The author of Linux on BenQ JoyBook 6000 correctly states:

"The JoyBook is not the best laptop when it comes to Linux. I must confess that I never really looked on Linux-Support before buying it. Even now, that I own it, I hardly found any Websites dealing with the JoyBook 6000 and Linux."

But luckily, like him I found quite some information on related sites which deal with other machines, but similar or identical hardware. This is my collection of links and information I used to install Kubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog) on my Joybook.

Disclaimer

Please note: anything you do as described here you do at your own risk. I'm in no way responsible for any damage you might make to your machine. Any information here is provied "as is" without any warranty.

Choice of Linux distribution

A first attempt using the Joybook with Mandrake/Mandriva 10.2 wasn't very successful: I could not get powersaving to work. I therefore gave Kubuntu 5.04 "Hoary Hedgehog" a try: I had read good reviews about Ubuntu's support for mobile computers, but wanted KDE - and I do not regret.

Installation was pretty straight forward using an external DVD drive. Powermanagement is working. The desktop is good looking. But there was still some work to do... Here's the list of what I've done so far.

Wireless LAN

The wired LAN port did work straight away. I already used it during installation, it was automatically configured using an existing DHCP server.

The wireless LAN card model is intel's 2200, not the 2100 mentioned on Linux on Linux on BenQ JoyBook 6000. I found another site with detailed instructions (http://mercury.walagata.com/w/epb613/cl56_guide.html):

After you've booted up, it's time to update the system. First edit your repository list by typing:

sudo pico /etc/apt/sources.list

Erase what's written there and replace it with:

deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary main restricted universe multiverse 
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary main restricted universe multiverse 

deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-updates main restricted universe multiverse 
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-updates main restricted universe multiverse 

deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-security main restricted universe multiverse 
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-security main restricted universe multiverse 

deb http://ubuntu-backports.mirrormax.net/ hoary-backports main universe multiverse restricted 
deb http://ubuntu-backports.mirrormax.net/ hoary-extras main universe multiverse restricted 

If you're taking the Kubuntu path, also add:

deb http://kubuntu.org/ hoary-updates main 
deb http://kubuntu.org/hoary-kde341 hoary-updates main 

Although the Intel 2200BG Wireless card is detected by K/Ubuntu, setting it up to work with your network (enabling WEP and enabling DHCP) needs a bit more work. If you use Ubuntu, try setting up networking with the app included in the System->Administration menu. However if you're using Kubuntu, you're stuck setting the network up by hand (don't worry - it's not too hard at all). The graphical program included on the Kubuntu Install CD that's supposed to handle wireless configuration does not work with the ipw2200 (although we'll be upgrading to a working version later in this guide) and as far as I can tell there's no included program to handle setting up the wired ethernet.

Start off by editing /ect/network/interfaces by typing:

sudo pico /ect/network/interfaces 

and activate the wireless card add the following to the bottom of the file:

auto eth1 
iface eth1 inet dhcp 

Since my access point is hidden and has wep encryption I add another two lines:

wireless_essid linksys 
wireless_key abcdef1234 

Also set up the wired network by adding the lines:

auto eth0 
iface eth0 inet dhcp 

Save the file by pressing Ctrl-x, y, enter. To apply the changes we just made, type:

sudo ifup -a 

After doing this, update your system by typing:

sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get upgrade 

This may take quite a while depending on your connection speed.

Now it's time to upgrade your kernel to match the Pentium M's capabilities. To do so, type:

sudo apt-get install linux-686 

Reboot at this point, and select Linux 2.6.10-5 686 from the Grub menu (it's the new default option so you don't have to press anything).

Next, we want to update the wireless driver to the newest version (1.04). Type:

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -a|awk '{ print $3 }'` build-essential 
cd 
wget http://heanet.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/ipw2200/ipw2200-1.0.4.tgz 
wget http://bughost.org/firmware/ipw2200-fw-2.3.tgz 
sudo mv ipw2200-fw-2.3.tgz /usr/lib/hotplug/firmware 
tar xzf ipw2200-1.0.4.tgz 
cd ipw2200-1.0.4 
make 
sudo make install 
cd /usr/lib/hotplug/firmware 
sudo tar xzf ipw2200-fw-2.3.tgz 
sudo rm -r /lib/modules/`uname -a|awk '{ print $3 }'`/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ieee80211 
sudo rm -r /lib/modules/`uname -a|awk '{ print $3 }'`/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ipw2200 
sudo depmod -a 
sudo rmmod ipw2200 firmware_class ieee80211 ieee80211_crypt_wep ieee80211_crypt 
sudo modprobe ipw2200

After this I had to reboot my machine - don't know why. But now it's working fine. I'm now using KWiFiManager to configure my wireless networks.

X Window

Probably the most important thing is to have a sharp display. After installation it was stuck at 1024x768 instead of it's 1280x768. I installed 855resolution using kynaptic. You then have to set its parameters in /etc/default/855resolution:

#
# 855resolution default
#
# find free modes by  /usr/sbin/855resolution -l
# and set it to MODE
#
MODE=3c
#
# and set resolutions for the mode.
#
XRESO=1280
YRESO=800

Next edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf to have the following Monitor section:

Section "Monitor"
        Identifier      "Laptop"
        HorizSync       31.5 - 64.0
        VertRefresh     60
        ModeLine        "1280x800" 83.91 1280 1312 1624 1656 800 816 824 841 -hsync +vsync
        Option          "DPMS"
EndSection

...and now restart your X server (hit ctrl-alt-backspace if you're in the logon manager).

External monitor

As this machine is going to replace my noisy desktop computer I wanted to add external keyboard, mouse and monitor. The first two were easy plug'n'play thanks to one of those inexpensive USB "docking stations".

The external monitor gave me a little more headache... I'd have preferred to use xinerama (one big desktop from the laptop's display to my external 17" LCD). But I failed so far. At least I can use the monitor to mirror the machine's display - with a large unusable bar due to y-resolution difference (1024 vs. 800 lines).

You can install i855crt using kynaptics. This little tool will allow you to turn the external monitor on and off. I'm using the following little script from http://ta.twi.tudelft.nl/DV/Staff/Lemmens/dell_latitude_d500.html to turn it on and off:

#!/bin/sh
# Kees Lemmens, November 2004

I855BASE=/usr/sbin
CRTMODE=1280x1024@60
TOGGLE=/tmp/.$CRTMODE-$USER.on
I855CRT=$I855BASE/i855crt
BASE=$( basename $0 )

cd $I855BASE # need this to be able to find config file

test -r $TOGGLE &&
{
   $I855CRT off
   rm -f $TOGGLE
} ||
{
   $I855CRT swcursor overlaycrt on $CRTMODE
   touch $TOGGLE
}