Ubuntu on Sony VAIO VGN-FE48G a.k.a PCG-7V5P

This model of this laptop is VGN-FE48G according to Sony’s website and has that model number below the bottom right of the lcd screen. However underneath the laptop it says Model: PCG-7V5P.

I am currently running Ubuntu Hardy Heron 64-bit 8.04 on this and Ubuntu has proven to be a big disappointment with Hardy. The rush to meet release dates have generated alot of bugs and the number of problems just keep increasing with each release.

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Laptop Specs

• CPU: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T7200 (2.00GHz)
• Processor System Bus:667 MHz
• Cache Memory:4 MB Advanced Smart Cache
• Main Memory:1GB DDR2 SDRAM (2 SO-DIMM slots, one occupied)
• Hard Drive:160GB (HDD Recovery Storage: 7GB, C: Remain) Serial ATA, 5400rpm
• Wireless LAN:IEEE 802.11a/b/g
• Optical Drive:Reading Speed: DVD-ROM, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW: x8 / DVD-RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL (Double Layer): x6 / DVD-RAM: x5 / CD-R, CD-RW, CD-ROM: x24
• Optical Drive:Writing Speed: DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW: x8 / DVD-RW: x6 / DVD-RAM: x5 / DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL (Double Layer): x4 / CD-R: x24 / CD-RW: x16
• Graphics Processing Unit:NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7600 notebook graphics processing unit (GPU)
• Display:15.4″ WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT colour display (Clear Bright High Colour LCD)
• Bluetooth®:Bluetooth® standard version 2.0+EDR, Output: Maximum +6dBm, Frequency: 2.4GHz
• Built-In MOTION EYE Camera:Effective Pixels: 640x480, Image Device: 1/6″ VGA CMOS, Lens: 2 elements in 2 groups F2.8, Focus distance: f=2.45mm
• Audio:Intel® High Definition Audio Compatible, 3D audio (Direct Sound 3D support), Built in Stereo Speakers
• Keyboard/Input Device:ca 19mm Keypitch / 2.5mm Key stroke, 86 Keys, Intelligent Touchpad
• Battery:VGP-BPS2B Lithium-ion battery: up to 2.5 hours of use
• Dimensions (WxHxD):366 × 26-35.3 × 274.5mm
• Weight:2.8kg (including the supplied battery)

Software

• OS: Came with Windows® Vista® Home Premium (English version) with Traditional Chinese Language Pack and ALOT of Sony bloatware.

Broken Bits

• Brightness key does not work on the laptop’s keyboard but when I used an external keyboard, it works. I tried switch keyboard mappings but nothing could get it working as well as using an external keyboard (in my case one of the new iMac keyboards).
• There is a huge problem with Kernel panic on boot up which came up in Hardy caused by ACPI. The easy work around atm is to first boot into recovery mode then resume normal boot which fixes the problem. The launchpad bug report can be found at Bug 191137. If you are impatient, there are kernel patches in that bug report for you to solve the problem by recompiling your kernel.
• Have not tried the built-in webcam so cant comment if it will work.
• The laptop’s user manual mentions a multicard reader but mine seems to only read memory sticks and not SD card.
• vmware-server is currently not a standard ubuntu package unlike in Ubuntu Gutsy. It needs some extra configs to get it working, check here.

Notable mentions or stuff that worked unexpectedly

• Burning of dual layered dvds worked great with the standard Gnomebaker that came with it.
• Dual screens/monitors worked pretty well thanks to Nvidia and the nvidia-config package.