It’s finally here and on my EEE PC. Xubuntu 8.10 is sitting hapily on my EEE PC’s internal 2GB SSD hard drive. I have patiently waited for the day that I could remove the uninspiring version of Linux that defaults on the Asus EEE PC.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m excited to see Linux on a computer that is so popular. However, Xandros is all but a real Linux experience. I thoroughly enjoy Linux; therefore I need a real Linux distribution.
My method for installing Xubuntu on my EEE PC is probably a bit old-fashioned, but it sufficed to do the job. All I did was:
- Download the Xubuntu ISO from the website and burn it to a CD
- Connect a DVD drive (a CD-Rom will do as well) to my EEE PC via USB cable
- Boot the EEE PC to the Xubuntu CD and begin the install
It took longer than normal to install, but it finished without any problems. In fact, when I completed the first boot into Xubuntu, I checked my available disk space. To my surprise, with Xubuntu installed, I have 300MB more free disk space than with Xandros. I can also free up a bit more space by uninstalling some unneeded applications (something not easily done on the EEE PC 2G Surf).
All of the drivers were installed. The only thing required is to install a wireless network utility from a repository to get the wi-fi adapter fully working.
This is a very exciting moment for me in my ownership of an EEE PC. It has even caused me to coin a term.
Xubeeentu – An EEE PC laptop with the Xubuntu Linux distribution installed as the OS.
I guess you could similarly use the terms: Ubeeentu, Kubeeentu, Edubeeentu, Gobeeentu, etc.
Get fed!
I would also like to point out that I did not add a swap partition while setting up the partition table. That would be something for you to consider, if you should ever consider installing Xubuntu/Ubuntu on your EEE PC. At least for the 2G Surf, since it has limited drive space.
Unfortunately, the built in wireless networking adapter is not functioning as well as I had thought. Turns out, my driver was properly installed, but the configuration utility seems to think the wireless adapter is disabled. The indicator LED on the EEE PC is lit to show that the wireless adapter is enabled. Function+F2 does nothing.
Another strange issue I have come across is when I tell Xubuntu to shut the system down, the OS does it’s normal shut down routine, but the system never actually shuts down. I have to hold in the power button for about 5 seconds to fully power off the system.
As far as I can tell, everything else works fine.
After a bit of tinkering, I got the wireless network adapter to finally work. I followed the instructions on this page: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EeePC/Fixes
Specifically, I did the steps under the section called, “Installing ath5k driver on Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex” towards the top of the page. Of the 5 steps, step 3 did not work. However, I went ahead and finished the other 2 steps and rebooted the EEE PC. After the reboot, my wireless network was detected and ready for connecting.
The page at the above link also gives a fix for the shutdown issue. Search for the section with “Shutdown” for its title. It’s a simple edit of a text file.
There are many other fixes for issues with Ubuntu on the EEE PC on that same page. It is well worth a read when installing Ubuntu on your EEE PC.
[...] “ultra” in my opinion. I would rather see 4-5 hours. Also, I have a good feeling that I will be replacing Xandros with an installation of Xubuntu. I’m a fan of Ubuntu Linux and its various editions (i.e. [...]