Linux Lite 3.0 on a Netbook

[T1125P]

I to have just installed LL 3.0 on my Toshiba netbook. Upgraded from 1.06. LL 3.0 runs as smooth as the older version, I love it .  I have a 360GB Corsair SSD in it and saw the TRIM directions changed. Now you don't add "discard" just noatime.  I added this line sudo mv -v /etc/cron.weekly/fstrim /fstrim but actually I want TRIM to be done weekly as I don't use my Netbook to much, just for torrents and light browsing, and to look at gaming guides while on my main PC  ^|^ Anyway to get back TRIM to weekly?  I have tried many other versions of Linux, so many but Linux Lite seems the best I have ever used.  Awesome work!

Thank you.

[Wirezfree]

Some experiences...

I installed LL2.6 then 2.8 on my daughters 1st Gen Sony Netbook, XP ran O.K'ish, but sluggish.
With LL it was very, very good... It was old school tech, so was able to upgrade memory from 1GB to 2GB... It was like Chalk & Cheese, Night and Day... It now really performed.

Move on...
I have acquired an HP Stream 11 from a friend who basically was just not using it, I had already installed LL2.8, that is fixed at 2.0GB & N3050 CPU... With LL it is a great little performer.
Some screen shot, no performance tweaks done...

From power on, desktop in @ 12~14 secs... start-up also includes Skype, Bluetooth and SpiderOak (OnLine BackUp/Sync, all my PC's have certain files/folders always in Sync).
Zero Swap used, CPU usage is fine @ 25 ~ 45%.



Even with Virtualbox running and an instance of XP, it's still very usable... Swap usage at @ 380MB & CPU @ 35~88% usage



Conclusion,
That 1 extra GB makes a very usable Netbook become a little power house.

[Richard B]

A note on netbook screen size.

All "traditional" netbooks I have seen, including my MSI U180, have a 1024x600 pixel screen which can cause difficulties in using some programs (e.g. GIMP as I mentioned above). I can now, when I wish, switch to using a larger "virtual" screen and panning over it. This is done using the standard "xrandr" program. The commands I am using are:

Code: [Select]

    xrandr --output LVDS-1 --mode 1024x600 --fb 1920x1080 --panning 1920x1080
    xrandr --output LVDS-1 --mode 1024x600 --fb 1024x1024 --panning 1024x1024
    xrandr --output LVDS-1 --mode 1024x600 --panning 0x0
for a virtual HD screen, vertical panning only and reset to normal respectively. Panning is automatic as the mouse cursor gets to the screen edge.

Note that the "LDVS-1" was found from running xrandr without any options. The name my vary so check it.

The appropriate command can be run from a terminal but I used Settings/ Main Menu to add them into Settings as "Display HD", "Display square" and "Display normal". For most purposes I find "square" - vertical panning only - the most useful.

[N4RPS]

Hello!

Have you folks tried adjusting the 'swappiness'? It defaults to 60, and reducing it reduces dependence on the swap file. The guy who wrote it also recommends ZRAM, for those REALLY-challenged machines (< 1GB RAM).

More info here... https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/first-xubuntu

73 DE N4RPS
Rob

[azrielle]

The N2600/2800 (and others) sport a graphics module that Intel contracted out to a 3rd Party software company called Power VR that will never allow their code to be released for Linux. Consequently, you're left with Xorg Modesetting (which Puppy will enable with their xorgwizard, e.g. Tahr 6,0.5_noPAE, Slacko 6.3.0), or limited function GMA 500 Poulsbo drivers, or VESA  safe mode (or maybe they're all one and the same?). The point being that what graphics you get come mostly, if not entirely, via the cpu, NOT the graphics module (except in Windows of course!). Also, what limited driver support there is only works in 32 bit, or so I've read.
The upshot is that even LL isn't light ENOUGH as it is installed. I have experimented with about 30 different distros using an Easy2Boot multiboot formatted USB thumb drive. I've had the best luck so far with Manjaro Fluxbox 15.12 (and the aforementioned Tahr & Slacko), with solid runners up Manjaro JWM 16.06.1, Porteus 3,1 LXQt, Archbang-openRC & Bunsenlabs, Antix-MX-15.01, and, surprisingly, Kali Light 2016.1, Makulu 10, and LXLE & Xubuntu  14.04.4. Pretty much in that order. And Linux Lite after that.
But  ALWAYS bogged down by Firefox, Seamonkey, or Opera. Pale Moon is a little better. Haven't been able to find a distro that sports Midori AND recognizes my wifi. Am going to try Elementary and wifiSlax tomorrow. We'll see. BTW, the N2600 netbooks by Acer, Gateway, and HP will work with DDR3 4GB RAM cards, though Win Starter only recognizes 2. My HP Mini 1104 came with 32 bit Home Premium, which recognizes "2.99GB".
This Ubuntu forum thread discusses the gist of the woes with N2600 cpu's

[Richard B]

...
Which Wifi device does it [my MSI U110 netbook] use?  One of the Realtek's?

No: "Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) driver: ath9k" - see

Code: [Select]

https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/network/ll3-0-wifi-problem-with-key/
where I note a similar problem with a Dell Inspiron 1525 using an RTL8088CUS based dongle (rtl8192cu driver). In both cases I have to use "edit" to enter the wireless key or it is ignored.

[bbaker6212]

For what it's worth, some comments by another netbook user. I have an MSI U110 (Atom N2600 processor, 1GB). Replaced the HD with an SSD which probably helps performance. Still has W7 on as W10 upgrade says graphics not compatible. Came with 4 primary partitions, so had to juggle things to enable logical partitions to install Linux without ditching the (rarely used) Windows. Been working happily with LL2.x (32bit) for a long time. Now have LL3.0 (64bit). Installed from USB stick with no network connection - NOT doing updates at the same time.

Had initial problems with (a) wifi connections and (b) using Libre Office files on network storage - both noted, with work-a-rounds - elsewhere in the forums. Happy with it now though my usage is not onerous.

I did have a problem when trying 32bit LL3.0 on a 32bit machine. There seemed to be a problem with the repositories when trying to update after install. I've not yet investigated that.

My main gripe with the netbook is the 1280x600 graphics as I can't always get to important items such as some GIMP control "go" buttons because the control windows are more than 600px high. Hardware supports HDMI on external monitor and it would be great to get that resolution "mapped" onto the built in screen. Don't know how to do that!

Which Wifi device does it use?  One of the Realtek's?

[Richard B]

For what it's worth, some comments by another netbook user. I have an MSI U110 (Atom N2600 processor, 1GB, "Atom Processor D2xxx/N2xxx Integrated Graphics Controller"). Replaced the HD with an SSD which probably helps performance. Still has W7 on as W10 upgrade says graphics not compatible. Came with 4 primary partitions, so had to juggle things to enable logical partitions to install Linux without ditching the (rarely used) Windows. Been working happily with LL2.x (32bit) for a long time. Now have LL3.0 (64bit). Installed from USB stick with no network connection - NOT doing updates at the same time.

Had initial problems with (a) wifi connections and (b) using Libre Office files on network storage - both noted, with work-a-rounds - elsewhere in the forums. Happy with it now though my usage is not onerous.

I did have a problem when trying 32bit LL3.0 on a 32bit machine. There seemed to be a problem with the repositories when trying to update after install. I've not yet investigated that.

My main gripe with the netbook was the 1280x600 graphics as I could not always get to important items such as some GIMP control "go" buttons because the control windows are more than 600px high - unless using an external monitor via HDMI or VGA cable. However, I now get round this using the xrandr program. I will post a note on this below.

[bbaker6212]

There are a number of alternative browsers. I also use Slimjet which avoids Chrome; but Midori was an answer to the specific question of a very light browser which speeds up an old slow low powered machine.
On my Dell netbook it is uses far less CPU and memory than FF.

I am surprised to hear that it crashes for some users as I haven't had that problem.

Still, horses for courses. The best thing is to try them all for yourself on the target machine.

I tried out Slimjet. I like it, thanks.  It's small, fast, and has some very nice features built in.  Now trying to decide which I like better... Slimjet or Vivaldi 

[Ottawagrant]

I'm trying out a happy medium. Linux Lite 1.0.0 is unsupported, too old. Linux Lite 3.0 will install, but runs a bit sluggish. I'm using the Netbook with Linux Lite 2.0 for a while. I was going to go with LL 1.0.8, but I can't see it being supported much longer, but I'm happy it still is. With 2.0 you can install systemback, Lite Control Center, etc. There isn't much that's on 2.8 that you can't do with 2.0. Plus 2.0 has the 3.13.x kernel. Really the only difference is that 2.0 does it's updates by Terminal. I think it was the last OS to do that. I figure by the time 2.0 is out of support my Netbook will be resting peacefully at the great electronic recycling depot (3 block over). It's a good compromise, not super fast, but not super slow. On the subject of web browsers I was thinking of asking Jerry if he would consider including 'Pale Moon' in the next LL release (3.2). Perfect for those that like 'Firefox', but I think it's a better browser.

[bfb]

There are a number of alternative browsers. I also use Slimjet which avoids Chrome; but Midori was an answer to the specific question of a very light browser which speeds up an old slow low powered machine.
On my Dell netbook it is uses far less CPU and memory than FF.

I am surprised to hear that it crashes for some users as I haven't had that problem.

Still, horses for courses. The best thing is to try them all for yourself on the target machine.

[bbaker6212]

Thanks everybody (I will check out Midori). Just for fun a while back I installed Linux Lite 1.0.0 on the netbook. Took a grand total of 6 minutes to do. You would not believe how well it runs. BUT! Of course, you can't (shouldn't) connect to the internet because of security problems. I agree with LinuxNoob above, a netbook is close to 7 years old. For a computer that's worse than dog years. It would seem my choices are clear. (a) Live with the limitations of running LL 3.0 on a netbook. (b) Use Linux Lite 1.0.0, but stay off the internet. (c) Use a Puppy Linux, with the limitations that come with that. Thanks again for everyone's suggestions. I'll put it back on the shelf & think about it some more. I will say one thing for LL 1.0.0. Once you set it up ,& install from the few working repositories left what you want, it's still a great OS.

Midori has crashed on me many times under Linux Mint 17.2 while I have found the Vivaldi browser much better.  This is my favorite right now.  Running it right now on Linux Lite 3.0

[LinuxNoob]

Thanks everybody (I will check out Midori). Just for fun a while back I installed Linux Lite 1.0.0 on the netbook. Took a grand total of 6 minutes to do. You would not believe how well it runs. BUT! Of course, you can't (shouldn't) connect to the internet because of security problems. I agree with LinuxNoob above, a netbook is close to 7 years old. For a computer that's worse than dog years. It would seem my choices are clear. (a) Live with the limitations of running LL 3.0 on a netbook. (b) Use Linux Lite 1.0.0, but stay off the internet. (c) Use a Puppy Linux, with the limitations that come with that. Thanks again for everyone's suggestions. I'll put it back on the shelf & think about it some more. I will say one thing for LL 1.0.0. Once you set it up ,& install from the few working repositories left what you want, it's still a great OS.

That dog years comment made me laugh. I have a dog and maybe if I install LL1.0 I cab get a few more years out of him as well. haha

As for Midori I found it always crashed on me. Maybe now it's more stable.

[newtusmaximus]

contemplating using LL3.0 for a tablet. Would not removing Office and Thunar and Gimp , speed things up??

[Ottawagrant]

Thanks everybody (I will check out Midori). Just for fun a while back I installed Linux Lite 1.0.0 on the netbook. Took a grand total of 6 minutes to do. You would not believe how well it runs. BUT! Of course, you can't (shouldn't) connect to the internet because of security problems. I agree with LinuxNoob above, a netbook is close to 7 years old. For a computer that's worse than dog years. It would seem my choices are clear. (a) Live with the limitations of running LL 3.0 on a netbook. (b) Use Linux Lite 1.0.0, but stay off the internet. (c) Use a Puppy Linux, with the limitations that come with that. Thanks again for everyone's suggestions. I'll put it back on the shelf & think about it some more. I will say one thing for LL 1.0.0. Once you set it up ,& install from the few working repositories left what you want, it's still a great OS.