Install lenny using native Debian kernel and modules

Although this method is still new and we have some kinks to work out, it's where we're heading, so we'd prefer if users would try it out and give us feedback. The old method, using the Xandros kernel and modules is retained below for reference purposes.

Preparation

You need a USB disk. Please download these files:

To prepare the USB disk, copy the image onto the drive:

gunzip sid-usb.img.gz
su dd if=sid-usb.img of=/dev/USB-DEVICE

Now mount USB drive and copy the atl2-modules onto it:

cp atl2-modules-2.6.22-3-686_2.6.22+1.0.40.4-9_i386.deb /PATH/OF/USB/DISK/

Installation

Boot the eee and press <ESC> during the first screen. This lets you select which device to boot from.

The actual installation is very standard; if you're reading this, you almost certainly already know how to install Debian. :)

Additional kernel modules not yet in Debian

Ethernet (atl2)

When you first get into the eeepc-debian install you’ll notice your NIC / Ethernet is not working. That’s because you haven’t loaded the driver yet.

Put the flashdrive into your eeepc and mount it:

sudo mount /dev/sdc /media

Now install the kernel module:

cd /media
sudo dpkg -i atl2-modules-2.6.22-3-686_2.6.22+1.0.40.4-9_i386.deb
sudo modprobe atl2
sudo dhclient
cd
sudo umount /media

Madwifi

First, make sure you can compile the driver:

sudo apt-get install patch make gcc linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Download the Madwifi driver snapshot using the following link and save the file.

wget http://snapshots.madwifi.org/madwifi-ng/madwifi-ng-r2756-20071018.tar.gz

Extract this driver source and change into the driver directory.

tar -xvzf madwifi-ng-r2756-20071018.tar.gz
cd madwifi-ng-r2756-20071018/

Download the patch using the following link and save the file.

wget madwifi.org/attachment/ticket/1679/madwifi-ng-0933.ar2425.20071130.i386.patch?format=raw

Patch the Madwifi driver.

patch -p0 < madwifi-ng-0933.ar2425.20071130.i386.patch?format=raw

Make and install the patched drivers.

make
sudo make install
sudo modprobe ath_pci

You must now reboot with the wifi turned on.

uvcvideo

The module source in lenny should work with module-assistant:

sudo apt-get install module-assistant luvcview
sudo m-a a-i uvc
sudo modprobe uvcvideo

Then test it's working by executing:

luvcview -f yuv

If it's not working, make sure you have switched the camera on in BIOS ;)

asus_acpi

To get asus_acpi working:

sudo apt-get install unrar-free
wget http://dlsvr02.asus.com/pub/ASUS/EeePC/701/ASUS_ACPI_071126.rar
unrar -x ASUS_ACPI_071126.rar asus_acpi.tar.gz
tar -zxf asus_acpi.tar.gz
make -C asus_acpi KERNEL_VERSION=`uname -r`
sudo mv --backup asus_acpi/asus_acpi.ko \
  /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/acpi/asus_acpi.ko

Add asus_acpi to /etc/modules so that it will be loaded when you boot.

Notes:

Troubleshooting

Forum

There is more information in this forum post (although some of it may be out of date):

http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?pid=47421#p47421

Ethernet (atl2)

Building from source

sudo apt-get install module-assistant
m-a a-i atl2
modprobe atl2

For good measure this reloads the atl2 driver.

Ethernet

One problem you may come across is the ethernet not becoming active. This is a bug with the chipset for when you install. To fix this, temporarily enable PXE/netboot in the BIOS. You may not come across this problem, but you can enable it and disable it at any time without problem. The problem will be gone as soon as you have installed so you may disable PXE in the BIOS after that.

Shutting down

There is an issue surrounding shutting down. The system halts, but the fan continues to run and the wifi light stays on. The reason is the sound module doesn't close correctly, but there is a fix!

  1. (as root) aptitude install acpi-suppport
  2. Edit /etc/default/acpi-support with your favourite text editor (or nano) and add snd_hda_intel to the MODULES="" line.

Then it will poweroff correctly!

Silence hdd errors caused by acpi-support

sudo sed -i s/DO_HDPARM=y/DO_HDPARM=n/ /etc/acpi/*/90-hdparm.sh

OLD: Install using the Xandros kernel and modules

Instructions for installing Debian on the Eee PC using Kibobo's http://kibobo.free.fr/EEE/debian/usb/usb.img.gz which contains the Xandros kernel that ships with the Eee PC can be found here:

It is possible to get wireless and wired ethernet connections working using this method.

Unfortunately, the kernel and modules in kibobo's image are out of date because the Asus update site kibobo fetched them from is out of date. One way around this is to extract the P701.gz image file from the recovery CD, gunzip it, mount it loopback, chroot into the mount, install dpkg-repack from etch, and dpkg-repack each package, though that's a lot of work to ask a user to do. The old packages seem to work well enough for now.

There are some further notes here:

Don't use Andrew's wifi script, as it does not work when there are blanks in the essid, which is pretty common. Use this version instead:

http://people.debian.org/~synrg/debian-eeepc/wifi

If you use Andrew's zzz script, you need to edit /etc/acpi/events/lidbtn to call lid.sh instead of lidbtn.sh.

I have put an improved version of zzz here:

http://people.debian.org/~synrg/debian-eeepc/zzz

In particular, it preserves the display better than Andrew's original and doesn't force you back to vt7 (the X session) even if you were on a different vt when you put the machine to sleep.

FixMe: package a suspend solution using original Eee PC acpi and/or Andrew Kilpatrick's scripts as a guide.