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Announcements:
New!! Redhat 7.1 instructions!! Not that they are needed since it installs straight through without any problems!!!
Disclaimer:
This information is provided as is. It works for me so I am not responsible if it doesn't work properly for you. I also take no responsibility for any damage that may result in following this guide. I hope this document is of some help to owners of this same laptop who wish to run Linux instead of the the default Win 98. I put all the example config files for the Redhat 6.x install, which are viewable in HTML format on this page, in a zip archive available here. If you have any questions, or any suggestions and tips for me, feel free to email me at lectos@hotmail.com
Introduction:
This is a decent and inexpensive laptop that was being held back by having Win 98 SE installed on it. I chose to install Linux on it to bring out it's full potential, of course any flavor of Linux should work if configured correctly. You can download any distribution you wish at Tucows Linux or you can buy the installation CD for $1.89 at LinuxCentral. Now I have a portable router/web server/ftp server etc......It even gets slightly more battery life!!!!! KDS Computers and MAG Portables are equivalent companies (KDS owns MAG). So if you have a Verity VL (VL = Valiant?!?!) laptop from MAG Portables these instructions should work with little or no modifications. I have no way to verify this, but they are the same exact hardware. Have fun with your new portable server!!!!!
For more information about Linux on Laptops go to:
Valiant 5340AS Notebook PC Hardware:
Note: I recommend buying more RAM. It runs good at 32 megs, but it runs great at 96 megs :-)
System Notes and Strange Occurrences:
There is an odd crackle in the speakers with this sound device while running on AC power with a fully charged battery. I am not sure why there is that much interference from the battery and AC. That design flaw shouldn't have been overlooked. I do not know if it's just mine that does this or if they all do this. The laptop has done this since I purchased it. The problem occurs in both Windows and Linux. It may not occur with a LION battery. I have yet to purchase one to try it. The crackle is tolerable if you turn the laptop volume control to around 75%. The OS volume control can be set to whatever you wish.
If you are running a dual boot system and you boot to Windows, you should completely power off before rebooting into Linux or vice versa. For some reason Windows plug and play changes the I/O addresses and IRQs assigned for certain devices from the BIOS assigned defaults no matter what you do. After a reboot the sound and video devices will not detect properly by Linux. The video is also affected by this. I cannot run X-Windows after rebooting into Linux from Windows and the video tends to freeze up randomly. Linux also suffers from other assorted problems when this occurs, such as not being able to shutdown certain services. This does not occur if you reboot Linux back into Linux or reboot Windows back into Windows. Note: this doesn't occur with the latest bios update.
When the system first powers on it kicks the system fan up. It
is a very loud fan (the loudest I have ever heard in a laptop) and it turns
off when the system is fully booted. There is no way to turn this off and it
is more than likely to keep the system from overheating with the large amount
of activity that occurs during the boot process. It occurs under all operating
systems. The fan is controlled by APM and the motherboard and kicks on when
the system is too hot and needs extra cooling. The underside of the laptop exhausts
heat from many vents so it makes it difficult to sit on your lap for extended
period of time. I don't think perspiration from your lap is good for it anyway.
You may want to buy a laptop cooler pad such as the one pictured below. Tigerdirect
has them for $20
right now. Enter Z19-1058 in the Express Lane Catalog Shopping thing for
the Zerus Notebook Cooler Pad. It will not come up in a search but that number
will add it to your shopping cart. Trust me, this thing helps.
Libranet 1.9.0
(Great distro with a lot of silly problems)
Redhat Linux 6.x (Go with Redhat 7.1 if possible)
Redhat
Linux 7.1Copyright Information:
Redhat Linux and Redhat logos are © Copyright & ™ Trademark Red Hat Inc.
All rights reserved.
Libranet and Libranet logos are a © Copyright & ™ Trademark of Libra Computer
Systems Ltd.
KDS Computers and logos are © Copyright KDS, Inc.
All © Copyright & ™ Trademark on this page are owned by their respective owners.
Linux is a ™ Trademark of Linus Torvalds.
For terms of distribution of GNU software see GPL.
For terms of distribution of other software see their respective documentation.
Click on the Book to Go Back!!!
