hi

Is a x86 distro compatible to be installed on an intel atom asus eeebook?

the eeebook has windows 8.1 and I want to remove windows and put linux on it.

Thanks

we would need a little more information about the hardware.
like how much ram, hard drive, grphics.
how old is it.
maybe a link to a review, or precise model number/name.

Description

11.6" diagonal widescreen LED display with HD (720p) resolution
Windows 8.1 operating system with Bing
1.33GHz Intel Atom Z3735F processor with 2MB cache
32GB flash drive
2GB DDR3L system memory
Does not have DVD/CD player/burner
Intel graphics
Has webcam and media card reader (card not included)
Has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 2 USB ports, HDMI output and headphone/microphone jack
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge
Includes AC adapter/power cord
ENERGY STAR qualified saves you energy and money
Approx. 11-1/4"W x 7-1/2"D x 3/4"H (when closed); weighs 2.1 lbs.

Sorry for the delay post which wasn't my fault. My post was in pending approval by the mods.

That should run just about any Linux distro okay. For better performance, you might want to install and use one of the lighter-weight desktops/window managers, such as LXDE or XFCE or Enlightenment or Fluxbox (the latter two are my favorite choices).

You might want to look into unetbootin as a means for installation in the absence of an optical drive. I've used it and it works quite nicely.

Thanks frankbell for your expert opinion as your reputation shows.

I don't own this laptop yet, but I am planning to buy it based on the info I get here.

My real concern is can I remove windows 8.1 from this netbook? I don't know if this has secure boot enabled or disable or worse, the option to disable secure boot is greyed out. It's a gamble I have to take I guess.

I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to remove Win's. (secure boot or not) Just disable it in the BIOS.-

During your Linux installation you can tell the partition manager that comes with the installer to delete those Windows partitions and use the space for your fresh install.

If you don't want to do it that way than you can download Gparted Live and use it to delete those partitions manually.
http://gparted.org/livecd.php

I use Intel Atom & I run light weight/medium weight distros no problem on similar specced netbooks.

http://antix.mepis.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

On many netbook Atom-based there is no whole support for the graphic card. Just look with a live distro if the card is recognized by the system. Another failing point is the cpu support if the kernel is too old.

Search "<Your model Laptop number> Linux" on youtube and and web search.

I am sure someone has already done and blazed the trail for what you want to do.

What about creating usb-sticks with live-versions of different distros and trying+finding out what you like most and have an instant verification that it works.

I will test the netbook with various linux distros with a USB key as this netbook doesn't have a dvd drive. I will test the main components: wifi, video, and audio.

Thanks a bunch to all