Li'l Linux Help?

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I figured this was better than starting a new one.

I'm running Linux Mint on my Eee PC, and my volume up/down and wifi on/off function keys currently don't work. I can change the volume in Linux and sound works great, I'd just like to be able to do it with the keyboard. I tried compiling whatever wifi fix there was for eeeXubuntu (found at http://wiki.eeeuser.com), but it didn't work.

Also, it takes three key presses to boot into Linux. At the beginning of the loading screen there is what appears to be hex in the top left corner of the screen. I hit Enter, and it starts a countdown (which I then hit enter again to go to the bootloader). The bootloader is the third Enter. Is there any way I can do away with this? It's not a big deal, but I'd like to not have to babysit the boot process.

 

hmmm...some interesting problems there..

the wifi is most likely due to the fact linux mint wasn't designed with the eeepc...this may help>>http://code.google.com/p/eee-ubuntu-support/


as for the boot issue.....you got me there 0_o


Good luck, and post your results

I found this today, might give it a shot this weekend! >>http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2007/10/31/usb-linux-mint-install-from-windows/


Ryan

 

well as the SD card hasn't turned up yet, I'm currently running eexubuntu on the SSD, and will dd it to the SD card once it comes. I'll possibly also get another SD card and whack XP on at some point if I want it.

 

I haven't really looked at fixes for my problems. I've seen that link for the Ubuntu Eee updates, but I'm running Mint which had a lot of the problems people had with Ubuntu fixed from the get-go. I don't want to install an update not knowing what it will do, especially if mostly everything works. Thanks though.

As a side note, I've been messing around with Terminal and getting more comfortable with the commands. I love having a command prompt again - I grew up on DOS and having something new to learn is very exciting (in the nerdiest way ).

 

Installed MacOSX on to my westren digital external drive....installed fine...but wouldn't boot. Had to go through windows disk manager, delete the drive partition and then format it back to ntsf.......oh well...

now im off to try linuxmint via 1 gig usb drive!


Ryan

 

Go for it. I like it more than the default Ubuntu.

I recommend doing many of the tweaks in here (http://wiki.eeeuser.com/ubuntu:eeexubuntu:customization). A lot of them aren't necessary, though, since many of these problems are fixed "out of the box."

If you click "Shutdown" and it doesn't completely shut off, look under "Removing sound during Shutdown" and do the steps listed. It worked wonders for me.

 

Alright, well I've gone a few weeks without fixing this, but does anyone know how I would go about fixing my function keys (wifi on/off, volume up/down specifically)? I figure it would be as "easy" as finding out what buttons put out what command and then mapping them to Linux, but I don't know how I would go about doing that. Any help is appreciated.

 

Taemos....I haven't a clue, though have you checked out the eeeuser.com forums?



I installed a live USB version of EeeDora, and i absolutley love it, though, is there any way for it to remember my configurations and software installs, instead of it reverting back to default each time i boot?


Ryan

 

Something tells me this probably isn't the best place on the internet for Linux advice

I might go with Puppeee. It's much smaller and everything works from the get-go. The only thing I don't like about it is that it's slightly uglier, but that's a pretty small trade-in for a few extra gigabytes to play around with.

 

cough*eeedora*cough 340mb iso, xfce, clean, simple

btw taemos...the current os you have on it...was it just generic, or a custom eeepc version that there seems to be plenty of these days


Ryan

 

Eeedora is based on a different kernel than what I'm used to using, but I'll look into it. I don't like XFCE but I'm pretty sure that's the same thing Puppy uses anyway.

The Linux Mint install I have is straight from a standard ISO of Mint 4.0. I wanted the Eee-specific distribution but apparently there were problems with it so I just used a guide to install it to a thumbdrive. It's the best distribution I've used so far but I still think I could do better (I'm a demanding user ).

 

were you able to get linux mint to save changes and configurations from the usb, or was it just a live cd?

could you send me a link of the tutorial you used?



Ryan

 

I think I used this tutorial (http://forum.notebookreview.com/archive/index.php/t-190661.html). I never got the volume or wifi keys to work, but that is pretty much the only problem I've had.

I'd call it a "live USB," but I was able to install just fine. Just make sure when you're setting up the partitioning that you have everything where you want it to go (ie. don't format your thumbdrive thinking it's your SSD or similar).

 

taemos, thanks, i might give it a shot, but im more interested in getting a persistent os running off the drive. I;m downloading pendrivelinux2008 which is debian based and am going to try the eeepc based ubuntu fixes for it to see if i can get wifi working


Ryan

 

Well, using Linux on my Eee PC for the last few months has made me convert my desktop. I still have a Windows partition, which shows up on my desktop (sda1). Is there any way I can remove this icon/make it invisible while keeping my mounting options the same?

 

Well, you can edit the fstab file, so it won't load at start up (but you could load it after, using the terminal).

I don't know if this would work though, since i never tried to do it.

PS: Before editing the fstab, make sure you make a backup of it.

 

I switched back to Windows, EeeDora ran mediocre, as did eeebuntu.

Plus, i need it now for Dreamweaver and Flash and Photoshop!


Next up, Hackintosh!

 

@Johnny: That's one thing I didn't want to do was turn off mounting at the start, that's why I didn't mention the fstab. I just want to make the icon "invisible." I prefer a clean desktop. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

EeeBuntu runs alright for me. It could be slighty snappier, but I prefer it over Windows. Puppeee ran great after it had loaded into RAM, which takes about a minute and a half. I'm not Linux-savvy enough to try and get it the way I wanted it.

I've read good things about Mandriva, but the boot time is a minute and thirty seconds. I'm getting about one minute with Ubuntu/Eeebuntu.

 

I see. If i discover how to do it, i'll let you know. :thumbsup:

 

I got it.


Nice and tidy