GeeksOK.com

Something I have been wanting recently in Ubuntu for laptops and specifically my Eee PC is the ability to control the CPU frequency easily. With Asus’s unwillingness to provide their “Super Hybrid Machine” for Ubuntu and the several times I can run applications that push the frequency to its limit, my Eee PC can get a little toasty in the lap. Many thanks go to The Ubuntu Labrador for the instructions.

The first step to be able to adjust the CPU frequency in Ubuntu is to add the “CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor” to a panel in Gnome. Do this by right-clicking in an open area on a panel and choosing “Add to panel.” Next, choose the monitor from the list. This will show the frequency your CPU is running at during that exact moment. If on an Eee PC with an Intel Atom processor, it will show 800MHz when idle and jump to 1.6GHz when running applications.

In order to enable manual control of the CPU frequency, a command must be executed to configure the applet. Start by opening a Terminal window and enter the following command:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure gnome-applets

This will show a text-based GUI informing that a component can be added to the CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor with the SUID bit set. Select “OK” and it will prompt you to confirm that you want to install the component. Select “Yes” and you should be returned to the terminal. Close the terminal and yoou should now have control by left-clicking on the monitor in the panel. You automatically receive varying frequencies and pre-defined modes of frequency management!

2 Comments »

With the release of the new Eee PCs has come larger solid state hard drives. Previously it was unfeasible to dual boot these UMPCs due to the lack of space, but now it is possible for the Eee 901 & 1000. Unfortunately, these models have two solid state disks (one small & fast for the system, one larger & slower for the user data), so the process can be confusing.

I prefer Linux over Windows XP, so I prefer to have Linux on the faster disk even though it is smaller. I have also found that I can install everything I need for the Linux system in 4GB if I keep my data elsewhere (the Eee 1000 has an 8GB system disk, so this is not an issue). With this in mind, I decided to use the 4G system disk, formatted as Ext2, for Ubuntu and the 12GB data disk, formatted as FAT32, for Windows XP and my user data storage. I am also using a 16GB SDHC card for additional storage.

Since Windows XP does not allow installation to a secondary hard disk without writing to the first disk, a few additional (sometimes lengthy) steps must be taken to optimize the dual boot setup. So, the general steps to dual boot the system are as follows:

1. Format both drives
2. Install Windows XP to the first drive
3. Image a duplicate of the first drive to the second drive
4. Expand the second drive partition to full potential
5. Format first drive
6. Install Linux to the first drive

Installing Windows
To start, insert the Windows XP installation disc into an external CD drive attached to the Eee PC. The Eee PC can boot from an external drive by pressing ESC during the ASUS splash screen. When the Windows XP installation menu has started, provided a backup of any user data is made, all partitions should be erased and a new partition on the first hard disk should be made. This partition should be the full size of the first disk. Instruct the installation of Windows XP onto that partition and indicate it should be formatted with FAT32 (quick). Follow the instructions to complete the installation of Windows XP.

Move Windows Installation
Once the Windows XP installation is complete, insert a copy of Ubuntu-Eee into the external CD drive. Boot from this disc into a live session to perform the move of Windows XP. For this process, I chose to use the “dd” command included in Linux for imaging the drive. There are several other methods available, but this is a simple method for the size of the drive. With a few commands, the master boot record (MBR) and the Windows XP partition can be duplicated to the second drive. This duplication method is an exact duplicate of the entire partition, so the process can take a long time (approximately 50 minutes).

Start by opening a terminal from “Applications > Accessories > Terminal.” The first command executed will take just a couple seconds to duplicate the MBR. Provided a backup of all essential data on the second disk has been made, issue this command in the terminal:

sudo dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb bs=512 count=1

This command will duplicate the MBR from the first disk to the second, which includes the Windows bootloader and the partition size. For safe measure, I formatted the partition created on the second disk with FAT32 using the Partition Editor in “System > Administration.” In order to format that partition, select “/dev/sdb” from the drop-down menu in the upper-right corner. Next, right-click on the partition labeled “/dev/sdb1″ and choose “Format to > fat32.”

Now, the long process of duplicating the partition with Windows must be completed. Issue the following command, in terminal, to do that:

sudo dd if=/dev/sda1 of=/dev/sdb1

Once that command has completed, it is a good idea to format the first disk to Ext2 in the Partition Editor. I have 2GB of RAM in my Eee 901, so I chose to not establish a swap partition.

Installing Ubuntu-Eee
To complete the dual boot configuration, start the install of Ubuntu-Eee. When prompted to partition the disks, I always choose to manually configure. From there, edit the partition on /dev/sda to use the Ext2 partition type, formatted, and mounted at “/” Next, I editted the partition on /dev/sdb to use the fat32 partition type, not formatted, and mounted at “/media/winxp”

Once the installation of Ubuntu has completed, upon restart, the option to boot into Windows XP or Ubuntu should be given by the GRUB menu. Congratulations, the Eee PC is now dual booted.

Currently, Ubuntu-Eee does not work 100% upon install on the Eee 901, but there are a few work-arounds. I have tested these and will be posting my findings on these soon.

4 Comments »

Managing wireless and wired network on a laptop has always been a hassle in both Linux and Windows. I have used many of the managers, but now I have my hassle-free network manager. Its name is Wicd.

Many of the wireless and wired managers will handle profiles for different networks but many leave networks without DHCP in the cold. With Wicd, all those features are included. It conquers all of the tasks the Gnome network manager in Ubuntu has attempted for many versions.

A handy panel icon is included that shows wireless connection strength and activity (indicated by blinking screens). By hovering over the panel icon, it will display the wireless network connected to, the signal strength, and the IP address utilized.

The managers main window has a simple interface that is easy to use and understand. There are options to use global DNS addresses, choose your network devices, and option to always show the wired connection. Any wireless networks in your current area are shown and all are in a collapsed form. Advanced features can be accessed by clicking on the arrows to show more info. Static IP addresses and DNS addresses can be specified along with an option to auto-connect. Best of all, WEP, WPA, and WPA2 are all supported.

I have enjoyed having Wicd because I connect to one wireless network that doesn’t have DHCP and after I first set the options, I am able to automatically be on the network without any manual changes.

Wicd has finally given me all of the features I want from a network manager without the crashing of Gnome network manager or the lack of wired support from the Intel manager. Instructions for installation in Ubuntu can be found on the Wicd download page. Wicd is a replacement for the Gnome network manager, so it will force an uninstall of gnome-network-manager during install.

No Comments »