Linux on 7" mini netbook ARM-VT8500 ?

[OooBuntuRox]

Playing with my mom's Sylvania WM8505-based smartbook, and I think I might have borked it... I tried to install the Android image on page 66 of this thread, and the install seemed to go fine; however, after the reboot, the screen stayed black for upwards of 5 minutes. So, I downloaded the WinCE rom from Sylvania's website, and tried to flash back to that; again, the install went fine, and it booted into a live WinCE install, but when I tried to reboot the machine, nothing. Just a black screen.

Anybody have any ideas?

Hi,

It sounds like we have the same sylvania smartbook. I want ubuntu on it. No, it won't boot from an sd card with linux netbook. I also installed android on an e-reader. I didn't like android. I can switch it back, but I like the sylvania clam-shell better so I'm not bothering with the e-reader.

So you want ideas? Not sure if this will help you any but here is what I noticed with the sylvania: You have to have an SD card formatted in fat32. Then put windows ce on the root of the sd card. You of course, have to take the compressed file from www.digitalgadgets.com [sylvania website], expand it into a folder, find the script folder and copy the script folder to the root of your SD card. (It was the same way with the android install on the e-reader.) Ok, with the smartbook turned off, insert the sd card, power up the smartbook and that should flash the unit. After the unit boots to windows ce, I powerd the unit off and removed the sd card. When I powerd up again, i just gave it a few minutes to start and it eventually did. The first boot after a flash seems to take longer.

Is that how you tried it too?

So to install Ubuntu, we need someone to code ubuntu into the same format with a script folder for the root of a fat32 SD card. Personally, I'm not sure how that works. But I sure would like to have it on this sylvania smartbook.

Best of luck to you, OooBuntuRox

[Joe of loath]

No way you'll get any form of Ubuntu you recognise onto these: See how much memory you're using. Lubuntu uses around 90mb at idle, Ubuntu around 256.

The machine has 128mb of memory, so Lubuntu will use most of it, and Ubuntu won't run at all. Debian with Fluxbox uses around 30mb.

[heartburnkid]

Hi,

It sounds like we have the same sylvania smartbook. I want ubuntu on it. No, it won't boot from an sd card with linux netbook. I also installed android on an e-reader. I didn't like android. I can switch it back, but I like the sylvania clam-shell better so I'm not bothering with the e-reader.

So you want ideas? Not sure if this will help you any but here is what I noticed with the sylvania: You have to have an SD card formatted in fat32. Then put windows ce on the root of the sd card. You of course, have to take the compressed file from www.digitalgadgets.com [sylvania website], expand it into a folder, find the script folder and copy the script folder to the root of your SD card. (It was the same way with the android install on the e-reader.) Ok, with the smartbook turned off, insert the sd card, power up the smartbook and that should flash the unit. After the unit boots to windows ce, I powerd the unit off and removed the sd card. When I powerd up again, i just gave it a few minutes to start and it eventually did. The first boot after a flash seems to take longer.

Is that how you tried it too?

So to install Ubuntu, we need someone to code ubuntu into the same format with a script folder for the root of a fat32 SD card. Personally, I'm not sure how that works. But I sure would like to have it on this sylvania smartbook.

Best of luck to you, OooBuntuRox

I doubt it'd make a difference, but my SD card is formatted as FAT16. I'll go ahead and try it with a FAT32-formatted card.

EDIT: Nope, the FAT32-formatted card made no difference. How long are you talking about leaving it up to boot? Because I've gone as long as a half an hour with nothing to show for it...

[OooBuntuRox]

No way you'll get any form of Ubuntu you recognise onto these: See how much memory you're using. Lubuntu uses around 90mb at idle, Ubuntu around 256.

The machine has 128mb of memory, so Lubuntu will use most of it, and Ubuntu won't run at all. Debian with Fluxbox uses around 30mb.

thank you. I sort of knew it was too big. but i am also heard that someone is working on a version of linux for mobile devices and that would work well on this ubit. this is more like a PDA than a notebook.

Being that there are so many versions of linux I thought that someone might jump in and mention a version of LINUX that would work. There are versions of LINUX for embedded systems. But I am of course searching for something open source.

Perhaps if enough people ask, Linus T will consider writing a version of Ubuntu for mobile devices. The size alone won`t get Linux on these embedded systems. It will have to be ib te correct code format too.

Thanks very much for your comments.

Does anyone know how much memory windows CE actually requires to run?

[OooBuntuRox]

I doubt it'd make a difference, but my SD card is formatted as FAT16. I'll go ahead and try it with a FAT32-formatted card.

EDIT: Nope, the FAT32-formatted card made no difference. How long are you talking about leaving it up to boot? Because I've gone as long as a half an hour with nothing to show for it...

try this link:
http://devio.us/~nextvolume/via_arm/...?id=4&t_id=177

let us know how you make out.

OooBuntuRox

[heartburnkid]

Finally had a chance to take another crack at this. The files on the link you provided didn't really help; however, after snooping around that forum, I did find this. This works, and my mom's smartbook is now running Android 2.1!

Thanks, OooBuntuRox!

EDIT: OK, apparently it's not 2.1, it's 1.6 skinned to look like 2.1. Still, it works!

[philcolbourn]

This is the pit i fell in to when buying the ubisurfer... the processor is different, and i can't get stuff from the littlelinuxlaptops stuff to work on it.

what is the cpu in the ubisurfer 7?

[OooBuntuRox]

Finally had a chance to take another crack at this. The files on the link you provided didn't really help; however, after snooping around that forum, I did find this. This works, and my mom's smartbook is now running Android 2.1!

Thanks, OooBuntuRox!

EDIT: OK, apparently it's not 2.1, it's 1.6 skinned to look like 2.1. Still, it works!

You're welcome.

Glad to hear you got somewhere. So the link I sent basically said that once you get android to work, you can then install wince again. There was plenty of info to poke around in on that site.

I'll bet that when you try to install linux it formats the smartbook internal memory to something other than fat. Once that happens, the smartbook probably chokes and can't read the partition.

You may also be able to take a bricked smartbook and run a usb cable from a pc to the smartbook. The smartbook might pop up as a drive. If it does, you could try formatting the partiton as fat32 and see if you can reload winCE from your SD card the usual way with a script folder on the sd card, etc.

I'm glad that you have something you can at least use. I didn't like android and would still like to get some form of linux (Ubuntu mobile? !!!) on my smartbook. If not, I have my eye on and acer netbook for $198. Just like the CVS smartbook, it will be hard to get your hands on one for that price.

The lowest I can find one in stock is $235 before tax and shipping. Not worth it to me. Maybe I'll hunt for a book and learn how to program embedded systems/ arm processors.

Good luck to you.

I have some links to images for the 8505. If I come across them, I'll post them/ edit this message.

OoobuntuRox,

Woops: I just noticed this at the same site we've been discussing. Perhaps a few people will want to play around with the info there. If not, I'll eventually get to poking around with it. It sounds like you can run a version of linux right from and SD card by creating 2 partitions. I think thats what it was driving at. But I only glanced at it.

[Fallingwater]

I got linked to this thread from a DealExtreme post.
I've seen several of these small netbooks on sale on DX (and eBay, but DX usually sells them cheaper - about €60), but their operating system puts them squarely into wordprocessor territory - in that they aren't really good for anything else. Can Linux actually be ran on them, and if so how? I'm ok with non-Ubuntu distros (in fact I tend to prefer Debian - no offense!), as long as some flavour of it can run.
I understand this question has probably been answered in this thread, but it's 116 pages long, which makes it hard to figure it out on my own without taking many hours to read through it all.

Thanks

[Joe of loath]

There was a website on it, but it seems to have gone offline

However, this forum may be of use http://devio.us/~nextvolume/via_arm/index.php