Lenovo IdeaPad Linux compatibility

Solution 1:

I am currently running Ubuntu 11.10 on my IdeaPad V570. (Posting from it, actually) A dual boot with Windows 7 installed as my secondary OS. The only issues I'm aware of at this time are that I cannot use my fingerprint reader This is not really an issue, since it has been proven time and time again that the use of fingerprint readers actually adds an unnecessary security hole. Look it up if you don't believe me.

The other problem is that when resuming from sleep the screen remains dark (aka, no backlight). I can still log in, but until I do, the backlight remains off and the fn(up) combination does nothing. Once authenticated everything works as it should.

I highly recommend this laptop as an Ubuntu Linux machine. 4.5 stars (-1/2 for backlight/resume issue)

Edit:

I can confirm that the memory card reader works in 11.10. I have a MicroSD/Adapter combo plugged in right now with pictures from my camera loaded.

Edit #2:

I can't exactly recall, but I may have had to manually install Grub2 from a livecd. It's not hard to do, just involves a little remounting, chroot, and apt-get. Again, I cannot confirm that I had to do this for this laptop, but I have had to do it recently. If you have trouble booting after a fresh install, queue up your LiveCD and look for a Grub2 installation tutorial.

Edit #3:

The wireless did not work properly right off the bat, but none of the fixes I found worked. I plugged in to my wired connection to make sure my system has been updated to the latest fixes and the WiFi card has been champ ever since.

Final words of wisdom:

If something isn't working, run your update manager. If there is a new version of the OS, Kernel, Software, whatever, download it, update, and reboot. If your stuff still doesn't work after updating, post a bug report.

I don't know how many times I've hammered at a problem for hours or even days to find that it's been fixed with a patch or update that had already been released.

Save yourself the headache and update first.

EDIT #4:

Okay, not as final as I thought... I just reinstalled Ubuntu X86_64 userland/kernel over PXE when I realized I was running a 32 bit userland in my last installation. Wireless does not fix with updates, you need to open /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf and add an entry to block the Acer Wireless module.

• Open a terminal and:

        gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

• Add this line to the bottom:

        blacklist acer_wmi

• Step one, Save
• Step two, Reboot
• Step three...
• Step four, World Domination

Nathanael out.

Solution 2:

It took some time to install Linux on this computer - definitely not for the faint of heart.

• grub does not install properly. I've reported this, see details at Bug #908203. The only way I managed to solve this was to install Linux Mint instead of Ubuntu; it got the grub on and now I can add any OS I want.
• The wireless isn't working properly; this answer hit the spot and solved the problem.

Solution 3:

I'm running 64 bit 12.04 on a Lenovo V570 -- everything works out of the box, even the wireless, EXCEPT for the screen remaining off when resuming from suspend. Found the fix : adding "acpi_backlight=vendor" as a kernel boot parameter.

How to temporarily add a boot parameter : https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2#Editing_the_GRUB_2_Menu_During_Boot

How to permanently add a boot parameter : https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2#Configuring_GRUB_2

Solution 4:

It might be informative to mention that Ideapad Z580 models experience an ACPI issue and have 10-15 minute boot times currently. I sincerely hope you don't experience a similar issue with the new kernels on your V570! I'm using 3.2.0-32 on my Ideapad with no issue but newer kernels have the issue for me.