Slackware Linux on the IBM Thinkpad 380ED



Copyright © 2002,2005,2009 by Zack Smith
All rights reserved.

Introduction

This document describes how to install Slackware Linux on a Thinkpad 380ED. The 380ED is really a very nice machine. Pairing it with Slackware Linux 8.0 demonstrates how well-engineered IBM's older laptops are. You might think that the Pentium 166 MMX would underperform, but with this distro, it doesn't. I have certainly seen much-higher MHz computers do much worse.

I have used the 380ED+Slackware for software development in C and Java, MP3 playback, CD ripping, simple word processing, CAD work, and web browsing. It can also play back MPEG1 video.

My 380ED

The particular system I own is IBM model number 2635-6AU, which is a model sold in the USA. The following is some useful data on this system obtained from /proc/cpuinfo, lspci, etc.

ProcessorIntel Pentium 166 MHz with MMX
Level 1 Cache 16 kB
Level 2 Cache 256kB L2
RAM16MB + expansion up to 80MB total max
RAM type64-bit EDO SO-DIMM
Hard Drive typetype= 3.0 GB, 13 ms
Hard Drive transfer speeduntested (max)
CD-ROMinternal, 8-20X
Screen12.1 inch color, 65536 colors, active TFT, 100:1 contrast
Video ProcessorNeoMagic MagicGraph128ZV (NM2093), on PCI 2.1 bus
Video RAM1.125 MB embedded
Video Resolution (LCD)800x600 16-bit color
Video Resolution (CRT)1024x768 256 color (max)
PortsSerial, Parallel, PCMCIA (2), PS/2, video, infrared
MouseTrackpoint (eraserhead)
PCMCIA Slots2 (two type II or one type III)
PCMCIA CardBus compatibility? No.
PCMCIA ControllerCL-PD6729 (PCMCIA spec 2.1 compatible)
Sound HardwareSound Blaster Pro TM
Battery TypeLithium Ion (non-intelligent)
Weight (PC)7.0 pounds (3.2 kg) with battery
Weight (AC adaptor) ?
Thickness2.4 inches (62 mm)
AC Adaptor Output ? V, ? A, 35 watts max
ModemNone

Why this distro?

I always use Slackware, because I have also found it to be reliably put together and rationally organized. Slackware is slightly different than other distros in that the emphasis is still as much on the command line as it is on the fancy bloated GUI systems like Gnome and KDE.

This computer is fast enough to run Slackware 8.0 quite well.

Slackware 8.0

This version of Slackware occupies perhaps 300-500 megs of space and includes all the latest. The 380ED's built-in CD-ROM drive means you can install in the easiest way possible from CD. I myself however installed by copying the needed files into the Windoze partitition.

Installation

  1. If your hard drive has just 1 partition to start with, and you desire to retain Windows or DOS, then run FIPS to break it into two partitions. FIPS is a part of the Slackware distribution, and is available in the carroll.cac.psu.edu Slackware directory.
  2. Create the root and boot disks using the MSDOS program RAWRITE.EXE. This also comes with Slackware and is usually in the install directory.
  3. Boot from the boot disk and load the root disk when asked and log in to Linux (no password is needed).
  4. Use "fdisk /dev/hda" to create the second Linux partition, or if you have booted from CDROM, you can use the entire hard drive for Linux.
  5. Reboot, use the boot/root disks, log in, and run "setup" which will walk you through formatting, installing Linux, and configuring.

Kernels

I have compiled and used kernels 2.4.14 and 2.4.18 and they work fine.

X-Windows

XFree86 4.1

This is the server that comes with Slackware 8.0. When I tried running the server, it started up without an requiring XF86Config file and has since had no problems at all.

Gnome / KDE

I consider these to be bloated lameware and I don't use them. However I do use the occassion app that is compiled to use their libraries, and performance on this system isn't great using such software but it isn't terrible. If possible, stick to what is included with Slackware 8.0.

Framebuffer

I never tried the 2.6 kernel on the 380ED, but if you are interested in using it, download kernel 2.6.9 along with FramebufferUI, which is my in-kernel windowing system. This machine should run it fairly quickly.

Audio

I haven't been able to use a sound driver compiled into the kernel, because the kernel was either too large on several occassions or on a few others it just didn't work.

However I've gotten it to work as a module. The key was, enable sound when compiling the kernel, then do the following in whichever /etc/rc.d file you prefer. To make modules, select them via 'make menuconfig' and then run 'make modules' and 'make modules_install'. 

 
modprobe sound
insmod uart401 
insmod sb io=0x220 dma=1 irq=5
This permits /dev/{audio,dsp} to work. If you cat a .au file to audio it plays, and MP3 files sound great running the commandline program mpg123 (Slackware package ap1/mp3.tgz). Note, I set the sb parameters in DOS using the ps.exe program.

PCMCIA

The PCMCIA port works fine with my 3COM 574 Xjack NIC. However I have not found a way to access my Flash memory card (a CompactFlash in an adaptor); I gather that the PCMCIA-CS package doesn't support PCMCIA IDE yet. I haven't tried any other type of card.
Update: kernel 2.6 provides that functionality.

Windows

Should you need to run Win 95/98 for some reason (wireless?), you can download the final drivers for the 380ED from here.

Documentation

  • Product information is at ibm.com.
  • The online users guide is at pc.ibm.com.
  • The repair manual is similarly at software.ibm.com. It covers several laptops so it is an 8 meg PDF.
  • A comparison of several model 380 models is at pc.ibm.com.

Spare Parts

At this point, I have only purchased RAM.
  • RAM: I found that Crucial had good prices. I got 64 MB for $31 (in the USA). They also have a great feedbacks at ResellerRatings.com.
  • Batteries: You should not expect to get a Lithium-Ion battery for cheap. Nickel-Metal Hydride is the more affordable option. Here are three companies: The first is a bit expensive. The 2nd is a bit less expensive. The 3rd is reasonable.

Links





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