acerhk

I still own a ACER TravelMate notebook and its WLAN will only work with the acerhk kernel module. The acerhk project was initiated and maintained by Olaf Tauber but is long dead. But there might still some people out there who own a TravelMate and like to use this kernel module to get their WLAN and buttons running. For this purpose I provide the source and some patches to keep the module working with the newest kernel versions.

Below you will find all the relevant stuff:

• acerhk source tarball: This is the last officially released version of acerhk.
• Patch: Makefile 1: This patch will remove a incompatible build flag in the Makefile.
• Patch: Makefile 2: Fixes a bug in the Makefile.
• Patch: Medion MD97600 support: Adds support for the Medion MD97600 notebook.
• Patch: 64 bit support for Aspire 5100: Adds 64 bit support for Aspire 5100 notebook.
• Patch: kernel >=2.6.27: Adds Kernel 2.6.27 support.<
• Patch: kernel >=2.6.30: Adds Kernel 2.6.30 support.
• Patch: kernel >=2.6.36: Adds Kernel 2.6.36 support.
• Patch: kernel >=2.6.38: Adds Kernel 2.6.38 support.

Are there ready to use packages?

Yes. At least for recent openSUSE versions you can find packages in my Home Repo of openSUSE's BuildService.

How to use it?

After installing the acerhk kernel module for your kernel, open a console and try to load the module as root: "modprobe acerhk"
Have a look at /var/log/messages : if your model is not recognized correctly, try to force it with "modprobe force_series= acerhk".
You can append more options to the driver - have a look at the output of "modinfo acerhk" - if necessary.

When the module is loaded, you should be able to get keycodes from the special keys of your laptop (see /var/log/messages for details). Have a look at the README and FAQ files how to define events for this keycodes.
The easiest way to get the module loaded on every boot is to add an entry to /etc/init.d/boot.local like:
/sbin/modprobe acerhk
echo 1 > /proc/driver/acerhk/wirelessled

What is supported?

This driver will generate key events when a special key is pressed on supported notebooks. It also has some other related functionality (depending on the model):

• controlling LEDs (Mail, Wireless)
• enable/disable wireless hardware

Supported models:

• Acer Aspire: 1300, 1310, 1350, 1360, 1400, 1410, 1450, 1500, 1600, 1680, 1690, 1700, 1800, 2000, 2010, 2020, 3020, 4650, 5020, 5100 9110, 9500
• Acer Extensa: 3000, 4100 (force_series=4100)
• Acer Travelmate: C100, C110, C300, 200, 210, 220/260, 230/280, 240, 250, 260, 290, 350, 360, 370, 380, 420, 430, 520, 530, 540, 610, 620, 630, 650, 660, 800, 2410, 3200, 2300/4000/4500, 2350/4050, 4100/4600, 4150/4650, (force_series, needed), 8000
• Fujitsu Siemens: Amilo D, Amilo M (7400), Amilo 7820, Amilo Pro(V2000)
• Medion: MD2900 (no autodetection, use force_series=2900), MD9783, MD40100, MD41300, MD42200, MD49400, MD95400, MD96500, MD97000, MD97600
• Other: AOpen, Compal CL56 (or similar)
• Prestigio: Nobile151, Nobile156, Nobile157

On laptops with 64bit architecture this driver is only usable in 32 bit mode.

The older Travelmate series (starting with 290, 530, 650, 800) aren't supported very well, since Acer uses different hardware. It is the same as found in some HP Omnibook notebooks, so please have a look at the omnibook drivers, if your model is not well supported. Enabling the extra buttons should work with acerhk for all models, but on some it could be problematic to activate wireless hardware.