[opensuse] 3945ABG vs 4965AGN
Hi List, I have two quick questions: While customizing Lenovo T61 from their website, I have an option to choose 200GB HDD, 7200rpm, w/ FDE. Do you know what that "w/ FDE" stands for and will it be o'key with opensuse? And another one, I can choose between Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG and Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN, I know the first one has no problems with opensuse, but what about the second one? Is it preferable to buy second one? Thanks a bunch! Sergey -- Sergey Mkrtchyan, PhD Student @ Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Friday 07 March 2008 08:40, Sergey Mkrtchyan wrote:
Hi List,
I have two quick questions:
While customizing Lenovo T61 from their website, I have an option to choose 200GB HDD, 7200rpm, w/ FDE. Do you know what that "w/ FDE" stands for and will it be o'key with opensuse?
FDE: "Full Drive Encryption" (hardware based) Not to be confused with: FDB: "Fluid Dynamic Bearing" Presumably the drive-integrated encryption requires specific driver software to be exploited. There seems to be quite a bit on the Web, but I know very little about this area.
...
Sergey
Randall Schulz -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Friday 07 March 2008 11:49:05 am Randall R Schulz wrote:
FDE: "Full Drive Encryption" (hardware based)
Not to be confused with:
FDB: "Fluid Dynamic Bearing"
Presumably the drive-integrated encryption requires specific driver software to be exploited. There seems to be quite a bit on the Web, but I know very little about this area.
Thanks Randall, So probably it's better not to risk and go with 160Gb 7200rpm? I don't understand why they don't have 200GB without that encryption... And also which one would be better to choose, NVidia Quatro 140M 128Mb or the one with Intel GMA X3100 GM965? I was going to go with NVidia, but then I read that it's not xgl compatible and one should use aixgl (or something like that). -- Sergey Mkrtchyan, PhD Student @ Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Friday 07 March 2008 09:12, Sergey Mkrtchyan wrote:
On Friday 07 March 2008 11:49:05 am Randall R Schulz wrote:
FDE: "Full Drive Encryption" (hardware based)
Not to be confused with:
FDB: "Fluid Dynamic Bearing"
Presumably the drive-integrated encryption requires specific driver software to be exploited. There seems to be quite a bit on the Web, but I know very little about this area.
Thanks Randall,
So probably it's better not to risk and go with 160Gb 7200rpm? I don't understand why they don't have 200GB without that encryption...
Well, it seems there are two possibilities _if_ there is no Linux support for the FDE: 1) The full-drive encryption is simply unavailable. 2) The drive cannot be accessed at all. But I can neither tell you which of these would be the case nor that Linux does in fact lack support for this capability. I'd do some checking before sacrificing 40 GB of capacity.
And also which one would be better to choose, NVidia Quatro 140M 128Mb or the one with Intel GMA X3100 GM965? I was going to go with NVidia, but then I read that it's not xgl compatible and one should use aixgl (or something like that).
Also something about which I know very little. I've never used a machine with Intel graphics, nor do I do much fancy 3D (Google Earth, Stellarium, Cellestia and some Second Life are it). I've only had one machine with nVidia, and that's one running 10.3 for which the openSUSE proprietary driver support actually works quite well, allowing me to run the aforementioned software.
-- Sergey Mkrtchyan
Randall Schulz -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Friday 07 March 2008 18:42:30 Randall R Schulz wrote:
On Friday 07 March 2008 09:12, Sergey Mkrtchyan wrote:
On Friday 07 March 2008 11:49:05 am Randall R Schulz wrote:
FDE: "Full Drive Encryption" (hardware based)
Not to be confused with:
FDB: "Fluid Dynamic Bearing"
Presumably the drive-integrated encryption requires specific driver software to be exploited. There seems to be quite a bit on the Web, but I know very little about this area.
Thanks Randall,
So probably it's better not to risk and go with 160Gb 7200rpm? I don't understand why they don't have 200GB without that encryption...
Well, it seems there are two possibilities _if_ there is no Linux support for the FDE:
1) The full-drive encryption is simply unavailable. 2) The drive cannot be accessed at all.
But I can neither tell you which of these would be the case nor that Linux does in fact lack support for this capability.
As far as I know, FDE works on the hardware level, it should be completely transparent to the OS When you start the machine, you get to enter a password for the encryption. If it is correct, it will then work just like a normal unencrypted drive. If it is incorrect, you will not be able to use the drive (even to the point where you can't even install over what was originally there) So the question of linux support should be moot Anders -- Madness takes its toll -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Friday 07 March 2008 10:01, Anders Johansson wrote:
...
As far as I know, FDE works on the hardware level, it should be completely transparent to the OS
When you start the machine, you get to enter a password for the encryption. If it is correct, it will then work just like a normal unencrypted drive. If it is incorrect, you will not be able to use the drive (even to the point where you can't even install over what was originally there)
So it's all enabled and managed in the BIOS? That's nice.
So the question of linux support should be moot
Anders
Randall Schulz -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Friday 07 March 2008 01:01:54 pm Anders Johansson wrote:
As far as I know, FDE works on the hardware level, it should be completely transparent to the OS
When you start the machine, you get to enter a password for the encryption. If it is correct, it will then work just like a normal unencrypted drive. If it is incorrect, you will not be able to use the drive (even to the point where you can't even install over what was originally there)
So the question of linux support should be moot
Anders
Yeah the problem is that sacrificing 40 Gb, given my bunch of music would be a bit "hard" for me. So given what's written in the link provided by Jan and what Andres says it just comes down to setting up a password in BIOS (the page also says it's multiplatform) So seems that it shouldn't be a bid deal, right? Thank you all guys really much for your help! Sergey -- Sergey Mkrtchyan, PhD Student @ Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Am Freitag, 7. März 2008 schrieb Sergey Mkrtchyan:
[FDE] So probably it's better not to risk and go with 160Gb 7200rpm? I don't understand why they don't have 200GB without that encryption...
AFAIK, you do not have to use it if you do note like it. :)
And also which one would be better to choose, NVidia Quatro 140M 128Mb or the one with Intel GMA X3100 GM965?
IIRC the NVS 140M is more powerful wrt 3D but it also consumes more power.
I was going to go with NVidia, but then I read that it's not xgl compatible and one should use aixgl (or something like that).
IIRC Xgl does work. Even if not, this is not a real problem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIGLX#Relationship_to_Xgl HTH Jan -- Once bitten, twice shy. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Am Freitag, 7. März 2008 schrieb Sergey Mkrtchyan:
Hi List,
I have two quick questions:
While customizing Lenovo T61 from their website, I have an option to choose 200GB HDD, 7200rpm, w/ FDE. Do you know what that "w/ FDE" stands for and will it be o'key with opensuse?
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Full_Disk_Encryption_(FDE)
And another one, I can choose between Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG and Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN, I know the first one has no problems with opensuse, but what about the second one? Is it preferable to buy second one?
openSUSE 10.3 includes the iwl4965 driver. I am using a R61 with the 4965 card and iwlwifi driver right now to write this article. The ESSID of my wireless AP is not hidden (since hiding offers no security benefits) and it uses WPA. Furthermore, it survives suspend-to-ram. Please read this section about the 3945 drives of the openSUSE 10.3 release notes: http://www.suse.com/relnotes/i386/openSUSE/10.3/RELEASE-NOTES.en.html#14 The statement that the iwlwifi driver does not support hidden networks AFAIK does not hold true anymore: https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=327684 An overview over the "tricky" parts of the installation on my R61 can be found here: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Installing_OpenSUSE_10.3_on_a_ThinkPad_R61 HTH Jan -- If tempted by something that feels "altruistic", examine your motives and root out the self-deception. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Sergey Mkrtchyan wrote:
Hi List,
I have two quick questions:
While customizing Lenovo T61 from their website, I have an option to choose 200GB HDD, 7200rpm, w/ FDE. Do you know what that "w/ FDE" stands for and will it be o'key with opensuse?
And another one, I can choose between Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG and Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN, I know the first one has no problems with opensuse, but what about the second one? Is it preferable to buy second one?
The 3945 works with suse out of the box, the 4965 does not. perhaps in 11.0 Joe -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Am Freitag, 7. März 2008 schrieb Sloan:
[...] The 3945 works with suse out of the box, the 4965 does not. perhaps in 11.0
I cannot confirm this. For me, the 4965 worked from the beginning with openSUSE 10.3. Gruß Jan -- If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Friday 07 March 2008 03:27:31 pm Jan Ritzerfeld wrote:
I cannot confirm this. For me, the 4965 worked from the beginning with openSUSE 10.3.
Thank you guys a lot! Honestly I have no clue what's the difference between those two, so I was thinking if the 4965 is better (presumably since it's more expensive) I would go with that. So ok, given your experience with that I will go with it, I guess :-) Thanks a bunch! Sergey -- Sergey Mkrtchyan, PhD Student @ Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Am Freitag, 7. März 2008 schrieb Sergey Mkrtchyan:
On Friday 07 March 2008 03:27:31 pm Jan Ritzerfeld wrote:
I cannot confirm this. For me, the 4965 worked from the beginning with openSUSE 10.3.
Thank you guys a lot!
Honestly I have no clue what's the difference between those two, so I was thinking if the 4965 is better (presumably since it's more expensive) I would go with that.
Some models of the 4965 support 802.11n: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11n
So ok, given your experience with that I will go with it, I guess :-)
As mentioned before, when using the iwlwifi driver you might get problems with a hidden network. But IMHO the iwlwifi driver is the better one, so even with a 3945, I would use this one.
Thanks a bunch!
You are welcome. Gruß Jan -- A liberal is someone too poor to be conservative, and too rich to be a communist. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Jan Ritzerfeld wrote:
Am Freitag, 7. März 2008 schrieb Sloan:
[...] The 3945 works with suse out of the box, the 4965 does not. perhaps in 11.0
I cannot confirm this. For me, the 4965 worked from the beginning with openSUSE 10.3.
It definitely didn't work in sled 10sp1, and the only way to get it working was to wait for sp2, or compile a 2.6.24 kernel. So, if it works in 10.3 I guess that means the suse folks must have backported the 4965 driver to the suse 2.6.22 kernel. Good to know. Joe -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Am Samstag, 8. März 2008 schrieb Sloan:
Jan Ritzerfeld wrote:
Am Freitag, 7. März 2008 schrieb Sloan:
[...] The 3945 works with suse out of the box, the 4965 does not. perhaps in 11.0
I cannot confirm this. For me, the 4965 worked from the beginning with openSUSE 10.3.
It definitely didn't work in sled 10sp1,
This is not surprising. SLES10 is based on which version of openSUSE? SLES10 was released in July 2006 and SP1 in June 2007. Even in 10.2, released in December 2006, there was no support for iwlwifi. I used this version and I had to install the windows driver via ndiswrapper. But 10.3, release in October 2007, supports iwlwifi, as stated in the release notes: http://www.suse.com/relnotes/i386/openSUSE/10.3/RELEASE-NOTES.en.html#14 However, there are some bugs in the iwlwifi drivers shipped with 10.3. Many should be fixed in the available update to version 1.2.0 last December.
and the only way to get it working was to wait for sp2, or compile a 2.6.24 kernel. So, if it works in 10.3 I guess that means the suse folks must have backported the 4965 driver to the suse 2.6.22 kernel.
IMHO you do not have to recompile the whole kernel: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Installing_OpenSUSE_10.2_on_a_ThinkPad_R61 But I never tried the second, iwlwifi method myself, I just waited for 10.3.
Good to know.
Yep! :) Gruß Jan -- If you consult enough experts, you can confirm any opinion. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Sat, Mar 08, 2008 at 11:41:23AM +0100, Jan Ritzerfeld wrote:
Am Samstag, 8. März 2008 schrieb Sloan:
Jan Ritzerfeld wrote:
Am Freitag, 7. März 2008 schrieb Sloan:
[...] The 3945 works with suse out of the box, the 4965 does not. perhaps in 11.0
I cannot confirm this. For me, the 4965 worked from the beginning with openSUSE 10.3.
It definitely didn't work in sled 10sp1,
This is not surprising. SLES10 is based on which version of openSUSE? SLES10 was released in July 2006 and SP1 in June 2007. Even in 10.2, released in December 2006, there was no support for iwlwifi. I used this version and I had to install the windows driver via ndiswrapper. But 10.3, release in October 2007, supports iwlwifi, as stated in the release notes: http://www.suse.com/relnotes/i386/openSUSE/10.3/RELEASE-NOTES.en.html#14 However, there are some bugs in the iwlwifi drivers shipped with 10.3. Many should be fixed in the available update to version 1.2.0 last December.
There is however the chance we backport wireless drivers for SLED 10 in a Service Pack. (I however do not know exactly.) Ciao, Marcus -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Sergey, WRT the WiFi card: I have a Dell Latitude D830 with the Intel 4965AGN card and it works fine with the latest updates of 10.3. Early on when 10.3 was released the support was somewhat spotty and I would have suggested sticking with 3945ABG, but it should be fine now, especially if you need the 802.11 N support. --ted Sergey Mkrtchyan said the following on 03/07/2008 11:40 AM:
Hi List,
I have two quick questions:
While customizing Lenovo T61 from their website, I have an option to choose 200GB HDD, 7200rpm, w/ FDE. Do you know what that "w/ FDE" stands for and will it be o'key with opensuse?
And another one, I can choose between Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG and Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN, I know the first one has no problems with opensuse, but what about the second one? Is it preferable to buy second one?
Thanks a bunch!
Sergey
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On Friday March 7 2008 08:40:19 Sergey Mkrtchyan wrote:
While customizing Lenovo T61 from their website, I have an option to choose 200GB HDD, 7200rpm, w/ FDE. Do you know what that "w/ FDE" stands for and will it be o'key with opensuse? I'll add another statistic since I've got a T61. I use the FDE and it hasn't given me any grief; it's easy to use, but loose your password and you loose you drive. For some unknown reason, I still encrypt my home with software encryption.
And another one, I can choose between Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG and Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN, I know the first one has no problems with opensuse, but what about the second one? Is it preferable to buy second
I have the Intel 4965AGN and it works although I have not tried the 802.11 N and I don't use the suspend feature. I required three flash bios updates to get all the hardware working with kernel updates provided with 10.3 update service so make sure that you are using the latest bios version. So far so good. cheers, Rick Smegal -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Saturday 08 March 2008 02:14:06 pm Rick Smegal wrote:
I'll add another statistic since I've got a T61. I use the FDE and it hasn't given me any grief; it's easy to use, but loose your password and you loose you drive. For some unknown reason, I still encrypt my home with software encryption.
Oh thanks Rick, actually I was considering calling them and switching to one without FDE, because I still was not sure it's gonna work! If you forget you password, you cannot even wipe out your hard drive and use it "from scratch"?
I have the Intel 4965AGN and it works although I have not tried the 802.11 N and I don't use the suspend feature. I required three flash bios updates to get all the hardware working with kernel updates provided with 10.3 update service so make sure that you are using the latest bios version. So far so good.
Thanks a lot, no worries anymore and I can stick to exams finally! Cheers, -- Sergey Mkrtchyan, PhD Student @ Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
If you forget you password, you cannot even wipe out your hard drive and use it "from scratch"? In summary, I don't know. I don't see why the you can't start from scratch. Detailed and practical technical documentation is sketchy (or was; I haven't checked lately). Apparently (although I am skeptical) there is no 'back door' to the encryption hardware on the drive so even the manufacturer cannot 'retrieve' your
On Saturday March 8 2008 12:05:33 Sergey Mkrtchyan wrote: password. Now so far as starting from scratch goes, at one point, I read that you required old password to reset the password thereby rendering data on the drive useless to anyone (avoids the need for disposing of old drives) otherwise, without this password, the drive is effectively destroyed and should be sent to the manufacturer for replacement. However, this seems inconsistent with IBM documentation that suggests you can simply reset the password to wipe the drive. I should review this documentation. If I find out more I'll post it it. If you do, please tell me. I don't really want to experiment on my own drive. To be safe, one should write the password down somewhere so long as it's not attached to the machine. Rick -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
participants (8)
-
Anders Johansson -
Jan Ritzerfeld -
Marcus Meissner -
Randall R Schulz -
Rick Smegal -
Sergey Mkrtchyan -
Sloan -
Ted Markowitz