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Acer Aspire 5741G
Author(s)
Jonathan Wilson
Introduction
This is a compatibility guide to running Linux on the Acer Aspire 5741G.
This page is just for discussing using Linux on the Acer Aspire 5741G. For a general discussion about this laptop you can visit the Acer Aspire 5741G page on LapWik.
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Specifications
For full specifications see the Acer Aspire 5741G specifications page.
| Name | Acer Aspire 5741G |
| Processor | # Intel® Core i5-430M processor (3 MB L3 cache, 2.26 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.53 GHz, DDR3 1066 MHz, 35 W), supporting Intel® 64 architecture, Intel® Smart Cache # Intel® Core i3-330M processor (3 MB L3 cache, 2.13 GHz, 35 W), supporting Intel® 64 architecture, Intel® Smart Cache |
| Screen | 15.6“ (1366×768) Widescreen |
| RAM | Up to 4GB |
| HDD | 320GB to 640GB |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW |
| Graphics | NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 320M ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5470 |
| Network | 10/100/1000 Ethernet Acer InviLink™ Nplify™ 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Acer InviLink™ 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIED |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | works | |
| Screen | works 1366*768 | the ability to mirror is present in the nvidia options but not tested |
| HDD | works | |
| Optical Drive | works, tested burning dvds | |
| Graphics | 2-d with open source driver, 3-d with proprietary nvidia driver | Works fine in 1366*768 on Ubuntu 10.10 using the default drivers but its better to use proprietary drivers. |
| Sound | works, I haven't tested line in | |
| Ethernet | works | |
| Wireless | works | with proprietary broadcom sta driver. For Ubuntu, see System→Administration→Additional driver. Wireless will only work after driver installation (require to use a wired ethernet to download them). |
| Bluetooth | no adaptor | |
| Modem | no modem | |
| USB | works | |
| Card Reader | works | |
| Webcam | works |
Notes
This laptop works perfectly with 32-bit linux 2.6.32-21-generic. 64-bit linux did not work as expected, the wireless driver did not connect.
Before you try anything, boot to windows and choose to create the acer-recovery disks, it fills 3 DVD+R's, but they are bootable and I was able to wipe the hard disk and reinstall windows using them. There is also an option in windows to create a windows recovery-disk, so that the “bootmgr is missing” error which I got below, can be fixed, without reinstalling.
Linux mint 9 - 32bit, installs and detects everything automatically.
Fedora 13 - 64bit does not boot from the install dvd or live cd, but will if you pass it some options.
Ubuntu 10.10 - 32bit, installs and detects everything automatically. Needs to install the proprietary broadcom sta driver to make the wireless working (required wired etherned connection).
The laptop comes pre-installed with windows 7, beware there are 3 partitions on the drive: 1/ recovery partition 2/ windows 3/ bootloader I initially wiped all partitions except the large windows one, installed linux and got a “bootmgr is missing” message, on trying to load windows. I had to reinstall windows to fix that.
I found that grub 2 will not work if you install to the a dedicated boot partition, I had to install to the MBR.
Summary
Works great, and the battery gave me 3+ hours. I recommended this as a linux laptop. Works great, I recommended this also.
