Warning for newbies: To install Linux, you usually just need to download it, burn a DVD, boot the DVD, and follow the instructions. Most Linux distributions will ask you what to do about your existing Windows partition and propose a dual boot. It take less than half an hour, but this does not apply to the tx2. So, this article explains how to use touch, the stylus, OpenGL, wireless, and the remote control under Linux (OpenSUSE distribution, but this applies to other ones, too).

OpenSuSE

OpenSuSE 11.2

All the issues reported below for 11.1 should have been fixed in 11.2,  BUT WAS NOT !!!  

If you are experienced enough with Linux, you can use the following as a guideline, BUT if you aren't a Linux expert, your chances to get it work is almost equal to zero ... ;-/ Sorry ...

OpenSuSE 11.1

There is some issues with proprietary drivers for three components : N-trig touchscreen, ATI driver, and Broadcom wireles driver.

Touchscreen

N-trig driver

The touchscreen need an up-to-date version of a kernel module: "hid-ntrig.c". No pre-compiled kernel can fit (See this bug). So you must compile it as a kernel module.

1. install a very recent kernel (2.6.31). You can do that by adding the HEAD repository to your YaST sources (Kernel://HEAD/openSUSE_11.1). Some kernels have modules directly builtin the kernel. In this case, there's no way to simply update a driver without re-compiling the whole kernel. See Configure, Build and Install a Custom Linux Kernel if you need to do so, for example with the new kernel-desktop (see this bug).
2. replace the existing /usr/src//drivers/hid/hid-ntrig.c by the latest one from git repository : [1]
3. recompile the driver (or the kernel if you have chosen to do so).

linuxwacom driver precompiled packages

Precompiled packages are available since 2009/11/04 in OpenSuSE repositories for linuxwacom 0.8.5-1 (in X11:Xorg) and for sax2 configuration (in X11:Utilities). Just add these repositories to your YaST2 sources, updates these two packages, run sax2 and choose TabletPC HP tx2-12nnxx, activate pen and touch, and that works.

Then, restart the X server (or reboot). that's done ! 

linuxwacom troubleshooting

• Xorg crashes when logout : add Option "Debuglevel" "10" in your stylus and touch devices in your /etc/X11/xorg.conf (or in the .fdi file if configured by .fdi files), and carefully check the X server logs. If you find something with xf86WcmUninit just before the X server crash, take a look at http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=2889028&group_id=69596&atid=525124
• in any other case, follow the how-to.

Multitouch

Although multitouch events are sent by the hardware, most of software doesn't take advantages of that feature : the n-trig driver still does not send any multitouch events to the linuxwacom driver, and the linuxwacom driver multitouch support is very fresh, only in the dev branch.

ATI proprietary driver

This proprietary driver enable OpenGL and Compiz desktop enhancements. Version 9.10 now works with kernel 2.6.30 et 2.6.31.

1. download it from ATI.
2. check the requirements and install the required packages (See instructions on ATI website).
3. run the ati installer.

Run sax2 -r -m 0=fglrx to configure your X server.

Screen rotation

There is a python script to detect a change of screen position and rotate screen, stylus, and touch accordingly : Magick Rotation. See [3] (version 0.3.2 - 10/2009) and/or check for a newer version or a better solution (it consume about 2% of processor power just to do that).

Broadcom wireless driver

HP tx2-1250 have a bcm4322 wireless chip, which is NOT managed by the linux free b43 driver. There's a proprietary linux driver, available at http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php. Download and install it as said by Broadcom.

Wireless troubleshooting

• Unable to set txpower : there's an issue with "iwconfig eth1 set txpower" : the driver fails to set other power values than 0 and "maximum". Broadcom said by mail that "they are working on it", and also that could not damage the hardware or expose users to excessive electromagnetic waves, as the proprietary part of the driver and the device itself limits users requests to the maximum allowed by the constructor.
• Unable to connect to my wifi router : try another channel on your wireless router.

Remote control

The remote is an infrared device (Irda) that works "out-of-the-box" under OpenSuSE. Remote keys could be remapped to the actions you want (See keyboard shortcuts under KDE, or keytouch).

Sound

In YaST, declare model=auto. You can also use model=test to activate all features of the snd-hda-intel driver : that works, but is not really useful. Allowed values are listed in your /usr/src//Documentation/sound/alsa/HD-Audio-Models.txt file, and here for the latest kernel.

Sound troubleshooting

• Refer to SDB:AudioTroubleshooting.

Ubuntu

You will find all you need on Ubuntu's forums, with HowTo written by Favux and regularly updated.

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Written in 2009, October by Daniel FAIVRE on SDB.

Please check updates if you read this a long time after.