Linux on Sony Vaio VGN-NR220E
I recently did a fresh install of Kubuntu 8.04 (hardy) on my Sony Vaio (VGN-NR220E), this is a list of notebook hardware that does or doesn’t work with linux. It is mostly based on my experience with kubuntu 8.04, but it should be pretty much same with other distributions, using latest kernel.
First of all, a little about hardware:
- VGA: Intel X3100 - chipset: Intel Mobile GL960
- Audio: Intel 82801H HDA (ICH8 Family)
- Modem: Conexant HDAUDIO SoftV92 Data Fax Modem with SmartCP
- Ethernet: Marvell Technologies 88E8039
- Wireless: Atheros AR5007EG (most probably)
- Misc: Builtin Card Readers (SD/MMC/Express Card/Sony Memory Stick)
Works:
- Audio: Works out of the box.
- VGA: Works out of the box
- Ethernet: Works out of the box, it uses “sky2″ module, so, if it doesn’t work in your distro, make sure it is loaded.
- Card Readers: Works out of the box, Only tried with SD card, but I assume others should work too.
- Wireless: Atheros AR5007EG drivers are available from madwifi, but they are quite new, and currently they are not available in any distro that I know of. You can manually install the new/patched madwifi drivers.
Step-by-step instructions are provided at ubuntu forums. Ubuntu users can follow it step-by-step, others can look at it to get the general idea. - LCD Brightness: You will need xbacklight (a command-line only program) to change the LCD brightness. You can change brightness using the following command:
xbacklight -set X
where X is any value from 0 - 100, if that doesn’t work, then run
xrandr --output LVDS --set BACKLIGHT_CONTROL native
and then try again. Hopefully this will work now. For future, you can add the xrandr line in your ~/.profile file (that is .profile file in your home directory), so, that you won’t have to run it yourself after every login.
Doesn’t Work:
- Modem: Drivers for conexant are available from linuxant.com for “a modest price”. I don’t really need modem so, I never tried hard looking for open source drivers but the quick google search didn’t return any satisfactory results.
- Keys: FN keys, S1 and AV Mode.
I am still trying to get the keys to work, if you have any idea, please let me know.
June 5th, 2008 at 4:24 am
Out of curiosity, did you go with a dual boot, to just straight install? I am currently trying to install Ubuntu 8.04 and am unable to install using the umenu on the LiveCD, every attempt gets partway through then tells me that my cd-rom is in use by another program, when I have nothing else running. Any help would be appreciated.
Joe
June 5th, 2008 at 11:25 am
No, I didn’t go with dual boot, I just made backup disks of vista and removed windows completely.
Are you trying to install “ubuntu under windows”? If you have spare partition, you can try booting from LiveCD and installing on that partition.
EDIT: Take a look at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide
July 10th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Hi, its very interesting your article. I have already installed Ubuntu 8.04 on my Vaio VGN-NR220E. All was alright until I installed the drivers to the wireless card ( Atheros AR5007EG ), now I have wireless but cant Suspend/Hibernate the system (doesnt come back, need to force shutdown), do you have the same issue?
Also I would like to know if you got the FN keys to work, only the volume keys work . Thank you for your help.
Saludos
July 11th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I haven’t tried suspend, but hibernate works just fine.
And no, I didn’t get FN keys to work (yet).
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Works great…thank you.
August 8th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I have been watching this site, as is apparent since this is my second post. I finally got ubuntu 8.04 to install, but was unable to get the wireless working. Followed the instructions to the letter and it still did not come up. I will have to try again and see what happens!
Joe
August 9th, 2008 at 2:41 am
Hi, I’ve got the same model (vaio nr220e). I could get everything to work except for the wireless. Now i’m using an external usb adapter, which is quite annoying. Using madwifi worked for you? Could you tell me which drivers to download and an overview of the entire process of getting it to work?
(I know that there is an issue with the external hardware switch, the led not turning on when the switch is on, does this happen to you?)
Well, thanks!! Enzo.
August 9th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
@joe , @Enzo
Madwifi worked fine for, I just followed the procedure at ubuntu forums ( http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=795984 ), it didn’t work first time, but I realized that I had missed a step, worked like a charm second time, though if I recall correctly, I had to reboot at the end.
@Enzo
As for external hardware switch, I haven’t it, so, I am sorry, I can’t help you much here.
August 15th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Alright, I finally got ubuntu to install as a dual boot with Vista!
@Enzo, as for the external hardware switch, I have one also, but the light does not come on when connected to the net, you will see a signal strength meter in the upper right hand corner of the screen when you are connected. Otherwise, the Madwifi drivers work like a dream!
@aqeel, tyvm for this information, it helped me out and got me back to a linux install!
August 25th, 2008 at 5:57 am
All right, it worked! It seems that the external switch has nothing to do with the problem, which is easily solved using the madwifi drivers.
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:07 am
How do i get the drivers on my sony viao im new to linux and ubuntu
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:39 am
I set mine up for dual boot and got the drivers by going through the file system. I cant remember the exact path I set up, sorry. The instructions linked in this thread worked great, and the author of that thread is a great guy who helped me out a bit in private messages.