PSA - Linux Mint 'Helena' works really well out of the box

Discussion in 'Linux' started by Rapax, Dec 13, 2009.

  1. Rapax

    Rapax

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    I decided to give the newest version of Mint a try on my AAO. And I'm happy to annouce that so far, I haven't found a single thing that didn't work flawlessly out of the box. WLAN, compiz, 3G USB modem, flash, etc. all works perfectly upon the first boot.
    Even google earth runs nicely after the one click install.

    If you're looking for a new OS, I suggest you give it a try.
     
    Rapax, Dec 13, 2009
    #1
  2. Rapax

    bugtussle

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    I will second that. Mint 8 "Helena" is running flawlessly on my AA1 8gig ssd. I love the distro. I Highly recommend this one!
     
    bugtussle, Jan 14, 2010
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  3. Rapax

    Reno

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    Does it leave much space on your SSD?
    I'm using Mint as a dual boot with XP on my desktop but thought it would take up too much room on my AA1 with 8 gig. Or that it might be a bit slow.
     
    Reno, Jan 23, 2010
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  4. Rapax

    Darryl

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    Does anybody know how to make it wake up after hibernate or suspend?...i just get a blank screen with the fan whirring away!
    FIXED
    I found that the script here unmount the sd cards and all works well...
    https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne/Ubuntu9.10
    However if anybody finds a fix for the sound in skype giz a shout
     
    Darryl, Jan 24, 2010
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  5. Rapax

    finnbakk

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    How much RAM do you have when using Mint ? I thought Gnome would be too heavy for my "classic" AAO with only 512 MB Ram? And how much room does the distro take on the SSD?
     
    finnbakk, Jan 26, 2010
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  6. Rapax

    Darryl

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    It takes about 4gb on the ssd which includes the 384mb swap and it will run on 256mb (one source reckons it uses only 150mb for the o.s) ram minimum.

    ....and I'm still using it, which is really saying something. Its just like a full blown desktop ubuntu...most impressive.
     
    Darryl, Jan 27, 2010
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  7. Rapax

    syzygy

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    One problem I've encountered after installing Helena to my 8gb SSD A110 is that shortly after boot up the disk read/write light starts up and stays on for nearly a minute during which I'm essentially frozen out of the system. It happens everytime.

    I set the system to run 'top' in a terminal screen automatically on start up hoping to identify the responsible process but this was not very revealing.

    During install I elected to use ext2 instead of ext4 for the filesystem and created a ~1GB swap area (hibernate seems to requires a swap area) but it seems unlikely that this could be the problem.

    I've tried booting up without any cards in the slots, with the wireless router off and with the swap area disabled but this has not helped.

    Has anyone else experienced this problem or have any suggestions?
     
    syzygy, Jan 27, 2010
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  8. Rapax

    finnbakk

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    Maybe this frezze issue is a disadvantage of running Gnome with only 512 MB RAM? According to Darryl's signature his box has 1,5 GB Ram which is 3 times more. Have you checked if unnecessary services are autostarted?

    I'm interested in installing Mint 8 on my AAO (512 MB Ram, 8 GB SSD), but maybe I in the first place should try it from a USB stick. I also wonder if performance can be improved by installing the Kuki kernel in Mint.
     
    finnbakk, Jan 28, 2010
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  9. Rapax

    syzygy

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    Thanks for responding. I have indeed pared back the startup services as far as I dare but to no effect. You may be right about Gnome and 512mb although it seems to run quite snappily after the SSD blitz. I've also kept an eye on memory usage generally but have not seen the A110 put under particular stress. Maybe it's some sort of initial processing by Gnome on boot up?

    Interestingly I came across a post on a official Mint forum describing the same symptoms - see http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=39090&p=226655
    This chap re-installed Helena but stuck with the default ext4 for his filesystem and saw the problem go away. I'll give this a whirl as it seems that you can switch off the ext4 journalling after install anyway (which was the reason for my using ext2).

    Switching to the Kuki kernel is a bit beyond me at present. I'll take a look but if you try this yourself do please let us know how you get on!

    Apart from this issue I'm absolutely impressed with Linux Mint 8 on my A110. With only minor tweaks it runs nicely, is easy to use and looks great.
     
    syzygy, Jan 28, 2010
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  10. Rapax

    Darryl

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    Yes I'm running ext 4...
     
    Darryl, Jan 29, 2010
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  11. Rapax

    finnbakk

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    I have now installed the default Mint 8 (Helena) on my AAO (512 MB Ram, 8 GB SSD). Gnome runs quicker than I had excpected. Absolutely everything seems to work OOB. Even watching live net TV in Firefox without extra configuration or special media addons (!). Tried the Kuki kernel, but could not see any difference from the defalut kernel.
    One issue is still unsolved: I use ext4. This distro uses Grub2. So how do I switch off journaling in ext4 when using Grub2? All the howtos that I have found is written for switching off journaling in systems using the "old" Grub.
     
    finnbakk, Jan 29, 2010
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  12. Rapax

    syzygy

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    Well I seem have confirmed that the post-boot manic SDD activity was due to using ext2.

    I reinstalled from scratch using ext2 again to confirm that the problem exists right from the start even after a clean install (it did). I then reinstalled reusing the same existing partitions but this time chose to format the root partition as ext4. No more problem. Well ok.

    However, I've hit the same problem with disabling the ext4 journalling as you have. Grub2 is configured by modifying /etc/default/grub but there doesn't seem to be a way to replace the UUID= with a device file. And it looks as though it may not be possible - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/499483

    Like you I've found Mint Helena excellent right out-of-the-box. A couple of minor manual tweaks - I had to borrow a little script to mount and dismount the cards for suspend and hibernate and I installed Cheese for the webcam.

    The only (very) minor issues I've had are with the file manager preferences dialog not quite fitting in the screen and the right card not being recognised unless it is actually in the slot when booting up.

    Pity about the journalling though. :(
     
    syzygy, Jan 29, 2010
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  13. Rapax

    Darryl

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    For Gnome users...
    Code:
    gconftool-2 --set /apps/compiz/plugins/move/allscreens/options/constrain_y --type bool 0
    
     
    Darryl, Jan 30, 2010
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  14. Rapax

    finnbakk

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    I have now installed XFCE in addition to Gnome, and I think the AAO runs a little bit faster with this GUI. An advantage to using the XFCE community Mint is that I now also have f.e. Nautilus if I want to use it for tasks that are difficult to do with only Thunar, i.e. setting up shared folders atc.
     
    finnbakk, Feb 3, 2010
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  15. Rapax

    tinkertaylor

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    As an absolute novice at using Linux I took a risk by buying the Linpus version. I never regretted it until recently and after a couple a failures I decided to give 'Helena' a chance. What can say, its a breeze to install and easy to use. It allowed me to use my 3G Humax pen, plug and play, bluetooth pen. plug and play.

    I do have a problem with the suspend function, but will try the fix using the earlier post on this thread. Anyone in a similar position with Linpus, just take the plunge, its a much better solution, all IMHO.

    My Aspire One version is AOA 150-Ab
     
    tinkertaylor, Feb 9, 2010
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  16. Rapax

    Pytheas

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    I gave Linux Mint 8 a try, booting from USB. I have a AAO 751h, with a GMA500 GPU and a resolution of 1366x768.
    Unfortunately the GPU was not recognized and I ended up with an almost unusable 1024x768 resolution, which was annoyingly sluggish... since I had this problem and I couldn't find a way to either change the resolution of update the driver, I finally gave up.

    I am gonna try to find a solution to this problem, because Mint looks like probably the best Linux distro around for me!
     
    Pytheas, Feb 28, 2010
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  17. Rapax

    libssd

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    I can't guarantee this, but assuming that the Linux Mint Gnome desktop uses the same config utilities as Ubuntu, go to Appearance, then click on the Visual Effects tab, and choose None (default is probably Normal). Visual effects eye candy has a significant impact on speed.
     
    libssd, Mar 14, 2010
    #17
  18. Rapax

    finnbakk

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    Using Mint 8 with Openbox as wm, works great.
     
    finnbakk, Mar 24, 2010
    #18
  19. Rapax

    bjadams44

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    I have to join the chorus here on Mint. I'm running it dual boot on my AAO D150 and I like it much more than the pre-installed Windows XP. I left XP in place just because I wasn't sure Mint would run as well as it does on a desktop but so far no issues and nothing but good things to report. It even seems to run faster than XP but I'm basing that claim on perception alone. The great thing about Mint is how everything seems to work right from the initial install and as netbooks are more limited than desktops in what we use them for (no video intensive PC games for example), it seem like the perfect environment for those wishing to try a Linux OS.
     
    bjadams44, Apr 12, 2010
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  20. Rapax

    Queseuq

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    Sounds like Mint is a good choice, will be trying it out ASAP. Was wondering what the code posted further up by Darryl was? Also has anyone tried putting the UNR interface on Mint? Should just be a case of installing the ubuntu-netbook-remix package on synaptic right?
     
    Queseuq, Apr 23, 2010
    #20
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