Linux is where the separate hardware projects have to become one computer. This page will track that integration once the CM5 carrier, display board, keyboard adapter, and power hardware are ready to test together.

It is deliberately not a finished tutorial yet. We do not want to publish guessed configuration files before the hardware is stable.

Base system

The first image will probably be Raspberry Pi OS, though another CM5-compatible distribution may work just as well. Our first goals are intentionally modest:

  • boot reliably
  • drive the VAIO P display
  • receive USB HID input from the keyboard controller
  • control display brightness
  • expose battery and power state
  • suspend, shut down, and recover safely

Display configuration

The 1600 x 768 panel will need the correct Raspberry Pi timing and DPI configuration for the Koyomi-style LVDS path.

We will publish the exact working overlay after first light. Until then, this page will record the timings we tested, including the failures, so the final configuration has evidence behind it.

Keyboard firmware

If the keyboard controller does its job, Linux should see the VAIO keyboard as ordinary USB HID. That avoids a custom kernel driver and keeps the unusual work in firmware we control.

The keyboard firmware repository should track:

  • matrix map
  • special keys
  • modifier behavior
  • pointing-stick plan
  • USB descriptor behavior

Power and battery

Power management is where this stops being a collection of boards and starts behaving like a laptop. Linux needs a trustworthy view of the battery, charging state, safe shutdown, and any data exposed by the battery board.

The minimum useful Linux integration is a battery indicator and predictable shutdown. The better version includes brightness control, suspend behavior, and thermal monitoring.

Integration milestone

We will call the first Linux milestone complete when the VAIO P boots on its original screen, accepts input from its original keyboard, and shuts down without putting the panel, battery, or filesystem at risk. A Linux photo belongs here when that milestone is real.