Graphics acceleration for Dell Latitude D400? (needs i810 module)

[Zoidberg]

Hello there,

I recently installed Linux Lite 3.0 on a Dell Latitude D400 and am generally very pleased with the result. The only let-down is the video playback. For example, youtube videos with a quality setting above 360p are jittery. I have seen on the page http://linlap.com/dell_latitude_d400 that the i810 module is recommended as the graphics driver when using Linux with this laptop and I'm guessing this module is not included with Linux Lite.

So far I have tried...

• Looking in the Additional Drivers tab of the Software & Updates utility. There it says:
  Unknown: Unknown
  This device is not working.
  And it gives me two options, one saying Using Processor microcode firmware for Intel CPUs from Intel-microcode (proprietary) and another Do not use this device. Neither option leads to good video playback. There are no options specifically relating to graphics.
  
  
• Running the command sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-intel
  (executed successfully but did not help)
  
• Following instructions on Ubuntu help forum https://help.ubuntu.com/community/i810 but could not find the xorg config files mentioned.
  

Please help if possible!

[torreydale]

My experience has been that you're not going to get a smooth HD youtube video experience via a browser with your hardware.  You can use Minitube as a workaround or consider moving to a Linux distro that has an LXDE desktop like LXLE or Lubuntu.  Try the Live Media of either of those distros before installing.  Minitube can be downloaded using Install/Remove Software (Menu > System > Install/Remove Software).

[Zoidberg]

Hi Torrey,

thanks for your advice. The trouble is, playing medium- or hi-res videos through standalone media players like Minitube or VLC is almost as bad.

I've already tried installing Lubuntu but it doesn't seem to be compatible with Dell Latitude D400s. The install command produces only scrambled text, even with forcepae. So next I'm going to try the LXLE in Live Media. Or maybe Linux Mint with LXDE.

Unless somebody can help me to utilize my graphics chip better with LL? I do like LL. 

[torreydale]

I have checked at crucial.com, and you can upgrade your memory on that D400 to 2GB.  But still, from my experience, a 1.4Ghz 32-bit processor and 2GB of RAM is not going to do what you want on Linux Lite.  LXLE is your better option, and as long as you're going to try its Live Media, I suggest you do it using their 14.04 series first.  Their 32-bit download files aren't easy to find, so I'll private message you the *.torrent file.