Both meego and peppermint installs won't boot

Hi

I have an AO110 with the 8gb SSD, 512mb ram.

Was running tiny 7 for a while which was ok, but just got slower and slower with constant freezes whilst using an internet browser.

Decided it's time was up a couple of days ago and installed Ubuntu. Same problem tho, just wasn't responsive.

Tried a build of Google Chromium but the build is unstable with most web pages crashing the browser. Has promise I think.

So tried both meego and peppermint last night. Both run ok from the live usb, if a wee bit choppy.

However, neither, despite installing correctly afaik will boot - on meego I get a message something like "system cannot find boot device". On Peppermint it just sits with a flashing dash as if it's trying to load. I've tried installing instead to a 16gb card in the storage memory slot but same problem.

As Ubuntu and Chromium booted fine after installed, I don't know if this is a specific issue with the netbook or something I'm missing during installation.

Or wether these issues added to the sluggishness I've had of late means the SSD is maybe on it's way out?

Would appreciate any suggestions here, I only want to use the bloomin book as a portable net browser!

 

It is possible that your SSD is going bad.

Or maybe you didn't install the bootloader correctly. During the installation process, watch for a dropbox or other control asking where to install the bootloader. Make sure it's set to install on the SSD, and also make sure to choose the disk itself as the boot device and not any partition on the disk (SDA rather than SDA1). Also, try removing all memory cards and other media before installation.

If you are using btrfs filesystem for your / partition, which Meego uses by default but I don't think Peppermint does, then you must have a separate /boot partition formatted in something other than btrfs, for example ext3 or ext4.

Also add the "noatime" boot option to save wear on your SSD. Google noatime SSD and your distro name for instructions on how to do this.

You may not have enough memory to run some of those distros (I'm not sure what the minimum is for those two that you tried). You might try something lighter such as crunchbang, Lubuntu or Fedora LXDE remix.

I know there's a lot here. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Thx v much for the comprehensive reply, most appreciated.

I may have got hung up on the boot options but thought I had tried both the main SSD as well as the expansion card. Since the install seemed to work otherwise, you are probably correct that I specified a wrong boot device. I'll retain your advice for any future attempts.

In the meantime I did get so frustrated that I tried Lubuntu and am happy to report that it runs very nicely, installed with no problems either. I will use your tip for the SSD, thanks.

I'm still toying with trying a cloud based solution like Peppermint (or Chromium if a stable build that co-exists with the AA1 becomes available) but for now Lubuntu seems to do the job nicely.

Cheers.

 

FWIW, I've installed Peppermint successfully on my AA1 512 meg 8 gig. Installed very easily and straight forward from USB stick via Unetbootin or similar bootloader (can't remember which I used) and booting to USB. I've previously run Lubuntu and I do like it, but I like Peppermint better, which I've been running for a few months now. I've had my netbook for about 3 years now and have tried many distro's. Peppermint is my favorite so far with Lubuntu a close second.