Hello All, I am a newbie to Linux I have used computers for years & would say I'm certainly not computer illiterate, however I am completely new to Linux. Hubby & I have a netbook each & I wanted to give linux a go on them. I installed Mint 17.1 Xfce on mine & am loving it, not really having any problems. However this is not the case with hubby's netbook....which has the following spec:

eeepc 904HD
80 GB HDD
Intel Celeron M, 897 mHz (512 cache, 32 bit)
995 mb RAM
VGA - intel 915/GMS/910GML express graphic controller (rev04)

(mine has the atom processor & was shipped with windows 7 starter which I have dual booted with mint

On hubbys we have tried the following distros:
Mint 17.1
Mint 13
Lubuntu
Xubuntu
Zorin 9 lite
Bhodi 3.0.0

The problem we're experiencing with each & every distro is the mouse/touchpad freezes. In the live version all is OK, then once installed still OK...but only last for a couple of shutdowns & then the above problem kicks in. sometimes after the freeze it may work ok again the next time it is booted but not long before the freeze occurs again.....obviously xinput shows the elantech touchpad is not listed
I know it is a low spec netbook but there are many distros which claim to work on a much lower spec than this. I am not sure if this processor supports PAE as it often mentions PAE not supported on celeron M's but I also read that the pc usually needs to be pre 1995 to not support PAE & this netbook was made around 2008
I must say that most of the distros we've tried seem to be running OK until the 'freeze' put top hat on hit...so I am stumped as to what the issue is and hope some of you more experienced guys can point me in the right direction....i.e. a suitable distro for use on this eeepc netbook. My hubby does nothing fancy on the pc, he's just really browsing, skyping would be nice....OH & he is very computer illiterate....so something simple to use, fast & lightweight is all that is required.
The next distro I was going to try was leeenux linux, which is supposed to be perfect for the eeepc, but the only 2 free versions I could find is version 5.1 extended & v6 lxde SSD 2g
Many thanks in advance !!

hi Mel,
Welocme here...ever considered Manjaro? Light, fast, never complains...I use it as a main OS...
Thor

Mel08,

Welcome to LQ.

I use MX-14 myself and I can strongly recommend it for your husband's netbook.

MX-14 is an excellent Linux distribution based on Debian and runs quickly on old or low powered machines.

In addition, tons of software packages are available from the Debian repositories.

Review:
http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.co.uk...iew-truly.html

Detailed video review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P1oH3y0r6M

How to install:
http://mepiscommunity.org/videos/installing-mx14

Download the PAE version from:
http://www.mepiscommunity.org/download-links

1 members found this post helpful.

Mel08,

Have a look here for a solution to the Elantech Touchpad problem:

http://www.evilcodingmonkey.com/2014...h-on-elantech/

beachboy2
I tried your suggestion, but after step 4 I get:

rmod: ERROR: module ps mouse is not currently loaded

when I get the mouse freeze issue the touchpad is not recognised it has no output in 'xinput' it is simply not there, hence it does not work, I tried the fix any way but the problem is not that the elantech touchpad lacks multitouch features, the problem is, it is not recognises/loaded
As I said all of the above distros we have tried on this machine run perfectly OK in the live mode & to start with once installed to hard drive, but as soon as there has been a couple of shutdowns the touchpad just stops working....every distro tried so far are ubuntu based


OH & I must say the MX-14 looks interesting. The only thing I would say is that the installation process does not look quite so easy as the others I've installed (ubuntu based), If I just want to install on top of the current OS (no home partition), not custom install, just let the installer do the work, which options do I choose?
which iso file should I download - 1. monthly update/upgrade or 2. Original release ?

Thanks

For a low spec netbook, AntiX is a good choice, http://antix.mepis.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

Mel08,

Click on the direct download link for antiX Sourceforge server on this link:

http://www.mepiscommunity.org/download-links

NB Make sure any existing data is backed up first.

Custom install on existing partitions.

If you are installing MX Linux to a dual-boot with another operating system, or you wish to define the sizes of your partitions manually, you need to select this option.

If you have not previously set up your partitions (see Section 2.3), you may click the button to run GParted at this point and create them. You must have your partitions created before moving on if you want to select this option.

See 2.5 Installation Process:

http://www.mepiscommunity.org/user_m...Subsection-2.5

If you are wiping the existing OS, use the existing partitions for root and swap, then tick the box for preserving data in /home.

Please do backup your home in case of problems.

My old AntiX how to's on my eeepc is in the AntiX wiki

http://antix.mepis.org/index.php?tit...tallation_Tips

They will apply for MX-14 also. The installer has changed little since I wrote those.

If you both have the same model, and Mint works on yours, then it should work on his! That made me wonder if the fault was a hardware one, and I found this
http://scientificlinuxforum.org/inde...showtopic=1699

vectorlinux used to have a lightweight version for old computers and it's slackware based so you know it's good.

David McCann
No we don't have the same model of netbook, mine is a Packard Bell with atom N450 processor, 250gb HDD, 1.66gHz (shipped with windows 7 starter)
& hubbys is - asus eeepc 904HD, cereron M processor, 897mHz, 80gb HDD (originall shipped with xp)


I have now installed MX-14.4
so we'll see how this goes, as yet (only couple hours) no mouse freeze but that was the same with all the other distros initially (problem usually kicks in after couple of shutdowns...OH & updates

If a problem occurs. Be sure and join and post a thread in MX-14 forums. They are a knowledgable and helpful friendly bunch of folks over there. It will be in your bookmarks in your browser. There is also a help manual and videos. Videos are by dolphin_oracle and his handle on youtube is runwiththedolphin.

Good Luck with it.

Mel08,

I have my fingers crossed for you.

I am sure that the Elantech touchpad problem can be solved by this fix:

http://www.evilcodingmonkey.com/2014...h-on-elantech/

Keep persevering and follow rokytnji's advice to post on the MX-14 forums for help.

I did try that elantech touchpad fix when it froze in Bhodi, but aster step 4 it just said :
rmod: ERROR: module ps mouse is not currently loaded
so obviously when I get the touchpad freeze it must be because the mouse is not loaded because when all is working well xinput displays the elantech touchpad but when it freezes xinput does not show it....but why it happens is a mystery !

i'd just like to clarify: "touchpad freeze" do you mean that your system is otherwise usable, via keyboard etc, and it's only the pointer that becomes immovable? or does the system become generally unusable, even with keyboard commands?