The AspireOne 751h has a 1366x768 pixel 11.6" screen.

Trusty 14.04

I added the following option to the boot parameters to solve system freezing when power gets disconnected: 

intel_idle.max_cstate=3

If this solves your problem you should add it to the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT string below.

Precise 12.04

The gma500 works out of the box with some minor modifications.

I use the following options in /etc/default/grub (all one line) 

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=”quiet splash console=tty1 acpi_backlight=vendor acpi_osi=Linux acer_wmi.blacklist=yes mem=1920mb”

See also Ubuntu wiki HardwareSupportComponentsVideoCardsPoulsbo

Fixing suspend

In a terminal type 

sudo gedit /etc/pm/config.d/gma500

a blank file will open, put in it 

ADD_PARAMETERS='--quirk-vbemode-restore'

then save.

Lucid 10.04

Verified Working Default install

  • Wireless & Wired NIC

  • Sound Output Speakers, and Head Phone Switching
  • Sound Input Mic

  • WebCam

  • MultiCard Reader

Verified Working Post Install Changes

  • 1366x768 resolution (psb module)
  • Dual Head display (psb module)

Known Issues

Items's Needing verification

Note: IEGD version 10.3 and older only work with X version 1.6 and older. Since Lucid runs X version 1.7 it's currently not supported

1366x768 psb module

Please see the following for the latest directions in getting the GMA500 working here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsVideoCardsPoulsbo/

1366x768 in GRUB2

These instructions will enable higher resolutions for GRUB2 Menus and Plymouth Splash Screens

Note that this requires GRUB2 to work; it also will not work with suspend at all. GRUB2 should be installed by default; if not, install it before attempting to proceed. The method described below involves changing the bootloader configuration. If done wrong, your computer may fail to boot.

Edit /etc/grub.d/40_custom 

exec tail -n +3 $0
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.

# BEGIN Acer Graphics Settings
loadfont (hd0,1)/splash/fonts/unicode.pf2
set gfxterm_font="20"
insmod 915resolution
915resolution 5c 1366 768
set gfxmode="1366x768x32"
set gfxpayload="1366x768x32"
insmod gfxterm
insmod vbe
insmod tga
terminal_output gfxterm
background_image (hd0,1)/splash/images/active.tga
# END Acer Graphics Settings

Note:

  • If you don't want a "splash-screen", just leave out the "background_image"-line.

  • The above example shows the font file and wallpaper image on the first partition under a directory called splash. This example is for systems with an unencrypted /boot partition and the remainder of the disk encrypted and/or LVM If you are not encrypting your disk, and using a single partition for / and '/boot' then the default locations would be: 

    (hd0,1)/usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2
(hd0,1)/usr/share/images/grub/active.tga`
    If you are pulling you hair out trying to figure out why GRUB is not seeing your Wallpaper Image, maybe it cannot see the file system because of crypt or LVM (or if you use both together) or you have a separate partitions for / ans /boot. Simple solution make a splash directory under boot and copy your files under there.
  • Grub2 can find your images on a separate and/or LVM volume, but you will need to load the LVM Grub module, and enter the Grub command shell to 'ls' your drives to see how Grub is seeing them. Then change (hd0,1) to what you find.

    Find more GRUB2 info here. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Grub2

Edit /etc/default/grub 

# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.

GRUB_DEFAULT="0"
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=false
GRUB_TIMEOUT=10
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash mem=1908mb"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

Note:

  • GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash mem=1908mb" the mem kernel argument fences the amount of memory you are allowing the kernel to see, and the remainder is for the Graphics Card. In this example this is a 2GB system (2048MB-1908MB=)140MB available for video. Adjust to your needs.

Now update your Grub Configuration

The following command will properly generate /boot/grub/grub.cfg 

UserName@YourSystem:~$ sudo update-grub

Reboot to test

Suspend and Hibernate

Still needing to be resolved

Note:

  • In most cases your swap partition needs to be equal or greater the size of your physical ram, to avoid problems. If your swap partition is not big enough to hold all RAM objects then you get random failures. If you have a small swap it might work occasionally, if your memory consumption is smaller than your swap at time of suspend/hibernate.

Versions < Lucid 10.04

BodhiZazen - Hats off the the UNR team, but be warned, the UNR remix is slow an almost usable on an AspireOne 751h (11.6"). Better to perform a standard install on this hardware.

Enabling 1366x768 Resolution

The below fixes do not work in 9.10 This is a confirmed bug under xorg(ubuntu). See below this section for a 10.04 workaround (may work with 9.10) https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+bug/426791 xorg(ubuntu). Instead use the work around found at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsVideoCardsPoulsbo

With this variant (popular because it's available at Costco), the maximum graphics resolution (1366x768) does not work out of the box. To install an updated graphics driver, add the following line at the end of /etc/apt/sources.list: 

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mobile/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

then run the following commands in the terminal:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys C6598A30
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-psb psb-kernel-source
sudo shutdown -r now

If an update to a later version (such as an upgrade from 2.6.28-11 to 2.6.28-14) breaks the graphics driver on your 751h, continue booting to the desktop (select the Run one time session with low graphics option) then run the following commands in the terminal:

sudo apt-get remove psb-kernel-source
sudo apt-get install psb-kernel-source
sudo shutdown -r now

DO NOT use the --reinstall flag to attempt this fix (it will likely crash your session). Use the remove option first, followed by the install option as shown above.

Post install performance is a bit sluggish and can be fixed with a small edit to /etc/X11/xorg.conf. Open the file for editing (gksu gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf ) and add these lines (under the "Device" section): 

Section "Device"
        Identifier      "Configured Video Device"
#        Option          "IgnoreACPI"    # This option may cause problems with Resume
        Option          "AccelMethod" "exa"
        Option          "MigrationHeuristic" "greedy"
        Option          "NoDDC"
EndSection



#Added for mouse pad
Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier  "Mouse0"
        Driver      "synaptics"
        Option      "Protocol" "auto"
        Option      "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"
        Option      "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
        Option      "CorePointer"
        Option      "HorizEdgeScroll" "1"
EndSection

Restart X (log off and back in).

Installing the Poulsbo as mentioned above also allows the Function Keys to change the LCD screen brightness.

Fixing Suspend

Poulsbo driver will break suspend. For fixing it, meanwhile hal patch reaches ubuntu you can edit /usr/share/hal/fdi/information/10freedesktop/20-video-quirk-pm-acer.fdi and add the following at the end (before the last </match>): 

<match key="system.hardware.product" string="AO751h">
   <merge key="power_management.quirk.dpms_on" type="bool">true</merge>
   <merge key="power_management.quirk.vbemode_restore" type="bool">true</merge>
   <merge key="power_management.quirk.vbestate_restore" type="bool">true</merge>
 </match>

To have laptop suspend when laptop lid is closed, modify the setting in System-->Preferences-->Power Management.

Fixing Microphone

Get newer version of alsa-driver (version 1.0.22 tested and works)

unpack the source archive, run configure, compile, and then install with root perms 

tar -xjvf alsa-driver-1.0.22.tar.bz2 && cd alsa-driver-1.0.22 && ./configure && make
sudo make install

Edit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf and add the following to the end of the file 

#added acer aspire one settings
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
options snd-hda-intel model=acer

Reboot system

*Ok now this is the weird part* (tested and works for both alsa and pulseaudio)

Open your favorite sound mixer change to the "Capture" or "Recording" section For both the volume sliders Capture, Mic, Digital (depending on what you see) turn the volume all the way down on the left slider turn the volume all the way up on the right slider.

Note : If your mixer doesn't show Left and Right or only accepts moving the sliders as one, try the command-line amixer with root-privilgies (use sudo or root-terminal). First run "amixer -c 0 controls" to get the numid of the capture volume control. Then run "amixer -c 0 cset numid=9 0%,100%" (asuming only one sound-controller and that the volume control numid turns up to be 9).

Note : if both right and left sliders are equal or up you will get either no mic or heavy static when recording (not predictable which). If you run Skype you will need to unselect "Allow Skype to adjust mixer levels" because it will gang the two channels together and stop working. Also mute the mic(s) in the "Playback" section until you tested everything works.

Wireless Configurations AO751h

Here is a personal comparison of all the possible ways to get your wireless working. I hope this information helps you decide which option you want to use.

Wireless NIC in the system for this comparison 

user@ubuntu:~$ lspci | grep -i wireless
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x 802.11abg Wireless PCI Express Adapter (rev 01)

Wireless router used in comparison: Linksys Wireless-N Broadband Router WRT160Nv2

Kernel Module: ath5k (default using on install)

Pros: works out of the box, acer wifi switch works

Cons: Slow performace, limited range from wireless access point, acer wireless lights don't work, Normally find the following log entry in /var/log/messages: "noise floor calibration timeout"

Kernel Module: ath_pci (madwifi driver)

Pros: included in the install, (but blacklisted due to conflict if using ath5k), Improved speed compared to ath5k, acer wifi switch works

Cons: limited range from wireless access point, acer wireless lights don't work

To enable ath_pci edit blacklist: /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ath_pci.conf

and reboot 

# For some Atheros 5K RF MACs, the madwifi driver loads buts fails to
# correctly initialize the hardware, leaving it in a state from
# which ath5k cannot recover. To prevent this condition, stop
# madwifi from loading by default. Use Jockey to select one driver
# or the other. (Ubuntu: #315056, #323830)

# Comment out the blacklist entry for madwifi
# blacklist ath_pci
# Blacklist ath5k module so it won't load and cause conflicts with madwifi
blacklist ath5k

Kernel Module: ndiswrapper (Windows Wireless driver)

Pros: Fastest Speed, Greatest Distance from wireless access point, acer wifi switch and lights work

Cons: Need to update ndiswrapper (the version shipped with 9.04 didn't work), The dirty feeling you get resorting to a Windows driver (matter of principle)

To enable ndiswrapper change blacklist to stop both madwifi and ath5k from loading /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ath_pci.conf 

# For some Atheros 5K RF MACs, the madwifi driver loads buts fails to
# correctly initialize the hardware, leaving it in a state from
# which ath5k cannot recover. To prevent this condition, stop
# madwifi from loading by default. Use Jockey to select one driver
# or the other. (Ubuntu: #315056, #323830)

blacklist ath_pci
blacklist ath5k

Get newer version of ndiswrapper (version 1.55 tested and works)

unpack the source archive, run configure, compile, and then install with root perms 

tar -xzvf ../ndiswrapper-1.55.tar.gz &&  cd ndiswrapper-1.55 && make clean && make
sudo make install

reboot system, verify ndiswrapper is running 

user@ubuntu:~$ sudo lsmod | grep ndis
[sudo] password for user: 
ndiswrapper           193308  0

download the 32bit WinXP Wireless driver from Acer Website, unzip, install driver 

unzip "Wireless LAN_Atheros_7.6.1.221_XPx86_A.zip"  && cd "Wireless LAN_Atheros_7.6.1.221_XPx86"
sudo ndiswrapper -i netathw.inf

Verify the driver is registered with ndiswrapper 

user@ubuntu:~$ sudo ndiswrapper -l
netathw : driver installed
        device (168C:001C) present (alternate driver: ath5k)

At this point hal should know about the device and you should be able to use it. If not try rebooting.

3D Video (Alt. Config AO751h)

There is another solution to activate DRI (3D hardware accelaration, compatible with Compiz) : freeing memory at the kernel level for the GMA500.

Info : there is a facegroup Group in order to ask Intel to open the source of the GMA500 driver.

Note: This Alternate configuration has been successfully tested to work without problems.

Here is quick script to get 3D working on 9.04 only, derived from the links above 

# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
# under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free 
# Software Foundation; version 2.
# 
# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
# ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or 
# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for
# more details. 
# 
# You should find a copy of v2 of the GNU General Public License somewhere on
# your Linux system; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
# Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA.
# 
# Copyright (C) 2009                  
# Authors: Benjamin R. Cross <sbin.init@gmail.com>   
# 
# Released under the General Public License (GPL).

## Information to create this script came from the following sources
## http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1229345
## http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=7775498
## https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne
## https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne/AO751h

# update system
apt-get -y update
apt-get -y dist-upgrade

# add ubuntu-mobile sources
cat >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu-mobile.list  <<EOF
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mobile/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mobile/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
EOF

apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys C6598A30

# Install Video Card Packages
apt-get -y update
aptitude -y install poulsbo-driver-2d poulsbo-driver-3d psb-firmware

# Note: If an updated kernel has broken video driver do the following
# sudo apt-get remove psb-kernel-source
# sudo apt-get install psb-kernel-source
# sudo shutdown -r now

# Create a config file for X server
cat > /etc/X11/xorg.conf <<EOF

Section "ServerFlags"
        Option "DontZap" "False"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        Identifier      "GMA500"
        Option          "IgnoreACPI" "yes"
        # Use "exa" for X versions lower than 1.6 see: X -version
        #Option          "AccelMethod" "exa"
        # Use "uxa" for X versions 1.6 and higher (see X man page)
        Option          "AccelMethod" "UXA"
        Option          "MigrationHeuristic" "greedy"
        Option          "NoDDC"
        Option          "DRI" "on"
        Driver          "psb"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
        Identifier      "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier      "Default Screen"
        Monitor         "Configured Monitor"
        Device          "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

#Added for mouse pad
Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier  "Mouse0"
        Driver      "synaptics"
        Option      "Protocol" "auto"
        Option      "Device" "/dev/input/mouse0"
        Option      "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
        Option      "CorePointer"
        Option      "HorizEdgeScroll" "1"
EndSection

EOF

# Configure kernel boot arguments to reserve RAM for Video (adjust "mem=xxxxmb" to your preference)
# Example is reserving 64MB for Video on a 2GB system 
sed -i 's/defoptions=/defoptions=mem=1984mb /;s/mem=1984mb mem=1984mb /mem=1984mb /' /boot/grub/menu.lst

# Update all kernel entries in Grub boot menu
update-grub

# Install Compiz (this is optional, but lets you run 3D desktop effects)
aptitude -y install compiz compiz-gnome compizconfig-settings-manager compiz-fusion-plugins-extra

# Configure Compiz to whitelist the "psb" video driver, otherwise Compiz (desktop effects) will fail to enable
sed -i 's/WHITELIST=\”/WHITELIST=\”psb /;s/psb psb /psb /' /usr/bin/compiz

Fixing Wireless Led (AO751h)

To fixing the wireless LED, using the Kernel Module: ath5k 

Download a compat-wireless from http://wireless.kernel.org/download/compat-wireless-2.6/

tar -jxvf compat-wireless*.tar.bz2 or
tar -zxvf compat-wireless*.tar.gz
cd compat-wireless*
sudo make
sudo make install
sudo depmod -a

sudo rmmod ath5k
sudo modprobe ath5k

AspireOne/AO751h (last edited 2015-10-02 19:25:26 by c124-134)