What distro of linux works best with the HP Pavillion dv2315nr laptop?

neelan.j · 08-16-2008, 09:24 AM

I'm hoping for a distro that works out of the box.

Easy to use.

Sound, video, wireless internet, upgrades and Ethernet work without me having to do much administrative work.

Currently I am using PCLinuxOS. It is fine except for the fact that I cannot connect to my wireless internet.

Also, only say it if you have tried it on the dv2315nr and everything worked.

rust1021 · 08-23-2008, 02:10 AM

The dv2315nr ships with a broadcom wireless card.

If you look in /var/log/messages and see something like "bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed." then your card will need a firmware update.

http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#firmware decribes the procedure needed to update the firmware on the card since the firmware is proprietary and cannot be included with a Linux distribution.

I personally prefer OpenSUSE (ver 10.3 or 11) and Ubuntu 8.04. Both distros have documentation specifically regarding BCM43XX installation in their online documentation.

Hope this helps.

Matt

08-16-2008, 09:24 AM	#1 (permalink)
neelan.j Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 2 OS: Linux	What distro of linux works best with the HP Pavillion dv2315nr laptop? I'm hoping for a distro that works out of the box. Easy to use. Sound, video, wireless internet, upgrades and Ethernet work without me having to do much administrative work. Currently I am using PCLinuxOS. It is fine except for the fact that I cannot connect to my wireless internet. Also, only say it if you have tried it on the dv2315nr and everything worked.

08-23-2008, 02:10 AM	#2 (permalink)
rust1021 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 2 OS: XP SP3	Re: What distro of linux works best with the HP Pavillion dv2315nr laptop? The dv2315nr ships with a broadcom wireless card. If you look in /var/log/messages and see something like "bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed." then your card will need a firmware update. http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#firmware decribes the procedure needed to update the firmware on the card since the firmware is proprietary and cannot be included with a Linux distribution. I personally prefer OpenSUSE (ver 10.3 or 11) and Ubuntu 8.04. Both distros have documentation specifically regarding BCM43XX installation in their online documentation. Hope this helps. Matt