# IBM T30 Panic Issues

## bebo718

Ok - I have two IBM Thinkpads (T30) which I care about regarding this issue and a A21p (which I don't but I get the same issue).

My issue is as follows:

I just rebuilt my laptop with 2004.3.  I have updated portage and the portage tree.  I have nothing else on this laptop (T30 or the A21p) except Gentoo so it has the boot and MBR (hd0,0).   I am currently trying to emerge gnome.  During the process of emerging anything that exceeds the "screen saver" timeout, I am good.  In fact, I am good until I press any key.  It seems that the laptop will continue to process whatever is emerging even in "screen saver" mode until I press any key on the keyboard - when I do I get a kernel panic.

I have tried removing acpi - and I have looked at different things in the BIOS and do not know why it is doing this.  I have this problem with the latest 2.4.x gentoo kernel and the latest 2.6.x gentoo kernel.  I have even resorted to allowing the default kernel configuration and not tweaking it to see if that helps.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

----------

## steveb

could you try to disable completly the acpi and enable instead apm? do you have other stuff like speed step and that kind of stuff runing?

cheers

SteveB

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## bebo718

Steve -

Thanks for your reply.  I have disabled acpi by apending my kernel line with acpi=off.  Should I try another acpi=<statement>?  I do not have any speedsteping enabled at this time.

Thanks again for your reply and post.

----------

## steveb

 *bebo718 wrote:*   

> Steve -
> 
> Thanks for your reply.  I have disabled acpi by apending my kernel line with acpi=off.  Should I try another acpi=<statement>?  I do not have any speedsteping enabled at this time.
> 
> Thanks again for your reply and post.

 acpi=off is okay.

did you already tried to use one of the various thinkpad utilities? app-laptop/thinkpad or app-laptop/tpctl for example. with them you can controll much aspects of the thinkpad. maybe you can change/tweak with them the way how your "screen saver" mode reacts on a key press?

cheers

SteveB

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## bebo718

Steve -

I have not emerged any of the thinkpad tools yet.  I will get them a try and let everyone know after I do so. 

Thanks for the recommendation.

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## steveb

 *bebo718 wrote:*   

> Steve -
> 
> I have not emerged any of the thinkpad tools yet.  I will get them a try and let everyone know after I do so. 
> 
> Thanks for the recommendation.

 Please check that you have at least this BIOS revision installed: BIOS Update (Diskette) - ThinkPad A30, A30p (2004-06-11)

if not, then install it.

cheers

SteveB

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## bebo718

Thanks again Steve.  I do have that BIOS installed currently.  Thank you for your assistance - it is greatly appreciated!

Travis

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## steveb

 *bebo718 wrote:*   

> Thanks again Steve.  I do have that BIOS installed currently.  Thank you for your assistance - it is greatly appreciated!
> 
> Travis

 okay.... how about redoing the kernel? starting a new and fresh configuration from scratch. just enough to boot the system and get into the gui. if that works, then start enabling one device after the other.... till you have the same problem again (then just roll back to that point where you did not have the problem).

another way to test if the system is okay, is to use knoppix and boot with knoppix into the gui and wait there for the "screen saver". if you have then the same issue there, then you know that it is probably a machine specific problem and not your configuration.

what do you think?

cheers

SteveB

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## bebo718

ok - the Thinkpad tools did not help much.  I did put in the 2004.3 disk and boot with that.  I did a dmesg |grep acpi and the parameter was set to "ht" .  I have modified my /boot/grub/grub.conf file and appended my kernel line to reflect acpi=ht and I will see what happens.  Keep this one open since I am sure someone may encounter this again.

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## bebo718

Steve -

Sorry did not notice that you had posted prior to my next post.  I do not have the problem when I boot to the 2004.3 CD and the screen blanks - hence my previous post regarding the acpi=ht post.  Additionally, I had Fedora Core 1, 2, 3 on this machine with no problems and/or issues.  I do believe that it is something specific to the kernel.

I have gone back to the 2.4.28-gentoo-r7 kernel that installed by default...  Essentially everything is enabled and the livecd acpi=ht statement that I got from dmesg |grep acpi just to see what Gentoo was doing with initial startup since I did not have the problem during the Stage 3 (GRP) installation process prior to rebooting for the first time.

Thanks again!

----------

## steveb

This is taken from the kernel documentation (kernel-parameters.txt):

```
acpi=           [HW,ACPI] Advanced Configuration and Power Interface

      Format: { force | off | ht | strict }

      force -- enable ACPI if default was off

      off -- disable ACPI if default was on

      noirq -- do not use ACPI for IRQ routing

      ht -- run only enough ACPI to enable Hyper Threading

      strict --  Be less tolerant of platforms that are not

         strictly ACPI specification compliant.

      See also Documentation/pm.txt, pci=noacpi
```

Maybe you want to have a look at the kernel documentation document with the name ibm-acpi.txt. Much stuff about the IBM Thinkpad is there and how to handle ACPI on a ThinkPad.

```
                    IBM ThinkPad ACPI Extras Driver

                            Version 0.8

                          8 November 2004

               Borislav Deianov <borislav@users.sf.net>

                      http://ibm-acpi.sf.net/

This is a Linux ACPI driver for the IBM ThinkPad laptops. It aims to

support various features of these laptops which are accessible through

the ACPI framework but not otherwise supported by the generic Linux

ACPI drivers.

Status

------

The features currently supported are the following (see below for

detailed description):

        - Fn key combinations

        - Bluetooth enable and disable

        - video output switching, expansion control

        - ThinkLight on and off

        - limited docking and undocking

        - UltraBay eject

        - Experimental: CMOS control

        - Experimental: LED control

        - Experimental: ACPI sounds

A compatibility table by model and feature is maintained on the web

site, http://ibm-acpi.sf.net/. I appreciate any success or failure

reports, especially if they add to or correct the compatibility table.

Please include the following information in your report:

        - ThinkPad model name

        - a copy of your DSDT, from /proc/acpi/dsdt

        - which driver features work and which don't

        - the observed behavior of non-working features

Any other comments or patches are also more than welcome.

Installation

------------

If you are compiling this driver as included in the Linux kernel

sources, simply enable the CONFIG_ACPI_IBM option (Power Management /

ACPI / IBM ThinkPad Laptop Extras). The rest of this section describes

how to install this driver when downloaded from the web site.

First, you need to get a kernel with ACPI support up and running.

Please refer to http://acpi.sourceforge.net/ for help with this

step. How successful you will be depends a lot on you ThinkPad model,

the kernel you are using and any additional patches applied. The

kernel provided with your distribution may not be good enough. I

needed to compile a 2.6.7 kernel with the 20040715 ACPI patch to get

ACPI working reliably on my ThinkPad X40. Old ThinkPad models may not

be supported at all.

Assuming you have the basic ACPI support working (e.g. you can see the

/proc/acpi directory), follow the following steps to install this

driver:

        - unpack the archive:

                tar xzvf ibm-acpi-x.y.tar.gz; cd ibm-acpi-x.y

        - compile the driver:

                make

        - install the module in your kernel modules directory:

                make install

        - load the module:

                modprobe ibm_acpi

After loading the module, check the "dmesg" output for any error messages.

Features

--------

The driver creates the /proc/acpi/ibm directory. There is a file under

that directory for each feature described below. Note that while the

driver is still in the alpha stage, the exact proc file format and

commands supported by the various features is guaranteed to change

frequently.

Driver Version -- /proc/acpi/ibm/driver

--------------------------------------

The driver name and version. No commands can be written to this file.

Hot Keys -- /proc/acpi/ibm/hotkey

---------------------------------

Without this driver, only the Fn-F4 key (sleep button) generates an

ACPI event. With the driver loaded, the hotkey feature enabled and the

mask set (see below), the various hot keys generate ACPI events in the

following format:

        ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 0000xxxx

The last four digits vary depending on the key combination pressed.

All labeled Fn-Fx key combinations generate distinct events. In

addition, the lid microswitch and some docking station buttons may

also generate such events.

The following commands can be written to this file:

        echo enable > /proc/acpi/ibm/hotkey -- enable the hot keys feature

        echo disable > /proc/acpi/ibm/hotkey -- disable the hot keys feature

        echo 0xffff > /proc/acpi/ibm/hotkey -- enable all possible hot keys

        echo 0x0000 > /proc/acpi/ibm/hotkey -- disable all possible hot keys

        ... any other 4-hex-digit mask ...

        echo reset > /proc/acpi/ibm/hotkey -- restore the original mask

The bit mask allows some control over which hot keys generate ACPI

events. Not all bits in the mask can be modified. Not all bits that

can be modified do anything. Not all hot keys can be individually

controlled by the mask. Most recent ThinkPad models honor the

following bits (assuming the hot keys feature has been enabled):

        key     bit     behavior when set       behavior when unset

        Fn-F3                   always generates ACPI event

        Fn-F4                   always generates ACPI event

        Fn-F5   0010    generate ACPI event     enable/disable Bluetooth

        Fn-F7   0040    generate ACPI event     switch LCD and external display

        Fn-F8   0080    generate ACPI event     expand screen or none

        Fn-F9   0100    generate ACPI event     none

        Fn-F12                  always generates ACPI event

Some models do not support all of the above. For example, the T30 does

not support Fn-F5 and Fn-F9. Other models do not support the mask at

all. On those models, hot keys cannot be controlled individually.

Note that enabling ACPI events for some keys prevents their default

behavior. For example, if events for Fn-F5 are enabled, that key will

no longer enable/disable Bluetooth by itself. This can still be done

from an acpid handler for the ibm/hotkey event.

Note also that not all Fn key combinations are supported through

ACPI. For example, on the X40, the brightness, volume and "Access IBM"

buttons do not generate ACPI events even with this driver. They *can*

be used through the "ThinkPad Buttons" utility, see

http://www.nongnu.org/tpb/

Bluetooth -- /proc/acpi/ibm/bluetooth

-------------------------------------

This feature shows the presence and current state of a Bluetooth

device. If Bluetooth is installed, the following commands can be used:

        echo enable > /proc/acpi/ibm/bluetooth

        echo disable > /proc/acpi/ibm/bluetooth

Video output control -- /proc/acpi/ibm/video

--------------------------------------------

This feature allows control over the devices used for video output -

LCD, CRT or DVI (if available). The following commands are available:

        echo lcd_enable > /proc/acpi/ibm/video

        echo lcd_disable > /proc/acpi/ibm/video

        echo crt_enable > /proc/acpi/ibm/video

        echo crt_disable > /proc/acpi/ibm/video

        echo dvi_enable > /proc/acpi/ibm/video

        echo dvi_disable > /proc/acpi/ibm/video

        echo auto_enable > /proc/acpi/ibm/video

        echo auto_disable > /proc/acpi/ibm/video

        echo expand_toggle > /proc/acpi/ibm/video

        echo video_switch > /proc/acpi/ibm/video

Each video output device can be enabled or disabled individually.

Reading /proc/acpi/ibm/video shows the status of each device.

Automatic video switching can be enabled or disabled.  When automatic

video switching is enabled, certain events (e.g. opening the lid,

docking or undocking) cause the video output device to change

automatically. While this can be useful, it also causes flickering

and, on the X40, video corruption. By disabling automatic switching,

the flickering or video corruption can be avoided.

The video_switch command cycles through the available video outputs

(it sumulates the behavior of Fn-F7).

Video expansion can be toggled through this feature. This controls

whether the display is expanded to fill the entire LCD screen when a

mode with less than full resolution is used. Note that the current

video expansion status cannot be determined through this feature.

Note that on many models (particularly those using Radeon graphics

chips) the X driver configures the video card in a way which prevents

Fn-F7 from working. This also disables the video output switching

features of this driver, as it uses the same ACPI methods as

Fn-F7. Video switching on the console should still work.

ThinkLight control -- /proc/acpi/ibm/light

------------------------------------------

The current status of the ThinkLight can be found in this file. A few

models which do not make the status available will show it as

"unknown". The available commands are:

        echo on  > /proc/acpi/ibm/light

        echo off > /proc/acpi/ibm/light

Docking / Undocking -- /proc/acpi/ibm/dock

------------------------------------------

Docking and undocking (e.g. with the X4 UltraBase) requires some

actions to be taken by the operating system to safely make or break

the electrical connections with the dock.

The docking feature of this driver generates the following ACPI events:

        ibm/dock GDCK 00000003 00000001 -- eject request

        ibm/dock GDCK 00000003 00000002 -- undocked

        ibm/dock GDCK 00000000 00000003 -- docked

NOTE: These events will only be generated if the laptop was docked

when originally booted. This is due to the current lack of support for

hot plugging of devices in the Linux ACPI framework. If the laptop was

booted while not in the dock, the following message is shown in the

logs: "ibm_acpi: dock device not present". No dock-related events are

generated but the dock and undock commands described below still

work. They can be executed manually or triggered by Fn key

combinations (see the example acpid configuration files included in

the driver tarball package available on the web site).

When the eject request button on the dock is pressed, the first event

above is generated. The handler for this event should issue the

following command:

        echo undock > /proc/acpi/ibm/dock

After the LED on the dock goes off, it is safe to eject the laptop.

Note: if you pressed this key by mistake, go ahead and eject the

laptop, then dock it back in. Otherwise, the dock may not function as

expected.

When the laptop is docked, the third event above is generated. The

handler for this event should issue the following command to fully

enable the dock:

        echo dock > /proc/acpi/ibm/dock

The contents of the /proc/acpi/ibm/dock file shows the current status

of the dock, as provided by the ACPI framework.

The docking support in this driver does not take care of enabling or

disabling any other devices you may have attached to the dock. For

example, a CD drive plugged into the UltraBase needs to be disabled or

enabled separately. See the provided example acpid configuration files

for how this can be accomplished.

There is no support yet for PCI devices that may be attached to a

docking station, e.g. in the ThinkPad Dock II. The driver currently

does not recognize, enable or disable such devices. This means that

the only docking stations currently supported are the X-series

UltraBase docks and "dumb" port replicators like the Mini Dock (the

latter don't need any ACPI support, actually).

UltraBay Eject -- /proc/acpi/ibm/bay

------------------------------------

Inserting or ejecting an UltraBay device requires some actions to be

taken by the operating system to safely make or break the electrical

connections with the device.

This feature generates the following ACPI events:

        ibm/bay MSTR 00000003 00000000 -- eject request

        ibm/bay MSTR 00000001 00000000 -- eject lever inserted

NOTE: These events will only be generated if the UltraBay was present

when the laptop was originally booted (on the X series, the UltraBay

is in the dock, so it may not be present if the laptop was undocked).

This is due to the current lack of support for hot plugging of devices

in the Linux ACPI framework. If the laptop was booted without the

UltraBay, the following message is shown in the logs: "ibm_acpi: bay

device not present". No bay-related events are generated but the eject

command described below still works. It can be executed manually or

triggered by a hot key combination.

Sliding the eject lever generates the first event shown above. The

handler for this event should take whatever actions are necessary to

shut down the device in the UltraBay (e.g. call idectl), then issue

the following command:

        echo eject > /proc/acpi/ibm/bay

After the LED on the UltraBay goes off, it is safe to pull out the

device.

When the eject lever is inserted, the second event above is

generated. The handler for this event should take whatever actions are

necessary to enable the UltraBay device (e.g. call idectl).

The contents of the /proc/acpi/ibm/bay file shows the current status

of the UltraBay, as provided by the ACPI framework.

Experimental Features

---------------------

The following features are marked experimental because using them

involves guessing the correct values of some parameters. Guessing

incorrectly may have undesirable effects like crashing your

ThinkPad. USE THESE WITH CAUTION! To activate them, you'll need to

supply the experimental=1 parameter when loading the module.

Experimental: CMOS control - /proc/acpi/ibm/cmos

------------------------------------------------

This feature is used internally by the ACPI firmware to control the

ThinkLight on most newer ThinkPad models. It appears that it can also

control LCD brightness, sounds volume and more, but only on some

models.

The commands are non-negative integer numbers:

        echo 0 >/proc/acpi/ibm/cmos

        echo 1 >/proc/acpi/ibm/cmos

        echo 2 >/proc/acpi/ibm/cmos

        ...

The range of numbers which are used internally by various models is 0

to 21, but it's possible that numbers outside this range have

interesting behavior. Here is the behavior on the X40 (tpb is the

ThinkPad Buttons utility):

        0 - no effect but tpb reports "Volume down"

        1 - no effect but tpb reports "Volume up"

        2 - no effect but tpb reports "Mute on"

        3 - simulate pressing the "Access IBM" button

        4 - LCD brightness up

        5 - LCD brightness down

        11 - toggle screen expansion

        12 - ThinkLight on

        13 - ThinkLight off

        14 - no effect but tpb reports ThinkLight status change

If you try this feature, please send me a report similar to the

above. On models which allow control of LCD brightness or sound

volume, I'd like to provide this functionality in an user-friendly

way, but first I need a way to identify the models which this is

possible.

Experimental: LED control - /proc/acpi/ibm/LED

----------------------------------------------

Some of the LED indicators can be controlled through this feature. The

available commands are:

        echo <led number> on >/proc/acpi/ibm/led

        echo <led number> off >/proc/acpi/ibm/led

        echo <led number> blink >/proc/acpi/ibm/led

The <led number> parameter is a non-negative integer. The range of LED

numbers used internally by various models is 0 to 7 but it's possible

that numbers outside this range are also valid. Here is the mapping on

the X40:

        0 - power

        1 - battery (orange)

        2 - battery (green)

        3 - UltraBase

        4 - UltraBay

        7 - standby

All of the above can be turned on and off and can be made to blink.

If you try this feature, please send me a report similar to the

above. I'd like to provide this functionality in an user-friendly way,

but first I need to identify the which numbers correspond to which

LEDs on various models.

Experimental: ACPI sounds - /proc/acpi/ibm/beep

-----------------------------------------------

The BEEP method is used internally by the ACPI firmware to provide

audible alerts in various situtation. This feature allows the same

sounds to be triggered manually.

The commands are non-negative integer numbers:

        echo 0 >/proc/acpi/ibm/beep

        echo 1 >/proc/acpi/ibm/beep

        echo 2 >/proc/acpi/ibm/beep

        ...

The range of numbers which are used internally by various models is 0

to 17, but it's possible that numbers outside this range are also

valid. Here is the behavior on the X40:

        2 - two beeps, pause, third beep

        3 - single beep

        4 - "unable"

        5 - single beep

        6 - "AC/DC"

        7 - high-pitched beep

        9 - three short beeps

        10 - very long beep

        12 - low-pitched beep

(I've only been able to identify a couple of them).

If you try this feature, please send me a report similar to the

above. I'd like to provide this functionality in an user-friendly way,

but first I need to identify the which numbers correspond to which

sounds on various models.

Multiple Command, Module Parameters

-----------------------------------

Multiple commands can be written to the proc files in one shot by

separating them with commas, for example:

        echo enable,0xffff > /proc/acpi/ibm/hotkey

        echo lcd_disable,crt_enable > /proc/acpi/ibm/video

Commands can also be specified when loading the ibm_acpi module, for

example:

        modprobe ibm_acpi hotkey=enable,0xffff video=auto_disable

Example Configuration

---------------------

The ACPI support in the kernel is intended to be used in conjunction

with a user-space daemon, acpid. The configuration files for this

daemon control what actions are taken in response to various ACPI

events. An example set of configuration files are included in the

config/ directory of the tarball package available on the web

site. Note that these are provided for illustration purposes only and

may need to be adapted to your particular setup.

The following utility scripts are used by the example action

scripts (included with ibm-acpi for completeness):

        /usr/local/sbin/idectl -- from the hdparm source distribution,

                see http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/system/hardware

        /usr/local/sbin/laptop_mode -- from the Linux kernel source

                distribution, see Documentation/laptop-mode.txt

        /sbin/service -- comes with Redhat/Fedora distributions

Toan T Nguyen <ntt@control.uchicago.edu> has written a SuSE powersave

script for the X20, included in config/usr/sbin/ibm_hotkeys_X20

Henrik Brix Andersen <brix@gentoo.org> has written a Gentoo ACPI event

handler script for the X31. You can get the latest version from

http://dev.gentoo.org/~brix/files/x31.sh

David Schweikert <dws@ee.eth.ch> has written an alternative blank.sh

script which works on Debian systems, included in

configs/etc/acpi/actions/blank-debian.sh

TODO

----

I'd like to implement the following features but haven't yet found the

time and/or I don't yet know how to implement them:

- UltraBay floppy drive support
```

cheers

SteveB

----------

## bebo718

Steve -

Your information that you have provided has been great.  As of now, I have taken the append: acpi=ht out.  I am not appending my kernel line at all.  Additionally, I have reset my BIOS to defaults with just boot up changes to allow CD to boot prior to anything else and everything else seems to have fallen into place.  

I am also just using the ESC key to return back to the screen.  So far, I have had no issues returning (albeit only twice so far) but I am 117 of 172 packages into the gnome compile and feeling quite confident.

I will read through the information that you provided very carefully since it seems that every rotating laptop that comes my way is a Thinkpad so I should be very familar with it.

Thanks again Steve, your help was greatly appreciated and it has helped solve my issue!

----------

## steveb

COOL  :Wink: 

I my self am owning serval ThinkPad's. Three A22p, one A20m, serval old ThinkPad's (330, 760, etc...). They are the best laptops from my viewpoint. The new one T42 series are great as well. But I don't own one of them (only work on them). But soon I will buy a new one. I just want at least to have 1600x1400 screen resolution. Everything below that is not an option for me. The A22p has that  :Wink: 

cheers

SteveB

----------

## bebo718

My opinion is that anyone experiencing any issue with kernel panic relating to display returns as I have had here, to read through this post and apply Steve's recommendations.  The Thinkpad ACPI information provided within this post is extremely helpful and should help you work through your issue.  

My problem has been solved:D 

Thanks again Steve!

----------

## Hydraulix

I just had a quick question since I plan on buying a ThinkPad for the first time. If I install Gentoo on my ThinkPad without windows or anything like that then how can I upgrade the BIOS since it's an .exe file? And for that matter my wifi router needs a .exe file to upgrade the BIOS. Do I have to keep a windows system around to do so?

----------

## Hydraulix

Anyone?

----------

## steveb

 *Hydraulix wrote:*   

> I just had a quick question since I plan on buying a ThinkPad for the first time. If I install Gentoo on my ThinkPad without windows or anything like that then how can I upgrade the BIOS since it's an .exe file?

 IBM always offers you two ways of updating your ThinkPad BIOS. One is with a Windows exe and the other one ist with a boot disk. You need to get the bootdisk and use Wine, free Dos, etc to write that boot disk. After you have written that boot disk, you only need to boot the ThinkPad with that disk and follow the instructions on the screen. That's it.

 *Hydraulix wrote:*   

> And for that matter my wifi router needs a .exe file to upgrade the BIOS. Do I have to keep a windows system around to do so?

 How does that wifi router gets then the BIOS? Does the exe submit that BIOS to the router? How would one with a Mac update the BIOS on the wifi? Don't tell me that the company producing the wifi only has a solution for Windows user.

cheers

Steve

----------

## Hydraulix

 *steveb wrote:*   

>  *Hydraulix wrote:*   I just had a quick question since I plan on buying a ThinkPad for the first time. If I install Gentoo on my ThinkPad without windows or anything like that then how can I upgrade the BIOS since it's an .exe file? IBM always offers you two ways of updating your ThinkPad BIOS. One is with a Windows exe and the other one ist with a boot disk. You need to get the bootdisk and use Wine, free Dos, etc to write that boot disk. After you have written that boot disk, you only need to boot the ThinkPad with that disk and follow the instructions on the screen. That's it.
> 
>  *Hydraulix wrote:*   And for that matter my wifi router needs a .exe file to upgrade the BIOS. Do I have to keep a windows system around to do so? How does that wifi router gets then the BIOS? Does the exe submit that BIOS to the router? How would one with a Mac update the BIOS on the wifi? Don't tell me that the company producing the wifi only has a solution for Windows user.
> 
> cheers
> ...

 

Thanks for the help. I'll have to check out the router when I return from being overseas. It's a SMC router. Last I remember I had to use a .exe file. I'm thinking of selling the thing anyway. What's a good Linux friendly router to buy that's wifi enabled?

----------

## bebo718

My preference has been to use Linksys (now owned by Cisco).  They allow you to manage the router from Mozilla (or any other web browser) and you can download the updates and apply the .bin file from the brower without any issues.

Hope this helps.

----------

