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<vote Acer-Aspire-5542-Rating check=ip> How do you rate this laptop with Linux? * Excellent * Good * Fair * Poor * Unusable </vote>
Acer Aspire 5542
Introduction
This is a compatibility guide to running Linux with the Acer Aspire 5542 laptop.
This page is just for discussing using Linux on the Acer Aspire 5542. For a general discussion about this laptop you can visit the Acer Aspire 5542 page on LapWik.
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Specifications
For full specifications see the Acer Aspire 5542 specifications page.
| Name | Acer Aspire 5542 |
| Processor | AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-core processor : 2MB On-Die L2 Cache AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core Processor : 1MB On-Die L2 Cache AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor : 1MB On-Die L2 Cache |
| Screen | Monitor Size and resolutions 15.6“ HD (1366 x 768) |
| Graphics | ATI Radeon HD 4200 |
| RAM | Up to 4GB |
| HDD | 160GB - 500GB |
| Optical Drive | DVD Super Multi |
| Network | 10/100/1000 802.11b/g |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Works | |
| Screen | Works | |
| HDD | Works | |
| Optical Drive | Works | |
| Graphics | Works | You will need to install the proprietary ATI drivers for this to work |
| Sound | Works | |
| Ethernet | Works | |
| Wireless | Works | |
| Bluetooth | Not Tested | |
| Modem | Not Tested | |
| USB | Works | |
| Card Reader | Not Tested | |
| Fingerprint Reader | Not Tested | |
| Webcam | Works |
Notes
This laptop was tested with Ubuntu 9.10.
Graphics
Most Linux distributions (including Ubuntu 9.10) don't support the ATI Radeon HD 4200. To get this working you need to install the proprietary ATI drivers. See the guides here for details on installing these on a variety of distributions.
With Ubuntu 9.10, make sure you use “Safe Graphics Mode” during installation or you will just get a blank screen when you first boot.
Touchpad
Avoid using the touchpad on/off feature of this laptop. If you turn it off you can't turn it on again without rebooting.
Summary
The Acer Aspire 5542 work well with Linux after installing the ATI drivers.
