Install Ubuntu on Eee PC 1015PX (*over* Win7 Starter)

[NagiMani]

System / Situation:
Just bought a new Asus EEE PC 1015PX Notebook w/ Win7 Starter OS factory pre-installed.

Objective:
- Install U10.04.3 LTS i386 Desktop
- Completely eliminate the Win7 Starter OS in the process

Tools in my inventory:
- CD burned with U10.04.3 LTS Desktop i386 (presumably bootable as-is)
- USB created with Pendrive / U10.04.3 LTS Desktop i386 (presumably bootable as-is)
- The CD and USB above were both created using a Win7 / IBM Desktop system

Why I assume that 10.04.3 is a good choice:
- It's the most recent LTS version - probably the best for my techno-putz skill-level (?)

Problems:
- My User-IQ rating: Clumsy Beginner - *basic* experience with Ubuntu 8 and 9 on Eee PC including *basic* terminal / command line
- Tons of conflicting info available about which Ubuntu version to use on the 1015PX
- Tons of conflicting and piecemeal info available about the installation process/choices, and post-installation tweaks for the 1015PX

Questions:
- Is U10.04.3 Desktop i386 (natively / out of the box) the best version of Ubuntu for the 1015PX?
- Are there certain specific option-choices in the install / set-up process which are optima, unique or even mandatory for the 1015PX?
- Are there specific post-installation tweaks that best suit the 1015PX?
- Is there anything specific I need to know or do during the install given that Win7 Starter is already pre-intalled on the 1015PX?
- Are clear keystroke-specific answers to these types of questions *always* archived at a specific website/URL that I should be using?


I'd like to get the install and tweaks right the first time around, so I would appreciate keystroke-specific instructions wherever possible (or referrals to them elsewhere).

Thank you very much for any help you can offer. I'll answer any follow-up questions as best I can.

FWIW: I'll post a keystroke-specific, start-to-finish guide (install and tweak U v.? on the 1015PX) once I get through this, subject to editing by your board-masters as they see fit - if there's any value in that.

I'm including a dump of the 1015PX system-specs below in case they need to be taken into account.


Nagi


----


System Specs Dump:
(generated with Belarc System Advisor freeware)


Model:
ASUSTeK Computer INC. 1015PX
(I haven't yet found any model "suffix", e.g. "-MU17-WT", "-MU17-BK", etc.)

Board:
ASUSTeK Computer INC. 1015PE
Bus Clock: 167 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 1401 08/30/2011

Processor:
CPU: 1.67 gigahertz Intel Atom N570
56 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (2 total)
Hyper-threaded (4 total)

Hard Drive:
Hitachi 250GB
233.93 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
221.71 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

Memory Modules:
1016 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
Slot 'DIMM0' has 1024 MB (serial number SerNum00)
Slot 'DIMM1' is Empty
(DDR3, 1 x SO-DIMM, 1GB / Maximum 2GB)

Local Drive Volumes:
c: (NTFS on drive 0) * 107.37GB / 95.25 GB free
d: (NTFS on drive 0) 126.56 GB / 126.46 GB free
Operating System is installed on c:

Contoller:
Intel(R) NM10 Express Chipset

Display:
Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 [Display adapter] (2x)
(10.1" LED Backlight WSVGA (1024x600) Screen)

Bus Adapters:
Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 27C8
Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 27C9
Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 27CA
Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 27CB
Intel(R) N10/ICH7 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 27CC

Interface:
1 x VGA Connector
3 x USB 2.0
1 x LAN RJ-45
1 x Audio Jack (Headphone/Mic-In)
1 x Card Reader : SD/ SDHC/ MMC

Comm:
Atheros AR8152/8158 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20)
Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter (2 of them)
Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 6150
Intel(R) Centrino(R) WiMAX 6150 (<- I'm tempted to ask whether I should disable this thing since I opted not to subscribe)

Wireless Data Network:
WLAN 802.11 b/g/n@2.4GHz
Bluetooth V3.0

Also has numerous Asus Live Update & related built-in apps (standard for Asus machines)

- End of System Specs Dump -

[C.S.Cameron]

My wife and kid's use 10.04 LTS on there computers, at least until 04/12.
I am using 10.04 Live on a SD card on my EEE but it is just a 4GB machine.

[NagiMani]

My wife and kid's use 10.04 LTS on there computers, at least until 04/12. I am using 10.04 Live on a SD card on my EEE but it is just a 4GB machine.

Thanks.

At least in the case of the newer Eee PC's, I get the impression that the more current versions of Ubuntu present a lot of issues. For example:

Until yesterday, according to http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/...32:201103-7458 (in Item #1 of the certification notes), the 1015PX is certified only for 11.04 and 11.1 with notes, and only if factory installed. That page also specifically warned (in Item #2) that both those versions might either not work correctly, or might not work at all unless factory installed.

Then:

Today, that URL-page is gone (first it was "unexpected system error - contact admin" / then ten minutes later "page not found"). The apparent replacement URL-page is now http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/...re/201103-7458. The Item #2 warning doesn't appear on the new page.

That's one example of many light-speed info-changes which have me a little nervous about just shot-gunning an Ubuntu installation (any version) without some serious guidance from experienced users.

Nagi

[2F4U]

I would suggest that you either burn the versions of interest to a cd or place them on a flash drive and then try the first in live mode. Don't install until you at least see that it boots correctly to the desktop. If you have the patience, use the live system for a while and see how it goes.

[C.S.Cameron]

I would suggest that you either burn the versions of interest to a cd or place them on a flash drive and then try the first in live mode. Don't install until you at least see that it boots correctly to the desktop. If you have the patience, use the live system for a while and see how it goes.

Good advice, a 4GB SD card works well for a Live install, use a 8GB SD card for a Full install

[NagiMani]

I would suggest that you either burn the versions of interest to a cd or place them on a flash drive and then try the first in live mode. Don't install until you at least see that it boots correctly to the desktop. If you have the patience, use the live system for a while and see how it goes.

Got it. I'll do that using the two items from the original post:

- CD burned with U10.04.3 LTS Desktop i386 (presumably bootable as-is)
- USB created with Pendrive / U10.04.3 LTS Desktop i386 (presumably bootable as-is)
- The CD and USB above were both created using a Win7 / IBM Desktop system

I guess I'll be the first one to know if I burned them correctly from the iso files.

Thanks very much.

Nagi

[BlinkinCat]

Any ISO burnt to a CD you should check with the MD5Sum - See here -

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToMD5SUM

[mastablasta]

latest versions have newer drivers preinstalled. so i would firts try the latest version and then if it all works install it then when 12.04 comes out, and if everything works ok on it, upgrade to it and stick with it for the next 5 years. newer/updated drivers are only important if you have a newer maschine or newer model of computer. they can be also installed on 10.04 manually (PPA, tar.gz etc.).

to sue less processor power and ram you could choose Xubuntu instead of Ubuntu which can be quite heavy. thoguh you can tweak it's resource usage down a bit (e.g. by using Unity 2D).

[NagiMani]

Thanks very much all around for the feedback.

By the numbers:

@C.S.Cameron
I plan on using my 16GB USB thumb drive since I've occasionally seen Ubuntu's memory-footprint hit 10GB.

@BlinkinCat
Thanks. Got the checksum from the Ubuntu web and ran MD5Sum - it checks out.

@mastablasta
Got it: use 10.04.3 LTS i386 Desktop for the 1015PX as long as it works, then upgrade to a stable 12.04 LTS when available. And thanks very much for the useful tips on Unity2D tweaks + Xubuntu's reduced resource usage.

USB Issue + Question:

I'd like to use an Ubuntu USB for no other reason than ease of use and handling (versus a CD + external CD drive for the new 1015PX). I vaguely recall from a couple years ago that making a bootable Ubuntu USB was pretty simple. That seems to have changed.

The only functioning system here is a Win7 Desktop. In a perfect world, I'd point Win7's burner-app from the iso file to the USB and be done with it - or something along those lines. But now there are tons of "intermediary" USB-maker apps out there (like pendrivelinux, cd2usb, etc) and they're apparently mandatory for creating a bootable Ubuntu USB.

My question: As things stand right now, what's the best way to put Ubuntu (10.04 LTS) on a USB so that I can both (1) test-drive it from the USB, and (2) install it to the 1015PX from the USB if it works?


Nagi

[C.S.Cameron]

My question: As things stand right now, what's the best way to put Ubuntu (10.04 LTS) on a USB so that I can both (1) test-drive it from the USB, and (2) install it to the 1015PX from the USB if it works?

Download 10.04.3 LTS
Extract usb-creator.exe from the iso.
Run usb-creator.exe in Win 7.
Select Max Reserved Extra Space, (Persistence).


You can continue to use the remaining 11GB of the USB for storage and transfer.
If you need to access this data while booted fron the thumbdrive, or save data windows can read, go to filesystem/cdrom.

EDIT:
To install from the USB click on "install" on the opening screen or click the install icon on the desktop when booted from it.