Acer c720p chromebook support update:

Matthew Dillon dillon at apollo.backplane.com
Fri Aug 15 00:40:46 PDT 2014


    Note that running a full-blown linux or DragonFly on the Acer c720 or
    Acer c720p chromebook requires following some fairly involved
    instructions (which can be googled) in order to configure the chromebook
    to allow third-party OSs to be booted.  It also requires good hacking
    experience to actually get the chosen OS running on the thing.

    Note that we do not specifically support other chromebooks.  A lot of
    the driver work is hardwired to the Acer at the moment.


    touchscreen - now supported via the ig4+atmel_mxt driver (brand new).

    touchpad	- supported via the ig4+cyapa driver.

    xorg	- "intel" driver operational, "vesa" driver stable.

    sound	- not in master yet but working on one of ftigeot's 
		  development branches.

    wifi	- unstable, barely works (but better than nothing).

    usb		- appears to work as well as usb normally works on DFly.


    The X11, TrackPad, and TouchScreen (for the c720p) configuration is
    as follows on DragonFly master:

    In /etc/X11/xorg.conf (along with with other appropriate entries):

	Section "InputDevice"
		Identifier  "Mouse0"
		Driver      "mouse"
		Option      "Protocol" "imps/2"
		Option      "Device" "/dev/cyapa0-67"
	EndSection

	Section "InputDevice"
		Identifier  "TouchScreen0"
		Driver      "elographics"
		Option      "Device" "/dev/atmel1-4a"
	EndSection

    For the video driver:

	Section "Device"
		Identifier  "Card0"
		Driver      "intel"
	EndSection


    And in /boot/loader.conf:

	ig4_load="YES"
	cyapa_load="YES"
	atmel_mxt_load="YES"

				    ----

				Driver Bugs
    
    There are numerous issues still being worked on.  Sometimes the
    i2c driver (ig4) gets out of sync.  I hope I got that whacked tonight.

    Sometimes the cyapa and atmel_mxt drivers do not attach properly at
    boot when the drivers are loaded from /boot/loader.conf.  Try
    kldload'ing them manually in /etc/rc.local if this is the case.

    The touchpad and touchscreen can be noisy.  As in the mouse pointer
    shifts around (primarily on the y axis).  Usually having the chromebook
    on your lap and the power unplugged settles them down.  It is currently
    not known why this happens (it can happen when its running chrome too,
    or linux).  Worst comes to worse get a logitech wireless mouse (with a
    usb plug, not bluetooth) and hook it into your X configuration.

    The sound support is not yet operational in master.  It *is* working in
    one of ftigeot's branches, but firefox still has trouble with it so
    don't expect video+sound to work.

    Graphics are still being worked on.  The intel driver may have problems
    playing video (and sound is a problem too).  Try disabling acceleration
    in the xorg.conf.  The vesa driver works very well and will run at
    the correct resolution.

    The Wifi is operational but not very stable.  If the laptop is moved
    around it can lose the connection and for some reason the channel scan
    then stops working and it cannot reassociate itself.

    Basically where we are now is that we have drivers for everything
    except the camera, and they are slowly getting better as the kinks
    get worked out.

					-Matt
					Matthew Dillon 
					<dillon at backplane.com>



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