I recently got myself an Asus eeePC 4G. I wasn’t that impressed with the pre-installed Xandros linux, so I went on installing a brand new Ubuntu 8.04. I also got myself a Novatel Ovation MC950D USB HSUPA modem, which allows me to connect to my local 3G carrier, Sunrise T@ke Away, Switzerland. I had no problems running the card with Ubuntu, since it was detected and auto-loaded immediately without any problems and allowed me to access the modem through the serial device /dev/ttyUSB0.
After a while though, I got a little bored with Ubuntu, especially by the fact that it took about two minutes to boot, compared to a mere 10 seconds that the original Xandros distribution required. So I decided to go back to the original Asus distribution and give it another try.
I then realized, that I wasn’t able to load the kernel module for my modem anymore and that the built in connection manager wouldn’t allow me to choose my Novatel modem for a GSM connection.
I know that the Huawei E220 would load without any problems and since the Novatel modem is just another USB serial device, I started tinkering with the usb-serial kernel module. After a while I found out, that loading the “option” module would load the device driver correctly. The only problem was to tell the driver, which device to connect to. The vendor and product ID for the Novatel modem is 0×1410 (vendorId) and 0×4400 (productId). I read on a forum post, that these settings could be supplied after the module had been loaded. So I went on and added the following two lines to my /etc/rc.local file, after opening a terminal with ctrl-alt-t:
sudo vi /etc/rc.local
Add these two lines before “exit 0″:
/sbin/modprobe option
echo "0x1410 0x4400" > /sys/bus/usb-serial/drivers/option1/new_id
For those not proficient in VI, just hit “ESC :wq” and the file saves and closes. Now, enable the execution of rc.local at boot time:
sudo echo "rc.local" > /etc/fastservices
Save the file and reboot your machine. You could also supply these two lines manually on the shell every time you restarted your machine. Now you’re able to select the Novatel USB modem in your connection manager and setup up a new 3G/GSM/HSDPA connection.
If you have another modem which uses the same option module, you can simply exchange the vendor and product id by your device’s ids. To find out your device’s id just look at this file:
less /proc/bus/usb/devices
Locate your device and use the vendor and product id that you find there. This should work for most Novatel devices, such as EVDO and 3G modems. Novatel devices should always have 0×1410 as their vendor id, so look for a device with that denomination.
After successfully installing the modem you can move on and configure your network connection. HINT: You might want to disable the PIN code on your SIM card before trying to establish a connection. I think the configuration wizard will not prompt you for the PIN, though I might be wrong.
The following pictures show you how this looks like (German version of the eeePC OS):
1. Select the appropriate connection type:
2. The modem is now showing up:
3. Scanning for GSM networks:
4. Select GSM network:
5. Select your provider’s network settings:
6. Name your connection:
7. Summary of your new connection:
8. Finally, the connection is set up and running smoothly. We’re online :
Thanks to “neilmc” to pointing out the option module behavior in his post on http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=940241&r=15131419#r15131419 .
. While the liquid in question shall stay unnamed, the notebook was a MacBook Pro 17 inch! You might guess my reaction… I was lucky to turn the system off immediately and shook most of the liquid out of the notebook. I also used some compressed air to get the liquid out of some nastier places of the new MacBook. Finally, and luckily(!) the system was running again flawlessly… until the keyboard started to annoy me after two more weeks. It got sticky and keys were not responding well anymore. As I pushed a key it took 1-2s for the key to pop out again. Since I really like to write fast on my keyboard this was starting to become a bigger problem.
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Had a similar accident about a year ago. I emptied a glass of icetea over my Powerbook, but didn’t even care to turn it off… I poured another glass, of water this time, over the PB in the hope of washing the sugar away and let the liquid drain off. No stuck keys, no short-circuit. The only problem is that the CD/DVD drive ejects discs to only one fifth (it used to be to one half before the accident), but that’s not too annoying. Anyway, nice pics and good luck!
As long the keyboard is the only thing poured it’s not that dramatic. The keyboard is pretty well sealed off the rest of the notebook. I had the problem that liquid entered the case by the fan openings too…
Poor mac
I realize that this is an old post, so the comment may go unnoticed, but I thoroughly enjoyed the take-apart gallery! My brother just peeled his MBP apart to rescue it from some spilled milk, and I have been considering doing the re-assembly for him. Anyway, I know the answers to a couple of the questions in the gallery
The plastic sheet with funny markings is primarily clear to carry the LED light across the underside of the keyboard, the funny markings catch the light so that the keys are illuminated evenly (you’ll notice that the dots are larger at the periphery of the keyboard where there is less available light).
The unknown sensor is the real motivation for my comment. The plastic backlight diffuser is pretty cool, but the sensor that you’ve photographed is the clamshell contact – way cooler in my opinion. This is what causes your MBP to sleep when the lid gets closed. Keen observers will notice that the machine will actually sleep BEFORE the latch engages because this sensor is magnetic. You can even fool your machine into sleep with a weak magnet (like a fridge magnet) over this area. There shouldn’t be any danger in trying as the HDD is on the left of the machine, but caution is always advised.
Thanks for the great photos!
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