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Date:      Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:19:13 +0100
From:      Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de>
To:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Cc:        Da Rock <freebsd-questions@herveybayaustralia.com.au>
Subject:   Re: Hardware compatibility
Message-ID:  <20120222001913.284b65c6.freebsd@edvax.de>
In-Reply-To: <4F441E38.5090406@herveybayaustralia.com.au>
References:  <CAPoQBCiKje8XywWsBp8k=Mb_Nq9CYyKuLUut05b2DBxG2n1rUA@mail.gmail.com> <20120220203515.185b038d.freebsd@edvax.de> <4F42E911.1010202@herveybayaustralia.com.au> <20120221164410.447b4676.freebsd@edvax.de> <4F441E38.5090406@herveybayaustralia.com.au>

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On Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:44:08 +1000, Da Rock wrote:
> On 02/22/12 01:44, Polytropon wrote:
> > Today's problems seem to be suspend/resume/hibernate (all
> > the variations of "it's not switched on, but also not
> > switched off entirely") and some specific sorts of wireless
> > devices.
> I've never used, so I hadn't thought of it. That doesn't work for 
> desktop either does it?

If you can show me how to close a desktop's or minitower's
lid... :-)

When APM was the standard for those functionalities, it
worked perfectly at the time APM had been obsoleted. I
assume the same thing regarding ACPI will be the same:
When it works, it gets replaced by something else.



> One thing I have tested is the backlight turns off when you close the 
> lid and the power button will do a proper shutdown. I haven't heard of 
> the others working - at the very least you need to script it for your 
> own needs.

Depends. Sometimes you might intend that closing the lid
doesn't cause _any_ action, and the power button to be
the power button (causing a shutdown). Exanple: You are
using the laptop with external keyboard, mouse and screen.
To avoid the internal keyboard to become dusty, closing
the laptop would be nice. And if you're done with the
work - also applies when used "normally" - press the
power button, close the lid, and the device will power
down in few seconds.

Modern laptops don't seem to be able to perform like that.
If you press the power button, maybe they shutdown. If
you close the light right after that, it will go into some
sleep or hibernate mode _during_ the shutdown.

As far as I know, many of such functionalities depends
on the ACPI implementation. Here, manufacturers often
do a crappy job, not caring for specifications and standards.
This may often render parts of the device useless.



> Fair comment. I had in mind mostly a CD, but I admit a USB will be far 
> better. I also had in mind the livefs system produced by the releases, 
> which doesn't give much at all. X would be very helpful and implies a 
> full system on the disk - this _will_ do most tests for a production 
> environment, like test whether components actually work or are just 
> recognised.

Live file systems like FreeSBIE produced good results
when the underlying OS was recent. 3D and current drivers
might be a problem today.



> >> If you do this *and* get it to boot, you want to get a copy of pciconf
> >> -lv which will give you the best idea on whats what. You may be able to
> >> use a linux live disk (if you can get it to boot) to accomplish this better.
> > USB sticks seem to be the best solution as they can allow
> > you to store files (as the results of your investigation).
> Definitely agreed. But you'd need a full on system to do this, 
> preferably with X - watch the Vid cards. That said you can always use 
> vesa anyway.

Of course, but if you are interested in utilizing the
new system's full functionality, being able to also load
kernel drivers (such as nVidia and ATI) could also be a
benefit.




-- 
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...



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