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I love Linux and though my new Compaq Presario V2000 comes with Windows XP Home, I still decided to install Linux on it.  The installation was pretty simple and after a few tweaks, all is working fine.

To make things simple, what I did was download a Linux LiveCD called Sidux.  A check at its download repository reveals an ISO for 64-bit computers like mine.  I downloaded it (took 4 hours with my internet connection), burned the ISO file to a blank 700MB CD and booted it.

The LiveCD worked fine on the laptop so I decided to push through with the install.

Here’s what I did:

1. Resized the Windows Partition (hda1) to make space for Linux.  I did this by using GParted which was included in the Sidux LiveCD.  GParted can be found by clicking KMenu -> System -> GParted.  I resized the Windows Partition to 30GB.  I then created an extended partition under which I made a 1GB Swap partition, a 10 GB Root partition, and the remaining I used for the rest of what Linux needs.  Note that I did not delete the ‘Recovery Partition’ (hda2) that comes installed with the laptop.  It might just come in handy in the future.
2. Installing Sidux to the harddrive was quite idiot-proof.  It was as easy as clicking the KMenu -> sidux -> SIDUX installer.
3. After Sidux was installed, I rebooted to see if all went well.  I checked both Windows and Linux and they are both working fine.

So far so good.  Now, here are tweaks that I made to make Linux on the Compaq Presario V2000 work.

1. Screen Resolution
   1. As root, edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf and add 1280×768 to all the entries listed under ‘Section “Screen”‘
   2. Restart X
2. Wireless Network
   1. Download the drivers here - bcm43xx-drivers-64tar.gz
   2. As root, create the folder /usr/local/windrivers/ and extract the drivers in it
   3. As root, edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist and add blacklist bcm43xx at the bottom.
   4. As root, type ndiswrapper -i /usr/local/windrivers/bcmwl5.inf
   5. As root, edit /etc/modules and add ndiswrapper at the bottom
   6. Reboot
3. Volume Buttons - I followed the guide here.

Thus far, my installation of Linux on the Compaq Presario V2000 works perfectly.  Oh by the way, if you’re interested with my laptop’s exact model, it’s V2607CL.  The specs can be found here -> My Refurbished Compaq Presario.

I hope this helped.  If you have questions, please feel free to post a comment below.

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