Ubuntu Netbook 10.10 on AOA110

I am trying to install Ubuntu Netbook 10.10 on my AOA110. I have successfully created the bootable USB and checked the ISO file so all of that appears good. I can "try" the version by booting from the USB and everything seems to work fine. However, when I try to install it I get a problem at restart after the install.

I get a blank screen (only the cursor blinking in the top LH of the screen)

From the Ubuntu website/forums I have found out that it could be a graphics setting so I have set "nomodeset" during the install. But now I get a message telling me that the CPU is capable of NX but is not enabled? I've hit F2 to look at the setup but can't see anything related to this.. can anybody help me get NX enabled?

 

AAO110 with Ubuntu Netbook??? have you tried Lubuntu 10.10? it runs faster in AAO110 with 512RAM

 

not sure about the question marks.. are you querying the loading Ubuntu on the AOA110 or are you querying it is an AOA110 - this is what it states on the netbook.

 

I suspect he's asking if you've compared Lubuntu 10.10 with that very flawed Netbook Remix - I found the latter a real dog for slowness and the interface hogs the little screen. Even Ubuntu Desktop 10.10 runs much betterr than Netbook Remix.

Since you're successful with Live USB, suggest giving Lubuntu and possibly other lightweight versions a try - be sure to set "Persistence" for half your USB drive (e.g. 2GB Persistence for 4GB USB) to be able to save all your settings between boots and use it like a normal OS for a while, really without too much difference from running on the installed drive.

 

Thanks, Ive tried Lubuntu and once again it runs from the USB but has the same problem if I try to run from the installed SSD.
I assume what you are meaning is to just run it from the USB and forget about trying to run it from the SSD?

Is there a version of Linux that does actually run successfully on this netbook. I am amazed that it is proving to be so difficult because I'm sure I've seen this type of netbook running Linux. In fact when I purchase it there was definately a choice of the same netbook but running a version of Linux.

 

I have an AAO AOA110-1722 model number ZG5 and "Linux Mint 10 Live DVD 32-bit The standard version" runs on it fine without any modifications.

 

Thanks, tried Linuxmint but the same result - runs very well from the USB but cannot run from the SSD.

After running in compatibilty mode I'm still having the following message

Your CPU appears to be lacking expected security protections.
Please check your BIOS settings. or for more information run:
/usr/bin/check-bios-nx --verbose

When I run that I get:
This CPU is family 6, model 28, and has NX capabilities but is unable to use these protective features because the BIOS is configured to diasble the capability. Please enable this in your BIOS.

How do I do this? If I hit <F2> at startup I cannot find anything relating to this._

 

Sounds to me like you have downloaded the wrong Linux Mint 10. I say this because from what I found in researching your problem NX means No-Execute which is a feature used for newer 64 bit machines specifically by AMD and Intel has a similar thing called XD meaning Execute Disable and again it is for 64 bit machines. The AAO ZG5 has an Atom processor and runs the 32 bit Standard version.

 

No, actually just suggested testing different versions on Live USB before installing on your main drive, which I assumed you could do using a different version. Since you've tried repeatedly with different distros, there is obviously a problem. I've found the Ubuntu forums very helpful, if you strike out here:

http://ubuntuforums.org/

Good luck.

 

Thanks for all the advice.

I actually come across a work around (credit to John283 on the "Software - Linux" board)

extract from "Ubuntu 10.10 on Aspire One A150L"

................................................
You can boot from the SD card without having to do the modprobe and regenerating the initial ram fs steps required by 9.04. This also simplifies backup, reduces wear on the SSD, and gives you more room. Here are my notes.


Get the Lubuntu CD image and follow the instructions on the Ubuntu site to create a live USB key.
Put a SD card in the LH slot. I used a slow, cheap 32G one.
Boot into Lubuntu and do a normal install except choose advanced partitioning.
Watch out that you are affecting the right device. The partitioner seems to like listing the SD card first. I used ext4 for all the partitions. I do not think the choice is critical.
Make a 300M partition on the SSD and CHOOSE the mount point /boot
Make the rest of the SSD another partition and TYPE IN a mount point of /media/SSDLeftOver (Or whatever)
Make all of the SD card a partition and CHOOSE the mount point /
On the advanced options button make sure the Grub 2 boot loader will be installed on the SSD, not on the SD card or on one of the partitions of the SSD.
Ignore the warning about no swap. I am running Conky and it shows I have never gone above 20% RAM. Why waste 1G? The only down side is you cannot suspend. With a boot time of 40 secs I could care less. If you really want a swap you could create it on the SSD but that sort of goes against the reduce SSD use effort. If your SSD fails you are SOL. If your SD card fails you buy a new one and put it in. With this "/ on SD card" setup you are not using the SSD drive at all except for a few seconds during boot.

Lubuntu should boot and everything should work. You will probably get 3 errors that flash up on the screen during boot about no such device and no such mode. You can ignore them. I have looked into it and it is just a bit of sloppy coding in the boot script. When they search for boot devices they try about 4 different ways, some of which are not correct and cause the errors but the correct device is found in the end. If you want to fix them just enable no-graphic-boot option in the Grub 2 options file.
In a terminal type:
Code: Select all
sudo leafpad /etc/default/grubgiving your password if asked
In the resulting leafpad window remove the # from the line #GRUB_TERMINAL=console
Save and exit leafpad
In the terminal type:
Code: Select all
sudo update-grub

If you are not comfortable with the terminal check the repositories for a Grub 2 GUI front end.
.............................................

I've followed this approach with Linux Mint and hey presto.. I can boot up without the USB. Admittedly, you do still need an additional SD card but as one came with the netbook as additional memory space I'm happy with it.

 

Not at all sure why your A110 isn't booting from the SSD. Perhaps the mbr is corrupted, or grub is not installed in the mbr.

 

I am very new to Linux and a relative beginner to working with an OS so could you explain what the mbr is and how I can check if it's corrupt.

 

mbr is the master boot record. Your SSd has one. My hard drive's all have one. It's the first 446 bytes of information on the disk that the computer reads to start the process of booting your disk. If your mbr is corrupt, there's no code for your computer to execute, and your drive will not be booted.