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=== Accessing the Asus Restore Image ===

Here is a way to access the files that were on the original Xandros system before you installed Debian on your Eee PC. You need the Asus Support DVD that came with the machine, and a Linux machine with a DVD reader and about 2.5G of free disk space (so you probably don't want to do this on your Eee).

Insert the Support DVD and extract the disk image of the Xandros system:
{{{
sudo mount /dev/dvd /media/dvd
zcat /media/dvd/P701L.gz > ~/restore.img
sudo eject /media/dvd
}}}

Now you can mount the Xandros image on your desktop whenever you want by doing:
{{{
sudo mount -t ext2 ~/restore.img /mnt/img -o ro,loop,offset=32256
}}}

(The offset of 63*512 = 32256 skips over the partition table in the disk image.)
The original filesystem is now mounted, read-only, under /mnt/img/.
When you're finished accessing it, don't forget to do
{{{
sudo umount /mnt/img
}}}

Extending flash memory life

  • Open /etc/sysctl.conf and set vm.dirty_writeback_centisecs = 1500. This will prolong the life of your SSD by writing to the disk every 15 seconds instead of 5.
  • Probably many of the tips useful for [http://www.cyrius.com/debian/nslu2/linux-on-flash.html Linksys on NSLU2] can be applied to the EeePC

Desktop environment

If you use a Gnome desktop on your Eee, here are some ways to make better use of the limited screen height:

  • Enable the autohide property on the Gnome panels at the top and bottom of the desktop, so they get out of the way unless you mouse over them. To do this, right click on a blank part of the panel, then choose Properties, and go to the General tab.
  • In many applications, like gnome-terminal and firefox (iceweasel), you can press the F11 key to enter (and exit) a full screen mode that provides even more area than simply maximizing the window.
  • You can change workspaces without exiting fullscreen mode by using Control-Alt-Left_arrow and Control-Alt-Right_arrow.
  • You can move your application under Xfce (But Gnome too I think) with alt+left_mouse ( press alt before left_mouse ) and move your mouse. Very usefull for application bigger than the screen, like Gnome Evolution (Mail).

Accessing the Asus Restore Image

Here is a way to access the files that were on the original Xandros system before you installed Debian on your Eee PC. You need the Asus Support DVD that came with the machine, and a Linux machine with a DVD reader and about 2.5G of free disk space (so you probably don't want to do this on your Eee).

Insert the Support DVD and extract the disk image of the Xandros system:

sudo mount /dev/dvd /media/dvd
zcat /media/dvd/P701L.gz > ~/restore.img
sudo eject /media/dvd

Now you can mount the Xandros image on your desktop whenever you want by doing:

sudo mount -t ext2 ~/restore.img /mnt/img -o ro,loop,offset=32256

(The offset of 63*512 = 32256 skips over the partition table in the disk image.) The original filesystem is now mounted, read-only, under /mnt/img/. When you're finished accessing it, don't forget to do

sudo umount /mnt/img