Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex on the Dell Inspiron 1501

Installation:
Intrepid installs without a problem.

Wireless:
Two Methods:
1. The Broadcom STA proprietary wireless driver can be installed via Intrepid's Hardware Drivers gui with two mouse clicks. I found the driver to be a vast improvement over Hardy's,
2. Using NDISWrapper.

ATI Open Source Driver
It took years of of praying, hoping and waiting but Dell 1501/ATI x1150 users finally have a working open source driver. It is installed by default in Ubuntu 8.10.

Compiz-Fusion
Compiz-Fusion runs and pretty well.
To get the most out of Compiz try installing the settings manager and launcher.
In a terminal:

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

sudo apt-get install fusion-icon

Media Codecs
Intrepid Ibex makes codec installation easy. Mp3, DVD, avi, aac, mpeg, wmv, asf, mov, flv, mp4, flash codecs are installed when you try to play them. If you like to add all the major codecs and make playback easy, check out this guide. The only thing not enabled in Ubuntu is reading encrypted DVDs. To add DVD playback and some other helpful media codecs to Ubuntu follow this guide.

Ethernet
Works out of the box. In order to do any of these guides you're going to need to plug in your Dell Inspiron 1501. Don't be cheap, go out and buy an Ethernet cable.

Brightness & Volume
Brightness (Fn Up/Down Arrow) and Volume (Fn Page Up/Page Dn) keyboard shortcuts both work.

Suspend & Hibernate
Both Suspend and Hibernate.


Video Out
Works out of the box, Intrepid's Screens and Resolutions (System>Administration>Screens and Resolutions) makes using an external multiple monitor a breeze. Configuration for dual monitors does require editing your xorg.conf file.

Modem
The Conexant Modem driver is usually released by Dell once they switch their Linux machines over to the new version of Ubuntu. Right now there is no deb for the modem driver. I'll update the site and this space when Dell releases it.

Card Reader
Works out of the box.

edited by pHreaksYcle

Overview of Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron on the Dell 1501

Everything you need to get Ubuntu 8.04 running on your Dell Inspiron 1501.

Installation
Hardy installs with no problems. Whether you're using the LiveCD, Alternative Install or Wubi.

Wireless
Two Methods:
1. The Restricted Driver Manager can install the Broadcom B43 fireware.
Firmware cutter will not work when used through the Driver Manager. In order to install B43-fwcutter you need to use the terminal.
In a terminal Type:
sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter

2. Use NDISwrapper to install the driver. This guide will walk you through the setup.

ATI Proprietary Driver
Two Methods:
1. The Restricted Driver Manager can install the the driver for ATI graphics card in the Dell 1501. ATI's 2.1.7281 fglrx driver is automatically installed, configured and 3D enabled. The best part is that the new Ubuntu repository fglrx driver supports AIGLX, no more XGL.

2. You can install the newest ATI driver that uses AIGLX yourself. You can find that guide here (use method two) or use Envy to install the newest ATI driver for you.

Compiz-Fusion
Compiz-Fusion is enabled once you install the ATI Propiety Driver.
To get the most out of Compiz try installing the advanced configuration tool.
In a terminal:
sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

Media Codecs
Hardy Heron makes codec installation easy mp3, DVD, avi, aac, mpeg, wmv, asf, mov, flv, mp4, flash codecs are installed when you try to play them. If you like to add all the major codecs and make playback easy, check out my codec cheatsheet. The only thing not enabled in Ubuntu is reading encrypted DVDs. To add DVD playback and some other helpful media codecs to Ubuntu follow this guide.

Ethernet
Works out of the box. In order to do any of these guides you're going to need to plug in your Dell Inspiron 1501. Don't be cheap, go out and buy an Ethernet cable.

Brightness & Volume
Brightness (Fn Up/Down Arrow) and Volume (Fn Page Up/Page Dn) keyboard shortcuts both work with BIOS 1.70. Please leave a comment letting others know if your BIOS work.

Suspend & Hibernate
Both Suspend and Hibernate work with BIOS 1.70 and the Ubuntu repository ATI 2.1.7281 fglrx driver. Please leave a comment letting others know if your BIOS and/or ATI driver combination work. You can find a mini guide about BIOS flashing here.

Video Out
Works out of the box, Hardy's Screens and Resolutions (System>Administration>Screens and Resolutions) makes using multiple monitors a breeze. Configuration doesn't require editing your xorg.conf file.

Modem
The Conexant Modem driver is usually released by Dell once they switch their Linux machines over to the new version of Ubuntu. I'll update the site and this space when Dell releases the new driver.

Card Reader
Works out of the box.

Overall:
Hardy Heron is the Ubuntu release that Dell Inspiron 1501 owners have been waiting for. Everything works, you only need to install 3 drivers (ATI, wireless and modem). If you were hesitant about trying Ubuntu on your 1501, rest assured, it takes minimal skill and computer knowledge to setup.

Easy Media Codec Installation for Hardy Heron

This simple howto installs the most common restricted codecs in Heron, allowing you to play mp3, aac, DVD ,mp4, avi, wmv and many more formats. It also installs the codecs for ripping mp3s using the lame encoder and making DVD/CDs.

In a terminal type:
sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg libxine1-ffmpeg libdvdread3

In order to play copyrighted DVDs, you need to install the libdvdcss2 package. To do this you need to install the Medibuntu repository. You can find my howto here.

Once you install the Medibuntu repository
To play encrypted DVDs, in a terminal type:
sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2

To download the win32 codecs, in a terminal type:
sudo apt-get install w32codecs

To download the FFmpeg Encoders, in a terminal type:
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

Medibuntu for Hardy Heron

Medibuntu (Multimedia, Entertainment & Distractions In Ubuntu) is a repository of packages that cannot be included into the Ubuntu distribution for legal reasons like copyright, license or patent restrictions. It also includes many popular media .debs for ffmpeg, w32codes, skype and google earth.

Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron can't play encrypted DVDs out of the box. In order to play DVDs you need to install a couple of codecs. This guide will show you how to install the Medibuntu repository and codecs.

This will add the Medibuntu repository to your repository lists
In a terminal type:
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Add this to the end of your source list:
## Medibuntu - Ubuntu 8.04 "hardy"
## Please report any bug on https://bugs.launchpad.net/medibuntu/
deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ hardy free non-free


Then you have to add the GPG Key to authenticate the packages
In a terminal type:
wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add - && sudo apt-get update

Now update your system to load the Medibuntu repository into your apt-get sources
In a terminal type:
sudo apt-get update

Download the DVDs playback packages
In a terminal type:
sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2 libdvdread3

edited by pHreaksYcle

Overview of Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon on the Dell 1501

Everything you need to get Ubuntu 7.10 running on your Dell Inspiron 1501.

Installation
Gutsy installs with no problems. There is a problem with GRUB, the resolution settings are wrong and this causes a 2 -3 minute lag in booting. Once done, Gutsy takes less than 25 seconds to load. You can find the guide on how to fix it here.

Wireless
Two Methods:
1. The Restricted Driver Manager can install the the firmware for the Broadcom 43xx card in the Dell 1501. You can find the guide .

2. You can use ndiswrapper to install the driver. For the guide and maybe why you'd want to do it yourself, check out this article.


ATI Proprietary Driver
Two Methods:
1. The Restricted Driver Manager can install the the driver for ATI graphics card in the Dell 1501. ATI's 8.37.6 fglrx driver is automatically installed, configured and 3D enabled. You can find the guide here.

2. You can install the newest ATI driver that uses AIGLX yourself. You can find that guide here.

Compiz-Fusion
Compiz-Fusion is enabled by default, so you don't have to install anything. If you used ATI Propiety Driver method 1, use need to setup Xgl using this guide to get Compiz-Fusion working. If you used ATI Propiety Driver method 2, Compiz works after a logout/reboot.

Media Codecs
Gutsy makes codec installation easy, no more automatix or struggling with adding repos. mp3, DVD, avi, aac, mpeg, wmv, asf, mov, flv, mp4, flash codecs are installed when you try to play them. If you like to add all the major codecs and make playback easy, check out my codec cheatsheet. The only thing not enabled in Ubuntu is reading encrypted DVDs. To add DVD playback to Ubuntu follow this guide.

Ethernet
Works out of the box. In order to do any of these guides you're going to need to plug in your Dell Inspiron 1501. Don't be cheap, go out and buy an Ethernet cable.

Brightness & Volume
Works with BIOS 1.70, use this guide for rolling back you BIOS.

Suspend & Hibernate
Doesn't work if you install the Proprietary ATI Driver (either method). A bug in ATI's driver causes this. No fixes have been found yet. If you use the MESA driver that is installed by default suspend and hibernate will work.

Video Out
Works out of the box, Gutsy's Screens and Resolutions (System>Administration>Screens and Resolutions) makes using multiple monitors a breeze. Configuration doesn't require editing your xorg.conf file.

Modem
Works, you just need to follow this guide to set it up.

Card Reader
Works out of the box.

edited by pHreaksYcle

Easy Codec Install for Gutsy

This simple howto installs the most common restricted codecs in Gutsy, allowing you to play mp3, aac, DVD ,mp4, avi, wmv and many more formats. It also installs the codecs for ripping mp3 using the lame encoder in Soundjuicer and making CDs from mp3s in K3b.

This is rewrite of a howto that I did for Feisty and it just needed a little touch up for Gutsy.

In a terminal type:
sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg libxine1-ffmpeg libdvdread3

In order to play copyrighted DVDs, you need to install the libdvdcss2 package. To do this you need to install the Medibuntu repository. You can find my howto here.

Once you install the Medibuntu repository, in a terminal type:
sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2

edited by pHreaksYcle

How to Play Encrypted (Copyrighted) DVDs in Gutsy

Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon does not play DVDs out of the box. In order to play DVDs you need to install the Medibuntu Repository and a couple of packages. This guide will get your Gutsy install playing DVDs like a champ in less then 4 minutes.

This will add the Medibuntu repository to your repository lists
In a terminal type:
sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/gutsy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

Then you have to add the GPG Key to authentic the packages
In a terminal type:
wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Now update your system to load the Medibuntu repository into your apt-get sources
sudo apt-get update

Download the DVDs playback packages
In a terminal type:
sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2 libdvdread3

Now pop in a DVD and enjoy!

edited by pHreaksYcle

Codec Cheatsheet

redDEAD's version of Automatix
This simple howto installs the most common restricted codecs. Allowing you to play mp3, aac, DVD, mp4, avi, wmv and many more formats & rip mp3 using the lame encoder.

For Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn
in a terminal type:
sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg libxine1-ffmpeg gstreamer0.8-lame gstreamer0.8-faac gstreamer0.8-faad libdvdread3 libk3b2-mp3

To play encrypted DVDs you need libdvdcss2. You need to install the Medibuntu Repositories to do this. My how to can be found here

Enjoy!


For more, check out Randall Munroe site at xkcd.com/

edited by pHreaksYcle

Medibuntu & How to Install DVD codecs

Please read this post before installing anything. You are responsible for not violating copyright law, not me. I do not endorse theft.

Medibuntu (Multimedia, Entertainment & Distractions In Ubuntu) is a repository of packages that cannot be included into the Ubuntu distribution for legal reasons; copyright, license, patent, etc. But, if you want to play restricted formats like the w32codecs, quicktime videos or encrypted DVDs you'll need to intstall the Medibuntu repository. First have to make sure your allowed to download these packages because Legal Notice Patent and copyright laws operate differently depending on which country you are in. Please obtain legal advice if you are unsure whether a particular patent or restriction applies to a media format you wish to use in your country.

To add the repo:
sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/feisty.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

Then add the key that authenticates the repo:
wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -

The reload the your sources to add Medibuntu:
sudo apt-get update

Then in order to play encrypted DVDs download this package:
sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2

There are many other things in this repo that you may find useful besides codecs. Skype, Opera, Java, Realplayer & GoogleEarth. While they might not be free and open source, they are FREE to use. For a list of packages in the Medibuntu look here.

edited by pHreaksYcle

Feisty Fawn Starter Guide

If you decided to run Ubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04 on your Dell Inspiron 1501, you came to the right place. This blog is a great starter guide for getting things to work. Enjoy, it's not as hard as it looks and everything here is tested and confirmed to work. - redDEAD

AND NOW EVERY PIECE OF HARDWARE ON THE DELL 1501 WORKS IN UBUNTU

Getting Ubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04

Dell 1501 Compatability

Can't Get Feisty To Install

Dual Booting Ubuntu and Windows

Getting Wireless To Work Using ndiswrapper

Getting Wireless to work Using the Native Linux Driver

Beryl In Feisty With Xgl

Getting the Conexant Modem working in Feisty

Installing Java Runtime Environment 6.0

Installing Newest Azureus in Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn

Installing Wine

Installing VMware

How to Fix a Broken Key

Configure Synaptic Touchpad Settngs

Fixing Logout Freezing

Customizing Firefox

Installing Mozilla Thunderbird

edited by pHreaksYcle

Your Dell 1501 is Ready

UPDATED!
The Dell Inspiron 1501 is ready for Ubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04. Today the last remaining bugs were squashed. I highly recommend you count the days till Feisty is released or hop on the beta and start enjoying the ride.

Installation
It's a simple matter of placing the Feisty disk into your DVD drive and installing. Takes all of 30 minutes and doesn't need pci=nomsi to install.

Wi-Fi
The broadcom card shipped with the Dell 1501 still doesn't work out of box with Feisty. But ndiswrapper works and runs the card very fast. Installation is extremely easy, the guide can be found here. Feisty's avahi network manager is amazing, best I have ever used on any operating system. It's a must have for any mobile users.

Ethernet
Works out of the box, just plug the cable in.

Modem
Reported that it works with a little tweaking. Everyone who wants to run Feisty but is stuck in 1996 can breath easily.

Card Reader
There was a bug in the 2.60 Linux kernel that caused the Ricoh card Readers the Dell 1501 shipped with to not work although they worked in Edgy. This has been fixed, card reader works great and now it asks if you'd like to empty the trash upon dismounting. Very convenient and works out of box.

ATI Driver
ATI's 8.34.8 driver is working really well for me. Installation is a snap too. The restricted Driver Manager does all the work for you. You can install the driver with four mouse button clicks.

Media Codecs
Feisty makes codecs easy, no more Automatix or struggling with adding a repo. MP3, DVD, avi, mpeg, wmv, asf, mov, flv, flash codecs are installed with four mouse clicks. The only thing not enabled is reading encrypted DVDs. Some programs can do it for you but if you'd like to do it in Totem use this guide. Word is you can buy it from Linspire's CNR which is being introduced in Feisty. Remember kids, Linux is free as in Freedom not money. If you have to pay to play DVD, bite the bullet. You saved hundreds on the OS.

Beryl
It works and works pretty damn well. The trick is that you have to force bery-core to use 0.2.0~0beryl1 because later versions don't work with Xgl. It's not that hard of a hack. My guide can be found here.

Key Bindings
Work out of box, volume control, brightness, mute any function+commands. I have my keyboard set to Generic 101-key PC. After installing Xgl & Beryl I kept my key binding to Gnome's Settings.

Hibernation
Works out of box, never used hibernation before but I just tried it and think I like it.

edited by pHreaksYcle

Cleaned Up The Site

Did a little spring cleaning on the site. Edited some guides, switched ATI Drivers from 8.28.8 to 8.34.8, reversed my stance on Beryl. For any new readers, here's how to get your Dell Inspiron setup running Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy Eft.

Installing Ubuntu Edgy Eft 6.10

Getting the Wi-Fi Working

Installing the Proprietary ATI Linux Driver

Enabling Media Codecs

Getting the wired Xbox360 Controller working in Ubuntu

What is and How To Bittorrent

Setting Up Compiz

Installing Beryl 2.0 with Compiz's gtk window manager.

Enjoy the site! If you are in need of help, just ask.

*Note if you used my old guide for installing the ATI Linux Driver you need to check that post out again and update.

edited by pHreaksYcle