EXPERT RESPONSE
Laptops are notorious installation
targets; working out of the box does not happen
often enough. Their hardware is specialized, and
the producers are continually substituting
components. The actual components in the machine
in your hand may well not match the specification
sheet in the box. Getting the drivers right, and
understanding the capabilities of the various
hardware components, is crucial to obtaining the functionality you want.
You can solve this problem by assigning
it to your integrator. If you do it yourself,
you will probably want to sort out the machines
by type (and components) so as to develop install
tricks and shortcuts. One useful snooper is
Knoppix, which comes loaded with drivers and is
often successful on an automated install. Once
it is in place, you can look at the system to see
what components it found and which drivers it
used to reach them. And if you want to follow
through with Knoppix you'll be a Debian user.
A site like Linux on Laptops may also offer some help.
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