Wake up!!

I was browsing some forums today, using FF3 on standard Linpus, AA1 1gb 16gb. The mouse buttons stopped working, but the touchpad and keyboard still worked. I thought it was just Firefox, but clicking on the taskbar didn't do anything either. I pressed Ctrl-Alt-Del (I had hoped, now that I have Linux, I'd seen the last of that!) and Gnome System Monitor started. Still no clicking, but I can scroll up and down using the arrow keys. Everything in the list is "sleeping", including Firefox. Only Gnome System Monitor is running, but it still won't let me click. What's going on? With the continual wireless problems - it forgets it has a wireless card - and now not even responding to mouse clicks, I'm seriously considering selling this and using my Vista 15" laptop, never mind how antisocial it is on the train - at least I know how to fix that when it breaks.

 

1. Have you updated Linpus?

2. Have you updated the BIOS?

3. Have you tried an alternative OS? It's as easy as download, squirt to the a datapen with a simple GUI app, boot your Acer and press F12, and follow some instructions that are easier and shorter than opening a web mail account. I'dtry Linux4One - the standard version, not the flaky "Light".

I had a freeze on Acer when I was running Linpus, btw. I've had worse and more often on Windows machines, but there doesn't seem to a downside to changing as long as you pick a stable OS with proven support for the One.

(Btw - was your thread title a deliberate pun? "Wake up!!" for a thread about "The One"? An over-rated flick, anyway...)

 

ok,you make it sound simple, but i have zero experience with linux, al i know is that there are about 5 billion versions of it - can you recommend one in particular, preferably with a direct link please?

but i'm geting ahead of myself here, i got so frustrated with it, allowing me just one click after switching on, i reset it 15 times with the same result, and then pulled the battery, with some vague idea of a hard reset. now i just get a black screen. how can i recover it from here? or do i just take out my frustration with a hammer, and then forgive bill gates?

i'm typing this on my mobile phone, a painful experience - and accessing the internet is even more painful. have you ever used pocket internet explorer with 10mb of ram? i don't recommend it, but at least it works, which is more than can be said for the aa1.

 

The black screen is caused by the BIOS being corrupted, this is a known issue and is fixable via the "macles" method and a BIOS upgrade would prevent this.

Link: http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/08/acer ... overy.html

Once you get it up and running, I also suggest you install Windows XP Home SP3 on it instead. Linux will never be newbie friendly, no matter what people say. Check out the windows section of this forum for methods and tips on how to properly install Windows on the AAO. Cheers.

 

thanks tamrac, i'll try that in a couple of weeks when i get home. in the meantime i'll just have to go without the internet, except for emergencies. where can i get a copy of xp from? do microsoft still sell it?

 

I did, minus the link: Linux4One.

You need to go that Macles link and, to be honest, to be not be so bloody stupid in future. I'd have filled a warehouse with destroyed computers treating them like that. Rebooting, patiently, several times is ok... but after that you, acknowledge you have a problem.

 

If you need XP, search ebay for an "OEM copy". Make sure that it is unregistered.

But tamrac's advice is misleading. Linux4one is just as friendly as XP interface wise and uses a lot fewer hardware resources - ie your One will probably slow down with XP; the problem you had wasn't Linux based but BIOS based; and unless you have a USB DVD drive around then installing Linux4One will probably be easier than installing XP. I'm a professional Windows programmer, but I wouldn't dream of getting a Windows Netbook, and opinion among my colleagues goes heavily the same way. The thing is just too damn inefficient for Netbooks.

 

Ok, I'm back home, with a fully functioning Vista laptop, and a bricked AspireOne. I downloaded Linux4One, following all the instructions to the letter, but it didn't work - something about the kernel panicking and trying to kill init. Sounds like the plot of a Keanu Reeves film...

 

I finally found the original box with the recovery DVD, created a USB stick, and it's now running. When it's finished, it should be back to the state it was in when it left the factory. I'm not going to set it up how I like it, I'm not going to try a new operating system, I'm not going to dig deep into the bowels of the code, I'm just going to sell it. I've had enough fannying about with it - since I got it, it has worked continuously for no more than 60 minutes, and usually about 15, before something going wrong. I really like the concept, but like so much modern technology, it just isn't ready yet - and by the time it is, it will be hopelessly out of date.

Thank you all for your help, but it shouldn't have been necessary - it should have worked, and if it didn't, Acer should have a support website worthy of the name. After this experience, I'm unlikely to consider an Acer again, and I'll think seriously before I get another netbook. I'll amuse myself on the train with my mp3 player and a book. I may even look out the window.