Want Ubuntu on my new Toshiba NB205...HELP!

[Doctor_Gonzo]

So i picked up this sweet little netbook yesterday and the first thing i did was repartition the hard drive and slap an ubuntu dual boot on her...

Unfortunately, Jaunty so far is no bueno...the boot time is horrendous...no wifi...and even the simple tasks seem to handle like a pregnant ox...

I'm a semi-noob when it comes to linux. Although I've been running ubuntu for years now, I became accustomed to everything just working and never being a few minor tweaks away from a somewhat perfect system...

At the moment I'm forced to use XP (which as much as I hate to say it, runs rather well so far), but since ubuntu has always been my preferred OS, I'm wondering if anyone out there has managed to get Jaunty working on the Toshiba nb205 (or whatever other brands it's selling under overseas). I liked the idea of setting up UNR and all that jazz, but with the current performance I'm just not feeling it.

Please help me get away from Windows!

The netbook has your typical specs:

1.66 n280 atom
1 g ram
intel 945 chipset
160 g hd
atheros wireless
0.3 mp webcam
etc.

[solidus126]

Hello Doctor_Gonzo.

I am having a very similar experience with my NB205 as well and have the exact same hardware configuration as yourself. I am using Kubuntu instead of regular Ubuntu, and have had no luck with wireless either, and programs are running extremely slow. Like yourself, my XP install is running great, and I am confused as to what is causing things to go awry.

I have been testing Ubuntu Netbook Remix this morning, and while it is a rather dissimilar setup from the regular desktop edition, I think it may serve fairly well for quick tasks. It runs much faster than my attempted install of Kubuntu did, but just a heads up, I still have no Wifi.

If you come up with any progress, please let me know and I will re-post if I come up with anything.

-solidus126

[Mark Phelps]

You should really NOT be installing the regular Ubuntu distro for use on Netbooks. You should use the previous mentioned Ubuntu Netbook Remix, or also check distrowatch.com for Moblin and other such netbook-oriented distros.

[solidus126]

HOWTO: Wifi in Ubuntu Netbook Remix for Toshiba NB205

I got the wireless card to work! I had to use Ubuntu Netbook Remix, and have not tested my method using regular Ubuntu or Kubuntu.

After scouring the internet, I found a solution from a post on Ubuntuforums.org. I have since lost the link to the forum post, but still have the link they had posted in the forum:

http://tjmcgrew.com/

Here is an adapted and condensed series of instructions:

1. Install Ubuntu Netbook Remix. I did not really stray from default install options.

2. Do a full system update by going to Administration -> Update Manager. Check for updates first, then install them. You will likely need to reboot your computer... do so. You should see a new option in GRUB, probably kernel 2.6.28-13-generic, which is the one you want to boot back into.

3. Now, go to Administration -> Software Sources. In the Updates tab check "Unsupported updates (jaunty-backports)". I also checked everything in the Ubuntu Software tab with the exception of the Cdrom box, and the two boxes in Third-Party software, but I am fairly certain they are not needed for fixing wifi.

4. Repeat step 2. My reasoning for not doing 3 first is because it seems to download extra fluff and adding excessive GRUB menu entries if you do it out of this order.

5. Issue the following command in a terminal window (found in the Accessories tab)

sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-jaunty

After accepting the request to install the packages, reboot.

6. In my case, after logging in my network was automatically detected and my connection was live!

If anyone has any questions about a step, I am happy to clarify any small detail I may have missed.

[Doctor_Gonzo]

All is good so far...except no sound...any ideas on that fix?

[harty83]

Sound, bluetooth, and hibernate are all not working for me. Any ideas on how to get these working? I've applied to work around to get sound from my headphones jack. I really need bluetooth to work and hibernate would be really nice.

Thanks!
Alan

[solidus126]

Doctor_Gonzo: As far as sound goes, I have not had any luck yet. The author of the link I posted in the howto thinks it may be an ALSA bug, which I think he is right about.

harty83: I have the NB205-N210 which does not come with Bluetooth, so I am afraid I cannot help you there. Sound still is a bust ATM, and hibernate is still untested as of yet, but I would not be surprised if it did not work (have almost always had problems with it in this release and older). Where you able to get headphones sound working, and if so, how?

-solidus126