I installed Ubuntu (latest stable build as of a few weeks ago) and have spent some time getting it working well with everything I want on my Eee PC 900 (16gig Celeron,... should have spent the extra on a 20gig atom, but the 900 was already an upgrade over what I wanted to spend on a netbook.) The default OS, Xandros or something, wasn't that bad but was annoying to use as something to play with, and couldn't seem to activate the optional 'normal' interface. For the past several weeks I've been having no problems with Ubuntu, beyond the boot times. Xandros booted in about 34 seconds, given that the higher speed drive editions booted it in about 15-18 seconds, I didn't think it was too bad. However Ubuntu takes almost a minute more, and that is really just too annoying. I've tried trimming down the time, disabled some things I didn't think I needed, but it barely shaved a few seconds off. Any suggestions for either how to speed up Ubuntu's boot time to less than 40 seconds, or another OS to go with? I was looking into DSL, but from what I've read there are many issues with getting it to run due to the older kernel.

You may want to try posting in the Ubuntu forums for help with this issue. :-)

Latest stable build? Are you using an Intrepid Ibex alpha release or Hardy Heron?

If you haven't already, you could disable startup scripts/services. Ubuntu provides a GUI for this. In GNOME, go to System > Administration > Services. If you prefer the terminal, install the rcconf package and use rcconf to (de)activate scripts. Depending on what you need, many scripts enabled by default can be disabled. Just don't disable essentials like cron or gdm!

I've had issues with slightly older versions of GNOME starting up extremely slowly on certain systems. Currently, I don't have this problem, but you could be experiencing a similar problem. With Ubuntu Gutsy, my laptop would take minutes to display my desktop! Using Ubuntu Hardy, it loads quite quickly. If you're not attached to GNOME, try KDE (either download and install Kubuntu or install the kubuntu* packages). Also, Xfce is a good choice and allows you to use GTK themes.

DSL is probably not a good choice for an everyday desktop. The included window managers are very, very minimalistic and so are the included programs (only the essentials). I've used it to work with very old computers, such as a laptop with a first generation Pentium II processor. The nice thing is that it boots quickly from a (small) live CD and can be loaded entirely into memory.

I also recommend giving Fedora and OpenSUSE a try if you want to look at other distros.

Hope this helps.

Sorry, meant release, not build. Hardy Heron, Intrepid Ibex was in prerelease testing last I had seen.

I was mostly looking around for suggestions on other options that generally boot faster than Ubuntu, which has more than a few people complaining about how slow its boot time is.

My main needs are a web browser, multi-protocol messenger client like pidgin, PDF viewer, Word processor with decent spell check, and some kind of linked note program (forget the one I've been using.)

For any programming I might want to do, likely would be limited to small python or java programs, but Java isn't even required.

I'll likely post over on other boards sooner or later if no one comes up with a magic Golden Answer for me. But seeing as I have an active account here on a site I can remember to check, I figured that I may as well ask here first and then follow leads before I wander off to get myself lost. I'm horrible at getting into new web forums anyway.

Thanks for the help, I'll run through the startup scripts again and start digging into what each does more and figure out if there is anything else I can cut.


Is switching between GNOME and KDE in anyway an annoying task? Or is it just install from repository, and edit a line or two in a script? The system doesn't freak out at having multiple window managers installed and lets you switch between the two? Or did I just dream that up with the fever over the weekend?

Installing KDE beside GNOME shouldn't cause any problems. Installing the kubuntu-desktop package is probably the easiest way to get it up and running (the download size will be fairly large). After it's installed, you should be able to choose a KDE session at the GDM login screen. I haven't done it before, but you should be able to choose which utility presents a login screen as well.

If you're interested in Xfce (which is more lightweight), look into the xfce4 package or Xubuntu.

For the programs you seem to be looking for, Puppy Linux may be a good choice. It's small, portable (e.g., live CD or USB media), and provides all the basics like a web browser and instant messenger.

you could have a look at this article, it might be more in depth than you are after, but it may well give you some hints, ideas, etc.

Quote: Original post by Talroth
The default OS, Xandros or something, wasn't that bad but was annoying to use as something to play with, and couldn't seem to activate the optional 'normal' interface.

I may be biased but it drives me crazy when I see people announce they have proudly pulled Xandros off the Eee and put on something that doesn't boot as fast, work with the hardware, or fit the screen and then claim it's so much better.

Xandros is a full KDE desktop behind that little kiddie shell. I use if for some pretty serious development work. Ok I admit it's mostly through ssh because I loathe the dinky keyboard and the tiny screen does not work well with my past-40 eyes -- but that's me. There are plenty of young guys here at work who think nothing of typing all day on an Eee console.

A simple google pulls up hundreds and hundreds of hit for how to enable the full desktop mode on your Eee. I would recommend this for a start.