HowTo: Ubuntu Linux on HP Pavilion series laptops

QUESTA GUIDA E’ DISPONIBILE ANCHE IN ITALIANO (aggiornata di rado)

This guide guides you through Ubuntu Linux setup and tweaking. It applies to all HP Pavilion computers with Intel Centrino processors, Santa Rosa platform, and AMD Turion platform.

Almost almost all features of HP Pavilion DV2000 DV6000 and DV9000 series are fully supported by newest Ubuntu: Installation and configuration of Ubuntu on HP Pavilion dv6000 is easier and much faster then installation of Windows 7!

Changelog:

2010 08 24 - workaroud for disable/enable touchpad freeze (many thanks Uwe!)
2010 05 01 - improved audio support on HP Pavilion DV6 (thanks Flameclaw!)
2010 02 24 - more on suspend/standby issues (thanks Uwe!)
2009 11 04 - improved audio support through alsa backport drivers for on latest HP Pavilion models
2009 10 13 - added some more boot parameters to overcome ACPI issues at boot
2009 05 19 - fixed resume from suspend/standby issues in Pavilion DV4 DV5 and DV7 models (thanks Enrico)
2009 05 19 - internal microphone support for Pavilion DV4 DV5 and DV7 models (thanks Enrico)
2009 05 12 - updated fingerprint authentication schema either/or
2009 03 28 - added script to automatically update alsa audio drivers to latest stable version to support recent laptops audio subsystem
2009 03 28 - added support for Feiya Technology webcams
2009 03 27 - updated wireless section to support Atheros and better support Broadcom wireless cards
2009 03 25 - updated to Ubuntu Jaunty 9.04
2009 03 07 - further suspend debugging
2009 01 18 - Added details on supposed hard disk wear out fears.
2009 01 17 - Updated S-Video support for Intel video cards (thanks ErikK)
2009 01 14 - HDMI support updated (thanks Giorgio)
2008 10 26 - upgrade to Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex
2008 09 01 - added multiple authentication schemas for fingerprint authentication
2008 08 25 - added workaround for touchpad losing vertical scroll functionality and freezing
2008 07 29 - added support for DV9000 series Ricoh integrated webcam (thanks yecarrillo!)
2008 07 18 - fixed a typo and tagged first step as not not more necessary in fingerprinting suppot
2008 07 16 - improved guide on biometrics fingerprinting support to support log in and sudo auth.
2008 05 22 - Firmware F.2A has been reported to fix cpu-freq related problems on INTEL dv2000 series (incl. dv2765tx) download here
2008 05 01 - published a tutorial for customizing touch sensible buttons
2008 04 20 - more on brightness control failures on dv2xxx here (thanks Chris!)
2008 04 16 - updates on the bluetooth issue at boot and on Intel wireless issues on Ubuntu Hardy
2008 04 15 - address Broadcom wireless losing signal design flaw on dv60xx-dv63xx and dv90xx-93xx.
2008 04 01 - wireless LED now toggling on/off (at last!)
2008 04 02 - updated and improved my power saving tips, getting as low as ~13watts, no joke!
2008 03 31 - added support for Broadcom Wireless cards shipped with AMD Turion laptops2008 03 28 - added support for modem and lightscribe on x86_64 (64bit) Ubuntu (thanks rac)
2008 03 16 - added workaround for bluetooth module preventing the system to boot (thanks Philip)
2008 01 31 - new host, restyled, cleaned, improved some sections with tips from old comments
2008 01 16 - added more powersaving options (sata link and audio suspend)  in Laptop Mode energy saving

Check also my other posts related to HP Pavilion laptops

Index

  1. Choosing the Right Ubuntu CD
  2. Booting into Ubuntu
  3. Installing Ubuntu
  4. Video Device
  5. Wireless Adapter
  6. Webcam
  7. Touchpad
  8. Media Cards Reader
  9. VGA, S-Video & HDMI Outputs
  10. Remote Control
  11. Firewire
  12. Battery Recalibration
  13. Energy Saving
  14. Suspend & Hibernate
  15. Lightscribe Support
  16. Audio Subsistem
  17. Fingerprint Scanner
  18. Hardware Sensors
  19. Modem
  20. Touch Sensible Buttons
  21. Ethernet
  22. Bluetooth
  23. TV Tuner
  24. Hard Disk

Related posts:

  1. Linux Power Saving Tweaks for HP Pavilion laptops
  2. Call for enabling HP Pavilion internal softmodem
  3. Ottimizzazioni per il Risparmio Energetico per portatili HP Pavilion su Ubuntu Linux
  4. [EN] Configure HP Pavilion QuickPlay multimedia buttons in Ubuntu Linux
  5. Guida per Ottimizzare Ubuntu Linux sui portatili HP Pavilion
  6. How to update ALSA to latest version easily
  7. Ad Hoc Wireless Networking in Linux

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311 Responses to “HowTo: Ubuntu Linux on HP Pavilion series laptops”

  1. Uwe says:

    Thank you very much, Aldeby, for this great collection of tips! I found it after solving almost all problems in 9.04 and wished that I had found your site much earlier.

    One hint for the suspend/hibernate chapter: I run a dv9500 with the most recent BIOS, but after a clean install of 9.10, the machine hung while trying to hibernate. There are two more solutions to this topic, one is to use the package “uswsusp” instead of the default pm-utils. The other is to list modules (mostly wifi) to unload before suspending or hibernating. Google “SUSPEND_MODULES” or have a look here:

    http://www.ubuntugeek.com/fix-for-suspend-and-hibernation-problem-for-laptops.html

    Best regards,
    Uwe

  2. Makis says:

    i runed the script setup_alsa and it gets to a point where it says “Choose the mode which best fits you” but when i type my prefered number and i hit enter doesnt do anything.am i doing something wrong?

    • aldeby says:

      Makis, why don’t you use an utility like meld to compare the original and your customized script to highlight all the differences (and eventually the mistakes)?

  3. Kyle says:

    In the audio section, sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-alsa-karmic should be sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-alsa-karmic-generic.

  4. str8upx says:

    This site saved my 9.04 + 9.10 ubuntu installations on my HP dv 7 (3165dx) notebook. Thank you! I just did a clean install of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and everything works perfectly: sound, front audio jacks, wireless card, web cam, etc. I hope this helps If your considering upgrading.

    • CharlesdArvay says:

      I confirm my flawless upgrade to 10.04 from 9.10 – on the 6th of May 2010 – kra20kra!

      Thanks for this wonderful website that helped in the first place, when I doubted about buying this machine for Linux.

      So I guess HP should be thankful as well…

      Charlot

      • aldeby says:

        I’m happy to read your feedback CharlesdArvay!

        By the way I haven’t heard a word from HP yet.
        They seem way too busy making profit to even bother understanding what the opensource approach is!

  5. Darren says:

    Thanks for your detailed site. I look forward to delving in to it. My initial task however is to install 10.04 Server on a Pavillion notebook using an external monitor as the LCD screen is not working. The external monitor initially shows the cdś loading progress and then the screen is completely black. When the off button is pressed the external monitor again details the shutting down process. Is there some way of seeing what is occurring through the whole process? Thanks for any help that can be offered.

    • aldeby says:

      Hi Darren!
      As far as I recall the external monitor would switch off when the video driver takes control of the video card. As long as is the BIOS controlling both internal and external screens are enabled. You should then be able to enable the external screen from within the driver settings.
      But I guess your laptop has a broken screen…

      Basically I would suggest you to install the operative system in text only mode (so that you would benefit from the BIOS controller and be able to use the external monitor) and not forget to install SSH support so that you could access via network cable your install. Now it would be fairly easy to enable the external monitor by configuring your laptop driver ( /etc/X11/xorg.conf for instance).

  6. Scott says:

    Linux newbit who installed the newest version of Linux Ubuntu 10.04 on my HP Pavilion dv6000 Laptop. Both my wired and wireless connections do not work. Thank you for your help.

    Below is the output of sudo lshw -C network

    *-network
    description: Ethernet interface
    product: MCP67 Ethernet
    vendor: nVidia Corporation
    physical id: a
    bus info: pci@0000:00:0a.0
    logical name: eth0
    version: a2
    serial: 00:1b:24:8c:7b:fa
    size: 100MB/s
    capacity: 100MB/s
    width: 32 bits
    clock: 66MHz
    capabilities: pm msi ht bus_master cap_list ethernet physical mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
    configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=forcedeth driverversion=0.64 duplex=full latency=0 link=yes maxlatency=20 mingnt=1 multicast=yes port=MII speed=100MB/s
    resources: irq:27 memory:f6488000-f6488fff ioport:30f8(size=8) memory:f6489c00-f6489cff memory:f6489800-f648980f
    *-network
    description: Network controller
    product: BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN
    vendor: Broadcom Corporation
    physical id: 0
    bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
    version: 02
    width: 64 bits
    clock: 33MHz
    capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
    configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=0
    resources: irq:19 memory:f6000000-f6003fff
    *-network DISABLED
    description: Wireless interface
    physical id: 1
    logical name: wlan0
    serial: 00:1a:73:84:5e:66
    capabilities: ethernet physical wireless
    configuration: broadcast=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bg

    • aldeby says:

      It seems your hardware is supported. Have you had a look at System -> Administration -> Hardware Drivers to see whether your computer needs restricted drivers?

      By the way I find it suspicious to read: *-network DISABLED

      If you have installed the default packages and had not modified any file inside /etc by hand you should at least be able to connect via ethernet. Check right clicking on the Network Manager applet if you can tick Enable Networking.

  7. Neva says:

    Broadcom also offers closed STA drivers for those chipsets that aren’t yet covered by the b43 driver. Their compiling instructions are pretty distro-inspesific, I found it easier to connect the laptop to a wired connection and install the same closed driver offered by Ubuntu.
    http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php

    • aldeby says:

      Thank you for sharing your suggestion Neva!
      I’ve added it to the tutorial. Have a nice day!

  8. Uwe says:

    Hi Aldeby, it’s me again. ;-)
    This time with an addition to 7. (Touchpad):
    Under 9.10 as well as 10.04 I had problems with the touchpad after disabling it with the touchpad’s “on/off”-button. Re-enabling did not work, although the button’s light changed from off to on. Restarting X or rebooting did not work, either.

    Cause: The gnome-settings-daemon interferes with the Synaptics touchpad driver and saves the “off” state forever.
    Remedy: Run “gconf-editor”, navigate to “apps”-”gnome-settings-daemon”-”keybindings” and change the value of “touchpad” to “” (empty string).

    Source: Ubuntu Bug #549727, https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-input-synaptics/+bug/549727/comments/103

    Best regards,
    Uwe

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