Linux on a netbook

[paul1149]

By far, most of my work is with Windows, simply because that's where the money is. But I came across a netbook with only a kiosk version of linux on it (Fedora Werewolf), so I wiped it and am looking for a more capable linux install.

I've tried several, from ubuntu to Mint to Fedora 19. I'm currently on Peppermint. It's ok, but the basic install is minimal.

One problem I'm having with all the installs is the thermal driver. The fan is always on, albeit at a low rpm. Ironic, since one of the goals of a netbook distro is to save battery. Ubuntu idled at about 15% CPU, which was unacceptable. Mint and Fedora were a bit better, but not great. In Peppermint I can't even find where to monitor resources.

I'm open to recommendations for the best netbook install. At some point, hopefully soon, I have to polish this thing up and sell it. It's running an N270 Atom processor, at 1.6GHz hyperthreaded, and 1.5 GB of PC2 RAM. I suppose the chipset is the Intel GMA 945 or somewhat less.

 

[Sketcher]

What model netbook is it?

 

[paul1149]

Acer ZG5, with a 8GB SSD. I've tried half a dozen distros, and I think this is the Achilles heel of linux manifesting: bad driver support. They all run the fan non-stop. Oddly, coming out of hibernation stops the fan. But it kicks back on again once you do anything with the machine.

I'm back to loading ubuntu 12.4. Not a fan of Unity, but otherwise I like the distro and its default apps. The install utility is primo, I must say. I think I will wrap the machine the way it is and put it up for sale. The fan problem really needs to be addressed, though. Major consideration for portables.

 

[Sketcher]

You would want to look at some of the lighter distros for netbooks. This isn't a whole lot to go on, but have you tried Puppy Linux?

 

[paul1149]

I love puppy. I tried that earlier this morning, figuring I could add packages to it, like libreoffice. But the touchpad wouldn't tap with it (5.4 slacko), so I gave up. I've tried several light versions of linux, and frankly didn't see much performance difference between them and the full versions. So it's nice having all the ubuntu bells and whistles already in place, and I'm sure ubuntu makes the machine more marketable.

I just thought to download Intel drivers directly. Turns out that they pulled the driver for ubuntu 12.04, the "long-term support release". "Obsolete". Really?

 

[EphesiaNZ]

Acer ZG5, with a 8GB SSD. I've tried half a dozen distros, and I think this is the Achilles heel of linux manifesting: bad driver support. They all run the fan non-stop. Oddly, coming out of hibernation stops the fan. But it kicks back on again once you do anything with the machine.

Crunchbang Linux comes to mind as a good lightweight full Linux distro. Also you could take a look at this Crunchbang page for info on fan control for this machine.

 

[paul1149]

Thanks much, Eph. I had seen Crunchbang recommended, but didn't bother because I wasn't seeing any performance difference between the lightweights and the full versions. I'll keep it in mind for next time though.

I'm glad to see the fan issue addressed, and in such detail. There are some very dedicated people out there. I really wish this were dealt with at the driver level, though, because this level of messing around is beyond my practical abilities. And there is a potential downside to guard against.

 

[Sketcher]

Crunchbang WAS good for that before Waldorf (version 11). Statler was snappy. Waldorf is slower than it should be on my i7 3770 w/ 8 GB of RAM.

 

[paul1149]

Well, ubuntu it is. The unit is in the box waiting to be shipped tomorrow!

 

[EphesiaNZ]

Crunchbang WAS good for that before Waldorf (version 11). Statler was snappy. Waldorf is slower than it should be on my i7 3770 w/ 8 GB of RAM.

Must admit that I haven't looked at CrunchBang for a while and was snappy when I last used it but I guess it suffers from new features and bloat as do most distros after some time. Did take a look at the dev talk in the forums and there seems to be some interest in scrapping pulseaudio which could be a good thing.

Found a good article about what to do post CrunchBang install but I guess it will have core Debian users freaking as the author has used PPA's for a few things

 

[LJCTAM]

By far, most of my work is with Windows, simply because that's where the money is. But I came across a netbook with only a kiosk version of linux on it (Fedora Werewolf), so I wiped it and am looking for a more capable linux install.

I've tried several, from ubuntu to Mint to Fedora 19. I'm currently on Peppermint. It's ok, but the basic install is minimal.

One problem I'm having with all the installs is the thermal driver. The fan is always on, albeit at a low rpm. Ironic, since one of the goals of a netbook distro is to save battery. Ubuntu idled at about 15% CPU, which was unacceptable. Mint and Fedora were a bit better, but not great. In Peppermint I can't even find where to monitor resources.

I'm open to recommendations for the best netbook install. At some point, hopefully soon, I have to polish this thing up and sell it. It's running an N270 Atom processor, at 1.6GHz hyperthreaded, and 1.5 GB of PC2 RAM. I suppose the chipset is the Intel GMA 945 or somewhat less.

Hey Paul if you get a chance try out:
ZORIN 7, has option of LITE, able to strip down
MANJARO
MINT/CINNAMON

 

[paul1149]

Thanks. Zorin certainly looks impressive. I've discovered a couple of things since I started this thread. First, the old netbooks weren't good on power saving fan modulation even on Windows. When I put XP on the machine the fan was still constantly on. So it might be a bios lack.

Second, there is a market for linux machines. Since this machine I've sold two others. I think there's a bit of a value hit, but it's not too bad.

At the same time, though, I've learned to be quite a restoration partition jockey, and can put Windows on almost any box using the motherboard's COA even if the restoration partition is gone. So there's less need for linux.

I'll definitely keep this in mind though. Thanks for the tip.