Linux on a Dell Inspiron 3700/7000/7500

Dell Offer #1 Dell Offer #2

Written and maintained by: Steve Hsieh <steveh@eecs.umich.edu> with the help of feedback from lots of internet users.

This site provides information on installing and running Linux on all laptops with the ATI Rage LT Pro, Mobility-M1, and Mobility-P video chipsets. I use a Dell Inspiron 7000 myself. If you have relevant information to contribute, please send me an email and I will add it to this site. Inspiron 3000 users -- check out the I3k sites in the Other Inspiron Links section.

If you are a new Linux user and need more general information such as Linux installation and configuration, you should go buy and read one or two books from the recommended reading list to guide you along your new journey into the Linux world! If you are considering purchasing a Dell but haven't done so yet, buy it through Ebates and you will get an additional 1% cash back off Dell's website price. You can also get up to 25% cash back off purchases from many other well-known merchants too, including Barnes&Noble, Disney Store, eToys, OfficeMax, Pets.com, Toys R Us, and many others. In addition, Ebates will donate 10 meals to the World Food Program for every person who joins.

Information on this page should be relevant to all distributions of linux. However, since I personally use Debian, my instructions may need to be modified if you are using a different flavor such as Mandrake, RedHat, SuSe, Caldera, or Slackware. If I am missing any information regarding a different Linux distribution, provide me the details and I will add it.

Please read this page carefully and follow the instructions step by step. I have set up a Linux Notebook HQ Discussion Forum. You can post questions and get assistance from other enthusiastic users. Take full advantage of this resource -- that's why it's there. If you still decide to email me a question (or find the information on these pages invaluable), I would appreciate it if you first visit some of my sponsors. Also, remember that any purchases made through the links on this site (i.e. Amazon, Dell, etc) also help support the time required to keep this site up to date.

Table of Contents

• Computers This Page Applies To
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Setting Up Linux To Coexist With Windows98/NT
• Base Installation
• PCMCIA Configuration
• Modem
• X Windows
  • Free X Server
  • Commercial X Server
• Sound
  • Free Driver
  • Commercial Driver
• Adaptec SlimSCSI 1480A
• VMware -- Running Windows 98/NT In Linux
• Accessing the Linux filesystem from Windows 95/98 and NT
• Links to Other Pages
  • I7k-related Software/Hardware
  • Other Inspiron-related
  • Other Laptop-related
  • Linux-related
• Laptop Cases and Travel Bags
• Other Flavors Of UNIX
• Recommended Reading
• Using Vi To Edit lilo.conf
• My Configuration
• Upgrades
  • Memory
• Revision history