In July 2000 I got a Gateway Solo 3350 with:

• 700 MHz Pentium III processor (500 MHz when running on battery)
• 256 KB cache
• 256 MB RAM
• 20 GB TOSHIBA MK2016GAP hard disk
• external floppy drive
• external CDROM drive
• 1024x768 color LCD display
• two batteries, 2800 mAh each
• built-in Ethernet: 3Com Corporation 3c905C-TX/TX-M [Tornado]
• PC Card slot
• USB
• parallel port
• VGA output

Here are some of the reports from /proc:

==> cpuinfo <==
processor     : 0
vendor_id     : GenuineIntel
cpu family    : 6
model         : 8
model name    : Pentium III (Coppermine)
stepping      : 10
cpu MHz       : 696.984
cache size    : 256 KB
fdiv_bug      : no
hlt_bug       : no
f00f_bug      : no
coma_bug      : no
fpu           : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level   : 2
wp            : yes
flags         : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 mmx fxsr sse
bogomips      : 1389.36


==> dma <==
 4: cascade

==> meminfo <==
	total:    used:    free:  shared: buffers:  cached:
Mem:  262459392 254242816  8216576        0 22462464 150933504
Swap: 254971904 14811136 240160768
MemTotal:       256308 kB
MemFree:          8024 kB
MemShared:           0 kB
Buffers:         21936 kB
Cached:         146488 kB
SwapCached:        908 kB
Active:          64192 kB
Inactive:       139204 kB
HighTotal:           0 kB
HighFree:            0 kB
LowTotal:       256308 kB
LowFree:          8024 kB
SwapTotal:      248996 kB
SwapFree:       234532 kB

==> version <==
Linux version 2.4.22 (jrv@talon) (gcc version 3.3.1 20030728 (Debian prerelease)) #2 Sat Sep 6 17:05:13 EDT 2003
    

Here is the IDE identification information for the hard disk:

talon:~# hdparm -I /dev/hda

/dev/hda:

ATA device, with non-removable media
	Model Number:       TOSHIBA MK2016GAP                       
	Serial Number:      61H35997T           
	Firmware Revision:  U0.30 A 
Standards:
	Supported: 5 4 3 2 
	Likely used: 6
Configuration:
	Logical		max	current
	cylinders	16383	16383
	heads		16	16
	sectors/track	63	63
	--
	CHS current addressable sectors:   16514064
	LBA    user addressable sectors:   39070080
	device size with M = 1024*1024:       19077 MBytes
	device size with M = 1000*1000:       20003 MBytes (20 GB)
Capabilities:
	LBA, IORDY(can be disabled)
	bytes avail on r/w long: 46	Queue depth: 1
	Standby timer values: spec'd by Vendor, with device specific minimum
	R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 16	Current = 16
	Advanced power management level: unknown setting (0x0080)
	DMA: sdma0 sdma1 sdma2 mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 *udma2 udma3 udma4 
	     Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns
	PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4 
	     Cycle time: no flow control=120ns  IORDY flow control=120ns
Commands/features:
	Enabled	Supported:
	   *	NOP cmd
	   *	READ BUFFER cmd
	   *	WRITE BUFFER cmd
	   *	Host Protected Area feature set
	   *	Look-ahead
	   *	Write cache
	   *	Power Management feature set
		Security Mode feature set
	   *	SMART feature set
		SET MAX security extension
	   *	Advanced Power Management feature set
Security: 
	Master password revision code = 65534
		supported
	not	enabled
	not	locked
	not	frozen
	not	expired: security count
	not	supported: enhanced erase
	30min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT. 
HW reset results:
	CBLID- above Vih
	Device num = 0 determined by the jumper
Checksum: correct
    

Here is what lspci reports on the PCI bus:

$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corp. 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX Host bridge (rev 03)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corp. 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX AGP bridge (rev 03)
00:07.0 Bridge: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ISA (rev 02)
00:07.1 IDE interface: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 IDE (rev 01)
00:07.2 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 USB (rev 01)
00:07.3 Bridge: Intel Corp. 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ACPI (rev 03)
00:09.0 Multimedia audio controller: ESS Technology ES1988 Allegro-1 (rev 12)
00:09.1 Communication controller: ESS Technology ESS Modem (rev 12)
00:0a.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1410 PC card Cardbus Controller (rev 01)
00:0d.0 Ethernet controller: 3Com Corporation 3c905C-TX/TX-M [Tornado] (rev 78)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Rage Mobility P/M AGP 2x (rev 64)
    

In BIOS setup, I configured the machine to "suspend" when the display is closed. This makes for one less thing to think about when packing in a hurry - so I don't pull it out of my backpack two hours later and find it's been running (hot) all that time. It automatically comes out of suspension when the display is opened again.

I was confident I could get Linux installed, because I had already seen a report by Stefan Müller-Stach on the Gateway Solo 3100/3150.

Windows ME came installed in a single FAT32 partition. Under Windows, I selected start|settings|control panel|add & remove programs|system disk and created a boot floppy, then loaded FIPS version 2.0 onto it. I booted from that floppy and used FIPS to save a copy of the partition table then split the FAT32 partition into one of 15798 MB and a second of 3263 MB. Still under DOS, I ran c:SCANDISK which scanned the shortened c: disk and found no problems. I then booted Windows ME which came up normally.

I then booted the first Debian 2.1 installation CDROM and installed the base system. Eventually I realized I had left the FAT32 partition far too large, so I installed Partition Magic to shrink the FAT32 partition, then move and enlarge the ext2 partition. Here's how the disk is partitioned now:

talon:~# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/hda: 20.0 GB, 20003880960 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2432 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1   *         1       850   6827593+   b  Win95 FAT32
/dev/hda2           851       881    249007+  82  Linux swap
/dev/hda3           882      2432  12458407+  83  Linux
    

To use the built-in network adapter, the kernel must be configured for "3c590/3c900 series (592/595/597) "Vortex/Boomerang" support".

I have XFree86 4.2.1 installed. Here is the XF86Config-4, a boot log, and an xdpyinfo report.

Stefan Müller-Stach reported that he had not gotten the Winmodem to work under Linux, so I assumed I would use a PC Card modem instead. (Now I see Stefan Müller-Stach and a few others report getting their ESS Winmodems running under Linux, so I'll have to investigate that again.)

Unfortunately, I have never gotten the PC Card slot to work either - for any device. That's been my biggest disappointment. (The machine was out of warranty by the time I finally gave up on the PC Card slot.) Here's the current status:

I'm running a 2.4.22 kernel with pcmcia support compiled as modules. These modules are loaded:

talon:~ $ lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by    Not tainted
ds                      6452   1
yenta_socket            9952   1
pcmcia_core            39616   0 [ds yenta_socket]
acm                     5760   0 (unused)
      

Here are the cardmgr options:

talon:~# grep -v ^# /etc/pcmcia/config.opts

include port 0x100-0x4ff, port 0x800-0x8ff, port 0xc00-0xcff
include memory 0xc0000-0xfffff
include memory 0xa0000000-0xa0ffffff, memory 0x60000000-0x60ffffff


include port 0xa00-0xaff


exclude irq 4
exclude irq 7
      

If I restart it, I get these console messages:

talon:~# /etc/init.d/pcmcia restart
Shutting down PCMCIA services: done.
Starting PCMCIA services: using yenta_socket instead of i82365
cardmgr[10787]: watching 1 socket
done.
    

and these log entries:

Dec  6 11:37:46 talon kernel: Socket status: 30000006
Dec  6 11:37:46 talon kernel: cs: IO port probe 0x0c00-0x0cff: clean.
Dec  6 11:37:46 talon kernel: cs: IO port probe 0x0800-0x08ff: clean.
Dec  6 11:37:46 talon kernel: cs: IO port probe 0x0100-0x04ff: excluding 0x170-0x177 0x370-0x37f 0x398-0x39f 0x4d0-0x4d7
Dec  6 11:37:46 talon kernel: cs: IO port probe 0x0a00-0x0aff: clean.
    

With no card inserted, cardctl reports:

talon:~# cardctl status
Socket 0:
  no card
talon:~# cardctl ident
Socket 0:
  no product info available
      

Everything I have several PCMCIA cards. When I plug in an Olympus model

I have several PCMCIA cards. When I plug in an Olympus model MA-2E PC Card adaptor for SmartMedia cards (with an SM card plugged in), I get no beeps, but a log entry like this:

talon:~# tail /var/log/kern.log
Dec  6 09:56:26 talon kernel: cs: socket cf831800 timed out during reset.  Try increasing setup_delay.
      

While the SM adaptor is inserted, cardctl reports like this:

talon:~# cardctl status
Socket 0:
  5V 16-bit PC Card
  function 0: [busy]
talon:~# cardctl ident
Socket 0:
  no product info available
      

When I eject the SM adaptor, I get a single beep (high).

I get the "socket timed out" message when loading the ds module if the SM adaptor is already inserted (i.e. the message comes when the ds module is loaded or when a card is inserted, whichever is last).

The message comes from the function unreset_socket(), in the file drivers/pcmcia/cs.c, in the kernel sources. setup_delay is a command line option for pcmcia_core, and defaults to 5. Installing pcmcia_core manually with setup_delay=20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, or even 5000 doesn't help.

pcmcia_core has other adjustable parameters. I tried increasing several of them by up to a factor of 10:

...giving much longer delays, but the same log entry.

I also have a Megahertz modem card, model XJ1144. When I plug it in immediately after restarting cardmgr, I get this console message:

cs: memory probe 0xa0000000-0xa0ffffff:
      

The machine then freezes. There's no response to any key, and in X there's no cursor. After I eject the card, I get three beeps (mid <pause> low-high) and these log entries:

Dec  6 11:37:53 talon kernel: cs: memory probe 0xa0000000-0xa0ffffff: excluding 0xa0000000-0xa0ffffff
Dec  6 11:37:53 talon kernel: cs: memory probe 0x60000000-0x60ffffff: excluding 0x60000000-0x60ffffff
Dec  6 11:37:53 talon kernel: cs: warning: no high memory space available!
Dec  6 11:37:53 talon kernel: cs: memory probe 0x0d0000-0x0dffff: excluding 0xd0000-0xdffff
Dec  6 11:37:53 talon kernel: cs: memory probe 0x0c0000-0x0cffff: excluding 0xc0000-0xcffff
      

I also have a Linksys Ethernet card, model EC2T. When I plug it in, I get two beeps (mid-low), but no log entries. cardctl reports:

talon:~# cardctl status
Socket 0:
  5V 16-bit PC Card
  function 0: [ready], [wp]
talon:~# cardctl ident
Socket 0:
  no product info available
      

When I eject the Ethernet card, I get a single beep (high).

All these cards have worked in other machines.

In the mean time, I've been concentrating on the USB port instead. I have a USB adaptor for the SmartMedia cards from my digital camera, and a Zoom 2985L USB modem. Here are the relevant kernel config options:

CONFIG_USB=y
CONFIG_USB_DEBUG=y
CONFIG_USB_DEVICEFS=y
CONFIG_USB_BANDWIDTH=y
CONFIG_USB_EHCI_HCD=y
CONFIG_USB_UHCI=y
CONFIG_USB_OHCI=y
CONFIG_USB_STORAGE=y
CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_DEBUG=y
CONFIG_USB_ACM=m
CONFIG_USB_SCANNER=m
CONFIG_SCSI=y
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDESCSI=y
      

The last two are needed to access USB flash memory devices, because they're treated like SCSI disks.

The machine runs Linux reliably. However, I have gotten into the habit of looking for a paper clip before booting Windows, because it crashes so often and doesn't always obey the power switch.

(Recently, I read the suggestion of leaving 50 MB or so of unallocated space after the Windows partition, in case a Windows tool does not respect the partition boundary. That's probably a good idea, and all I need to do is shrink the swap partition a little. That might avoid some of the problems.)

It took me a while to figure out:

• When "suspended", the battery will only last about three days. I think my previous machine went at least twice as long.
• If the battery is low when the display is opened, the machine will refuse to come out of suspension. Pushing the power button will only waste a little more charge. However, if it can be plugged in first, pushing the power button will bring it out of suspension.
• If you push the power connector in hard enough (3-5 pounds, according to my measurements) it goes past a detent. Otherwise, the connector is easy to dislodge by accident.
• Windows ME will sometimes pause for ten or twenty seconds while booting, with no disk activity and nothing changing on the display, then continue to boot. I guess some of those crashes weren't real.

• Non-working PC Card slot (obviously). If anyone has suggestions, please pass them along.
• Flimsy catch on the external drives. The two drives share the same shell and cable. The shell has a plastic catch with a thumb release to retain the drive. The thumb release came off mine, leaving nothing to keep the catch and a tiny spring from falling out. It's hard to use a drive without the shell, because the thing that keeps the cable connected bears against the shell. I managed to get the catch and the spring back in place, and kept it there with a small piece of card and Scotch tape. I can release the catch with my fingernail.
• Massive power cord. The power supply is pretty small: 118x45x29 mm (4x1.8x1 in). However, the cord takes up almost as much space. The power supply specifications are "INPUT: AC 100-240V 1.5A 50-60Hz, OUTPUT: 19V 2.64A" and the cord is "18 AWGx3C". According to the guidelines here, that size wire would handle 16 A if it has air circulation (i.e. not bundled with other wires). In other words, it's overdesigned by at least a factor of ten. The power supply's output current is almost twice the input, and is carried on a wire with about one-third the cross section. I don't know why the power cord needs a grounded plug either. It's bulky and limits the number of places I can get power. (My wife's Toshiba notebook doesn't have a grounded plug.)

DISCLAIMER: There is no guarantee that the information on this page is accurate. I have no connection to Gateway other than as a customer. For official information, see the Gateway site, in particular the Solo 3350 specifications and system overview.

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Last modified: 2003-11-30