After spending close to £1oo on an ever escalating basis after my son dropped his netbook and smashed the screen I have spent the best part of the whole day attempting tpo get the netbook going…all that eventually comes up is an error message etc about lost kernels…so I thought I would try to wipe the drive by installing Linux 32 bit Maya…I was told that this installs itself once a usb disc drive is connected…is this so ?
Ive no real experience with fixing computers but Im fed up of being ripped off for everything and anything so I`m trying myself…any advice about installing Linux will be greatly appreciated…an ethernet round of applause is all i can offer in return.
Yes Linux Mint 13 (Maya) will walk you through the installation process … at least it will once you’ve created the LiveUSB.
Creating a LiveUSB will also allow you to test drive Linux from the USB stick before committing it to the hard drive.
Can I ask about the hardware (make and model of netbook), and what the netbook is generally used for ? … as Linux Mint may not be the best choice … I’ve nothing against Linux Mint (great OS for a desktop/laptop), but netbooks tend to have limited resources (such as RAM) and IMHO benefit from the lighter Linux distributions.
There’s also a tutorial for installing PeppermintOS on an Acer Aspire One netbook here: http://linuxforums.org.uk/index.php?topic=9782.0
The first part of which covers the creating of a LiveUSB, which will equally apply to most other Linux distributions (including Mint)
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask … you’ll find people more than happy to help … the Linux community are a friendly bunch
Its an Acer Aspire One PAV 70...Ive attempted to load Linux onto the netbook but no joy…perhaps I havent correctly understood what Ive been told by a 3rd party.
The netbook is used just for general browsing of the web…nothing more than viewing a few films etc…it was said that by installing the Mint 13 Maya version that it was easier to overwrite windows 7 that has this kernel problem but so far oits not loaded...Ive changed the boot order to CD boot…I downloaded as a 32 bit torrent,which I have to confess,means absolutley nothing to me (except that its less than 64 bit !!)...it was an iso file that I put onto a netbook as an iso file and then burned it to a disc...then I tried to install it...but from this,you amy see the level of knowledge regarding computers as I dont think I`ve understood…do I need to do an in between bit ? …a conversion of file or something ?
I`m getting to the point of using the heavy fixing hammer !
First, I don’t know why you downloaded the ISO image as a torrent, where it came from, or if it can be trusted … personally I’d have downloaded it directly from Linux Mint themselves: http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/linuxmint.com/stable/13/linuxmint-13-cinnamon-dvd-32bit.iso
(That’s the 32bit Cinnamon DVD version with the codecs and extra stuff)
for any other version see the Linux Mint 13 download page:
To burn the Mint 13 ISO image to a blank DVD on a Windows PC … Your best bet would be to download both the Mint 13 ISO image, and ImgBurn onto a Windows PC (they’re free):
on the second picture, where it says Write Speed: AUTO (or AWS) … change that to 4X
and put a tick in the Verify box.
Linux Mint 13 (Maya) is no easier or harder to install than most other Linux distributions
You can expect the installation of all Ubuntu based Linux distributions (including Mint and Peppermint) and most others to be very similar to the Ubunutu installation screenshots here: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/help/install-ubuntu-desktop
Another option would be to create a LiveUSB stick on a Windows PC, rather than a LiveDVD … then use the LiveUSB as the installation media.
(this may even be a better idea than creating a LiveDVD as above, as it will rule out an unreadable DVD)
Once you’ve got the ISO image … download Universal USB Installer from here:
Start Universal USB Installer, and at …
Step 1 … In the drop down list, select Mint 13 Step 2 … point it at the ISO image you downloaded Step 3 … Choose your (already plugged in >= 2GB) USB stick … probably best to let it format it too, so backup its contents first. Step 4 … Set the slider to the largest persistence file it will allow you… so you can save changes. (if you want to test drive it first)
Heres a pic of the Universal USB Installer interface
Click Create … and wait till it’s done … it will take a while, and may appear to have stopped … but just wait till it says it’s “Done” … as in the following pic
Pic of Universal USB Installer … Installing to USB Stick
Once the LiveUSB has been created, click Close, plug it into your AA1, then turn ON your AA1 … as soon as you see the first screen (Acer Empowering People), hit the F12 key to access the boot device selection screen … and select the USB HDD as the drive to boot from and hit Enter to boot.
Hi and many thanks for the reply…I will sit quietly and read through to understand precisely what I need to do…(not read through yet)
I did download from the Linux site…when I went through to the 32bit link it was there as a torrent to download…as a computer “illiterate” I didnt know how to do anything else as there seemed to be no other options and thought I could download that and install (as I was told)...but thats the danger of somebody (a friend) assuming I know stuff that is taken for granted by those conversant with it all…in a way I cant yet foresee,I guess this is all good for me as Im being forced to go through this process…but I have to say that I dont find it easy at present precisely because Im unfamiliar with the terms used in describing use.
Ill now sit and read through the above...Ill also add that the first time I thought Id wiped the drive,I in fact hadnt (lack of knowledge ???) but its now going through a radical wipe,hopefully enabling an install of a Linux download when its finished.
Once again,thanks for the time spent giving this advice…I appreciate your patience
I`ll now sit and read through the above...I`ll also add that the first time I thought I`d wiped the drive,I in fact hadn`t (lack of knowledge ???) but it`s now going through a radical wipe,hopefully enabling an install of a Linux download when it`s finished.
I will just add to what Mark wrote before.
Firstly it is not necessary to wipe the hard drive. It will be taken care of during the install.
The hardest part is the creation of the bootable live USB or dvd media.
In my opinion the easiest would be (if you have or can borrow an external usb dvd drive) is to use the To burn the Mint 13 ISO image to a blank DVD on a Windows PC option.
Once you got to the point of being able to boot into the Live media on the netbook, the installation is going to be a breeze.
(unlike the torturous process of a windows install)
I know the terminology (as well as the installation process) can seem daunting at first, so if you have any queries or don’t understand anything … just ask, and we’ll be more than happy to try clarify
I agree with SeZo … by far the hardest part for someone who’s never done it before is the creation of the installation media (be that a CD/DVD or USB stick).
The “wiping” of the hard drive isn’t necessary as a separate pre-installation process, and will be taken care of during the installation process … once you’ve created the CD/DVD or USB stick, and booted to it, you will be walked through the install by a few screens that prompt for information … one of which will look like this:-
(Though obviously it will mention Mint rather than Ubuntu)
If you choose the top option (as indicated in the above screenshot), the drive will be “wiped” for you, and Linux installed.
As always … any questions, feel free to ask
If you have trouble creating a CD/DVD (LiveCD) or the Acer Aspire doesn’t have a CD/DVD drive, let us know and we’ll walk you through the creation of a USB stick (LiveUSB) instead.
As you can see I have entered with a smile…it was too late to do anything yesterday regarding the wiping of the hard drive…I was given the “boot and nuke” disc which took around 3 hours to run but left it easy for me to follow the idea (new to me) of loading and installing a prog via a usb drive.
I followed the steps provided and as everything was carefully explained it was quite easy for a novice like myself to comprehend.
I must thank you guys here for the time and having the patience for setting this all out…everything explained and in order…down to which things to do next etc etc…I really can`t thank you enough,just for the time taken sitting down writing it out alone.
Ive now given my son his old netbook back to him,which he dearly missed and whats more…he still believes his old man can do everything !!! ;D
Also noticed is how fast his computer is working…I`m going to do my own with Linux.
For my part, you’re most welcome (and I’m sure SeZo echos the sentiment) … I’m just glad you laid down the “fixing hammer”, as a Windows productivity tool it has no real use in the Linux world
If you ever require further help/advice … you know where to find us.
And thanks for letting us know how you got on … it would be interesting to hear how your son takes to Linux, if you have time
[EDIT]
Two other pieces of advice if I may …
a) There’s no need for anti virus software in Linux.
b) If you want to install any extra software, don’t go downloading the software directly from the internet as you would in Windows … install it through your “Package Manager(s)” … if you require help with this (or an explanation), just ask.
;D