Processor type and features  --->
    Timer frequency (1000 HZ)  --->  (Select 100)

Recompile, install, and reboot.

[edit] Kernels Below 2.6.13

As long as one is willing to patch the kernel manually, you can use ACPI. Apply this patch to the kernel:

 --- linux-2.6.8-gentoo-r1/include/asm-i386/param.h.org  2004-08-22 14:07:17.842457000 +0200
 +++ linux-2.6.8-gentoo-r1/include/asm-i386/param.h      2004-08-22 14:07:32.142457000 +0200
 @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  #define _ASMi386_PARAM_H
  
  #ifdef __KERNEL__
 -# define HZ            1000            /* Internal kernel timer frequency */
 +# define HZ            100             /* Internal kernel timer frequency */
  # define USER_HZ       100             /* .. some user interfaces are in "ticks" */
  # define CLOCKS_PER_SEC                (USER_HZ)       /* like times() */
  #endif

[edit] IRDA

I have yet to test this with any kernel on my laptop. Actually I never even used in under Windows either so I have no idea here.

[edit] Modem

Like the IRDA I have never used the modem on my 8200 as well. Even when the computer had XP on it from DELL I never used it.

[edit] Touch-pad

My touch-pad works perfectly out of the box without me having to do anything special. I don't know if this is the general consensus or not.

[edit] PCMCIA

Here I followed the Gentoo Kernel Upgrade Guide and just included everything. This works for me, but I am sure it can be trimmed down further if your shooting for a more streamlined kernel.

Bus options (PCI, PCMCIA, EISA, MCA, ISA)  --->
 PCCARD (PCMCIA/CardBus) support  --->
   <*> PCCard (PCMCIA/CardBus) support
   <*>   16-bit PCMCIA support
   [*]   32-bit CardBus support
   --- PC-card bridges
   <*> CardBus yenta-compatible bridge support 
   <*> Cirrus PD6729 compatible bridge support 
   <*> i82092 compatible bridge support 
   <*> i82365 compatible bridge support 
   <*> Databook TCIC host bridge support 

[edit] ACPI

I've read about a lot of complaints using ACPI on 8200s, but I have yet to have any trouble. Below is the needed kernel configuration.

   Power management options (ACPI, APM)  --->
      ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) Support  --->
           [*] ACPI Support
         <*>   AC
         <*>   Battery
         <*>   Button
         <*>   Video
         <*>   Hotkey
         <*>   Fan
         <*>   Processor
         <*>   Thermal

You will also need the acpi daemon to catch events. If you don't emerge it, then having ACPI in your kernel really won't do much.

 emerge acpid

[edit] nVidia Graphics Card

I bought my 8200 with the optional nVidia GeForce 440 Go graphics card. Mine works flawlessly out of the box with the drivers out of Portage. If you're using xorg 7.1 or later make sure your make.conf is set properly.

On a new install that should make Portage pull in the nVidia drivers package automatically. Otherwise you'll have to get them manually.

emerge x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers

[edit] Example Config Files

Here are some configuration files that might be helpful to anyone setting up Gentoo on an 8200. While not all are really needed to make this worth while, some will be more helpful than others. So take what you need, borrow what you want, and get things up and running.

[Coming Soon]