Puppy on the EEEPC?

Booting, installing, newbie
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azieser
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed 14 Nov 2007, 18:12

EEEPC WiFi Question

#31 Post by azieser »

Ok I looked on the EEEPC forum and also this forum and they mention that you need to blacklist the ath_pci file see EEE PC Forum Site:

1. Go to a terminal as root.
2. Edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist using your favorite editor (nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist)
3. Add the following lines:

blacklist ath_pci
blacklist ath_hal

4. Restart the computer
5. To configure ndiswrapper, unzip the Windows drivers of your WiFi card somewhere (/home/jdoe/drivers in this example. The driver itself is usually).
6. Open up a terminal and go to that location (cd /home/jdoe/drivers)
7. Add the driver to ndiswrapper (ndiswrapper -i ./net5211.inf*)
8. Run: modprobe ndiswrapper
9.You also want to make sure ndiswrapper loads on startup. add ndiswrapper to /etc/modules

* (net5211.inf is avalible from the within the Asus EeePc 701 Support DVD Rev:1.1 at location:

raffy
Posts: 4798
Joined: Wed 25 May 2005, 12:20
Location: Manila

wifi - try there

#32 Post by raffy »

Thanks for the booting info. I have posted a suggestion here. Let us know how it goes.

BTW, what is the name of the SSD drive after Puppy was booted from it? Is it sda, sdb, hda or hdb? The default drive (with Xandros) and the new SSD boot device should be visible when you use the mount utility. Having a picture of this will be sweet.
Puppy user since Oct 2004. Want FreeOffice? [url=http://puppylinux.info/topic/freeoffice-2012-sfs]Get the sfs (English only)[/url].

azieser
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed 14 Nov 2007, 18:12

Figured out the blacklisting

#33 Post by azieser »

In Puppy right click on the desktop to bring up the program listings, go to system then select "BootManager configure bootup" This will bring up a window that has 3 buttons click on blacklist a module. This opens a window up with two columns select from the left column ATH_PCI and click the add bar to move it to the right column, then pick the ATH_HAL on the left column and move it to the right column.

Reboot your EEE PC after it starts up again these modules will be blacklisted then click on the connect icon and goto Connect to internet by network interface. Click Load Module and select the more tab. Then select the NDISWrapper and select the driver from the wireless folder from the EEE PC Restore dvd and follow the prompts it will connect to the wireless card now because the ATH drivers are out of the way.

I hope this makes it a little easier for other people to get their EEE PC's online and it bypasses the need for manually editing files in your system.

azieser
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed 14 Nov 2007, 18:12

Re: wifi - try there

#34 Post by azieser »

raffy wrote:Thanks for the booting info. I have posted a suggestion here. Let us know how it goes.

BTW, what is the name of the SSD drive after Puppy was booted from it? Is it sda, sdb, hda or hdb? The default drive (with Xandros) and the new SSD boot device should be visible when you use the mount utility. Having a picture of this will be sweet.
Well it booted from the SD card not the SSD drive. Actually it sees the SD card as sda and the SSD Drive as hdc Also I am running the new TMXXINE Puppy Linux that came out today, it has everything you could possible want already loaded onto it and the ICEWM themes are excellent.

raffy
Posts: 4798
Joined: Wed 25 May 2005, 12:20
Location: Manila

time travel

#35 Post by raffy »

eee as the platform for Tmxxine time travel - how impossibly true. 8)

Thanks, azieser. (And thanks again for resizing that desktop image to fit the board.)

As to blacklisting, I wonder if it is needed in Puppy, especially if the Network Wizard has not picked up any "ath" module.

Plus, if you had to reboot, then you must already be using a pup_save in your SD card. Using the Network Wizard at first boot should be cool (if that is at all possible).
Puppy user since Oct 2004. Want FreeOffice? [url=http://puppylinux.info/topic/freeoffice-2012-sfs]Get the sfs (English only)[/url].

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Teddy89h
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun 23 Jul 2006, 13:26

#36 Post by Teddy89h »

@azieser: do you have wlan and the 800x480 res working?

I just asked Hacao to upload his files on sd-card. would be great, if you could do this as well.

the fine thing: the EEE is always the EEE! One Puppy on sd for every EEE pc! this would be very interesting for those, who prefer winxp on ssd :D.

thank u very much ;)


pf: is it fast?

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alienjeff
Posts: 2265
Joined: Sat 08 Jul 2006, 20:19
Location: Winsted, CT - USA

#37 Post by alienjeff »

Taiwanese manufactures are not necessarily your friends. To wit:
http://cliffhacks.blogspot.com/2007/11/ ... d-gpl.html
Caveat emptor.
[size=84][i]hangout:[/i] ##b0rked on irc.freenode.net
[i]diversion:[/i] [url]http://alienjeff.net[/url] - visit The Fringe
[i]quote:[/i] "The foundation of authority is based upon the consent of the people." - Thomas Hooker[/size]

T_B
Posts: 160
Joined: Sun 08 Apr 2007, 12:54

#38 Post by T_B »

Haven't got an eeepc yet, but it will be delivered soon.
Haven't seen any distro beat the Xandros default distro. It is still more compatible with the hardware and faster (especially booting) than others.
Would love to see anyone take up the challenge and make a customized version for the eeepc.

Natashquan
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue 29 May 2007, 18:25

#39 Post by Natashquan »

alienjeff, as much as it's good to know that Asus was in violation of the GNU General Public License by not releasing its full source code library, it would help if you just came out and said it instead of dropping a link with no explanation but some ominous statement about Taiwanese manufacturers being shady. More to the point, Asus has since released the aforementioned source, and it is available here:
http://eeepc.asus.com/global/news11272007.htm

Also of note is the announcement on the same page about plans for releasing the Eee PC SDK, though they don't mention a release date.

I can't afford to get an Eee PC for myself yet, but I'm avidly watching to see how this changes the compatibility of Puppy with it. Keep up the good work, guys!

T_B
Posts: 160
Joined: Sun 08 Apr 2007, 12:54

#40 Post by T_B »

Right now I don't think the right persons are busy trying to get Puppy eeepc ready. Other distros are more lively present on the eeeusers.com forum. I like puppy but if another distro has better results on the eeepc I will go for that.
Most important imo is hardware functionality, booting time and working speed. I think Puppy can beat every other distro on all these points.

I will probably first try the standard Archos distro for a while and after that try Slackware or Arch. I've seen some good reports on that one, only thing bothering me is the booting time. I want the fastest booting time possible.

I'm sure the eeepc will have a great impact on the knowledge and spreading acceptance of Linux. When the eeepc specific distros will come (and they will come I'm sure), we will have the same advantage as Apple. We will all have the same hardware, but a lot more choice :)

raffy
Posts: 4798
Joined: Wed 25 May 2005, 12:20
Location: Manila

fastest booting candidate

#41 Post by raffy »

The fastest-booting candidate for the eee is the 214R:
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=24082

Use the boot parameter "pfix=noramsfs" (put it in syslinux.cfg).
Puppy user since Oct 2004. Want FreeOffice? [url=http://puppylinux.info/topic/freeoffice-2012-sfs]Get the sfs (English only)[/url].

T_B
Posts: 160
Joined: Sun 08 Apr 2007, 12:54

#42 Post by T_B »

Nice.. but will Puppy recognize all eeepc hardware?

tempestuous
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Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#43 Post by tempestuous »

ASUS Eee hardware is now fully supported by Puppy drivers, including:
wifi
ethernet
webcam
modem (modem is not installed as standard)

for Puppy v2.12-2.16 available here
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 257#161257

and for Puppy 3.x available here
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 643#153643

Forum member JustGreg has written a comprehensive Puppy installation HOWTO for the Eee -
http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?pid=58368#p58368

nilla
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon 18 Sep 2006, 23:12
Location: Kansas

#44 Post by nilla »

ASUS Eee hardware is now fully supported by Puppy drivers,
What about 800x480 resolution? Lack of out-of-the-box support for the EEE's native resolution is the only thing keeping Puppy from being the alternative distro of choice for the EEE. 640x480 is just too cumbersome on the EEE. Austrumi 1.60 and BackTrack3-beta both support 800x480 and look absolutely gorgeous on the EEE, much better than the stock Xandros-based system.

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#45 Post by tempestuous »

There must be a solution.

Forum member Hacao fixed the 800x480 problem for the Intel Classmate PC by providing an i915 Xorg driver here
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 983#149983
and this might work with the Eee.
I had a look at Hacao's i915 driver now. It appears to be the i915 DRI (3D) driver from a RedHat Enterprise package ... this is not particularly compatible with Puppy Linux, so it might be better to use MU's "3D Control Centre" to install the i915 3D driver -
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=14463

... or something really basic to check is run

Code: Select all

lsmod
and check that the "i915" module is listed. If it's not listed, then loading this module might allow the xorg.conf settings to be successfully changed to 800x480.
If the "i810" module is listed, this will need to be unloaded first, before the i915 module can be loaded.

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#46 Post by tempestuous »

Wait, don't install any extra drivers.
Barry mentioned the solution on the Developer Blog -
http://puppylinux.com/blog/?p=31#comment-126
BarryK wrote:I’ve got the standard Xvesa X server working at 800×480, that was easy — you need to go into /usr/X11R7/bin/xwin and bypass the ‘ddcprobe’ and just run the '915resolution 38 800 480' and set that as the only available resolution.
He was referring to the Intel Classmate, but the fix should be the same for the Eee.
And once the i810 Xorg driver has been "fooled" into accepting 800x480 as a valid bios setting, Xorg should work as well.

There is also a good Developer Blog post about "Working with a small screen"
http://puppylinux.com/blog/?p=56#comments

JustGreg
Posts: 782
Joined: Tue 24 May 2005, 10:55
Location: Connecticut USA

#47 Post by JustGreg »

I have been using Puppy 2.14R on my ASUS Eee Pc. In some ways, Puppy works better (handling attached USB devices) than Xandros Linux that comes with the Eee PC. The sound work right out of the box. Tempestuous's network kernel modules for the network devices have solved the networking problem. I have been following the discussion on the video. Currently, Puppy only supports 640 by 480 resolution. I read the preceding two posts with interest.

I did an lsmod with Puppy 2.14r and Eee Pc and it reported i2c-i801 and i2c_core modules. Neither the i810 or i915 modules are listed.

Barry suggestion to force the 800 by 480 resolution seems to only apply to Puppy 3.00 and above. I had tried Puppy 3.01 with the Eee PC and ended up preferring Puppy 2.14R.

Any additional ideas will be looked and tried. If the video resolution issue can be fixed, then Puppy will be better for the user of Eee PC.
Enjoy life, Just Greg
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#48 Post by tempestuous »

JustGreg wrote:I did an lsmod with Puppy 2.14r and Eee Pc and it reported i2c-i801 and i2c_core modules. Neither the i810 or i915 modules are listed.
Don't worry about these modules ... yet. They are DRM modules for DRI (3D).
JustGreg wrote:Barry suggestion to force the 800 by 480 resolution seems to only apply to Puppy 3.00 and above.
No, the fix should work with any version of Xorg.
First you should modify /usr/X11R7/bin/xwin to disable 'ddcprobe'. I see there are quite a few lines of code there, maybe Dougal could help with this.

Now it's necessary to run the correct 915resolution command, and I'm not sure that the exact command explained by Barry on the Developer Blog (and contained in xwin) is correct for the Eee. The setup of 915resolution is explained here -
http://www.geocities.com/stomljen/readme.html
You should end up running this command -

Code: Select all

915resolution <mymodenumber> 800 480
where <mymodenumber> is a valid mode number reported by "915resolution -l".
Make sure that this number is used in xwin (xwin currently uses "38").

raffy
Posts: 4798
Joined: Wed 25 May 2005, 12:20
Location: Manila

safepup sfs ready

#49 Post by raffy »

Well, well, surprise. :) I was able to use an eee from this afternoon up to past midnight now, and here are my discoveries:

- inserted two lines in /usr/X11R7/bin/xwin

Code: Select all

if [ "$HAVEX" = "Xvesa" ];then #0.9.9
 #want to start 1st time with a safe video mode...
915resolution 43 800 480 16 # added by raffy, Dec 24, 2007
- videomode in /etc contains

Code: Select all

0x0114 800x480x16
Thank you very much, tempestuous, justgreg, barry and all, this is a reeely fun holiday!

ADD: All components working, but have not tested a microphone yet. The ethernet does not automatically load, but ath_pci makes ath0 immediately active. SafePup is based on Puppy 2.13 and pakt's barelypup.

EDIT: See my work posted as breeezy for the eee.

Added: See a discussion of the vbios trick here.
Last edited by raffy on Mon 31 Dec 2007, 01:10, edited 1 time in total.
Puppy user since Oct 2004. Want FreeOffice? [url=http://puppylinux.info/topic/freeoffice-2012-sfs]Get the sfs (English only)[/url].

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dvw86
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Location: Washington State

#50 Post by dvw86 »

Long time no see. I've been playing with Puppy on my eeepc since I got it on the 20th of December. I know I'm tardy on posting. :oops: Mostly I've been using Puppy 2.14R and I like it very much. There are a few things that I changed to make life a little better for the eepc though. Batmon the battery monitor is a must and works well. I moved it from it's default location though so that it is next to the freemem applet. It just looks better there. I changed the date and time display on the taskbar as well so that it just displays the time. This helps save space since the taskbar is pretty crowded on the small screen. It still has the full date and time when you hover over it though. Auto hiding the taskbar also helps with the small screen. xbindkeys can be used to make the function keys control the volume and print screen keys. You can use my setvolume script with xbindkeys to control the volume up, down, and mute functions. The F2, F3, and F4 already work. Thanks for all the hard work everyone. I look forward to using Dingo on the eeepc.



Link to xbindkeys and my setvolume script. http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=6889

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