GUIDE TO RUN UBUNTU 12.04 ON AN HP DV6T (up-to-date as of August 12, 2012)

**Dans564** · August 12th, 2012

Things that don't work out of the box:

1) Wifi after suspend

2) Switchable graphics

3) Screen brightness control

4) Full Beats™ audio experience

How to fix them:

1) to make the wifi work:

Code:

sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf

and paste this

Code:

options iwlwifi bt_coex_active=N

save, close, and reboot. Wifi now works after suspend!

2) to make switchable graphics work:

Install the prerequisite packages:

Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essential cdbs dh-make dkms execstack dh-modaliases fakeroot libqtgui4

If you are using the x86_64 architecture (64 bit):

Code:

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs-multiarch:i386 lib32gcc1 libc6-i386 
sudo apt-get install ia32-libs 
cd /usr ; sudo ln -svT lib /usr/lib64

Download the latest Catalyst package (includes 32-bit and 64-bit)

Code:

cd ~/; mkdir catalyst12.6; cd catalyst12.6/ 
wget http://www2.ati.com/drivers/linux/amd-driver-installer-12-6-x86.x86_64.run 
chmod +x amd-driver-installer-12-6-x86.x86_64.run

Create and install the .deb packages

Code:

sudo sh ./amd-driver-installer-12-6-x86.x86_64.run --buildpkg Ubuntu/precise 
sudo dpkg -i fglrx*.deb

Generate a generic xorg.conf

Code:

sudo amdconfig --initial -f

Open the /etc/X11/Xsession.d/10fglrx file with root rights :

Code:

gksu gedit /etc/X11/Xsession.d/10fglrx

If you're using a 32bits system add at the end of 4th line this text : "/usr/lib32/dri/" without the quotes. The file should now look like this :

Code:

 LIBGL_DRIVERS_PATH=/usr/lib/fglrx/dri 
if [ `uname -m` = 'x86_64' ]; then 
if [ -d /usr/lib32/fglrx/dri ]; then 
LIBGL_DRIVERS_PATH=${LIBGL_DRIVERS_PATH}:/usr/lib32/fglrx/dri:/usr/lib32/dri
if [ ! -z $LD_LIBRARY_PATH ]; then 
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH: 
fi 
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}/usr/lib32 
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH 
fi 
fi 
export LIBGL_DRIVERS_PATH

If you're using a 64bits system add at the end of 4th line this text : "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/" without the quotes. The file should now look like this :

Code:

 LIBGL_DRIVERS_PATH=/usr/lib/fglrx/dri 
if [ `uname -m` = 'x86_64' ]; then 
if [ -d /usr/lib32/fglrx/dri ]; then 
LIBGL_DRIVERS_PATH=${LIBGL_DRIVERS_PATH}:/usr/lib32/fglrx/dri:/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri
if [ ! -z $LD_LIBRARY_PATH ]; then 
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH: 
fi 
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}/usr/lib32
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH 
fi 
fi 
export LIBGL_DRIVERS_PATH

Now save the file
DO NOT LET UPDATE MANAGER UPDATE YOUR FLGRX DRIVER. You can elect to "lock" the packages using the synaptic package manager (available in the Software Center) to prevent them from showing up in updates.

3) How to gain control of screen brightness

1) Edit the GRUB2 boot parameters in /etc/default/grub to

add acpi_vendor=backlight , as follows:

Code:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="splash acpi_backlight=vendor"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="acpi_backlight=vendor"

2) Update GRUB configuration:

Code:

sudo update-grub

3) reboot

4) How to gain a full Beats™ audio experience

Code:

gksu gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

and add the following line to the bottom

Code:

options snd-hda-intel model=ref

Hope this short tutorial helps some fellow dv6t owners enjoy 12.04!

**Dy1anW** · August 13th, 2012

Thanks for this. I have a brand new dv7 and 'suffer' similar problems, with the exception that I'm using nvidia rather than ati. Will try these out when I get back.

Edit:
Oh, btw, you wouldn't happen to know how to get the gesturepad to recognise gestures?

**vasanth** · September 3rd, 2012

Hi,

Fingerprint reader and Webcam are working for you out of the box?

**Dans564** · September 3rd, 2012

webcam yes. Finger Print reader no, the manufacturer never released a linux driver.

**kapad** · September 26th, 2012

Hi,

Thanks for the post. I am using an HP ENVY ultrabook 4-1002TX.

The only thing that I haven't been able to get working is the sound. I tried using your method and added the line in alsa_base.conf.

The sound started, but it was so soft that I am sure it not playing from the beats audio speakers (its much louder on windows). And maybe using some internal speaker that plays the bios beeps. Or just some other problem all together.

Any suggestions?

output from

Code:

lspci | grep Audio

is

00:1b.0 Audio device: Inter Corporation Panther Point High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)

**LeapingLlama** · September 27th, 2012

Thanks for this awesome post! I especially appreciate being able to control my brightness.

I have encountered one issue, however. I installed the fglrx drivers quite successfully, as per your instructions (but using driver 12.8 instead of 12.6), but every time I use the Catalyst Control Center to switch to integrated graphics, after my next reboot, Unity fails to start. When I login, I can still see my desktop wallpaper and a movable mouse, but am unable to open a terminal using Ctrl+Alt+T or Alt+F2. Fortunately I was able to use sudo aticonfig --px-dgpu to switch back to my discrete card, and after a reboot, everything is fine again. So my question/problem is, how do I switch to the integrated graphics without any problems?

Thanks again for your awesome guide!

**Dgordon8765** · November 13th, 2012

I have every step for #2 (at least I think I have). However, when I go to the catalyst control center to turn on the better graphics card, it says to restart the computer. I do, and the change is never made. It seems I can't get the switchable graphics to work. I also cannot get an external monitor to work.

I had already run some of these commands and installed catalyst (same version) before I saw this thread.

Does it matter if I do the same commands more than once?