This is coming up quite a bit, and I really want to get better graphics drivers before making a distributable full recovery solution on a USB stick, however if you want to you can use a USB CDROM drive to install Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, probably others) and then edit the xorg.conf file from the command line (ctrl+alt+F1 to get to the console, log on then do something like sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf and find the screen section. Change the display subsection for Depth 24 (which is true colour no point using anything else these days) and make it look something like this:
SubSection “Display”
Depth 24
Modes “1024×600″ “800×600″ “640×480″
EndSubSection
The important bit is 1024×600 as the first resolution.
Here is my xorg.conf file which you can download, stick on a USB or something and overwrite the one that gets put there by the installer. If you get to a command line and have a wired network plugged in then you can do
wget http://webbookblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/xorg.conf
to download it to your current directory.
If you want to reinstall Ubuntu, or try any other Linux the don’t go calling support and expecting them to help! This is totally unsupported, and not recommended by me unless you know what you are doing (or at least you think you do 
) but if you get stuck you can ask me for help and I will try as best I can to help.
Just a nice surprise Alan regarding 8.1 – it works. The display is 1024×600 and the openchrome driver is being used. Apparently 3D acceleration is also enabled. I’m using your xorg.conf but otherwise its just a standard 8.04 install.
I will bear that in mind as it could be useful. How about external monitor support, can that be included in this file, or should I hang on? Just thinking with an external keyboard an mouse it could also become a large monitor internet machine!
right now I think the external monitor works if you plug it in at bootup but it only mirrors the pannel display at 1024×600 and therefore has 168 pixels of black above it (or it might be 84 above and 84 below). With the via drivers it has the potential to drive the external display at an assortment of resolutions. It can also use the OpenGL hardware to set the resolution to 1024×768 and scale that on the panel so you see a slightly squashed display on the LCD but full screen on the external monitor or projector. You can also do the funky 3d transitions in OpenOffice.org Impress. We need those drivers.
Hi, great site. I am just about to pick up a webbook. Would these instructions be valid if I got hold of an xp loaded webbook and wanted to install linux on it?
@Pete, thanks. yes these instructions would be valid for the XP ones, the hardware is identical. In the Ubuntu install process you can probably resize the XP partition and set it up as a dual boot if you like.
hi Pete,I think it’s quite hard to find the webbook with xp..I think its about cost and the webbook is more concerned with ubuntu..I have been to CPW and their staff mentioned that they don’t have any xp version…well I even spent time over the phone with them but none in stock…The webbook would do great with windows as far as the specs are concerned!!
@heeman
the intention was to have the XP models available for online sales and the Ubuntu ones in store. It sounds like a few XP models found their way into stores, but not many and I don’t know how that happened. They are still advertising XP online. I have no idea why it was done this way. I would have thought that Ubuntu pre-installed would be a bigger story in the online world than in the bricks and mortar stores. It’s not about cost, it is about Freedom!
I must admit, everything I have heard seems to point towards an mythical status with regards to the xp versions of these, but I will be getting mine online rather than direct from the CPW stores. I would prefer the ubuntu version but will have to take what I get.
While we’re on the subject of the screen.
For those of you like me, who wanted to change the login window but found parts of pictures or clock for e.g to be falling of the screen, I have looked at the XML file and played around with and have it working fine now. It was a bit of a mess about as the XML file was quite large, but to cut a long story short, I un tar’d it, edited the width of some of the sections down slightly i.e “width=”100″ to “width=”90″ and saved the changed xml file.
I then had to re-tar it and added it in the login window screen. Rebooted and the clock was now in the right place and not slightly off the screen. If I get time I’ll try do a print screen walkthrough or just upload the new tar file for anyone that wants it.
Great site for Theme’s etc http://www.gnome-look.org
Adam
@Adam,
yes indeed the GDM theme was one of the bits we customised. If you go to system-administration-software sources then go to third party sources, click add and type in this:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/wellington/ubuntu hardy main
you can then reload the package list and open system-administration-synaptic package manager and install the elonex-config package. This should install a working GDM theme, the webbook background image and fix a few configuration files (like getting tuxpaint working at 1024×600 etc.)
Hi Alan,
Thanks for all the time you’re taking with this.
Should that be ‘wellington’ (as you wrote) or ‘wellington-team’? WT already seems to be in my sources list, and W doesn’t seem to be there.
my system is fried, and i’m just about to install ubuntu from scratch. Where can i get the software needed for mobile broadband (I’m on T-Mobile)?
Thanks.
im on the carphonewarehouse-free-webbook thing.
thanks
How do I get the mobile broadband icon onto another linux laptop?
Adam
@Adam, more on the mobile broadband topic coming up next week.
Hi,
i have a problem with the wifi. The system (Ubuntu) was set up to a Netgear wireless router, using MAC filtering and wpa, every thing worked fine.I have no problem with lan connecting.
When I next turned it on I had to reensert the password, and every subsequent start I have to do the same.
My problem is, is the wifi on by default? as there is no indication on the wifi led. After inserting the password etc, wifi led turns on and I am connected. Why cannot I have the system connect without having to set up the wifi every time I switch on?
Is there anywhere I can find out the full spec of the webbook, this will enable me to obtain and keep the drivers.
regards.
(Hopeful)
John.
The Wifi should reconnect to hotspots it has connected to before, mine does. Wifi light fix is here. The drivers for the wifi chip should be fine, but if you want the full spec you can go to a terminal window and type “sudo lshw|less” to see the full hardware list in detail.
@John,
I think there might be something wrong with your default keyring where applications can store passwords. Can you go to System-Preferences-Encryption and Keyrings, then highlight the default keyring and press the remove button. Next time you connect to the wifi network and put in your password it should ask you for a password to create the default keyring. Let it do this and it should not ask you again. I think you may have clicked “deny” the first time you connected, that means it won’t attempt to store the password for that hotspot.
I purchased the Ubuntu webbook following the recview in last week’s MicroMart because I have always wanted to lean about Linux and it seemed to be the ideal way to start – and the wonderfully simple way in which the hard drive can be switched offered lots of scope for experiments. Delighted with the machine.
I did swap the HDD for a 250GB SATA Hitachi – to use the macine as an image tank – but when I tried to install Ubuntu 8.04 from a USB DVD drive it got as far as loading Ubuntu into RAM then stopped – black screen and no HDD activity – until in frustration I pressed the power button then Ubuntu quietly unloaded from RAM and the machine turned off. Tried this with a different Ubuntu DVD from Linux Format] – same result. Tried a slipstreamed XP with SATA drivers – loaded effortlessly – but I’s really like to learn to work with Linux.
In your first post in this thread you said that it is possible to install Ubuntu, Fedora and possibly others in this way. Is there something I am missing ?
@Henry,
Try a text mode installation. The live CDs might be trying to put the graphics card into a mode that does not like the 1024×600 panel. The other thing you could try is plugging in an external monitor during installation. Linux is great, you are going to love it
You can get the 8.04 install to work by using the alternate install CD, installing in text mode and setting the display resolution to 800×600 in the X setup – alternatively, plug in an external monitor and take the defaults. Once it’s loaded, you can replace the xorg.conf file with the fixed one that Alan posted earlier.
It seems to be an interaction between the VIA VGA BIOS and the VESA driver in X – when running on the panel only (no external monitor) the DDC probe fails and the driver uses it’s internal modelines – which don’t include the (non-standard) 1024×600 resolution.
@Alan
Although my machine is working, have you got a proceedure for doing a complete restore – reading some earlier posts, there was a script on the shipped HDD that installed things, but I neglected to back things up before nuking it (OK, dumb, I know…) – I would like to get the machine back to the as-shipped config.
I do have a USB CD/DVD drive and a CD with ubuntu-8.04.1-alternate-i386 on it – is there anything else needed in the way of equipment?
@Peter,
I am just working on installing Intrepid Ibex (8.10) alpha 6 and I will update the build script for that (if necessary) then post it (without my mobile number this time!). I think that VirtualBox does not cleanly install at the moment so we will probably leave that out.
Thank you – just to give you a laugh, I will tell you how I nuked my HDD. I decided I wanted to play with the system, so I went out and got a replacement drive (Hitachi 5K320-120, 120GB). I then left the said drive in it’s nice little anti-staic bag while I proceeded to install Ubuntu on the one that was shipped with the machine.
More coffee needed, I suspect.
Hi Alan.
I got my Webbook last week but have run into frustrating problems with attempts to dual boot/ install other distros. Live cds load ok but I have no screen video….also when I try Me TV or Kaffeine with my DVT stick…sound but no picture! Have done all the googling stuff but no solution. Saw your item ref editing but without a screen is kinda difficult! Any possibility of a workround.
Anyway,very thankful to you for your blog!
Best wishes
Tom
@Tom,
Try ctrl+alt+F1 to get to a text mode console, from there you can tinker with the xorg.conf and tell it about the 1024×600 screen. I think xorg needs to get a lot better at detecting the 1024×600 configuration, there are a lot of diddy laptops coming out with that spec now.
@Alan
Thanks for this page. I’ve been beating my head against a wall trying to get a webbook reinstalled with Ubuntu, having given up on trying to get XP in today.
Its the most useful thing I’ve seen for ages.
Cheers!
Hi Alan
Your blogs been so useful! After being into Linux for 10 years now and using Ubuntu since the original Warty Warthrog, and the being Herefordshire LUGmaster, I had to get a Webbook. Note a LUG is a Linux User Group. see http://www.lug.org.uk, and http://www.herefordshire.lug.org.uk
I’m really pleased with it so far.
You mentioned you had tried upgrading to Intrepid Ibex alpha. I have done the same. Network manager works soo much better, and detects my 3 modem, a huawei e160g that isnt normally picked by wader.
My only problem with Intrepid, is that somewhere in the boot sequence, something is waiting to time out about half way along the boot, and appears to have to timeout. Its a shame, as its adds probably another 20s to the boot.
Any idea what the problem is, and any fix ?
What are your plans for upgrading to 8.10 when it comes out? Also the 3d drivers worked well with 8.04, but obviously wont work with 8.10 beta. Any way to get them working again ?
You’re right about the manual, really a bit too skimpy !!
Julian
@Julian, good to have you here. I think bootchart would be a good way to troubleshoot and speed up the bootsequence, I haven’t got an Intrepid webbook right now but I will get back to it soon.
[...] public links >> xorg Reinstalling Ubuntu or other Linux on the webbook Saved by jmooreaus on Sat 04-10-2008 Dual Monitor in Intrepid (At Last!) Saved by MileyCyrusfan25 [...]
Alan,
I set out to buy a Linux machine from one of the Cardiff CPW’s ( we now have at least 3) at least one was on display but had none in stock BUT they did have an XP machine for £259 i.e only £20 more than for a virtual Linux machine, at least in this neck of the woods.I would still like to have a go at Ubuntu, though, in fact a work colleague daringly boots one of our company Windowed Dells from a stick actually with Hardy Heron on it.Is this as good as dual boot or are there some limitations, I don’t know if he has a swap space on the stick or on the company HD obviously not a problem on a private machine. What’s the latest on your build ?
Regards,
Neil
@Neil, booting from USB can work but is much much slower than booting from a hard drive.
What extra drivers, apps, etc does the webbook come preinstalled with? i know it uses wader-gtk, but what about gfx, etc?
(i just had to reinstall ubuntu, and i want it set up exactaly the same as before)
Thanks.
the graphics drivers on the shipping units are the OpenChrome drivers. The VIA binary drivers work way better, but there is a risk that a kernel update will leave you with a blank screen and a challenge to fix them. That means we can’t put them in the default configuration. If you want them (and they are worth it) then you can certainly install them by following the sequence of posts about Compiz. Also check out the keystroke guide to a reinstall.
Thank’s man, exactly what i was looking for.
hi…
i just bought a second hand webbook….
i forgot my password and tryied to recover it….
now my webbook starts and goes to a blank page.
please help me to recover or reinstall ubuntu.
@geethes, you can call support and get a USB recovery of Hardy Heron, but I would advise waiting a few days and getting the Intrepid Ibex recovery, which might be a download.
Anyone having trouble re-installing/installing Ubuntu on their Webbooks should check this site out http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-install-ubuntu-linux-from-usb-stick.html#comment-151294
I followed the instructions from reply 31 for steps 1 & 4, and the main instructions for the rest of it. You should be able to use the main instructions for step 4 if you’re already running Ubuntu.
I tried for ages to get anything working, and at 1:30am I managed it. I feel so happy, and so very, very tired.
Does anyone know where I can get a copy of the original Ubuntu Webbook CD please?
Regards
There is no CD specific to the webbook, the Elonex customer support line should be able to send you a USB wristvault with a recovery on it. Alternatively you can download a standard Ubuntu CD and install that, you just have to tweak the xorg.conf file to get the screen working then you can configure it however you like.
Hi Alan,
Any idea where I can download a standard Ubuntu CD??
Thanks
Shaun
sure, http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download but there are a few hoops to jump through to get it running on the webbook, check the article on a keystroke by keystroke guide to the install.
ok really not sure where to start…never ever used a web book or any linux operating system before. and i mean never.
got a webbook as an xmas pressie for my son who made up his user id and password and then forgot what he has put in.used your forum to find his username so thanks for that..then went about changing his password which we thought we had done.Now when we try to boot up the hard drive seems to run but just goes to a blank screen.have tried removing users which seemed to have worked again but still boots to a blank screen. In sheer desperation i have downloaded the usb img file but have no idea how to put it on a usb stick from a windows based pc as the link for the dd for windows file does not seem to work…major help needed pls guys asap
try this link http://www.chrysocome.net/dd I will update the article if that works better.
Hi Alan, as I could not get the ibex image downloaded, I spent the evening downloading various flavours of Linux to see which would install on a 1024×600 screen without the need for an additional screen. I thought that I would tell of my adventure.
Ones which did not display, Mandriva, Debian, Slackware, Linux Mint.
PCLinuxOS worked to the point of configuring internet on install and froze. On cancellation, the live CD boots, and clicking on install brings up the enhanced install assistant which promptly advised that there was no room for install.
I then went on to openSUSE 11.1, It installed very well, I got open office configured including the debranding from open suse, and installed thunderbird as I am not so keen on the openSuse Fair. Wireless detected and setup ok.
I have not yet tried my USB HSPDA modems yet (3 and T-mobile).
The bit that I am now stuck at is the install would only install at 800×600. On install, when selecting 1024×600 a message comes up that resolution is not available and list ones.
On entering YasT2, I can configure the lcd panel to 1024×600, (with VESA as there are no openchrome or VIA options, but when I try to set resolution to 1024×600, it lets me, but on reboot has reverted back 800×600.
I tried the sudo nano etc/X11/xconf.org command but does not recognise the command.
I installed the KDE4.1 version. I appreciate that you may not know too much about openSUSE but I was hoping that you may be able to point me in the right direction for editing the X11 in openSUSE. I have not been on to the openSuse forums yet and will post the answer/solution if and when I get it. At least my Webbook is usable as a mobile device.
Will keep you up to date if you are at a loss of getting 1024×600
Gray
Hi Gray, I will have to start seeding that download again, or perhaps restart the tracker. In suse there is a root user with a password rather than using sudo. Try typing “su” then hit return, it will ask for your password and then give you a prompt ending with # which signifies you are the superuser. Then you can type “nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf” and hopefully that will work.
How do I logon to the webbook in Linux, when the previous users have been deleted, but refuse to go! How do I put in a user and password? HELP! Peter
Hi,
Am desperately trying to do a clean install. I have used the instructions here before… and they are perfect. Unfortunately, the links etc no longer work – could they be fixed please or could someone e-mail me what I need. (abbeyman@verygreen.co.uk).
Thanks
I had to add this into the xorg.conf to get it to work with jaunty jackalope
Section “Device”
Identifier “Configured Video Device”
Driver “vesa”
EndSection
Section “Monitor”
Identifier “Configured Monitor”
EndSection
Section “Screen”
Identifier “Default Screen”
Monitor “Configured Monitor”
Device “Configured Video Device”
Subsection “Display”
Depth 24
Virtual 1024 600
EndSubsection
EndSection
I have tryed and failed the installation of ubunto on my webbook, what I wounder is there someone that has a fresh installation that can make a ghost img and sent it to me?
I recently purchased one of these for my girlfriend but it came with Windows on it. Installing Ubuntu Intrepid has shown up a few problems:
Can’t boot from USB stick ( might be my fault, worked around by writing to HDD )
Intrepid minimal install showed at incorrect resolution so some was chopped off the bottom ( not too much of an issue as I know that installer by heart )
But the real downer is when I tried to start X. I can’t get the display to work with the OpenChrome drivers at all, even after modifying xorg.conf. I got it to work by forcing the ‘vesa’ driver and adding the “1024×600″ modeline but this will be un-accelerated.
Any chance of a re-upload of the xorg.conf so I can see if I am missing something?