Compaq TC1000 9.10 Karmic install

[lazy-devil]

Much has been written about Compaq's second tablet model, the TC1100; but many of those instructions and tips don't work well or at all on the previous model, the TC1000. With the contribution and wisdom of many talented people I have a fully functioning TC1000 Karmic Tablet.

I use Xournal for freehand notes and sketches. Xournal is also great for field annotating PDF documents and saving the results for later printing or review. I use Cellwriter for stylus input into many text programs. I use TangoGPS for map reading and with a USB GPS unit. My favorite application is FBReader, which turns the tablet into a nice, large screen (for my aging eyes), book reader that can handle the .epub books available from libraries and over 30,000 free books from Project Gutenberg.

I've tried Xubuntu 8.10, and Ubuntu 9.04 with LXDE, but 9.10 with Gnome runs very well. Maybe Lubuntu will tempt me, but this six year old Karmic Tablet runs better than it ever did with XP Tablet Edition new out of the box.

For Karmic, I made the following changes and additions after a normal install:

=====WIRELESS OFF AT STARTUP=====
To save battery power and CPU cycles I turn the wireless off at startup. It can always be re-enabled by clicking on the network manager panel applet. Choose SYSTEM > PREFERENCES > STARTUP APPLICATIONS, then add a new Startup Application called "Wireless Off at Startup" and paste this command string:

dbus-send --system --type=method_call --dest=org.freedesktop.NetworkManager /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager org.freedesktop.DBus.Properties.Set string:org.freedesktop.NetworkManager string:WirelessEnabled variant:boolean:false


=====TOUCHSCREEN DRIVER SETUP=====
The touch screen stylus on the Compaq TC1000 is NOT the Wacom unit of the TC1100.
It is the Fujitsu Finepoint Stylus and needs the X Server input driver called fpit.
It can be installed by one two methods. In TERMINAL by typing:

sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-fpit

or more simply by going to SYSTEM > ADMINISTRATION > SYNAPTIC PACKAGE MANAGER, and entering "fpit" in the Quick Search window. I perform this step in Synaptic and add the "Xournal" and "Cellwriter" packages at the same time. I also find that adding "FBReader" and "Tango GPS" complete the Ubuntu Tablet conversion.


=====RIGHT CLICK FOR STYLUS=====
The Finepoint Stylus side button is configured as the middle mouse click at startup.
To change this to the more standard right click do the following:

Create a new panel launcher by right clicking on a blank section of the upper panel. Choose add to panel, click on Custom Application Launcher and click on ADD. In the command box enter the following command:

xmodmap -e "pointer = 1 3 2 4 5 6 7 8 9"

Because this changes the normal keyboard touchpas mouse's right click there must be a way to reverse the change. Performing the same steps, create another new panel launcher with the following command:

xmodmap -e "pointer = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9"

Now you can change the right click action by choosing either of the two launchers.

I found two icons for these panel launchers that show a keyboard and a stylus, but that is just a cosmetic touch. The JPGs for these icons are attached below.


=====SIDE BUTTONS CONFIGURATION
There are six programable button the edge of the TC1000,

In Windows they were: [email] [Qmenu] [tab] [esc] [jog-up] [jog-down]
In Ubuntu they will be: [pg up] [pg dn] [tab] [esc] [jog-up] [jog-down]

To do this the rc.local file needs six lines added to it.

In TERMINAL:
sudo gedit /etc/rc.local

Then paste the following definitions for the side keys:

setkeycodes e002 104
setkeycodes e003 109
setkeycodes e004 015
setkeycodes e005 001
setkeycodes e006 103
setkeycodes e007 108

Then save the file, and exit gedit. Then make the executable with:

sudo chmod +x /etc/rc.local

Then exit TERMINAL.


=====XORG.CONF ADDITION FOR TOUCH SCREEN=====
Add the following text to the xorg.conf file located at /etc/X11. If there is no xorg.conf file, create one and paste the following text into it:

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "pen"
Driver "fpit"
Option "AlwaysCore" "on"
Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
Option "BaudRate" "19200"
Option "MaximumXPosition" "8600" # "6250"
Option "MaximumYPosition" "6485" # "4950"
Option "MinimumXPosition" "154"
Option "MinimumYPosition" "110"
Option "InvertY"
Option "TrackRandR"
Option "SendCoreEvents"
Option "Button2" "3"
Option "ReportingMode" "Scaled"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
DefaultDepth 16
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "glx"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Default Device"
Driver "nv"
Option "NoLogo" "True"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP"
Option "RandRRotation" "on"
Option "NvAGP" "1"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "Generic Keyboard"
InputDevice "Configured Mouse"
InputDevice "pen"
EndSection


I hope this helps some and repays the numerous people on this forum that helped me.

Chuck

[EricMattessich]

I'm going to give all this a try tonight on my TC1000, thanks for the write up, i'll let you know how it goes

[redzsky]

which version of karmic is suitable for the tc1000 and how did u install through usb?

[EricMattessich]

So i finished the install and everything works great!! I ended up using my sony external cd drive to boot a 9.10 disk and it all went smoothly from there (though it did take a very long time) I think the ram upgrade for these machines is a must. Thanks for the right up

[angel12]

So heres a question for yall interested in ubuntu on the tc1000:
would a custom kernel be of any interest to yall? im sure it would help performance wise, cause my tc1000 is laggy beyond belief, even when running xfce and using the longrun utility.

[Blackthorne2]

I would be interested in a custom kernel and would help in any way possible.

[9AndS]

Has anyone managed to install working video drivers? I have been looking through lots of posts about it and it seems i've tried everything to get them working... but still no luck.
ps I had nvidia legacy drivers running on OpenSuse 11.2 via one-click install.

[llamallama]

I figure I should share my experience with this as it is proving to be a fun project.

First, thanks lazy-devil! Your instructions have been most helpful. I'm writing this from my TC1000 because of them. I've been working on getting a faster running installation and would appreciate any adivce on the issues I have left to tackle.

To have something that runs decently fast (faster than XP with Avast Antivirus running) I've decided to not even bother with Gnome, KDE, or XFCE. Instead, I did a command line install of Ubuntu Karmic and am running LXDE. The responsiveness is much better and is featureful enough to keep this laptop useful.

There are a few other features I've had to fill in due to using such a lightweight desktop. The first is the ability to connect to wireless networks. For that I install network-manager-gnome and run nm-applet from my .xsession file. I know that wicd is faster but it doesn't handle well with networks that don't broadcast their essid. Then there's the need for a decent battery monitor. The one in LXDE is too basic IMO and actually doesn't work on the TC1000. For this I install xfce4-power-manager and run that as well from .xsession.

For web browsing, Firefox is just too slow for this thing. I find that epiphany-webkit handles quite nicely. Galeon, or even Google Chrome would be good as well.

There are a couple of other things to add. Since this started from as basic as Ubuntu gets, it's probably a good idea to install laptop-mode-tools as well as longrun. To use longrun be sure to add cpuid and msr to /etc/modules.

One challenge I have left is screen rotation. I'm unsure of how to get this going. Is it just a matter of having the right settings in xorg.conf or will I need to use the nvidia legacy drivers?

Another challenge are the "buttons" to the right of the ports bay. They are normally used for screen rotation, bringing up the writing pad, and the journal in Windows XP. I have no clue on how to make those work. Until I do, I'll just create shortcuts in my taskbar.

I hope this helps someone. If anyone has advice on how to deal with the screen rotation, video drivers, or extra buttons I'd really appreciate it. I'll keep posting as I progress.

Thanks

[alex_schmidt]

I've istalled ubuntu 9.10 and got black screen after installing video diver. Help me, please!
How can I cure it?

[9AndS]

I've istalled ubuntu 9.10 and got black screen after installing video diver. Help me, please!
How can I cure it?

I get same problem. anyone any thoughts?
ps to change driver back you need to start in recovery mode(from grub menu) than type in console mode with root authentication:

nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

and change Driver from "nvidia" to "nv" , save changes and reboot.