Sunday, March 29, 2009

Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope Beta on the Mini 9

Installing Ubuntu on the Dell Mini 9 was never hard, but getting everything working was. Ubuntu 9.04 Beta does not require any extra fixes or patches. Audio works out of the box (you just need to turn up the speaker volume) and there is no longer a drive mounting problem after a LiveUSB install. Installing Ubuntu Netbook Remix doesn't require adding any extra repositories or adding items to your start-up programs.

I tested both the Ubuntu 9.04 Beta i386 and the Ubuntu Netbook Remix USB 9.04 Beta i386 Image for this article.

If you need need help making a LiveCD.

Installation
If you select the "Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer" option and then try to install Ubuntu on your Mini, there is a minor issue. The windows are too large for the screen and get cut off. You will not be able to completely see the buttons on the bottom of the window to make your selections.
Mini Button Install Glitch
It does not hinder your ability to install Ubuntu on the Dell Mini 9 or and you can see what the buttons say. If you want to be able to move the windows and see the complete selection.
Go to System>Preferences>Appearances. Under the Visual Effects Tab select None.
- This will allow you move the windows up (click the window while holding down the alt key) and see the bottom of the buttons.

Video
The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 driver has received some significant upgrades since Intrepid's release. Video playback is better, Compiz is running smoother and flash video is actually bearable to watch again.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix
Installing Ubuntu Netbook Remix used to require a little bit of work and extra know-how. In Jaunty, the Netbook Remix packages have been added to the official Ubuntu repositories and the included ubuntu-netbook-remix-default-settings package configures everything for you.

To install Ubuntu Netbook Remix
in a terminal type:
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-netbook-remix
Note: The desktop switcher program is still slightly buggy. It has a tendency to crash when switching back from the normal desktop to Netbook Remix.

Compiz
The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 runs compiz without any special setup or configuration.

To get the most out of Compiz install the advanced configuration tool.
In a terminal:
sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager
Note: You can find the Compiz Settings Manager under System->Preferences once you install it

Wireless
The Broadcom STA wireless driver was activated after install and connecting to both WEP and WPA poses no problem.

Wired
Worked out of the box. There was a Kernel Bug that prevented the wired Ethernet connection from working in Ubuntu 8.10 but the bug has been squashed and the Dell Mini 9's wired connection works perfectly.

Audio
Unlike Intrepid, audio works out of the box in Jaunty. You just need to turn up the speaker volume in the Volume Control on your first boot.
Screenshot-Volume Control: HDA Intel (Alsa mixer)-1

Webcam
Worked out of the box. To test the webcam, install Cheese.
In a terminal type:
sudo apt-get cheese
Note: The video may seem slow, you just need to adjust the webcam's resolution under Edit>Preferences

Bluetooth
Worked out of the box and includes the ability to enter the device PIN code through the GUI.
Screenshot-Bluetooth Device Wizard

Card Reader
Worked out of the box. Secure Digital (SD) & SDHC (High Capacity), MultiMediaCard (MMC) and Memory Stick all worked.

Brightness & Volume
Brightness and volume keyboard short-cuts both work with any extra configuration.

Suspend & Hibernate
Suspend works incredibly well. I suspended my computer over and over without a problem.
Hibernate will not work if you do not have a swap partition. If you have a swap file, hibernate works well.

Video Out
Worked out of the box, you don't have to edit your xorg.conf file anymore. Just plug your external monitor/projector into your Mini 9 and send the video out.
Video has a tendency to jitter while Grub is loading and during the Ubuntu splash screen once you load into Ubuntu, the video corrects itself and all is smooth.

Have a question or problem that this article doesn't cover?
Ask our Ubuntu Mini 9 Google Group for help.

53 comments:

Racum said...

Did you notice any difference in performance between the desktop and netbook-remix versions? Does the remix use some Atom optimization?

And what about usability? does it make difference in the small screen?

redDEAD said...

I did not notice a difference between the two distros. They both are i386 architecture distros and ran well.

I did not use lpia (low power intel architecture). For the 100th time this blog is about Ubuntu i386 on the Dell Mini 9.

LPIA does not offer a huge improvements. Benchmarks for that architecture are based on running Hildon as the desktop manager. Even thought it is a part of Gnome it's like comparing apples to oranges. 10% battery saving are probably due to the different managers and different daemons running. Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Compiz are not designed for minimizing power consumption like Hildon.

Hildon doesn't give me the functionality I need. and if I were to install and run on UNR or Compiz on lpia architecture I think I would be negating the whole idea of Ubuntu MID.

Unknown said...

Did you keep all the config settings in your /home directory when you installed Jaunty beta? Do you see any reason why they can't or shouldn't be transferred over to a new Jaunty install?

redDEAD said...

sk

I did. I don't see a problem with it or have any problems.

cb said...

I installed Ubuntu 9.04 i386 today, everything works fine, but I have been having issues with the internal/front side mic not working. I tried researching this issue, but I was unsuccessful in finding any working solutions. Does anybody know how to fix this problem?

redDEAD said...

cb

-You go to the Volume Control: HDA Intel (Alsa Mixer)
-Make sure Options is selected
-change the input source to the front mic
-maybe turn up your mic boost

but my front mic is working in Ubuntu 9.04.

Anonymous said...

I'm currently interested in playing around with linux without overwriting my primary OS. Is there a way to install Jaunty onto a USB drive to boot from, so the SSD remains unchanged? Could this be done with cd2usb or UNetbootin?

In case I didn't make it obvious, I'm a total linux noob. Any help is much appreciated!

Brian A. Levine said...

This sounds promising!

Which version of the Broadcom STA wireless driver is installed?

On Intrepid, I can get the version with either:

lshw -C network

or

sudo lshw -C network

If you could just dump the output of either of these commands here, that would be great.

You mention WEP and WPA. Have you tried any WPA2 PSK connections? How about WPA2 Enterprise connections?

One last thing. Can you please post the output of the following command?

lspci -vnn

This should provide a reasonably detailed description of your hardware.

Thanks,

--Bri

Unknown said...

hmm just did the install using the netbook remix img on my USB drive, all went well with the install.

However I still cannot connect to a wireless wpa enterprise connection without freezing. any ideas?

Jazz1 said...

Okay, I'm taking the plunge into i386. I'm going to install the beta. When the full release comes out will this beta update via the update manager?

aprice2704 said...

hey guys,

I've been running 9.04 for a few weeks now, and mostly very happy (wired and cabled connections now work yay!)

Unfortunately I just tried UNR and the desktop switcher seems to have crashed leaving neither UNR or gnome working. No title bars on windows and I can't bring up a 'Run' dialog to start new programs even :(

Any idea how to get plain gnome going again?

ta

Andy

Anonymous said...

I have a mini 9 on the way. Jaunty should be an official release by the time I get it. I think I am going to install Jaunty.

I have been reading this blogs for a few weeks. Thank you for all the hard work!

emptythevoid said...

I'm soo glad you posted this article. Not that I had doubts that 9.04 would work on the Mini, but it's very reassuring to see that it seems to work even better than 8.10. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside (especially knowing flash seems to work better!). I'll be looking forward to the official release even more now. Thanks again!

Brian A. Levine said...

Ed,

It could be that your installed wireless driver isn't the latest version that includes the patch for the WPA Enterprise hang problem.

Last week, someone else in this forum brought to my attention that Broadcom just updated its driver. The driver is supposed to work specifically with the 14e4:4315 wireless card. This is what I have in my mini. It took some doing, but I got this installed in a fresh Intrepid install, and it has worked great for me thus far! Now I'm routinely connecting with WPA2 PSK and WPA2 Enterprise networks with nary a problem.

When I have a chance, I'll try to write up what I did and post here or to the e-mail list. In the meantime, you might want to check this out yourself:

http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php

Good luck,

--Brian

Unknown said...

Well great it "just worked" on a netbook, but 8.10 "just worked" on my Lenovo S10e, so that's kinda old news.

Anonymous said...

I would like to thank the author for this post and also to thank everyone involved in Ubuntu development and FOSS development in general. It's amazing to see a quick reaction of the FOSS community, and Ubuntu developers in particular, to deliver a new OS that works for netbooks out-of-the-box.

I installed Ubuntu 9.04 netbook remix on several netbooks and old laptops for my friends and family, and everyone really likes it. Before everyone was using standard Ubuntu 8.04 with some personal customization. Now, with this Ubuntu release everything works right out of the box and the system performance is seriously improved.

When I installed remix on my netbook and my friends saw the new netbook interface, they all wanted to get the same thing, because it is designed for netbook form-factors. With my great pleasure I spent this past weekend and installed the new Ubuntu beta for all who asked me.

I am very happy to see that even such small incremental GUI improvements in the mainline OS can bring so much happiness to so many people.

One of my friends was quite reluctant to learn/use Linux. When I just gave me a USB stick with 9.04 remix, in less that 2 hrs he called me back and screamed: "Man, I really love it. Everything installed right away, no need to tweak anything in your DOS screen (meaning command line)."

After talking to him a bit more, I also understood that such a simple and small thing as making easy and straight-forward to install web browser plugins (to play different media and to run flash) produced such a big jump in "user satisfaction".

Again, Kudos to Ubuntu and FOSS developers. I am also grateful to FOSS early adopters, first-time users and patient old-timers who provide all these newcomers with an opportunity to try something new and eventually become free from the tyranny of "one-choiceness".

THANK YOU!

Anonymous said...

i was wondering if anyone has used Skype on their mini9 using 9.04. i have several friends and family that i keep up with using Skype so i really need to make sure that it's going to work before i upgrade. thanks!

Steeve said...

I had absolutely no problem installing this version on my mini9. The only issue I had was figuring out how to turn off the ubuntu desktop for dummies and returning to the "classic" gnome desktop, but that's probably got more to do with me being new to ubuntu (I've been a redhat user for years now).
Everything else worked out of the box. Very nice.

I couldn't find any info on dumping the image to a USB key using dd, but this worked perfectly,

# dd if=ubuntu-9.04-beta-netbook-remix-i386.img of=/dev/sdf

after determining the key was using /dev/sdf, of course.

aprice2704 said...

It seems PaulL is suffering the same fate as me; here is what I have found so far :)

1. On the desktop I could still right click and "Create Launcher ..."
this was the key
2. I added a launcher, gave it type "Application in Terminal" and set
the command as "bash" (actually I use fish, but same idea).
3. Now start it up and you can run stuff again! yay!
4. next start "gnome-panel" by just typing that. That should bring
back many things.
5. You may want to set your session manager back to metacity (see
here: http://www.ubuntumini.com/2009/01/run-compiz-fusion-on-your-mini-9.html)

Make sure you kill maximus -- that is what removes all the menus etc.
I ended up apt-get removing it; along with all the other UNR packages.

Actually that last link was new to me and contains other good stuff
that might allow a more elegant revert -- I shall experiment.

redDEAD said...

Alt+F2 bring up a Run Application Box

No need to go into bash

Anonymous said...

hey installed ubuntu 9.04 using your guide. Did a clean install but when I try to use sudo apt-get update i get these warnings at the end and i'm not sure how to find the sources that are duplicated, any help would be greatly appreciated.

W: Duplicate sources.list entry http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com jaunty/universe Packages (/var/lib/apt/lists/gb.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_jaunty_universe_binary-i386_Packages)
W: Duplicate sources.list entry http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com jaunty/universe Translation-en_GB (/var/lib/apt/lists/gb.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_jaunty_universe_i18n_Translation-en%5fGB)
W: Duplicate sources.list entry http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com jaunty-updates/universe Packages (/var/lib/apt/lists/gb.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_jaunty-updates_universe_binary-i386_Packages)
W: Duplicate sources.list entry http://security.ubuntu.com jaunty-security/universe Packages (/var/lib/apt/lists/security.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_jaunty-security_universe_binary-i386_Packages)
W: You may want to run apt-get update to correct these problems

Anonymous said...

I tried installing skype into the netbook remix (version 9.04), but it would not install..

redDEAD said...

Anonymous,

I'm using skype right now in 9.04. I installed the Medibuntu version.

Anonymous said...

I'm curious. Has anyone installed using ext4? If so, how is it going?

Cipherfusionist said...

Note to get sound to work in skype I had to set my sound in device to "HDA intel (hw:Intel,0)", sound out "pulse" and ringing "pulse"

redDEAD said...

Anonymous

Did you not read the installing Ubuntu 9.04 Beta on the Mini article??

I've installed ext4 and it feels pretty speedy compared to ext2.

Cipherfusionist said...

no sorry I missed that post, i though this page WAS the installation article. ;p

Anonymous said...

Hmm. I downloaded the netbook remix disk image, used imagewriter to put it on my sandisk 2 gig drive, booted to it, got the splash screen, but then ended up at busybox shell. Won't seem to boot into the gui. Yet it worked for you somehow. What is the problem? I have a mini 9 with bios a4

Anonymous said...

OK, I solved my own problem. First, I did a checksum, and my image was OK. I reformatted the USB drive with gparted, ran imagewriter again, and now I booted just fine into Jaunty netbook remix. Nice.

Steeve said...

I also had the problem of the gnome-panel disappearing. I'm not sure what was happening but I ran the desktop switcher and switched back and forth from the ubuntu desktop to the classic desktop. That restored the panel, but the window manager was not running so I had not window decorations. Not sure what that was all about. I finally just rebooted deleted all of my settings and started over, because I was sitting in a pub drinking guinness and I just wanted to browse the web a bit :)

Unknown said...

"Card Reader
Worked out of the box. Secure Digital (SD) & SDHC (High Capacity), MultiMediaCard (MMC) and Memory Stick all worked."

i have intrepid running on mine. i've noticed that an SDHC in the reader mounts just fine. my memory stick duo, though, isn't seen. i take it from your comment that this is fixed in jaunty?

Pietro Lazzari said...

i've tried UNR... wonderful, everything just fine (just one bug in hotkey setup file, but afterall is a beta). but my battery time with the original system was almost 4h now is 2h30'... why? is 'cos UNR is not specific for lpia? i'v tried also MID version but it wasn't good for dell9... keybord did not workin'...

Pietro Lazzari said...

hi! iìv installed the UNR versione on my mini9. yes eveything worked out of the box but:

1- battery time now is up 2h, before was 4h.
2- the OS doesn't open link as root from menù (with gksudo command you know? like "gksudo terminal")

i hope they are bugs (like the hot-key bug i'v found and resolved after installation)
thanx for your attention!!!

EffE said...

Is the radio switch (fn-F2) working now?

Joe said...

Did anyone install Jaunty and boot into a wonderful black screen? When I installed I told Ubuntu to auto login into this black screen. CTL-ALT-Backspace doesn't restart X and CTL-ALT-Del doesn't restart the computer. Is there any help for me out there or am I forced to try and reinstall?

Dr.Diesel said...

Having the same problem when I switch to classic desktop and reboot gnome-panel and the window manager does not start. Anyone have a fix besides putting gnome-panel and metacity in the startup apps?

Unknown said...

SD/SDHC doesn't work!!!
When insert an sd this is the output:
Apr 23 12:00:10 mauro-netbook kernel: [ 773.731189] mmc0: card lacks mandatory switch function, performance might suffer.
Apr 23 12:00:10 mauro-netbook kernel: [ 773.733201] mmc0: new SD card at address b368
Apr 23 12:00:10 mauro-netbook kernel: [ 773.751864] mmcblk0: mmc0:b368 SD 32.0 KiB
Apr 23 12:00:10 mauro-netbook kernel: [ 773.752090] mmcblk0: p1
Apr 23 12:00:10 mauro-netbook kernel: [ 773.755187] mmcblk0: p1 size 7862271 limited to end of disk

How to fix the problem, with kernel 2.6.29 it works but doesn't work wireless damn!

Any suggestions?

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I'm reading your posts.
I have a question for you: I am now using ubuntu 8.10 release on the mini 9, did anyone upgrade by the graphical interface to 9.04? any problems with video drivers?
Thanks for your answers, this blog is very useful!

Stef said...

Installed Ubuntu today on my Mini 9 and everything works fine. Then, I tested Skype and during the (successfull) "test call" I recognized a remarkable static noise. With WindowsI already had the trouble that my mic was so silent and now under Ubuntu the loudness is fine but I have static noise.
Is this a hardware problem of my Mini 9 or does someone else can conirm my problems?
Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Did you test whether the v9 supports any of the 801n USB wireless recievers?

redDEAD said...

i did not test out any USB receivers because I do not own any.

Manuel said...

Hi everyone. I have to say that 9.04 works just fine and really fast in my notebook, but I have a weird problem with skype. I installed it through Medibuntu repositories and it functions OK, but I've noticed that during a skype session my ethernet connection is out for a few seconds and then comes back and so on. Any idea?

Jordan said...

Yet another user with a broken desktop when switching back and forth. I'm just going to decide on one and stick with that. One weird problem is that it appears to be trying to launch ume-launcher, but that binary doesnt actually exist. I thought I was having a file system corruption problem, but after seeing so many other people with the same issue, it sounds like something else.

Davide said...

Today I've installed Ubuntu Jaunty Netbook Remix from usb stick; the installation was succesful without any problems except the wifi connectivity.

The Broadcom driver is in status Enabled in 'Rescricted Drivers' but if i click on network manager I can't see wireless network around me.
I've tried to disable, reboot and re-enable the driver but it doesn't work.
lspci says

03:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g (rev 01)

lsmod says
wl 1489748 0

In bios settings the WLAN capability is Enable.
Bios version is A04

Any ideas?

redDEAD said...

davide

install aircraft-manager and see if your wifi is really on. A lot of this problems are because wifi is off.

warriorx808 said...

So I installed Jaunty on my mini that previously had the dell hardy lpia. After having that installed, I did not have/could not get wireless working, any idea what I might need to do?

redDEAD said...

make sure the wireless is turned on.

make sure you are entering the wireless ssid and key correctly.

Unknown said...

You can fix the problem..
of metacity by right click in the desktop and then create a launcher whit the comand
"gnome-panel" and then goto system...is temporal..when i reboot..metacity doesnt start..

redDEAD said...

Kenneth,
The fix was discussed here:

http://www.ubuntumini.com/2009/04/desktop-swticher-is-kind-of-broken.html

Unknown said...

You said the video out works out of the box on 9.04. I'm wondering what is the video out adapter that you have, or if you have any suggestions for me.

I threw in the extra couple of bucks for the hdmi adapter. From the looks of it the command would be Fn-F1 that has the laptop display/monitor symbol on it. It does nothing when hooked to an hdmi TV. I've tested the HDMI connection on the TV and it works fine for DVD/Blu-ray from a different source. And the Function keys work with the other config options(battery display, brightness, not so much sound control(but I do have sound, just can't control it via Fn keys). Pressing Ctrl or Alt or Shift seems to have the same functions as Fn(F?).

Fairly long winded but I just figured I would try to eliminate some possible solutions.

redDEAD said...

I used a VGA cable to connect my mini to my tv, monitor and projector. Logging out and back in with the cable connected seems to work out some of the kinks associated with video out.

I have no idea about HDMI adapters.

Anonymous said...

thanks!

easy peasy guides.. 9.04 is tons better than the 8.10 which shipped with my mini.
Just the window size thing to get sorted now!

Kevin said...

I just installed Ubuntu Remix 9.04 on a Dell Mini 10 (1011). For the most part everything has worked flawlessly.

I did run into one issue with wireless. I had to add the line 'wl' to the file /etc/modules, since for whatever reason, the driver was not automatically loaded.