I am the happy owner of a brand new Sony Vaio pcg-grt170 laptop.
I will be writing an article here on my over 1 year experience with the gr390 and Linux (and windows, since linux worked BETTER and was easier and had more driver support than every version of Windows except XP Home <gag>).
My gr390 had it's screen destroyed by one of my sons by accident this summer, Sony wanted $950 for a replacement screen (a whole laptop was about the same for that model) and I was in frantic need of a replacement laptop, and I have been very happy with the last two Vaios I've had, happier than any other laptop I've owned (hp, dell, compaq, toshiba (close third), pcnotebook, winbest, ibm (close second)).
Just to be clear, the GRT170 is a portable workstation. It is very large and not for the weak of arms or back. But it's exactly what I need. I have my Jornadas (one I'm trying to put NetBSD on soon) to take care of the ultra-portable side.
This new beauty has a 16.1" screen!
It has the following specs (Since different packages are available for this model):
Model: pcg-grt170 (bottom of laptop says: 8M2L)
CPU: 2.8 Ghz p4 512KB L2 on-die cache
RAM: 512MB DDR SDRAM (And the other 512 is on the way)
HD: 60 GB
Optical: DVD+/-RW and CDRW drive (woohoo burn dvds!)
LCD: 16.1" 1400x1050 SXGA+ TFT
Bus: 533 Mhz
Video: Nvidia GeForce4 FX Go 5600 64MB DDR SGRAM (0x031a)
Modem:??? V.90 winmodem
Ethernet:SiS900
Wifi/wireless 802.11b:AMBit
Memory stick slot:
Battery life is exactly 1 hour 30 minutes unless all power saving features turned on.
PCcard slots.
Audio:Intel 8x0
IEEE Sony iLINK port:
USB: x3 2.0 ports
Ports: VGA out and parallel port.

What I wish it had:
Built-in floppy (have to order usb fd)
Longer battery life
Infrared port (luckily I have an external serial one and a usb to serial adapter so I can synch my casio watch and such).
1 serial port
More USB ports
RCA out
RCA in for analog vid cap since I don't have any ieee based video cameras.

Click "Read More" for all the details on making this work, as well as the gr390 laptop I used for ayear with several versions of linux. It went VERY smoothly out of the box...

Here's some of what I did to get the GRT170 working that I posted on LInuxQuestions.org:
I have two Vaios and have been a Linux user since the 0.9x kernel days.
 Started on Slackware.
 Used Redhat from 6x to 7.3. Hate RH 8x and 9x
 Ok with Debian, though reminiscent of the "early days" in getting everything to work.
 I've tried over 20 different distros over the years.
 Now trying Suse 8.2 Pro. Slick interface and tools.
 My Vaio pcg-gr390 installed redhat 7.3 smoother than any version of windows would. There isn't very good driver support for it under anything except XP home, and I'd rather be hit by a Mac truck than work on crucial client work using that OS. Redhat installed beautifully. The only gotcha was the APM and screen. By adding the sonypi utils, and making sure the kernel (already) had sonpi support, that was resolved in a few minutes.
 I just picked up this Vaio PCG-grt170. Been drooling all over the 16.1" screen! :-) But about pulling my hair out trying to get it fully functional under Linux.
 Started with Debian, but too much pain, so quit after a few hours.
 Next Redhat 7.3. Almost no drivers worked.
 Since I had this SuSe CD sitting around paid for, I figured I'd try it.
 It installed the easiest, but the following did NOT work with during the install and have to be addressed afterwards:
 Detected video for nvidia drivers will blank out and even potentially lock up the system.
 Built-in wireless detects butr refuses to load the drivers/module.
 Onboard modem not recognized at all.
 No DVD playing capability due to the wonderful "patent restrictions" and other bulbous shiittake mushroom legal crap going on these days.
 So, I booted into "safe mode" (init 3) command line.
 Ran xf86config (text version) and selected VESA Generic and highest res option for screen without going into custom (option 10 I think).
 That works well enough at 1280x1024. I found a site where the owner managed to get it to 1400x1050, I have to do that after I'm into X, since I don't have the current frequency ranges for this laptop yet.
 I downloaded the nvidia drivers and followed the directions and it supposedly installs without errors. But when I try to run SaX2 as per directions it blanks out the screen and eventually either comes back to command line or hangs the system. Apparently I'm not the only one having this problem and it may require an updated XFree86 compilation newer than what is currently available from teh Suse updates sites which I ran and went through the nvidia steps again to no avail.
 Anyone have any luck getting those to work?
 I try to patch the orinoco_pci.c with the patch from another site but it keeps failing 1 out of 1 hunks with out any clear reason why, so no wireless still.
 Haven't started to tackle the modem or dvd issues yet. DVD is probably just the usual downloads and addons needed. Modem might be resolved by the linmodem addons I used under redhat, don't know for sure yet.
 The ethernet works fine, so I'm limping along on that and in VESA mode, sound works out of the box just fine.
 This is such a new laptop there isn't much on the web yet.
 Anyone had any more luck than I have with this grt170?
 Hope that helped give you some useful insight.

THen I followed up with solution for video:
Managed to get the video working at last!
 The key was the following entries in XF86Config:
 Option "FlatPanel"
 Option "CrtcNumber" "1"
 In the Nvidia driver section.
 Here's what mine looks like:
 <snip>
 Section "Monitor"
 Option "CalcAlgorithm" "CheckDesktopGeometry"
 DisplaySize 320 240
 HorizSync 28-95
 Identifier "Monitor[0]"
 ModelName "1400x1050@60HZ"
 Option "DPMS"
 VendorName "--> LCD"
 VertRefresh 40-62
 UseModes "Modes[0]"
 EndSection
 
 
 Section "Modes"
 Identifier "Modes[0]"
 Modeline "1280x1024" 105.64 1280 1296 1552 1736 1024 1024 1034 1070
 Modeline "1152x864" 80.14 1152 1168 1384 1568 864 864 872 902
 Modeline "1024x768" 63.23 1024 1040 1216 1400 768 768 775 802
 Modeline "800x600" 38.69 800 816 928 1072 600 600 605 626
 Modeline "640x480" 24.76 640 656 720 864 480 480 484 501
 EndSection
 
 
 Section "Screen"
 DefaultDepth 16
 SubSection "Display"
 Depth 15
 Modes "1280x1024" "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
 SubSection "Display"
 Depth 16
 Modes "1400x1050"
 EndSubSection
 SubSection "Display"
 Depth 24
 Modes "1280x1024" "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
 SubSection "Display"
 Depth 32
 Modes "1280x1024" "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
 SubSection "Display"
 Depth 8
 Modes "1280x1024" "1152x864" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
 Device "Device[0]"
 Identifier "Screen[0]"
 Monitor "Monitor[0]"
 EndSection
 Section "Device"
 BoardName "0x031a"
 BusID "1:0:0"
 Driver "nv"
 Identifier "Device[0]"
 VendorName "NVidia"
 Option "FlatPanel"
 Option "CrtcNumber" "0"
 EndSection
 </snip>
 
 This is how I came to this.
 Suse 8.2 with updates.
 Booted into Linux "Safe" mode, console login.
 As root ran xf86config (text version).
 Configured VESA driver at 1280x1024x60hz
 Saved and booted into X.
 Ran SaX2. Configured monitor at LCD1400x1050@60hz
 Saved (avoided running test in this mode).
 Exited X.
 went to /etc/X11
 Vi'd XF86Config
 Added those above mentioned "options" for the nv driver section.
 Saved.
 Started X.
 Jumped up and down with joy.
 :-)
 Be careful about not running SaX2 afterwards since it doesn't put in those options on it's own.
 Now to tackle:
 builtin in WiFI.
 DVD playing/burning
 Builtin winmodem


Now I want those working. I'll post back and update this article as I make progress.


Here's what working so far on SuSe 8.2 pro with updates as of September 2nd, 2003:
IDE HD: OK
IDE/SD CD Player data cd (mp3):OK
IDE/SD CD Player music cd: NO :-(
IDE/SD DVD Movies, Player: NO (license issues, I'll have to get apps added)
IDE/SD CDR: TBD
IDE/SD CDRW: TBD
IDE/SD DVDR: TBD
IDE/SD DVDRW: TBD
IDE/SD DVDRW+/-:TBD
Video/LCD: YES (with updates and config tweaks)
Video/External: YES (with updates and config tweaks)
Audio Card: OK
Modem Built-in Winmodem: NO
NIC Built-in: YES
Wifi/802.11b  builtin: NO
Memory Stick: TBD
Screen Bright control: NO
Sound control buttons: NO
Function keys: NO
ACPI: NO
Battery Monitor (ACPI): NO
Parallel Port: TBD
USB1: TBD
USB2: TBD
USB3: TBD
IEEE iLINK: TBD (they want ridiculous amount for cable)
External USB Floppy drive: TBD (waiting for arrival)

Additional devices I will be trying to get working:
Jornada 720 via USB
USB to Serial Adapter
Jornada 690 via Serial (USB to Serial adapter)
Palm Vx via Serial (USB to Serial Adapter)
GPS 310 Magellan via Serial (USB to Serial Adapter)
Serial IR dongle attached to Serial to USB adapter
Casio PC-Unite Watch via Infrared (USB to Serial to IR Adapters)
Cisco Aironet 350 PC card 802.11b
Orinoco PC card 802.11b
Netgear PC card 802.11b
Dell/Orinoco PC Card 802.11b
Quickcam Pro 3000 USB
Quickcam Home USB
Quickcam Color Parallel (old)
Printer, BJC-70 parallel
Printer, HP1000 USB
Printer, HPLJ4, parallel
Printer, BJC-620, Parallel
Scanner, HP S20, USB
Scanner, 600 II CD
Scanner, 1200LS via SCSI PC Card
Scanner, Paragon ??? via SCSI PC Card
Console access via USB to Serial adapter to Ultra 10 Sparcs
USB Hub, 4 port

Legend:
OK = works with default install
YES = works with extra effort/drivers/software
NO = Not working (yet)
TBD = To be determined, not tested yet
VMWare 3.x
SCSI PC Card adapter
Jaz 2GB drive via SCSI PC Card
Zip 100MB SCSI Drive via SCSI PC Card

This will take a while to get all resolved, and some may not be possible, but I'll keep updating this article as I make progress.
Also, if you have any success with anything I've listed as not working, please email me to tell me how so that I can get it working and tell others that come to this article how to do it. send mail to hawke(at)hawkes-haven.com

UPdate, 2003-09-03.
DVD plays DVD movies now. A LOT of downloads and work.
After i installed everything (links provided shortly), I found I had to manually kill off the ARTSD sound daemon for Ogle to work. It sounds as though, if I get a different ffront end than the default I may be able to configure it to avoid that. But it does work now with liquid smooth video and audio.
Here's the (many) links for al lthe downloads I had to get:
<A href="http://lists.suse.com/archive/suse-multimedia-e/2003-May/0004.html">http://lists.suse.com/archive/suse-multimedia-e/2003-May/0004.html</a>
<a href="http://www.dtek.chalmers.se/groups/dvd/downloads.shtml">http://www.dtek.chalmers.se/groups/dvd/downloads.shtml</a>
<a href="http://packman.links2linux.org/?action=124">http://packman.links2linux.org/?action=124</a>
<a href="http://www.dtek.chalmers.se/groups/dvd/faq.shtml">http://www.dtek.chalmers.se/groups/dvd/faq.shtml</a>
<a href="http://lists.berlios.de/pipermail/ogle-user/2003-February/001269.html">http://lists.berlios.de/pipermail/ogle-user/2003-February/001269.html</a>
<a href="http://lists.berlios.de/pipermail/ogle-user/2003-March/001383.html">http://lists.berlios.de/pipermail/ogle-user/2003-March/001383.html</a>

I have the wifi builtin card detecting and connecting at the wireless level to the AP with encryption, but I can't ping and I'm getting errors.
I used the following patch:
<A href="http://linux.derkeiler.com/Newsgroups/comp.os.linux.portable/2003-07/0238.html">http://linux.derkeiler.com/Newsgroups/comp.os.linux.portable/2003-07/0238.html</a>
I saw a slightly different one somewhere else, so I may track that other down and see what happens. Sooooooo, close.
Well, that's it for tonight, it's 2:20 am. Time to call it a day, at least for a few hours. ;)

On a last hunch, I tried just turning off eth0 (onboard ehternet nic) and voila! Hot and cold running wireless!
Wonder why it was interfering. I'll play with that later.
So that patch DOES work. You just have to patch then compile the module and install it.







NOTES:
Here are links to some others trying to conquer their GRT170 laptops:
<a href="http://www.liquiddatainc.com/grt170.html">http://www.liquiddatainc.com/grt170.html</a>
<a href="http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?threadid=83304">http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?threadid=83304</a>
<A href="http://www.well.com/~ralf/linux_on_sony_vaio_grt170.html">http://www.well.com/~ralf/linux_on_sony_vaio_grt170.html</a>
<a href="http://linux.derkeiler.com/Newsgroups/comp.os.linux.x/2003-08/0154.html">http://linux.derkeiler.com/Newsgroups/comp.os.linux.x/2003-08/0154.html</a>

And here's a link to what gave the hint that solved the video issues with X and the nvidia driver: <a href="http://www.xfree86.org/pipermail/forum/2003-March/000896.html">http://www.xfree86.org/pipermail/forum/2003-March/000896.html</a>