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Acer Extensa 5630Z
Introduction
The following is a compatibility guide to running Linux on the Acer Extensa 5630Z laptop. This laptop was tested with Ubuntu 8.04.
This guide is intended to provide you details on how well this laptop works with Linux and which modules you need to configure. For details on how to actually install and configure the required modules have a look at our guides section for distribution specific instructions.
Author(s)
Nathan
Specifications
| Name | Acer Extensa 5630Z |
| Processor | Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor – T3400 |
| Screen | 15.4“ WXGA LCD |
| Optical Drive | DVD-Super Multi DL |
| Graphics | Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M |
| Network | Ethernet, Acer Nplify 802.11b/g/Draft-N WLAN |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Works | |
| Screen | Works | |
| Optical Drive | Works | |
| Graphics | Works | |
| Sound | Works | Microphone and Speakers work |
| Ethernet | Works | |
| Wireless | Works | Works, but not out of box. Needs tweaking, see below |
| 56K Modem | Not Tested | |
| USB | Works | |
| Card Readers | Not Tested |
Notes
Graphics
The card works fine out of the box. Some graphical programs (online gaming, TV) don't work when compiz is turned on. Also important to change media viewers (VLC, SMplayer, etc) to X11 to avoid screen blackout.
Wireless
In order to get Ubuntu to recognize the card, you need the ralink driver “rt2860”. I could not connect using Network Manager (gets stuck with WEP or WPA key). I installed wicd and got wireless working just fine.
FN
The basic Fn hotkeys work fine (Volume, screen brightness).
Conclusion
I first tried with Ubuntu 8.10 64bit and ran into many problems, most of which were solved by switching to 8.04 32bit. Inexpensive laptop, works basically fine with Ubuntu 8.04. Wireless worked when I found the right steps to take.
