Ubuntu 9.04 + AspireOne 751h (11.6")

Basically everything works out of the box with the only exception being the video.

The problem is there are no open source Intel GMA500 drivers.

To fix your video see this page :

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne

The deb has been reported to work on Debian as well, although I did not test it on Debian.

There are a number of tips on that page as well as others. Most of the various performance tips add a modest at best benefit, although I do like mounting the /tmp and firefox cache into RAM rather then HD. It is faster and less wear + tear on your HD.

 

Reportedly, improving video performance is a major goal for the Karmic Koala release:

 

From what i've heard, still no real support for the GMA500, even with karmic. I hope i'm wrong however...


I've currently got my 751h to run ubuntu and i'm pretty happy. I get about half an hour less battery though and the graphics aren't as smooth as xp was, but i can't resist open source

 

Hello,

I am a newbie...so I am not sure if I am posting this in the correct place. I have AspireOne 751h (11.6") with Ubuntu 9.04 and it is INCREDIBLY SLOW.....but I don't see anyone complaining about this. I had tried the regular ubuntu distribution before the remix, but that was also incredibly slow.....is there a tweak? Or should I go for Linpus Linux or FreeBSD? My Aspire is the 2GB ram model with 250 Gb disk....1.33mhz processor.

I have XP and the Ubuntu 9.04 remix running side by side with no problems except the very slow speed, it is unusuable! In looking at the performance monitor, the processor (dual core) keeps peaking at 100%, even while downloading the system updates!


Thanks for any replies pointing me on what to do. Is there a tweak?

 

I have the Aspire 1 751h with the 11.6" display, 1Gb RAM, and the 160Gb conventional spinning hard drive (not the SSD model). This is set for dual boot between Windows XP and Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop (not remix). The default boot is into Ubuntu 9.04. I have just under about 2Gb for the swap partition, but this, by all I read, is way more than required, it was however the default during the Linux install.

I think the speed is fine. But speed is relative. It takes 46 seconds to reach a login prompt from Ubuntu, including a deliberate 4 second delay to give the user a chance to switch OS to XP. What else can I tell you to compare your speed to mine?

 

One possible way to check speed against my unit is to use the application hardinfo. You may have to install this (I did). On my machine you then can get to the application by selecting System -> Preferences -> System Profiler and Benchmark.

At the bottom of the resultant report were a few benchmark tests, my results ("This Machine") are pasted here:

CPU Fibonacci
This Machine 11.047
Intel(R) Celeron(R) M processor 1.50GHz 8.1375674
PowerPC 740/750 (280.00MHz) 58.07682

CPU MD5
This Machine 37.397
PowerPC 740/750 (280.00MHz) 7.115258
Intel(R) Celeron(R) M processor 1.50GHz 38.6607998

CPU SHA1
This Machine 20.917
PowerPC 740/750 (280.00MHz) 6.761451
Intel(R) Celeron(R) M processor 1.50GHz 49.6752776

CPU Blowfish
This Machine 29.239
Intel(R) Celeron(R) M processor 1.50GHz 26.1876862
PowerPC 740/750 (280.00MHz) 172.816713

FPU Raytracing
This Machine 83.979
Intel(R) Celeron(R) M processor 1.50GHz 40.8816714
PowerPC 740/750 (280.00MHz) 161.312647

 

When you say "XP and the Ubuntu 9.04 remix running side by side" do you mean dual boot, or simultaneously using WINE or virtualization? If the former, you should not be having performance problems; if the latter, well, you're just trying to do too much with a low-end machine.

Try a fresh install. I find speed of the 9.04 desktop release fine for just about everything except video, which is a known issue with Ubuntu 9.04. If I want to watch videos, I reboot in XP. Also, go to System --> Appearance --> Visual Effects and choose None -- those nifty visual effects suck up a lot of CPU. Turning off visual effects is probably the #1 thing to make 9.04 responsive on any Atom netbook.



Chrome is spectacularly quick, and doesn't chew up memory the way FireFox does. Alas, Chrome for Linux doesn't do everything yet, so I still need to run FF occasionally.

 

I haven't run actual benchmarks, but video performance seems better after implementing the ondemand change documented at:

http://allredb.wordpress.com/2009/05/07 ... aunty-904/

Stuttering video has disappeared; previously on some videos, I could hear the sound, but the video was choppy and not in sync with sound.

If you decide to try this, make a backup copy of the ondemand script unless you are very comfortable with your under the hood skills.

 

In my experience the Ubuntu Netbook runs much slower then a standard Ubuntu installation.

Personally I went with xubuntu.

 

I am trying to install Fedora on my Aspire One.

I encounter two problems:
1) My netbook has a Belgian Keyboard. When In try to change the keyboard layout, I am presented with a series of choices, none of which matches the keyboard I use. Inparticular, there is no numeric pad an my netbook.
2) the wireless link does not start.

Can anyone help m with these two topics?

Thanks and regards

 

Hello jjv,

I am afraid I can not help you so much, especially with respect to the keyboard issue. It might be this topic is better addressed in a Fedora forum as it may not be Aspire specific; and, at least up to now, no person has responded with their own experience or suggestion. From the Ubuntu side, there were no issues with wireless using version 9.04, the default install selections, and my Model Aspire 751h.

 

What is the vendor id and device id of the WIFI card in Linux? Is it Broadcom or Atheros? I got Broadcom. If it is Broadcom, is the device id 4315 or 4312? We got problem running this wifi can in Mac OS X and need rebranding to 4312 to be used in Mac OS X.

 

Sorry, my wireless vendor ID is Atheros Communications Inc.