including "omnibook" module would help with ACPI support on HP laptops

could you explain this a little ?

There's an out-of-tree kernel module called "omnibook": http://omnibook.sourceforge.net/

It adds lots of cool ACPI stuff for a variety of laptops, including the HP Omnibooks, but also all Toshibas with Phoenix BIOS and HP Pavilions.

Check out the site for a full list of supported laptops, but also features (hotkeys, fan control, etc). It'd be nice to at least include the packages found at: http://packages.kirya.net/

Frank Murphy seems to have explained well.

Would help with many HP Omnibook issues.

Omnibook module finally gave me the opportunity to control my lcd brightness (toshiba satellite m40-281), otherwise it was impossible for me. Now that hal supports omnibook module, gnome-power-manager is able to control lcd brightness (Fn-keys obviously do not work).

I am assigning this bug to the 'ubuntu-kernel-team' per their bug policy. For future reference you can learn more about their bug policy at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeamBugPolicies .

I would also like to see this included by default. My laptop is now available to use bluetooth, thanks to this kernel module

i really don't understand why the bluetooth driver in omnibook module isn't pulled out and merged to the kernel tree; it happens to make many internal bluetooth devices work [at least in hp and toshiba laptops]
if this will not happen too soon, at least ubuntu kernel team could build it for all of us having one of [many] laptops out there using this [omnibook] just to turn on the bluetooth in our laptops
[hoping.. the hope is the last to die]

I'll add that omnibook module not only works for HP omnibooks, but also for some toshiba laptops and is the only way to make them fully work (software lsc brightness control, function buttons support).

Beginning with the Hardy Heron 8.04 development cycle, all open Ubuntu kernel bugs need to be reported against the "linux" kernel package. We are automatically migrating this bug to the new "linux" package. However, development has already began for the upcoming Intrepid Ibex 8.10 release. It would be helpful if you could test the upcoming release and verify if this is still an issue - http://www.ubuntu.com/testing . If the issue still exists, please update this report by changing the Status of the "linux" task from "Incomplete" to "New". We appreciate your patience and understanding as we make this transition. Thanks!

omnibook module is still not included in intrepid, so doing as instructed and changing status to new.

Thanks Andrew,

Do you know if there has been any efforts to get this merged upstream? The reason I ask is that it is a lot of extra work for the Ubuntu kernel team to maintain out of tree drivers. As a result, they typically require upstream submission first. Thanks.

The Ubuntu Kernel Team is planning to move to the 2.6.27 kernel for the upcoming Intrepid Ibex 8.10 release. As a result, the kernel team would appreciate it if you could please test this newer 2.6.27 Ubuntu kernel. There are one of two ways you should be able to test:

1) If you are comfortable installing packages on your own, the linux-image-2.6.27-* package is currently available for you to install and test.

--or--

2) The upcoming Alpha5 for Intrepid Ibex 8.10 will contain this newer 2.6.27 Ubuntu kernel. Alpha5 is set to be released Thursday Sept 4. Please watch http://www.ubuntu.com/testing for Alpha5 to be announced. You should then be able to test via a LiveCD.

Please let us know immediately if this newer 2.6.27 kernel resolves the bug reported here or if the issue remains. More importantly, please open a new bug report for each new bug/regression introduced by the 2.6.27 kernel and tag the bug report with 'linux-2.6.27'. Also, please specifically note if the issue does or does not appear in the 2.6.26 kernel. Thanks again, we really appreicate your help and feedback.

bluetooth still doesn`t work with linux-image-2.6.27 from Alpha5.

future30 - please open a new bug report as this is about providing the omnibook module.

Glancing at the Intrepid git tree, this is still not included. Please disregard the automated call for testing posted above as it will not resolve this particular issue. Thanks.

No, the module is not included in the intrepid kernel. For those who want it, download the source here:
http://packages.kirya.net/debian/pool/main/o/omnibook/omnibook-source_2.20070211+svn20071217-1_all.deb

Install prerequisite packages:
sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`
Next, install the .deb file you downloaded (double-click in GUI or sudo dpkg -i in terminal). This will place a tarball in /usr/src, so:
cd /usr/src
sudo tar xzvf omnibook.tar.bz2
cd modules/omnibook
sudo make install
sudo depmod -a
sudo modprobe omnibook

Per a decision made by the Ubuntu Kernel Team, bugs will longer be assigned to the ubuntu-kernel-team in Launchpad as part of the bug triage process. The ubuntu-kernel-team is being unassigned from this bug report. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeamBugPolicies for more information. Thanks.

Please also include this script, if anyhow possible:
http://omke.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/*checkout*/omke/omke/omke.pl

It enables switching screen backlight on and off:

# backlight off
sudo ./omke.pl -d 0
...
# backlight on
sudo ./omke.pl -d 1

When combined with a gnome key binding this may replace the otherwise unsupported function key.

This is still not changed in Jaunty - I finally got my Toshiba U-400's built-in bluetooth to work by following the guides here :
http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dgd53r6d_36hqmmh4hn

That guide is probably very similar to the instructions posted by Dave Lentz, above, but as it uses the module-assistant, the whole process becomes four steps, which is a little easier to follow (for me, at any rate, since module-assistant does all the hard work).

I'll propose this for Jaunty, but as it's already in beta and final release is only a few weeks away, I doubt anything will move on this now.

I have a Toshiba Satellite L300-1AM. I have installed the omnibook module as Dave Lentz wrote above. The omnibook module is working well with ectype=11, I have fan control and display brightness control with Fn+Fx keys, but after shutdown the notebook is restarting on its own after 4 minutes. This problem I have on Ubuntu 8.10 x386; Ubuntu 8.10 x64; Ubuntu 9.04 x64; OpenSUSE 11.1. Does anybody know where to find the problem ?

I also had a problem with my notebook starting on its own after shutdown. Unloading omnibook module before system powers off seems to help. I just added a service script in /etc/init.d/ which runs 'rmmod omnibook' when it is invoked with 'stop' option and 'modprobe omnibook ectype=14' when with 'start' option, then registered it to stop on runlevels 0 and 6 and start on the others. If you use suspend to ram (aka sleep) or suspend to disk (aka hibernation) you will also need to modify some scripts in /etc/acpi/ to unload omnibook before sleeping/hibernating and reload it after resume.

I have a Toshiba Satellite A300-1EG laptop, so I use omnibook with ectype=14. It's the best working option for me, but I still have some issues with it:

# when omnibook is not loaded at all:
-- no reaction for any ACPI events, such as power cord plug / unplug or running out of battery
-- no Bluetooth
-- no Fn+Fx LCD brightness control
-- automatic and manual brightness control by PowerManager works OK

# when omnibook is loaded:
-- ACPI events OK
-- BT works OK
-- Fn+Fx brightness control works OK
-- no automatic brightness and any software attempts to control it don't work at all

# when omnibook is unloaded after loading it:
-- ACPI events still work OK
-- no BT
-- Fn+Fx brightness control still works OK
-- all automagic and software brightness control methods work well again

I didn't mention fan control, because it's buggy in this Toshiba model (e.g. when on high RPM, invoking any ACPI event such as pressing Fn key, closing the screen, changing brightness or unplugging a power cable causes it to slow down or stop - it doesn't want to slow down on it's own, I have to do something ACPI-related), but if I don't load omnibook at least for a moment, I can't slow the fan down in any way...

It shouldn't seem strange that I decided not to buy any Toshiba laptop again in the future... Dell, MSI or Asus don't have such problems with setting up Linux for comfortable use...

(Sorry if my english turns out to be hardly understandable)

It would appear that we've missed the Karmic boat for this bug :
http://www.linux-archive.org/ubuntu-kernel-team/376283-ubuntu-lp-438323-added-omnibook-module-support-toshiba-hp.html

From that, I read that there's a possibility that this module could make it to Jaunty as a DKMS module. Sadly, I have no idea what that means or entails. I know that the directions I followed (see comment 18 : https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/45021/comments/18) to compile this in Jaunty now fail due to unresolvable dependencies in Karmic, so any help to investigate this DKMS option would be greatly appreciated.

I rely on my bluetooth module in order to use my 3G phone (as a modem) and my bluetooth mouse, so my laptop is stuck on Jaunty until I can activate my Omnibook driver in Karmic somehow.

There are updated .deb's here: http://packages.kirya.net/debian/pool/main/o/omnibook/

Also, I realized there was a mistake in my instructions in comment #15, so here it is again:
Install prerequisite packages:
sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`
Next, install the .deb file you downloaded (double-click in GUI or sudo dpkg -i in terminal). This will place a tarball in /usr/src, so:
cd /usr/src
sudo tar xjvf omnibook.tar.bz2
cd modules/omnibook
sudo make install
sudo depmod -a
sudo modprobe omnibook

I'm trying to get Ubuntu running on a brand new Toshiba Satellite L355-S7915. Tried installing the current omnibook-source package from kira.net, but it is terminating with a segmentation fault. I happen to be a pretty good C programmer and can probably track this down and fix it with a little help. Never worked in the kernel space before.

Probably stupid questions....

Who is current ominbook-source maintainer and where are latest archives?
Any pointers or links to advice on debugging kernel modules?

Thx a bunch
-Ken

Looks like the debian pkg maintainer is julien [at] kirya [dot] net.

From the mailing list it looks like he is patching his own source tree;
http://lists.kirya.net/pipermail/debian-uploads/2009/thread.html

Maintainer's blog confirms this, clarifies some info and has opened debian bug #517489:

http://www.kirya.net/articles/debian-gnulinux-on-a-toshiba-satellite-m40x-141/

Note: Compiling current omnibook kernel module on karmic x86_64 with mainline (from ubuntu repos) 2.6.32rc5 on a Toshiba A300 (PSA-GCA) works, installed fine using module assistant:

ectype set to 14 as per:

extern enum omnibook_ectype_t {
NONE = 0, /* 0 Default/unknown EC type */
XE3GF = (1<<0), /* 1 HP OmniBook XE3 GF, most old Toshiba Satellites */
XE3GC = (1<<1), /* 2 HP OmniBook XE3 GC, GD, GE and compatible */
OB500 = (1<<2), /* 3 HP OmniBook 500 and compatible */
OB510 = (1<<3), /* 4 HP OmniBook 510 */
OB6000 = (1<<4), /* 5 HP OmniBook 6000 */
OB6100 = (1<<5), /* 6 HP OmniBook 6100 */
XE4500 = (1<<6), /* 7 HP OmniBook xe4500 and compatible */
OB4150 = (1<<7), /* 8 HP OmniBook 4150 */
XE2 = (1<<8), /* 9 HP OmniBook XE2 */
AMILOD = (1<<9), /* 10 Fujitsu Amilo D */
TSP10 = (1<<10), /* 11 Toshiba Satellite P10, P15, P20 and compatible */
TSM70 = (1<<11), /* 12 Toshiba Satellite M40X, M70 and compatible */
TSM40 = (1<<12), /* 13 Toshiba Satellite M40, M45 and Tecra S1 */
TSA105 = (1<<13), /* 14 Toshiba Satellite A105 and compatible (Real support is MISSING) */
TSM30X = (1<<14), /* 15 Toshiba Stallite M30X and compatible */
TSX205 = (1<<15) /* 16 Toshiba Stallite X205 and compatible */
} omnibook_ectype;

modprobe results in segfault - dmesg output attached.

With no ectype set modepobe does not segfault, although laptop model is not detected.

I agree, omnibook should be in the Ubuntu Repos. I have a Toshiba M45-s2692 and I has worked in the past, but its a pain to install/update. I really would love to see Toshiba support fixed. I know Toshiba is a pretty closed company, but they make good laptops and I'm sure this is a problem for many ubuntu users.

+1 to including the module in one way or another.

Compiling it isn't hard, but you have to do it after some kernel upgrades and it becomes a pain.

Just recompiled it on Karmic x86_64, working perfectly. Bluetooth won't work AT ALL without it on my Toshiba Satellite P100-400 (PSPAE6).

Without this module, I can not use the bluetooth chip that comes with my Toshiba M800 so that would be awesome to have it directly in the distribution.

Upstream kernel bug:
http://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=14712

I have Toshiba Satellite P200D-12O and I have the same problem since Ubuntu 8.04. I bought this machine on 2008 and first thing I did was format the hard disk and remove Microsoft Windows Vista. I've installed Ubuntu but couldn't use function keys, bluetooth, card reader, etc. And I had too many problems with graphics card, sound drivers, monitor. I wasn't able to use HDMI at the beginning. (Still have problems with HDMI)
I spent days on the internet to find some solution.
sudo modprobe toshiba_acpi couldn't find toshiba hardware on my machine.
I switched back to Windows XP and found some drivers on the internet. I was using Windows 7 lately. Before that I used every release of Ubuntu as soon as it released without any luck.
Then I found omnibook. I've installed it on Karmic Koala and my bluetooth started working.
I did a fresh install a month ago, now updated to Lucid Beta 2. I still have bluetooth problem. If I boot on Windows 7 and then boot on Ubuntu, bluetooth starts working. If ubuntu crashes or if application hangs and I turn it off with hard switch, bluetooth gets disabled.
System identifies bluetooth if it's turned on internally but it's not able to turn it on, if it's off. I know that wireless and bluetooth have both hard and soft switches. Somehow Bluetooth stack for Windows is able to turn it on and off. Omnibook was doing it lately.
I've downloaded omnibook and will try to install it again on Lucid Lynx.

Well I couldn't compile omnibook and couldn't find the solution yet. :(
When I woke up this morning, my machine was hung. I switched it off and not only bluetooth but wireless is also gone. :(
I will examine logs tonight.

I see omnibook.ko on freshly installed Lucid.
But it's not detected and autoinserted by install on my HP Omnibook 500.
Should not the status of bug be changed?

Since adding the module manually, I haven't had to recompile my kernel once during the lucid development phase. So all that appears to be missing now is the auto detection of a laptop which requires use of the omnibook module. Is this possible?

It appears this module is not provided in the Lucid Lynx 10.04 LTS release which contains a 2.6.32 based kernel. As a result I'm marking this bug Fix Released. If anyone is experiencing issues using this module, please open a separate bug as that will require a different fix.

ogasawara@emiko:~$ modinfo omnibook
filename: /lib/modules/2.6.32-22-generic/kernel/ubuntu/omnibook/omnibook.ko
license: GPL
description: Kernel interface for HP OmniBook, HP Pavilion, Toshiba Satellite and Compal ACL00 laptops
version: 2.20090707-trunk
author: Soós Péter, Mathieu Bérardd
srcversion: 302E1ECA1E6B00F304E6876

I think that should have been "It appears this module is *now* provided in the Lucid Lynx 10.04 ..."