Re: sony VGN-BX387XP laptop

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 Sure Lorenzo,
 I understand better now.
A report of what your problems have been and how you solved them would be very valuable for the community.

One of my problems as a member of the "linmodems" group is to find the right way to address people whom I do not know. For example a computer scientist like you: how could I know? I have difficulty in being sufficiently professional to give serious help but not too much in order not to frighten beginners.

 Let me be more specific about what I wrote earlier.
 You certainly know all the following, but there are other readers too.
In the last year we have seen a fast move by manufacturers from the AC'97 (1997...) standard for audio devices to the new HDA technology. About ten years ago, modems were all hardware, and there was not such a thing as the winmodem headache. To make modems cheaper (around at the very most 40-50$ increase on retail price for computers costing more than 1,000$), manufacturers first invented the winmodem where almost all the functionality of hardware logics has been transferred to the CPU using software. Then, even the analog hardware circuitry for the modem (sound modulation) was transferred to the "sound card" or "sound device": this is what AC'97 made possible. This is supported under Linux for many chipsets because the AC'97 interface is standardized. Conexant however uses one component in the audio system, the CODEC, which is proprietary and undocumented, which is why the ALSA sound project cannot support Conexant modems. When HDA audio circuitry appeared, the existing drivers were extended to support HDA sound instead or in addition to AC'97. The Linuxant driver is still not perfect with HDA. For some kernels a patch is necessary. I did not give those details when answering to somebody not known to me who might be a beginner and therefore frightened by such stories. Still, I wished the user not to get into despair if the HSF driver would not work from the first attempt with his HDA device.

Best regards - Ciao - Jacques

Lorenzo Bettini wrote:
Hi Jacques

you said that it needs an hsf driver from linuxant and the it probably
requires some adjustments: I had to use an hsf driver too, and the
installation didn't go exactly smooth, and I had to make some
adjustments in some parts so I thought that what I had done to make it
work might help.

ciao
	Lorenzo

Jacques Goldberg wrote:
Lorenzo,
Thanks for this information.
But it does happen that "the same machine" in the sense for example of
"Sony VGN-BX387XP" is sold with different components in there, such as
different modem chipsets, enough to make a modem work or not.
If you read specifications, you will always see "subject to change
without warning". A fire or a strike, for example, in the factory which
makes one modem may force a computer manufacturer to use an another
chipset ...
This is why, in first approximation, the parameters needed to make a
winmodem work under Linux are the chipset, the Linux distribution, the
kernel, very much more than the exact manufacturer model.

I am not sure, though, that I correctly understood what you had in mind
when writing your message.

Ciao - Jacques

Lorenzo Bettini wrote:
Jacques Goldberg wrote:
Eric,
You need the Linuxant driver for HSF modems.
No other driver will work.
Please read the attached instructions to get guidance.
Remember: HSF, Ubuntu 6.06.1 LTS, kernel 2.6.15-27-686
There are detailed instructions for installation in the HSF "frame"
(margin) at http://www.linuxant.com/drivers
For your kind of modem a small adjustment to the software may be needed,
I do not remember for sure.
this is not exactly the same laptop

http://www.lorenzobettini.it/linux/LinuxSonyVaioVGN-S5VP_B

but I use hsf modem too,

hope this helps
    Lorenzo




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