Notebooks & Netbooks

[Rose7]

I got an Aspire One netbook for Christmas and after browsing around about Windows 7, I found that many people prefer Linux over Windows and this has tempted me to try Linux instead.  I've always been a Windows user so I would like to try something new for a change.

What I would like to know is is Linux compatible with my netbook?  The model I have is the D270-1466.  Does anyone have this specific netbook who has installed Linux onto it?  My netbook will mainly be used for the internet, music and as a word processor.

In case this info is needed, my netbook has the Atom N2600(1.6 GHz, 1 MB L2 cache) with 1 GB DDR3 Memory and a 320 HDD.

Thank you.

[snowman2765 · Accepted solution]

you can install linux on that system, but be forewarned, linux is more complicated to use than windows. if you would still like to try it, the version i recommend is linux mint 14. that is the newest version of linux mint, it is ubuntu based, and the most user friendly. i use it on my acer, i have it set up to dual boot that and windows 7. i dont recommend you dual boot as your computer is a little small for that. any other questions feel free to pm me.

[Rose7]

Thank you so much!  I'll look into it a little more before going through with it but it's good to know which version to use instead of just trying anything.   When I first looked into Linux, some people said that Linux wasn't very compatible with the processor in this netbook which is why I wanted to ask about it first before going through with anything.

So changing the OS won't affect anything like the screen resolution or anything along those lines?

When I go through with this, I might be sending you a PM or two for help.  I hope that won't be a problem.

[snowman2765]

your system exceeds the minimum system requirements, and the screen resolution should be perfectly fine

[KenJackson]

I'm eagerly awaiting the Aspire One I just ordered (not the same model as yours), and I'm going to wipe Windows and install Linux immediately upon receipt.  (In fact, I'm going to try to boot to a Linux USB drive and make a backup of the hard disk in an unbooted state.)

I've never used Linux Mint, but right now it's the most popular distro, so it probably is indeed a good choice.  My favorite distro is Fedora, though I'm thinking of installing something else.  Maybe Mint because it's popular.  Maybe Debian because it's very stable.  Maybe Vector Linux because I've wanted to try it. Maybe PCLinuxOS because I used to use it and ran it continuously for something like 9 months without ever rebooting it.  (Try that with Windows!)

I think it's wrong to say Linux is more complicated to use than Windows.  It's definitely harder to get started, because Windows is already installed and Linux isn't.  But once you get it up and running, it's at least as easy to use.  I suffer through Windows all day at work (though at least I have Cygwin to keep me sane) and several distros of Linux at home.  Linux is superior.

BTW, Arch Linux has a page devoted to tips for running Linux on the Aspire One.

[tracyrbabione]

We use linux on a regular basis.  if you have any problems or questions get ahold of us at

[edited for privacy]

.  My husband is one of the programmers for Ubuntu, Kubuntu, PuppyLinux, etc.  The nice thing about Linux/Unix is that there are no Viruses to have to deal with.

Tracy

[KenJackson]

Holy Cow!  You're very brave to post your phone number on a public forum.

You're right about the no-virus advantage of Linux.  When people refer to "computer viruses", they really mean and should say "Windows viruses".

[Rose7]

Hi everyone!

Sorry for taking so long to get back to this thread.  I didn't expect any new posts!

I still haven't installed it yet.  I'm still reading up on it but it is tempting me more and more because from what I've read, it's more suited for customizing it to how you want it unlike Windows where you get things you really don't need or want.  The one that appeals to me is the XCFE version.

One thing I did find is that while it wasn't on the Linuxmint forums, I did come across some people who said that Linux doesn't work on the Acer model that I have.  Well, they only mentioned the D270 so whether it is the exact model I have or a different one, I can't say.  They mentioned something about and xserver.

I might go onto the forums to ask some questions about it.  Two of them being about changing the desktop wallpaper and changing the mouse pointers.  I like being able to customize those two things and I don't know if it's possible to do that in Linux Mint.

Ken, did you install Linux yet?  How did it turn out for you?  Thanks for the link to.  I'll check it out.

Thank you for the offer, Tracey.  I won't call but I just may drop you a PM when the time comes that I finally go through with this.

[KenJackson]

---

Rose7 wrote:

Ken, did you install Linux yet?  How did it turn out for you?  Thanks for the link to.  I'll check it out.

---

Yes, I installed Debian Linux because they aim for stability over rapid development.  Their installation procedure is very smooth.

I had intended to simply wipe Windows7 off the disk, but I decided to shrink its partition and install Linux in a smaller partition, since I've never used 100GB on any machine, and this hard disk is 250GB.  I booted SystemRescueCd from a thumb drive and used ntfsresize to do the resizing.  SRC is a tiny version of Linux which specializes in tools to fix hard disk problems.  But the resizing procedure was different than I expected, so I let it set for a while before I got back to it.

Now it's nice to have a tiny Linux PC to take with me.  I rarely take my Dell laptop anywhere because it's so big.  (It's rather ordinary, but that's big).

[mikeslr]

The Aspire ONE D270 is a beautiful netbook. Unfortunately, most Linux distributions can not currently -- as of September 2013-- run it, as they do not have drivers to work with its Cderview graphics. Before trying to install any of the many distributions of Linux, make sure that it's kernel [kind of like the powertrain in a vehicle] was built handle the Cedarview chip, also know as PowerVR, gma500_gfx, and Intel GMA-3650. Shortly after the D270 reached the market Ubuntu --one of the most popular Linux Distributions-- developed a driver which could be installed in it under Ubuntu's "Precise Pangolin" model. Offshoots of Ubuntu such as Lubuntu, Xubuntu, and derivatives such Mint, and Pinguy and Zorin could also be take advantage of that driver. [Zorin and Pinguy frequently build-in capabilities that Ubuntu leaves up to action by the user]. Unfortunately, as far as I know, although the kernel used by Ubuntu in creating Raring Ringtail, its current model, can support the chip, Ubuntu did not develop the driver. So I'm uncertain whether any Ubuntu offshoot or derivative can properly handle graphics on the D270. If you want a "standard" Linux distribution, I would try Zorin installed to a USB-Key --the D270 can be booted that way-- using LinuxLiveUSB Creator, a program which runs under Windows. I know from experience that at least three versions of Puppy Linux function very well. They are Upup 3.8.3 built by "pemasu", precise 5.7.1 built by Barry Kauler --both of these were created using precise pangolin binaries-- and raring-3.9.9.2, also built by pemasu but using ubuntu's raring binaries, albeit in such a way as to handle the Cedarview graphics chip. Running under Puppy Linux, the D270 is not only beautiful, but fast.