Linux on the ASUS N10 N10J

I updated the HOWTO guide for 2.6.32.8 and NVIDIA 195.36.03. FYI between minor versions no new config is required, but from say 2.6.32 to 2.6.33, it needs a new config. I updated the mirror too, it was terribly out of date.

When .33 is released if anyone still needs the webcam patch, I'm sure it will need changes, just give me a shout with a PM.

 

2.6.33 is a nightmare..

1. Even when I specify --initrd in the build, it doesn't create one...(Hangs at cannot mount root fs)
2. When I create one
mkinitramfs -o initrd.img-2.6.33 2.6.33

it just freezes @ modem-manager(loads a bunch of modems)

I've tried importing old config, creating one completly from scratch

 

Edited cause I thought u couldn't build initrd, but... Wait. So you can create an initramfs and boot with it, but when you boot modem manager hangs? Can you ctrl+c it? It sounds like it's probably not compatible with .33. Are you up to date with apt?

 

Ya I am, I'm going to wait a bit, too see if it will become compatible with lucid

*edit* I updated and it boots, the nvidia kernel module how ever does not compile(yet)

 

Must be an old version like 195.22 or something, a more recent NVIDIA driver shouldn't have problems with .33. Good luck.

 

I'll have to wait untill nvidia releases newer drivers(and tests them a bit more) they retracted two versions due to a bug :/

 

I've followed the instructions as best as I can, but I am new to this.

when i put in
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-2.6.32.8_2.6.32.8-10.00.Custom_i386.deb

it goes a bit and gives me
dpkg: warning: obsolete option '--print-installation-architecture', please use '--print-architecture' instead.

It makes sense that they would start using a shorter command to do something, but why would they make the old command not work.

in any case.. I have absolutely no idea what it means and after many many hours of searching, I only seem to find bug reports on it with no understandable actions to take to get by it.

Any help please??

 

and sorry.

I'm running ubuntu 9.10 on the n10. though i wager that doesn't matter.

 

A warning usually shouldn't stop the installation. It's an old bug in initramfs-tools, make sure your system is up to date. If it causes the installation to fail, and you can't boot the new kernel, retry the package configuration, force a mkinitramfs and update grub.

Code:

sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo mkinitramfs -o /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32.8 2.6.32.8
sudo update-grub

 

Didn't work

I've tried the entire install process 3 times now.

 

Didn't work isn't very specific

Your system is up to date?

Code:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

If dpkg --configure -a is not working it means the package is being left in a half-installed state.

Paste the output of any error messages and I'll see what I can dig up.

I'm on Debian Sid on my current netbook (I sold my N10 back in September), but I can try and help you out. I think James- still is running Ubuntu on an N10J so maybe if he sees this and has encountered it he can speak up.

 

Yes sorry. I agree that was a highly useful way to ask for further assistance.

Well, i'm not getting ANY messages from any of those commands so I really have no idea if they are doing anything at all even hehe.

 

and yes I'm all up to date. even made sure to try
sudo apt-get install initramfs-tools
says its the current version.

 

Are you sure you really have a problem? Have you tried booting the newer kernel?

If you aren't getting anything from dpkg --configure -a it means there are no half-installed packages. That is a good sign. Warnings usually won't usually stop a package from being installed unless they are critical, an obsolete option really shouldn't be a big deal.

The mkinitramfs should not give you any output... but update-grub should.

I'm not really sure where your problem would be so try and see if you can reboot and use the new kernel.

One thing I can think of is that your postinst scripts are out of date, those get manually copied over on Debian, if you did this for Ubuntu (not sure it's necessary but...) try it again:

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/

Then try reinstalling the kernel package.

Hope this helps... but I don't really know if you have a real problem, and if you do I have not much grasp on it besides your system is up to date and you're experiencing an old bug, but one that isn't a show-stopper.

 

All right then!
it just didn't say that it was completed. so i worried. sorry.

my next problem would be in installing the graphics. the lack of an xorg.conf file confuses me. silly but true.

 

She works!

For whatever reason, Nvidia drivers wouldn't detect the card last two times i went through this. but it just worked this time. yay!

but now i'm just figuring out why i can't switch to the hdmi out. it locks up the computer at a black screen a little while after i press fnF8

I shall try the Alsa stuffs?

 

Yeah the hotkey only works for the VGA out as far as I remember, if you want to run it thru HDMI (or DVI over HDMI) you need to run sudo nvidia-settings and detect displays. From the howto:

 

Once 10.04 is released on April 29th i'm going to update the FAQ with the newer kernel version/xorg config(10.04 uses xorg1.7 instead of 1.6)

 

I updated the faq to include 2.6.33.3 and nvidia 195.36.24

 

Thanks man, I added u to the byline and updated my mirror.

Edit: Ah, I almost forgot. There is an insanely simple way to flip the webcam now:

Code:

export LIBV4LCONTROL_FLAGS=3 && application_name

The value of 3 flips the image horizontally and vertically. I'll add this to the howto since the patch for .32 and earlier is way broken on .33.

So for example to run cheese:

Code:

export LIBV4LCONTROL_FLAGS=3 && cheese

Skype requires preloading v4lcompat:

Code:

export LIBV4LCONTROL_FLAGS=3 && LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype

Off-topic note: for 64-bit systems (not the N10), the path is in /usr/lib32/ instead of /usr/lib/ and Skype requires:

Code:

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs ia32-libs-gtk libqt4-core libqt4-gui lib32v4l-0

Edit 2: Here's a link to the updated webcam section on the HOWTO

 

Hi guys, I'm back I've been running Gentoo very successfully on my N10J for about a year now and I got most of the things working thanks to this guide. So thanks for all the hard work!

One of the things I didn't have working was HDMI Audio, because I didn't need it until recently. I then visited this site after a lengthy absence and saw the following in the Wiki: Note:

Now the kernel config is Debian/Ubuntu's a full of stuff I don't necessarily want or need. Can you tell me which part of it enables the HDMI Audio by default so I don't have to patch ALSA, etc.?

Thanks,

 

Menuconfig:

Device Drivers ---><M> Sound card support ---><M> Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ---> [*] PCI sound devices ---><M> Intel HD Audio ---> [*] Build NVIDIA HDMI HD-audio codec support

or in .config:
CONFIG_SND_HDA_CODEC_NVHDMI

 

Hi, guys!

Thanks for the guide! It was very useful, since I'm new to the Linux system. I just installed the Ubuntu Network Edition. Everything works just fine, except the webcam. I've read that some people have the upside down problem. But my webcam just doesn't work at all! I tested it in Skype and Cheese. Green light near the cam turns on, but webcam itself doesn't work. What might be the issue?

Sorry for such stupid question And sorry for my English

 

Does the webcam display say no device, or is it only showing black? If the light is going on, it makes me think there is a problem with the version of the UVC driver in the version of ubuntu netbook edition you're using. Make sure you've tried it near a light to make sure it's not just a contrast issue.

You can find the device ID of the camera with lsusb. Then see if it's in the list here:
Linux UVC driver & tools

It might be worth trying the latest release of UVC, which you can find here:
Linux UVC driver & tools

 

It's just black. When videocalling in Skype it shows like it's trying to turn on, but nothing happens.
Devide ID is 04f2:b071 CNF7129 (Asus N10JA2 and EeePC 1000HE netbooks, K50IN notebooks)
I installed the v4l-dvb, but it didn't help

 

You're sure it's not a brightness/contrast/low light issue? You can try installing the v4l2ucp package and tweak brightness and contrast while you have cheese or skype open.

Nobody has reported this problem out of the box, the upside-down image is usually the problem, so I'm not sure why you'd be experiencing it. I haven't had an N10 for some time now, and few people post here anymore, so it's hard to say if this is a common issue with recent releases of Ubuntu Netbook Edition.

Did you actually compile the v4l modules from source? It's quite a bother, especially on an n10j with so little power. The instructions are in the INSTALL file in the archive here. That's my only recommendation, if it's not a brightness problem, besides upgrading your version of Ubuntu. At a bare minimum, you'll need:

Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`

There are also instructions here but they're a bit scattered.

 

I'm sure it's not a brightness problem. When trying to take a picture or record a video in Cheese, the application just hangs and doesn't respond.

I compiled and installed v4l. It was quite complicated, but after a few tries I managed to get it right.

UPD I just asked previous owner of this notebook. He said that the webcam didn't function in Windows Vista also. So maybe it's a hardware problem...

 

There's always the chance that it's a loose connection, but your camera might just be defective. That's too bad. If it's not entirely broken, it might just be a loose USB connector on the mainboard. There are disassembly pics here:

N10J Guts!!! pics and all (Page 1) - N10 Hardware Modifications - Asus N10 Series Forum | N10E | N10J | N10Jc | N10Jb | N10Jh |.

Unfortunately the pics aren't detailed enough for me to tell you which connector is which, but you can get at this area by simply taking the keyboard off. If I remember correctly there are one or two screws labeled 'K' on the bottom of the case, which hold the keyboard in. Then you can take a plastic guitar pick or other thin plastic piece to pop out the tabs near the ESC, F5, F11, and Delete keys and pry the keyboard out. Then just make sure the connectors are fully attached by pushing gently on them. I would advise against reseating (disconnecting and then reconnecting) the cables, since the pins are very fragile.

 

Thanks a lot for help! I'll look into it!

One last question, now concerning Linux. I've read your guide, it was very useful and interesting. But I discovered that there are newer versions of kernel and Nvidia driver. Is it safe to just replace links given in your guide to the newer ones? Or it needs additional manipulations?

 

I can't tell you for sure since I don't own an N10J anymore -- I sold mine almost a year ago

The latest NVIDIA stuff is usually fine -- if nobody's making noise on nvnews.net in the Linux forum about it being broken, it's usually a good sign.

james-- had been updating the guide, but nobody has seemed to make a new config for 2.6.35. I can try to make one if you want, but I can't guarantee that it will be perfect since I don't have the machine to test it on. I do remember most of the quirks though.

I'm not really sure how many people are still using the guide, since most of the stuff works out of the box now. The graphics drivers and tweaks sections are really still relevant but they rarely change. There isn't too much traffic on the n10user.com forum either, so it may be hard to keep the guide going much longer... but let me know if I can help with anything (like a new kernel config, etc).

 

I see. I'd be very grateful if you helped me with the config file Maybe you can tell me about common issues, so I could look into it myself.

Hope I'm not bothering you too much

 

In a nutshell:

Grab the latest stable kernel from kernel.org

Substitute its version for 2.6.34 and follow the guide.

When you get to make oldconfig, you can hit enter/return to accept the defaults until you get to INTEL_IDLE, where you should type M to select it as a module. Then you can pretty much hold down enter/return to accept the defaults for the rest of the defaults. There isn't anything else extremely important that is jumping out at me for 2.6.35 on the N10.

Most of the hard work with the config was done a long time ago by stripping out the unnecessary stuff, but keeping enough so that most users' devices and accessories would work without additional steps. This was done mostly by trial and error and is the result of collaboration on this thread. The challenge now is to stay up to date with new kernel options, which isn't even that necessary, since once you know the basic hardware you can just do a search for the option (like INTEL_IDLE for example) and figure out what it does.

If you mess up your .config, you can use wget to get the default one from the guide to overwrite it. You can always clean your source tree with make-kpkg clean to start fresh (but that doesn't delete your config).

 

Thanks!

New kernel seems to work fine. Only one problem: I get this message during booting:
mount: mounting none on /dev failed No such device

But I have problems with the Nvidia driver.
During the installation, when I get to the cp /usr/lib/libGL.so.1.2 ~/intel line, it says that there is no such file. And I think I somehow messed up with moving the libglx.so file... When I rebooted the system, fonts looked differently and I couldn't open any window, because it always jumped back to the desktop. I switched for the Intel and rebooted again. Now there is no desktop at all, only the upper panel. What I have done wrong?

 

The kernel error message at boot is normal and can be ignored.

I'm not sure what went wrong with your graphics drivers. If you ran the NVIDIA installer without following the guide, and then tried doing the guide this could happen I guess. Reinstall these packages and your intel stuff should work again:

Code:

sudo apt-get install --reinstall libgl1-mesa-glx xserver-xorg-core

 

I reinstalled the packages. Now both Intel and Nvidia have the same problem: all opened windows immediately minimize and I cannot bring them to the top...

 

It could be that the xorg.conf files from the guide are out of date, you can try this to restore your original one. From the terminal at CTRL+ALT+F1:

Code:

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf.old /etc/X11/xorg.conf

If you don't have an xorg.conf.old, just remove xorg.conf altogether:

Code:

sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Restart gdm to see if it works:

Code:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart

If it does work, you'll need to remove the detectgpu startup script until the xorg.conf files can be fixed.

If that doesn't do it....

If you're using gnome turning off desktop effects under appearance preferences might help.

Reinstalling the intel packages should always revert what the NVIDIA driver installer will do and give you a working setup.

On the other hand, if you install NVIDIA alone, without any steps from the guide, your NVIDIA card should always work.

If neither of these is true for you, something else is going on. You'll have to look at your command history and figure out what else happened.

Edit 2: If the xorg.conf files are out of date (which they probably are) and are breaking things let me know, I can try and make new ones...

 

Hi there.
I'm trying to install Ubuntu 10.10 on my N10Jc but i'm having some problems.
I can't have both GPU's working... If i install with nvidia on i cant start with the intel... If i install with intel i cant use Nvidia.
Also i cant use VDPAU. Dont know why...

Can you please make a updated tutorial?

Thank you very much.

Greetings from Portugal.

 

Unfortunately I'm at a dead end with this -- as you can see nobody replied to my last message, and I don't own the hardware anymore. I think the problem is with the xorg.conf files, since a lot has changed with the xorg server since the guide was updated, but I don't know for sure. If you can't get the nvidia driver working, vdpau will not work, but with the nvidia driver, mplayer works fine with vdpau. Take care.

Edit: you can try deleting xorg.conf.nvidia and xorg.conf.intel that I have provided, and use instead a blank file for xorg.conf.intel, and rename the xorg.conf that nvidia-xconfig makes to xorg.conf.nvidia. Should hopefully work better than what's there now... let me know.