Asus N56VZ + Ubuntu 12.04 (en)

Edit · Aug 19, 2012 · 1 minute read · asus n56vz linux ubuntu

It seems that it’s common a problem to setup Ubuntu on the new Asus N56VZ so I decided to create an English version of my post.
I was struggling with three issues about two weeks. Here are they:

  1. Multimedia buttons (Fn+F*)
  2. Subwoofer
  3. Ethernet adapter

I’ll start with the Subwoofer issue because it’s with the easiest fix. Adding **options snd-hda-intel model=asus-mode4 **at the end of  /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf  will solve the problem.

For enabling the ethernet adapter you have to install compat-wireless-2012-03-12-p from http://www.orbit-lab.org/kernel/compat-wireless/2012/03/. The installation is straight-forward:

# ./scripts/driver-select alx

# make

# make install

# modprobe alx

And the last one (and most painful…) – multimedia buttons. Actually the problem wasn’t so hard if you know the solution (as usual)… You just have to update your kernel to version 3.5+ and install the patch - https://www.dropbox.com/s/0kd3p8lb9wg8xqi/asus-wmi-dkms_0.2_all.deb. Updating the BIOS is not necessary.