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Installing Fedora Core 10 on HP HDX X18-1180US

Last updated: Feb. 23, 2009

General Hardware Specifications of HP HDX X18-1180US:

Hardware Components	Status under Linux	Notes
2.0 GHz Intel Core2 Quad Processor Q9000	Works	No special procedure required during installation.
18.4" HD Display (1920x1080p)	Works	No special procedure required during installation.
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT	Works	Download NVIDIA Driver
4GB RAM	Works	No special procedure required during installation
500GB SATA Hard Drive	Works	No special procedure required during installation
Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM w/ DVD R/RW Double Layer	Works	No special procedure required during installation
Gigabit Ethernet Controller	Works	No special procedure required during installation
Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN	Works	No special procedure required during installation
Bluetooth	Works (unverified)	No special procedure required during installation
JMicron Technologies SD/MMC Controller	Works	No special procedure required during installation
8 Cell Lithium-Ion Battery	Works	No special procedure required during installation
Intel HD Audio Controller	Works	No special procedure required during installation
HP Webcam	Works	No special procedure required during installation
Validity Fingerprint Reader	Does not work	Complain to Manufacturer

This laptop is operating under Kernel version 2.6.27

Basic Installation of Fedora Core 10:

Prepare partitions: Since it comes with Vi$ta on one massive partition, you'll either need to zap it completely during the install (FYI: there's also a restore partition pre-installed), or use a Linux LiveCD like Knoppix and use QTParted to split the Vi$ta partition accordingly.
Get FC10 (X86 64)
Installation is pretty straightforward.
Just about everything works well out of the box. If the generic video drivers aren't good enough (aka: if you really need/want your 3D acceleration), get the NVIDIA drivers. Follow the instructions from NVIDIA. Caution: Most NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT Linux howtos regarding Xen and whatnot on the net are deprecated and contain links to old NVIDIA drivers.

Setting up additional features for Fedora Core 10

None yet...if you have questions, feel free to email me.

Unresolved issues

Fingerprint reader doesn't work (bummer)

Contact Information

ty AT blackdiamondpestcontrol.com

Links:

General Impressions: This was my third linux laptop installation, and this was easiest set-up thus far. Granted, I haven't tested the stuff I don't really need (Blu-ray, bluetooth, etc.), and the fingerprint reader may never have Linux support, but all the essentials work well out of the box. If you're looking for a quad core Linux laptop, this is worth a good look.