Dell mini 10 OS change

What do you mean with "retail ISO"? Where i can find it?

Thanks in advance

Sebastian S

Yes, there was  a reply before. I don't understand why it was deleted.

Thanks for your answer, i already considered UNR, the problem is that the graphic card of the Mini 10 (not the mini 10v) is not supported in almost any distro, including UNR. However, there were some mini 10 netbooks that were sent with ubuntu installed, that's why i wrote in this forum.

Best,

Sebastian

Was a message deleted form this thread?  :S

Anyway, you sound like you want an Ubuntu Netbook Remix.  The Dell 10v I've just received came with Hardy Heron.  A later version is available from here

http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download-netbook

I've not done this myself, but there should be enough avenues of support available through ubuntu and their forums.

Actually, the Ubuntu 9.04 Dell distro (from linux.dell.com)  will work if you add a couple source repositories (ubuntu-mobile) and download the "Poulsbo" drivers for the GMA 500.  The other problem is the touchpad, which requires modifying your xorg.conf file to allow the shared memory to be accessed so you can then set the touchpad to not respond while you are typing.  Otherwise, the cursor jumps all over the screen.

If you have the high-res display on your mini 10, the drivers mentioned above will allow the max resolution and it looks great, although you are somewhat limited in 3D performance; 2D works fine.  There are several threads in the ubuntu forums that give specific instructions to resolve the graphics and touchpad issues.

I installed the Release Candidate of Windows 7, and while I'm a big Linux fan, Win7 is VERY impressive, even on a 1GB RAM Mini 10.  You might want to look into that.  There is a driver available for the touchpad that will shut it off altogether if a USB mouse is plugged in.  Everything else really works well, and if you need IE for websites/applications, Win7 appears to be the way to go.

Thank you for your answer. Actually i have just installed Ubuntu 9.04 (the original distro, not the dell one) and i added the poulsbo drivers and did some modifications in the xorg and now my mini is doing well. I even have compiz working (slow, but working). Is there a diference (advantage) between Ubuntu 9.04 and Ubuntu 9.04 Dell distro?

I still have the touchpad problem (to be honest i hadn't thought about it until i read your reply). I sought in ubuntu forums and i haven't found anything yet, i will keep looking for some info. 

I have the URLs for how to fix the touchpad issue at home, so I will post them later today.  Essentially, you have to enable "SHMConfig" (shared memory for the video/touchpad) in xorg.conf by adding a section for the touchpad itself and designating it as the "corepointer" device.  Once this is done, the "touchpad" menu item in system settings (Gnome) will work, and if you're using KDE, you can modify the main menu to include that item in KDE.  That allows some fine-tuning, or you can alternatively run syndaemon as a startup application.  Syndaemon has various parameters to adjust delay settings, etc.  But you have to enable that SHMConfig item for either method to work.  Not a lot of work, but it has to be specified properly, so I will post what I have this evening for everyone.

I need Internet Explorer for some downloading to my Garmin 205 GPS from Google Maps; otherwise, I'd stick with Ubuntu.  Installing the Win7 RC resolved nearly all the issues, and adding the touchpad driver in XP Compatibility mode fixed the touchpad.  So far, so good, although the tradeoff is now I have to install antivirus software, which is out there, but mostly beta stuff for Win7.

I have the URLs for how to fix the touchpad issue at home, so I will post them later today.

Thanks again a_greene, i am a newbie in Ubuntu and the thing i like the most about it (linux in general) is the community support. I have always found help for all the problems i have faced.

I keep the original Win XP, but after reading your experience with Win7 i am seriously considering to change it.

Glad I could be of help.  The main difference between the Dell Distro and the one downloaded direct from Ubuntu is that the Dell DVD image allows you to do a "restore" via an imaging process, during which it creates the recovery partition and stores the Dell distro image in it.  With this, you can recover your system without using an external HDD, just as you would WinXP.  The install goes fairly quickly, since it's laying down an image instead of doing all the installs, etc., in a normal install process.  Forgot to add that info in my last post.

Where can I find the touchpad driver that will shut off when a USB mouse is plugged in?

For Linux or Windows?  I found one for Windows XP/Vista/Win7 that works with both the Synaptics and the Elan touchpad.  I believe you can download that from http://www.emc.com.tw/eng/st_tpn_sp.asp.  I don't know of a similar driver for Linux, unfortunately.