Since it appears that eeeXubuntu isn’t going to be updated for the new 8.04 release, I thought I’d have a go at actually getting a workable version of the default Xubuntu 8.04

onto my Eee PC. In my opinion it’s the best Linux distro to put on, mostly because of the speed and the minimal space it occupies.

Now to install it, I burned the default ISO to a CD-ROM, then used my external DVD drive to boot it onto the Eee. I realise this isn’t a solution for everyone, it is possible to install Xubuntu using a USB flash drive, but rather than detail that method on here, it’ll be easier to follow the guide in the EeeUser.com Wiki here (substituting Ubuntu with Xubuntu of course).

Once booted, the installation this time went much smoother than with Xubuntu 7.10. For one, the graphical installer now correctly supports 800×640 graphics mode (the Eee PC’s native screen resolution) rather than having to make use of the Alt+Click trick to move windows off the screen.

I installed my copy of Xubuntu without a swap partition, and my Eee PC only has the default 512MB RAM. I very much doubt that unless you’re likely to use it for video editing, or leaving Firefox on overnight (gotta love those memory leaks) that you’re going to need one, especially if you’ve done the smart thing and upgraded the RAM.

On first boot-up, theres a few things that need sorting; the wireless won’t work, and it won’t turn off correctly during shutdown. Hopefully you’ll have a spare ethernet connection lying around somewhere to grab the Wifi files, but if not you can always copy the kernel module over from a USB flash drive or such.

The first thing to do before attempting anything else is to run the update manager, and let Xubuntu update itself. There are a number of important updates, including a kernel revision, that will aid the following custom updates.

The following are the steps I’ve taken (so far) to get my Eee into a workable condition:

Enable Wifi

Firstly, open a terminal window from the menu (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal) and type in the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential
wget 'http://snapshots.madwifi.org/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6-current.tar.gz'
tar zxvf madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6-current.tar.gz
cd madwifi*/
sudo make clean
sudo make
sudo make install

Reboot the laptop and the network-manager (in your system tray) should find the newly installed wireless driver.

Install ACPI Support

The ACPI support allows the Eee PC to power down, suspend and hibernate (if you have a swap partition) correctly. To install the correct support, open a Terminal window as before and type in the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y -f build-essential module-assistant eeepc-acpi-source  --force-yes
sudo m-a a-i eeepc-acpi
sudo cp /etc/modules ~/modules.tmp
sudo chmod 777 ~/modules.tmp

Then you need to edit the shutdown configuration file to fix one of the most common ACPI problems with this new build of Xubuntu on the Eee PC. Run the following command:

sudo nano /etc/default/halt

And put this line at the very bottom of the text file:

rmmod snd-hda-intel

Then, to save it, press Ctrl+O, and to exit press Ctrl+X. Next, you need to edit the file /etc/modules by running the following command:

sudo nano /etc/modules

And add the following line to the file:

eeepc-acpi

Then save and close the file by pressing Ctrl+O then Ctrl+X.

Once again, a simple reboot should ensure the changes are made successfully.

Install OSD and Sound

The OSD will show when you are increasing/decreasing brightness and changing the volume on your Eee PC. To install the OSD and fix your sound, open a Terminal again and enter the following commands:

wget http://eee-osd.googlecode.com/files/eee-osd_2.1-0eeeXubuntu1_i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i eee-osd_2.1-0eeeXubuntu1_i386.deb

You then need to edit one file using this command:

sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/snd-hda-intel

Add this line to the file:

options snd-hda-intel model=3stack-dig

Save and close using Ctrl+O and Ctrl+X.

Now, to get the sound to work correctly in Xubuntu’s interface, add the Volume Control module to the panel (right-click on the panel, select Add New Item, and drag the Volume Control to where you want it), then right-click on the speaker icon, go to Properties, and change the wannabe master setting to Front, 0. If this isn’t available yet, try rebooting and playing an MP3, then try it again.

Fix Startup Time

Finally, for now anyway, this small change to the way GRUB boots your Eee PC will knock quite a few seconds off the time it takes. Open a Terminal window and type this to edit the GRUB configuration file:

sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

Then look for the following line:

# defoptions=quiet splash

And change it to this:

# defoptions=quiet splash clocksource=hpet

Then press Ctrl+O to save the file, and Ctrl+X to leave the editor. Penultimately, type the following command to re-configure GRUB to use the newly edited file:

sudo update-grub

Finally, reboot.

So now your Eee PC should be running Xubuntu 8.04 like clockwork. There’ll still be some user interface problems (if you can’t see a window because of the small screen, drag it using Alt+Click). I’ll be following this up by writing a guide on how to fix the fonts to better fit on the Eee PC’s screen, and a comparison of some of the user interface themes Xubuntu has to offer.

Although this guide does try to cover most eventualities, some of you may experience some other problems. Just post a comment or email me and I will do my very best to help you or at least point you in the right direction.