[Ilugc] Talk Links
- From: kapil@xxxxxxxxxxx (Kapil Hari Paranjape)
- Date: Sat Feb 21 19:44:34 2009
Hello,
On Sat, 21 Feb 2009, Raja Subramanian wrote:
I want to install Debian on my Acer Aspire One as well
but have not started it for fear or breaking functionality.
It runs WinXP currently. I also hear that some of the power
management functions are not fully supported on Linux.
You heard wrong! I use Debian lenny. Every Acer advertised feature is
working fine with Debian except one (see below).
You can also download and install the original Linpus distribution
DVD from the Acer/Linpus website (or tell me if you want to copy
it). Every feature works absolutely fine with that distro --- as it
rightfully should. Acer has definitely improved over its previous
"Linux laptop" offerings.
The Acer/Linpus distro does not support encrypted disk partitions or
even encfs which is one reason why I moved to Debian lenny. (Linpus
is still on a partition and I may return to it if I manage to get an
encrypted Debian lenny running in a chroot/virtual machine inside it.)
The page
http://wiki.debian.org/DebianAcerOne describes how to set
lenny up on this netbook. I followed the instructions on that page
with some details as below. (You can ignore their instructions for
additional modules except for madwifi; I also ignored all SSD related
instructions as I have a 120G HDD model).
As you will note from my comment on the Debian Wiki page, I could not
get the internal mic to work. Please let me know if some more recent
version of alsa makes this work for you.
The only extra (non-debian) package that I have installed on my system
is the kernel module package madwifi. This was compiled from the
source available in the debian archive by using module-assistant. (I
connected to the net using wired network for the installation).
m-a a-i madwifi
Here are some changes that I made to the default installation
following some instructions on the ArchLinux wiki at
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Acer_Aspire_One
The led for the wifi needed some flags in /etc/sysctl.d/madwifi.conf
(enclosed). I used the enclosed files in /etc/pm/sleep.d/:
1. to save and restore alsa volume settings.
2. to save and restore the wifi roaming connection.
I also used the enclosed keymap setting script in /etc/rc.local.
Most of these may not be required if you use some more hal-aware
desktop system instead of a plain x-window manager (I use
icewm/xmonad).
One additional (and frightening!) problem I faced was that two days
after I got the machine it stopped booting! It turns out that Acer
has an essential BIOS update that many vendors have not implemented.
I followed the instructions at
http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/08/acer-aspire-one-bios-recovery.html
which shows how the bios of a non-booting(!) Acer Aspire One can be
replaced. Get the latest bios update from the Acer site while you are
at it.
Have fun!
Kapil.
--
-------------- next part --------------
#!/bin/sh
SAVE_LED=/var/run/pm-utils/storage/state\:dev.wifi0.softled
SAVE_NET=/var/run/pm-utils/storage/state\:wpa_supplicant.network
case "$1" in
resume|thaw)
if [ -s "$SAVED" ]
then
sysctl -q -w dev.wifi0.softled=$(cat $SAVE_LED)
fi
wpa_cli sel $(cat $SAVE_NET)
;;
suspend|hibernate)
sysctl -n dev.wifi0.softled > $SAVE_LED
wpa_cli status | grep '^id=' | cut -f2 -d'=' > $SAVE_NET
wpa_cli disable $(cat $SAVE_NET)
;;
esac
-------------- next part --------------
#!/bin/sh
case "$1" in
thaw|resume)
alsactl restore
;;
suspend|hibernate)
alsactl store
;;
esac
-------------- next part --------------
#!/bin/sh
# This fixes some of the keys. The remaining keys
# Fn+zzz Fn+volup Fn+voldn Fn+mute
# already have the right settings
KEY_SWITCHVIDEOMODE=227
KEY_PROPS=130
KEY_UNKNOWN=240
KEY_BLUETOOTH=237
KEY_WLAN=238
KEY_BRIGHTNESSDOWN=224
KEY_BRIGHTNESSUP=225
setkeycodes e029 $KEY_SWITCHVIDEOMODE
setkeycodes e071 $KEY_PROPS # Trackpad on, don't need to do anything
setkeycodes e072 $KEY_UNKNOWN # Trackpad off, don't need to do anything
setkeycodes e055 $KEY_WLAN # Wireless on, only turn on led
setkeycodes e056 $KEY_BLUETOOTH # Wireless off, only turn off led.
setkeycodes e06f $KEY_BRIGHTNESSUP # Fn--> LCD Brightness up
setkeycodes e054 $KEY_BRIGHTNESSDOWN # Fn-<- LCD Brightness down
-------------- next part --------------
Bookmarks
Acer Aspire One
* macles*: Acer Aspire One BIOS Recovery
* macles*: Flashing the BIOS
* macles*: Acer Aspire One BIOS 3304
* Instructions for updating the Acer Aspire One BIOS | NetbookTech
* macles*
* Acer Aspire One BIOS update 3304 now available | NetbookTech
* Debian Acer One - Debian Wiki
* ArchWiki :: Acer Aspire One - ArchWiki
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