Acer Timeline 3810T

[citizenofnowhere]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmy the saint
I doubt they are the same. If they were, it seems like they would release the BIOS updates at the same time and have the same version. The 4810 has had far more BIOS releases and is in 2XX series, while the 3810T is still at 1.17.


True, but I can see no sane reason for acer to use a different motherboard in the 4810T. After all, disregarding the screen size and the DVD player, the specs are exactly the same. Maybe someone with a 4810T can compare the motherboard with the pics of the 3810T motherboard I posted here.

If someone knows a good way to compare 2 BIOS files (opening the BIOS file in gedit gives no joy) I wouldn't mind wasting some time on it. It could very well be that the older BIOSes are (almost) identical.

I've asked myself this question a few weeks back. I found out they are NOT the same by many stretches.

1. Do NOT attempt to use a 4810 bios from any model on the 3810. It will allow you to flash it, which is the scary part because after that the laptop is totally bricked. If you're lucky you may be able to talk your way into a new motherboard.

2. Comparing DSDT files alone I noticed that the hardware addresses are all completely different, as are all the port arrangements. Makes me think it's a very different mobo and very different code.

3. This was somewhat confirmed when I contacted Acer Singapore about the suspend issue. The only useful information they gave me is that the 4810 and 5810 series share the same mobo, but the 3810 doesn't.

That said, it shouldn't be too hard to fix, because if both laptops had the same problem that points to a problem in the logic of the BIOS code - how hard can that be?

[smb96]

Is there nobody with a version witch was shipped with linpus linux? maybe than we could figure something out.

[Bios2000]

i have an Travelmate 8571 Timline. Got the same problems as the 3810t Suspend internal mic and bios is also the ame i think 1.17. it was shipped with linups...after i opened the box a paper was lying in it who tells me that suspend is not working with linups

is this nice?

[miegiel]

i have an Travelmate 8571 Timline. Got the same problems as the 3810t Suspend internal mic and bios is also the ame i think 1.17. it was shipped with linups...after i opened the box a paper was lying in it who tells me that suspend is not working with linups

is this nice?

Not nice at all of acer ... at least it proves someone at acer knows suspend doesn't work.

[mr bob]

Do you mean linpus?

If they are shipping a model with the same bios with a distro of Linux preinstalled and the suspend doesn't work, then that is even more of a reason to fix it. There is absolutely no excuse at all!

If I was you I would contact them telling them that a model shipped without suspend not working is unacceptable.

[smb96]

That doesn't sound good. If you ask me that means they know the problem, but dont want to change anything...
I would love to buy a 3810t or a 8371, but i learnd my lesson with other hardware before. I think i will go for an Asus UL30a or Samsung X360 now

[caelestis2]

I have been using my 3810t with Windows 7 for a while now because I can set the laptop lid to suspend when closed, and it works fantastically. Wish acer could fix this issue with linux, because all the software I would like to use is on that OS.

Had some 1080p HD video playing on my laptop the other day that couldn't play on other people's laptop with better specs. Is this because of hardware acceleration? I try to use VLC on windows 7 and ubuntu but they both are not that good at it.

[caelestis2]

Does anyone else have this problem? When I used the live cd, I could use two fingers just fine, but when I installed ubuntu, when I put two fingers down, the mouse pointer goes wild and erratic. If I lay my index finger flat to increase the surface area, it still works, only two fingers behaves like this. Anyone know why?

Edit: Nvm, I reinstalled ubuntu and it works fine again. *sigh*

[miegiel]

...

Had some 1080p HD video playing on my laptop the other day that couldn't play on other people's laptop with better specs. Is this because of hardware acceleration? I try to use VLC on windows 7 and ubuntu but they both are not that good at it.

Both in windows and linux VLC isn't a "good" player when you're playing vids that are at the end of what your machine can handle with it's resources. Of course VLC is magical when you need to crop, set the aspect ratio or sync the audio to the video and lots more (I use it for all vids 720p and less).

For 1080p I use windows and XBMC (on my 3180T anyway). It's pretty easy to make 1080p not run smooth in ubuntu and windows, even on faster laptops. A messy windows installation should do the trick already. 1080p HD is a lot of ones and zeroes to process every second and near the edge of what the timeline can do.

[originalmike]

Hi, I've a 4810TG and I'd like to know your battery consumption. I stay between 12 and 14 W. I activated the laptop mode in "/etc/default/acpi-support" and this is my /etc/rc.local:

#
# rc.local
#
# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.
# Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other
# value on error.
#
# In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution
# bits.
#
# By default this script does nothing.

/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 power on
echo 1500 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_writeback_centisecs 
hal-disable-polling --device /dev/cdrom

exit 0

With this configuration on karmic i can achieve 4 hours of battery life. Do you think i could better my configuration? Please tell me if these solutions are corrected or not and if you know other tips.
Thank you