sony-vaio-z-series team mailing list archive

[Piernicola Oliva <pnclvo@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,
first of all, thanks so much for your great work!!!

I was able to keep  my VGN-Z21VN/X on for more than 4:30 h!!!
I'using kubuntu 8.10

Firs I tried http://pashkovsky.com/linux-image-2.6.29-rc5.deb :
the LED was on and the module worked fine, but kmix crashed and I was not
able to use sound. The control of backlight worked directly from KDE4.1
applet (wow).
Moreover, the total detected RAM was only 3047864 (the same happened with
the -generic ubuntu kernel)


Then I complied kernel 2.6.27.10 using the default .config file but removing
the standard sony-laptop module and setting  CONFIG_HIGHMEM64G=y.
Then I compiled
sony-laptop-zseries-0.6.tar.bz2<http://www.basyskom.org/%7Eeva/sony-laptop-zseries-0.6.tar.bz2>.
It seems to me that there are two small bugs on
sony-laptop-zseries-0.6.tar.bz2<http://www.basyskom.org/%7Eeva/sony-laptop-zseries-0.6.tar.bz2>:
1) in make install, the directory $(KDIR)/updates/ must be already there. On
my linux it is not and the install fails. If I create the dir everything
works fine.
2) in make uninstall rm sony-laptop.ko $(KDIR)/updates/ doesn't work for me.
I think it should be rm $(KDIR)/updates/sony-laptop.ko

In this configuratiuon the module worked fine, I got 4072960 total RAM and
again more than 4:30 hours of life...
The only thing that didn't work is the use of KDE4.1 applet to control
backlight (I tried also  xrandr --output LVDS --set BACKLIGHT_CONTROL legacy
)
However Eva's suggestion worked:

sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=00 ----> zero bright

sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=FF ----> max bright

But in this way to use the applet and to automatically change  brightness in
AC/battery modes. Why the backlight control via KDE applet worked in 2.6.29
and not in 2.6.27 if sony-laptop module is the same?


Thanks
pier