How to install Ubuntu 10.04LTS on an Asus EEE PC 901
By Jeff Liebermann
2/24/2012
The EEE PC 901 used for this install has 1GB of RAM and a 20GB SSD.
Why you do NOT want to install 11.10 on the Asus EEE PC 910:
http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2011/10/15/installing-ubuntu-11-10-on-the-eee-pc-901/
Download 10.04LTS 32 bit from:
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download
Create a bootable Ubuntu flash drive with the Universal USB Installer using instructions at:
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/
I used a 2GB flash drive. I think (not sure) that a 1GB flash drive will work.
There are two drives on the built in SSD drive, 4GB and 16GB. The 4GB is faster, but Linux will not fit in 4GB. It might be possible to move the swap and user partition to the 16GB drive, but I decided that it might be too much work. So, I decided to put everything on the 16GB partition and mount the 4GB on root for purposes unknown. If there is anything on the 16GB partition that you want to save, this is the time to back it up to flash or DVD.
Plug the bootable flash drive into the left USB slot. I had some strange problems getting mine to boot in the right two USB slots. Turn on the power and punch the ESC key until you get a boot device selection menu. Select boot from the USB device. Do not remove the USB flash drive.
When Ubuntu starts, you can choose between trying out Ubuntu or going directly to the install. I like to try before I fly, so I went for the former. After I was convinced that it will work, there’s an icon on the desktop that puts you into the install.
Go through the install. There are plenty of instructions on how to do this on the web. Be sure to install Ubuntu on the 16GB, and NOT on the 4GB drive. I suggest a rather trivial root password, as you will be typing it many times during this installation.
After the install, try it to see how it works. Everything should work except the webcam. You should hear sounds from the speaker and the mic should work. All the function keys (screen brightness, sound, etc) should also work. At this time, wi-fi will work ONLY with an unencrypted access point.
Once you’re sure it’s working, do all the updates. This will take a long time.
When the updates are done, reboot and test everything again.
To fix the wi-fi encryption problem, see:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1476007
It’s a messy procedure but not too horrible after you’ve done it once. Be sure to replace the “*” in the various commands with the current version of the kernel. On mine, it was 2.6.32-38-generic so that the command might be something like
sudo mv /lib/modules/2.6.32-38-generic/kernel/…
After numerous typo errors, it worked. However, if you update the kernel, you will break the fix and will need to do it over again on the updated kernel. After the fix and reboot, wi-fi should work with WPA and WPA2 encryption.
Video recorder install. I had to build it from the source code:
http://benbois.posterous.com/howto-wxcam-with-eeepc-901-and-ubuntu-1004
It was not easy. After installing all the libs requested and g++, I had to reboot for no obvious reason.
The current version 1.1, does not compile. Going backwards, the latest version that compiles is 1.0.7. download this version. The instructions are sufficient with one addition. Insert a “make clean” between running “./configure” and running “make”.
The default grub2 boot menu is a bit of a mess. To remove the extra startup options, see:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/17787/clean-up-the-new-ubuntu-grub2-boot-menu/
I suggest you leave two kernel versions (with both normal and recovery modes) and both memory test lines.
Recommended basic programs to install via Ubuntu Software Center:
Mozilla Firefox
Adobe Reader
Adobe Flash
Chromium
Teamviewer