Linux on the ASUS N10 N10J

so today i suddenly got an error message that said:

E: The package linux-image-2.6.30.1 needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it.

E: Internal error opening cache (1). Please report.

then it told me that this usually means that your installed packages have unmet dependencies.


i don't suppose you could give me some advice as to what i'm supposed to do at this point.

cheers.

 

Looks like you need to purge (completely remove) the kernel image package and then reinstall it. The .deb should be in /usr/src -- to make sure it's there before purging:

Code:

ls /usr/src/linux-image-2.6.30.1_2.6.30.1-10.00.Custom_i386.deb

To purge it:

Code:

sudo dpkg -P linux-image-2.6.30.1

Then reinstall it:

Code:

sudo dpkg -i /usr/src/linux-image-2.6.30.1_2.6.30.1-10.00.Custom_i386.deb

 

so .deb is in /usr/src

but when i type:

sudo dpkg -P linux-image-2.6.30.1

i get:

dpkg: error processing linux-image-2.6.30.1 (--purge):
Package is in a very bad inconsistent state - you should
reinstall it before attempting a removal.
Errors were encountered while processing:
linux-image-2.6.30.1


...which doesn't sound good.
(i've been trying to mess around with sound the last couple of days, trying each of the two fixes you link to.. not sure if that had anything to do with the current state of affairs i find myself in)

 

You can try:

Code:

dpkg --force-all -P linux-image-2.6.30.1

Although that might not work at all, or it might half-work, which could be worse than not working at all.

There are directions here that should definitely solve the problem, but I cannot test against your setup because my package state isn't all messed up like yours.

 

sorry, how do i backup /var/lib/dpkg/status file?

...and if this all goes horribly wrong, can i just delete this kernel and go back to one of the original kernels, or do i have to reinstall ubuntu from the disk like the fist time?

thanks for your help.

 

The cp command... something like this:

Code:

sudo cp /var/lib/dpkg/status /var/lib/dpkg/status.backup

Basically you are off-course from any directions that are in the guide, or anything I have posted in response to your problems, so I'm not sure where you messed it up.

You can go back to one of the original kernels, you shouldn't have removed all of the others, so just choose the one you want from the boot screen. The best thing would be to reinstall the linux-image .deb. Again you are quite far off the trail in terms of the guide, I just want to make that clear.

 

if you mean that i have gone too off topic (which i guess i have), then i apologize.
if you mean it more as a disclaimer, then understood.

i guess i don't really understand what it is the link you directed me too is saying i'm supposed to be doing... at least, i take it the errant package is the linux-image-2.6.30.1.. but i don't see it "ardouring" anywhere... i've found it in the file that comes up when i type 'sudo gedit /var/lib/dpkg/status', but i'm not sure if i'm supposed to delete it (in the way the link says) or not, and whether i am first supposed to reinstall the image, or only after reboot.

anyway, this is off topic, so i apologize again... and i'll try work it out somehow.


thanks for all your help.

 

No, sorry, replace ardour with linux-image-2.6.30.1 in what they're saying there, ardour is a separate package that is completely unrelated

I was saying that more as a disclaimer as in this shouldn't be a concern for other people reading the thread... it's an unusual problem.

 

okay, excellent, thanks.

I did what was said in the link.. and it worked (even without rebooting, things (updates) just started working).. though now should i reinstall the image?

oh, and i typed in 'ls /usr/src/linux-image-2.6.30.1_2.6.30.1-10.00.Custom_i386.deb' after doing what was said in the link, and it still comes back with:

/usr/src/linux-image-2.6.30.1_2.6.30.1-10.00.Custom_i386.deb

so i don't know if that means everything is just fine, or whether image needs to be reinstalled just the same (and would i then have to uninstall the image?)

thanks again.

 

Yep just reinstall that deb and hopefully all should be well.

That is exactly what you should get back from ls, it will return the name of the file, unless it doesn't exist, in which case it will tell you the file doesn't exist. It's just a shortcut to see if a file is there or not.

 

i typed:

sudo dpkg -i /usr/src/linux-image-2.6.30.1_2.6.30.1-10.00.Custom_i386.deb


and a box came up that says:

You are attempting to install a kernel image (version 2.6.30.1) However, ↑
│ the directory /lib/modules/2.6.30.1/kernel still exists. If this ▮
│ directory belongs to a previous linux-image-2.6.30.1 package, and if you ▒
│ have deselected some modules, or installed standalone modules packages, ▒
│ this could be bad. ▒
│ ▒
│ If /lib/modules/2.6.30.1/kernel belongs to an old install of ▒
│ linux-image-2.6.30.1, then this is your last chance to abort the ▒
│ installation of this kernel image (nothing has been changed yet). ▒
│ ▒
│ If you know what you are doing, and if you feel that this image should ▒
│ be installed despite this anomaly, Please answer n to the question. ▒
│ ▒
│ Otherwise, I suggest you move /lib/modules/2.6.30.1/kernel out of the ▒
│ way, perhaps to /lib/modules/2.6.30.1.kernel.old or something, and then ▮
│ try re-installing this image.


not sure what to do here.

 

Don't worry about it -- you could have just continued on, but to do it the clean way:

Code:

sudo rm -rf /lib/modules/2.6.30.1/kernel
sudo dpkg -i /usr/src/linux-image-2.6.30.1_2.6.30.1-10.00.Custom_i386.deb

Also, if you are running the same kernel that you are trying to install, it will ask you if you want to abort. Answer no and continue anyway.

 

it seems to be working... thank you

 

Cool... I edited the howto earlier, and added a note in Part 2 about killing compiz before running the NVIDIA installer. It's probably another Ubuntu quirk because I run compiz on Debian sometimes and it dies with gdm. I hope that fixed the NVIDIA issue with the installer saying X was running. If not let me know

 

hi, I think I got error when trying to install in doc section. so I don't have the linux image. I'm using ubuntu 9.04, the point I want to upgrade is because my linux machine really have a bad signal in the wlan. in windows it does not matter at all.

thank you

 

sorry forgot to mention the error

here is the error, and it raise when I've already compile for 1.5 hour (

thank you

 

You are missing the zlib1g-dev package, which is covered in the section called First Boot

To install zlib1g-dev:

Code:

sudo aptitude install zlib1g-dev

 

hi thanks for very quick reply

unfortunately I got another error when try to instal the kernal

Examining /etc/kernel/postinst.d.
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postinst.d/dkms
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postinst.d/nvidia-common
run-parts: /etc/kernel/postinst.d/nvidia-common exited with return code 20
Failed to process /etc/kernel/postinst.d at /var/lib/dpkg/info/linux-image-2.6.30.1.postinst line 1186.
dpkg: error processing linux-image-2.6.30.1 (--install):
subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 2
Errors were encountered while processing:
linux-image-2.6.30.1

and then I try to remove nvidia just like you said but got this error instead

dpkg: dependency problems prevent removal of nvidia-common:
envyng-core depends on nvidia-common.
dpkg: error processing nvidia-common (--purge):
dependency problems - not removing
Errors were encountered while processing:
nvidia-common


do you now what I should do next?

thank you very much

 

envyng-core, which you have installed, depends on nvidia-common, so that must be removed first.

Code:

sudo dpkg -r envyng-core

The error you are getting is because nvidia-common is installed, as mentioned in the guide.

Edit: Moved things around in the howto guide a bit, changed Part 2 so that no reboot is necessary if using the NVIDIA GPU.

Edit #2: Update for 2.6.31-rc3. Added fix for the initrd (not being created) problem on Debian:

Code:

sudo cp /usr/share/kernel-package/examples/etc/kernel/postinst.d/initramfs /etc/kernel/postinst.d/
sudo cp /usr/share/kernel-package/examples/etc/kernel/postrm.d/initramfs /etc/kernel/postrm.d/

Edit #3: Updated the resume script. It was a quick and dirty script, and it didn't play nicely with 2.6.31-rc1 or 2 so I had to clean it up. If you've not been able to suspend or hibernate this should solve that problem. To overwrite the old resume.sh with the new version:

Code:

sudo wget -O /etc/pm/sleep.d/resume.sh http://allurgroceries.is-a-chef.com/n10/resume.sh

Also for anyone using Firefox or Iceweasel, I put together a userChrome.css optimized for netbooks. It might be worth a look (there is a screenshot at the bottom of my post).

 

I have a few small problems when I install Linux, not sure if these have been covered previously but I'll ask in hope that someone can help.

Installed Ubuntu 9.04 and after running through all these steps the Atheros card would not work not matter how hard I tried (it could be because it doesn't like playing with my wireless router under Linux in general for some reason [it hasn't been brilliant] so I swapped it out for an Intel 5100AGN). But if someone knows how to fix this (if it isn't in fact a router problem [I have a Linksys WAG160N]), it would be good; I quite prefer having the 5100AGN in my G50V than the netbook.

Now on the netbook I run a shaky Ubuntu 9.04. For some reason if I enter the terminal and return to the GUI part of Ubuntu under Intel graphics, the GUI part will freeze up after a few minutes (time really varies), mouse will still move but be unresponsive with anything on the screen (no clicks, highlights etc. with/without desktop effects enabled). This doesn't appear to happen with NVIDIA graphics though, and if I refrain from using the terminal in Intel graphics, all seems to be fine. For this, am I just being picky, or is there a solution to this?

tl; dr, Atheros Wifi problems and Intel graphics problems. Halp?

 

Yep I think that intel problem is to do with the new intel UXA manager and compiz, try running metacity --replace instead of compiz and you should be fine.

For the wireless, you need either ath9k or madwifi, and the directions on page 1 have everything you need. I can't really diagnose it without further info...

Edit: Let me know if you have any logs or error messages for that wireless problem

Updated howto for 2.6.30.2

 

So I figured out the graphics problem although it did take me awhile.

I have been trying to leave you alone but I have had no luck with this problem. Somehow my wireless got turned off. I am pretty sure it is still working. I attempted to enable the /sys/devices/platform/asus_laptop/wlan shell with no luck. Any ideas?

 

lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GME Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02)
01:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller (rev 02)
02:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GeForce 9300M GS (rev a1)

lspci -n
00:00.0 0600: 8086:27ac (rev 03)
00:1b.0 0403: 8086:27d8 (rev 02)
00:1c.0 0604: 8086:27d0 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 0604: 8086:27d2 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 0604: 8086:27d4 (rev 02)
00:1c.3 0604: 8086:27d6 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 0c03: 8086:27c8 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 0c03: 8086:27c9 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 0c03: 8086:27ca (rev 02)
00:1d.3 0c03: 8086:27cb (rev 02)
00:1d.7 0c03: 8086:27cc (rev 02)
00:1e.0 0604: 8086:2448 (rev e2)
00:1f.0 0601: 8086:27b9 (rev 02)
00:1f.2 0106: 8086:27c5 (rev 02)
01:00.0 0200: 10ec:8168 (rev 02)
02:00.0 0280: 168c:002a (rev 01)
03:00.0 0300: 10de:06e9 (rev a1)

 

Hey no worries I am here to help... certainly don't mind as long as the questions make sense

Toggling /sys/devices/platform/asus-laptop/wlan has no effect for me (unlike the ls and bt). So I don't think that will be a workaround...

Make sure ath9k is being loaded at startup. You can find out by:

Code:

lsmod | grep ath9k

I'm not sure exactly what the problem is -- if this doesn't help can you explain it a bit more?

 

Honestly, I don't know exactly what more I can tell you. If there is any code I can give you to help out I will. All I know is that when I started my computer this morning I was unable to get any of my wireless networks to show up. I tried several things to try and turn it back on. I am going to open it up and make sure everything is in tact, otherwise I'm confused. :-/

 

Alrighty, I assume you checked that ath9k is loading, here are a couple of commands if you can paste the output that may help:

Code:

sudo iwconfig

Code:

sudo iwconfig wlan0

Code:

sudo iwlist wlan0 scanning

You don't need to dump the output from the last one, since it may the contain hardware address of your AP (which you may not want to share). Just make sure that your AP is in that list.

You can try this to see if resetting network manager and the ath9k module does the trick:

Code:

pkill nm-applet
sudo /etc/init.d/network-manager restart
sudo modprobe -r ath9k
sudo modprobe ath9k
nm-applet &

 

sudo iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

pan0 no wireless extensions.


sudo iwconfig wlan0
wlan0 No such device

sudo iwlist wlan0 scanning
wlan0 Interface doesn't support scanning.


pkill nm-applet

sudo /etc/init.d/network-manager restart
sudo: /etc/init.d/network-manager: command not found

sudo modprobe -r ath9k
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper, it will be ignored in a future release.
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist, it will be ignored in a future release.

sudo modprobe ath9k
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper, it will be ignored in a future release.
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist, it will be ignored in a future release.

 

Looks like at the beginning ath9k was NOT loaded... so basically everything I just typed is irrelevant. Try it again now that ath9k IS loaded... if wlan0 doesn't exist, that's your problem right there. If you're using nm-applet, right click on its icon and make sure 'enable wireless' is checked. If it is, uncheck it and check it again (to reset it).

 

I tried it again. nm-applet doesn't give wireless as an option. This is going to seem silly, but how exactly do I add wlan0.. I have wireless networks in my network connections so I think it's still there but I am just getting no response from it. Sorry I can't be more specific

 

Nope those are saved connections and preferences. If they show up using iwlist then it is working. Otherwise it is not. wlan0 is created automatically, so you can't add it manually.

You didn't paste your output from that last try so I have no idea what your current situation is. You should NOT see 'no wireless extensions' or 'no such device' if ath9k is loaded.

You can try

Code:

sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

 

unfortunately I am seeing 'no wireless extensions' and 'no such device' again after loading ath9k.

and I'm getting:

wlan0: ERROR while getting interface flags: No such device

I think at this point I'm going to spend some time tomorrow and do a bit more research and see what I can figure out. Everything I've tried so far has made this seem very bizarre.

 

What changed since the last time it worked? It should have come back with reloading ath9k and nm-applet. There has to be another problem you haven't mentioned yet.

Edit: One last thing for now, can you please paste the output from:

Code:

sudo tail -n200 /var/log/messages | grep ath9k

 

well, I was still having trouble with my wi-fi dropping every few seconds so I had installed ndiswrapper and installed a driver, when I tried to install it, it said that the hardware could not be found (It didn't complete the installation because it froze up)

Since then I've had a good bit of trouble.

 

At least there's your answer... get rid of ndiswrapper. I can't believe you didn't mention this, *sigh*.

Undo all that and you should be good. I wouldn't recommend doing that in the future, if you're getting drops you can tweak mlme.c and redo mac80211.ko, there are directions I posted for this earlier.

 

Hmm.. I had tried that already and it didn't work, but this time it worked. That's why I didn't mention it. But thank you for your time. I will work on tweaking the files you recommended and hopefully I wont have any more problems.

 

Ya oh well, lolz.

Those directions are here.

If you can't get ndiswrapper cleanly removed just show me the pages that have the instructions you used and I can try to figure out what you need to do to rip it out

Good luck.

Edit: New NVIDIA beta 190.16 is no good (see this thread), I tried both 2.6.30.2 and 2.6.31-rc3. It builds and installs but locks up the system when starting X.

Edit 2: Update for 2.6.31-rc4.

 

I'm having some weird fan issues with my n10e

basically, when i turn my computer on, and do about 10-15 minutes of lite internet browsing, the fan starts, and then will come on (for 20sec) every time a switch to a new web page/open a doc/etc. (without the computer seeming hot, at least to the touch)

however, if i switch the computer off (or set it to hibernate), and leave it for about 15 min, then switch it on, all seems to be fine for a good couple of hours before the fan starts up (though once it does start up, the same thing as above seems to go on, but that may be normal, as at ths point it has been in use for a couple of hours)

and this seems to be a daily pattern, where the fan issue usually happens on the first start up of the day, and then things are fine after that if i shut it down (or put ot hibernate) and then start up again

anyway, not sure if you have any ideas as to what could be going on

 

Are you on the latest BIOS: 216 ( alternate).

Are you running compiz or metacity (or another window manager)?

Open gnome-system-monitor (Applications->System Tools->System Monitor) and see if under the Resources tab your CPU usage is constantly high, or if the spikes in CPU usage coincide with the fan revving.

You can install the sensors-applet package and add it to your gnome-panel to monitor your temps.

 

hey

not sure what bios (how do i check?)

also, i have no idea whether i have compiz or metacity or etc. (how do i check?)

basically, just have ubuntu 9.04 with your latest stable kernel (9.6.30.2), and little else (as far as i know)

as for the cpu usage.. i have kept an eye out, but not noticed anything too out of the ordinary (though to tell the truth, i'm not sure what high usuage would really be).. currently i'm on the second startup of the day, so things will probably be fine fan-wise for the next cople of hours, but will take a look next time

also, how do i install the sensors-applet? (sorry, i'm sure this is basic stuff that i should already know how to do)

 

High CPU usage just means percentage.

Your BIOS version will be in the POST screen when you first turn the computer on. If you have the ASUS logo on the screen just hit F2 to enter BIOS setup. You can flash using a USB stick with EZ-FLASH (which is in the BIOS Setup when you hit F2). Just unzip the file and put the BIOS image in the root folder of the USB drive.

To see if you're running compiz or metacity:

Code:

ps -C compiz,metacity

To install sensors-applet:

Code:

sudo apt-get install sensors-applet

 

alrigth

so bios says it's version 207
with vga bios version 1585.I06N10.002
and EC bios version 2000170001
(does this mean i should flash it, or do something else... i'm real nervous about flashing, as my computer skills are pretty rubbish, and i've heard flashing can lead to very bad things)

heat temp currently between 54 and 60 degrees for both temp1 and cpu

and it tells me i'm using megacity

oh, and i realise the cpu usage was percentage, i just don't know how high a percentage means things are abnormal

 

I'd definitely flash the new BIOS. Just make sure it is plugged into AC power. If you dual boot windows you can just put the BIOS in the root of the C: drive and flash with EZ-FLASH. Metacity is what you want to be using, so that's good. Your temps are normal.

 

i don't dual boot (i just have ubuntu), so i take it i have to go the flash drive way

i just want to make sure i do this right...

so, do i download the 216 bios from the link above (does it matter if i click on '216' or 'alternate'?), unzip that, and then save that as root to my flash drive (just to double check, i have the n10e, not sure if that matters)?

if so, how do i save something to a flash drive as *root*?

and then, i take it, i go into bios via F2 at startup, with flash drive insterted, go to 'advanced' where i find ez-flash, and then just click on that (or is there more to it than that)?


sorry for all the questions, but whatever i read about flashing my bios seems to shout 'danger' at me

 

I just had two download links (thus the alternate), use whichever works.

By root I mean the bottom of the drive, the root of the folder tree. Just throw the unzipped file onto the drive and flash using F2 and selecting EZ FLASH. Make sure it's plugged into AC power to be safe.

 

so i unzipped the file and put it on my flashdrive (my flashdrive was empty and i just moved the file straight on).. then i restarted with flash drive in, hit F2, went to 'advanced' then went to 'start ez flash', now i reach a screen that asks me whether i want to use drive A or B... what do i choose?

(sorry again for all the questions)

 

It should be obvious, just browse around and find the file. This really isn't anything to be afraid of.

 

i found it.. and hit ebnter... now it says 'open file fail! loading and validating BIOS binarry file...' (and it is flashing!).. now i am affraid

 

..is there any way to somehow exit this?

 

If you see a progress bar you don't want to exit anything. It should only take a minute or so to flash. The worst thing you can do is power the machine off in the middle of flashing it.

If nothing is happening you can just hold the power button to turn it off.

 

holy cr*p... i pulled out the flash drive, stuck it back in, then tried again.. and looks like all worked out fine... now i'm off to put on a new pair of pants