Installing on the Dell Mini 12

[spb37]

I tried the approach below with my vaio-P both with kubuntu lpia jaunty and ubuntu non lpia jaunty on my vaio-p. Both times the xserver would keep trying to start (giving the vaio screen) but fall back to the text login mode. Using the failsafe xorg.conf which relies on vesa works but is not the native driver / holy grail. Everything else works better than expected, it even goes to sleep when I close the lid. Ubuntu and kubuntu both boot faster than windows 7 and even my home desktop kubuntu. So I am eager to get the poulsbo driver working. The vaio-p linux wiki page is blank but if I poulsbo to work it would be a great post. So close but yet so far.

Appreciate any help / suggestions.

i don't have my laptop near me, sorry if i am generic. in case, post questions:

here is what I did

1) install ubuntu dell image 9.04 (jauntry) - 2.1 GB is the correct size
2) run a system update
apt-get update
apt-get upgrade
synaptic (or apt, whatever.. ) will remove the old version of Xorg and install a new one, and will do more things...say yes to everything, don't worry and drink a coffe, smoke a cigarette or play for a while with your girl or your pet
suggestion: in case you are playing with your girl, do-not-stop playing once synaptic is ready! otherwise your girl will get angry with you! (my experience)

3) remove from /boot/grub/menu.lst the lines the system added after the update
this because with the new kernel, psb does not work!

-> this rows are referred to the NEW kernel you installed. in facts, after the update you will have 2 different kernel versions inside your system and inside your menu.lst
so, remove the new one ( i remember the last kernel is the 2.6.2x.13)

4) add to your /etc/apt/sources the repositories of psb drivers

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mobile/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mobile/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

- thanks to http://www.tipsandthoughts.com/?p=4

5) run a synaptic update one more time, or apt-get update

6)install xserver-xorg-video-psb it is supposed to be version 0.31.0
apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-psb

the system will install some addtional packages related to psb

7) reboot

8 )at this point, you are supposed to have a 9.04 running in 2D with the resolution you paid for


it worked with my brand new dell mini 10


questions? post here

bye,
fabio

[gtaluvit]

Something happens to PPA Jaunty repositories...


Maybe we can finally use the latest Jaunty with 2D/3D video... I can't believe yet.. I'll check as soon as possible!

Have you tested ?

I have tested the new 3D driver for Jaunty. glxgears does run significantly faster although I still don't have true 3d support in Wine and I've read elsewhere that compiz still doesn't function. I removed the 3d stuff though pretty shortly though because I was experiencing hard lockups. Currently with 2D I get freezes that I can break out of with plugging/unplugging of any USB device. The lockups with the 3D driver were hard locks that required a hard poweroff. Not cool.

[tyroeternal]

I tried the approach below with my vaio-P both with kubuntu lpia jaunty and ubuntu non lpia jaunty on my vaio-p. Both times the xserver would keep trying to start (giving the vaio screen) but fall back to the text login mode.

The issue you are having sounds like it is because you are booting the system with the wrong kernel. The kernel from the original jaunty install works with the psb driver, but the newer kernel does not.

I do not have the vaio p, but that is the way my mini 12 responds to booting with the wrong kernel. You should select the older kernel at boot time, or if you accidentally removed the wrong one from your menu.lst file, it will need to be added back.

Hope that helps

[pachistano]

nice to hear that glx is working at more than (ridicolous) 80fps

i'm going home to try this new release, and than back doing a report to you people.

i think post #1000 will win a developer from intel or dell for one day...

bye,
fabio

[pachistano]

nice to hear that glx is working at more than (ridicolous) 80fps

i'm going home to try this new release, and than back doing a report to you people.

i think post #1000 will win a developer from intel or dell for one day...

bye,
fabio

synaptic update + search for "psb" in your packages
install everything you see with the "psb"string in the name, except psb-modules (because my kernel package is locked to version 2.6.28.11 and psb-modules needs linux-generic AND linux generic needs new kernel .13)

reboot
and
bit@paranoia:~$ glxgears
1361 frames in 5.0 seconds = 272.121 FPS
1371 frames in 5.0 seconds = 274.050 FPS

instad of 80/100
much better!

i confirm compiz still does not work, and i'm still experiencing a slow youtube.
any suggestion? do i need to remove "poulsbo-driver-2d"?? i can see a poulsbo-driver-3d installed in the system too.
how do i know the system is runnig poulsbo-driver-2d or poulsbo-driver-3d??

cheers,
fabio

[dimeified]

Dude your awesome, i did as described and have the same results. Also i have compiz, i added psb to the whitelist in the compiz bin file. Performance isn't superb, but acceptable. I am running avant window navigator, and have the bar size at 24. helps with screen realestate and performance.

glxgears
989 frames in 5.0 seconds = 197.709 FPS
1499 frames in 5.0 seconds = 299.539 FPS
1530 frames in 5.0 seconds = 305.926 FPS
1314 frames in 5.0 seconds = 262.684 FPS

[valikor]

What are the advantages and disadvantages to installing 9.04 on the mini 12? Is the Dell version of ubuntu better for any reason? In theory it's supposed to be better suited for the hardware, but mine is brand new out of the box and it's a little bit sluggish.

Suggestions?

[woodhouse]

So let's summarize the state of poulsbo:
I can use my Mini 10 (but also if you have a Mini 12),

• using Windows (noooo..please);
• installing Ubuntu Intrepid (8.10) and adding related PPA repositories at the end;
• (new) installing Ubuntu Jaunty (9.04) and adding related PPA repositories at the end;

Since PPA Jaunty repositories have new packages (some day ago), I tried the last one.

But, I don't understand why KDE fails to start with the following backgrace inside log (/var/log/kdm.log):

Backtrace:
0: /usr/bin/X(xorg_backtrace+0x3b) [0x813518b]
1: /usr/bin/X(xf86SigHandler+0x55) [0x80bd3f5]
2: [0xb7f67400]
3: /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers//psb_drv.so [0xb78596a0]
4: /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libextmod.so [0xb78ff0c4]
5: /usr/bin/X [0x80d7fa3]
6: /usr/bin/X [0x814bb35]
7: /usr/bin/X [0x817cd5c]
8: /usr/bin/X [0x814589b]
9: /usr/lib/xorg/modules/extensions//libglx.so [0xb78d921a]
10: /usr/bin/X(main+0x44c) [0x807237c]
11: /lib/tls/i686/cmov/libc.so.6(__libc_start_main+0xe5) [0xb7b36775]
12: /usr/bin/X [0x80717a1]
Saw signal 11. Server aborting.
ddxSigGiveUp: Closing log
ddxSigGiveUp: re-raising 11

Further, if I try to use glxgears, I receive the following error:

glxgears: error while loading shared libraries: libGL.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

Anybody can help me?
Thanks

[valikor]

Hmm nobody is directly answering my question, but it seems that since so many people are trying to install Jaunty on the Mini 12, there is a rough concensus that Jaunty is better than the preloaded Dell version of ubuntu?

What about xubuntu?

I'm just trying to make mine run a bit more smoothly... it's a bit sluggish out of the box.

[tyroeternal]

Hmm nobody is directly answering my question, but it seems that since so many people are trying to install Jaunty on the Mini 12, there is a rough concensus that Jaunty is better than the preloaded Dell version of ubuntu?

What about xubuntu?

I'm just trying to make mine run a bit more smoothly... it's a bit sluggish out of the box.

Sorry to not answer before. I use jaunty because it has the latest versions of the programs that I use on a daily basis. Dell's upgrade/update methods are now how I like my system to be managed. It is okay if you want a simple "just works" system, but I like to shoot for a bit more. In my opinion jaunty is a bit snappier because of the latest versions of everything, but that may also be me projecting.

Xubuntu is good, but I just like gnome. Personally I do not see the need for a more minimal environment, but that is always a matter of taste. Yay for choice! Ultimately, the minis are netbooks... they will be sluggish. It is just part of their give and take -> features vs price.