Useful links

Bug reporting and answers tracker

• Ask a question about the Mini 9 by registering on Launchpad

• Dell Mini 9 bugs reported in Launchpad - may include some issues not listed in this page, also useful to report new bugs

Forums and mailing lists

• Dell Ubuntu forum @ Ubuntu Forums

• Dell's mini 9 community site including user forums like the Ubuntu on Mini 9 forum.

• Ubuntu on Dell wiki, Linux Desktops mailing list @ Dell

Specifications and documentation

• Dell Mini 9 user guides, including the Ubuntu Quick Reference Guide

• Wikipedia page about the Dell Inspiron Mini 9.

Installing Ubuntu Hardy Heron (8.04.1) on the Dell Mini 9

This section documents installing Ubuntu Hardy 8.04.1 onto a Dell Mini 9.

CD Install or DVD recovery

The device doesn't come with a CD/DVD drive, so you will need to attach a USB one to the unit, and place your Ubuntu install CD in the drive. To boot from the CD ROM, press 0 during the initial boot screen (where it shows the Inspiron Logo) and choose the CD ROM drive from the drop-down menu.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix install

An installer for Ubuntu Netbook Remix 8.04.1 is now available as a binary image that can be put on a USB stick or on a CD-ROM to install it on any Atom-based netbooks, including the Dell Mini 9. This is especially useful if you want to run an LPIA-optimized version of Ubuntu. UNR install instructions are available on its wiki page.

System recovery with a DVD ISO

A system recovery DVD comes with Ubuntu factory-installed systems performs a full wipe of the system and installs Ubuntu 8.04.1. This is not suitable for dual boot configurations if you already have WinXP on your system, and requires and external CD-ROM driver to be attached to a USB port.

The official recovery image was available at Dell Support - apparently Dell has removed it as it included commercial codecs and LinDVD which can't be resditributed for free. As an alternative, consider using Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

Ubuntu 8.04.1 install

If you try and install the vanilla 8.04 CD, the CD will try to boot, however it will quickly drop out to a Busybox prompt telling you there is a modprobe problem. This doesn't happen on the updated 8.04.1

You can choose either the Try Ubuntu method or the Install Ubuntu method. The OS installs just as you would expect with Ubuntu. If you have never installed Ubuntu, a page with general install instructions can be found at HowtoForge.

Kubuntu (KDE 4.1) install

I've found the KDE 4 interface to be beter with the 1024x600 screen resolution, Gnome is a great interface, but using packages such as Gimp and Evolution don't scale down corectly, so clicking on next and cancel buttons can be a bit of guesswork.

The KDE 4.1 version of Kubuntu can be downloaded from here,

http://www.kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/download

like Ubuntu, we are looking to use the 8.04.1 release of Kubuntu, you will also need to choose the option marked

Kubuntu 8.04 KDE4 Remix - Featuring the cutting edge KDE 4 with community support only

Boot from the CD, and install the complete OS, reboot when the installation is complete.

This part of the install can also be done, with the downloaded ISO, and the information found on Install from USB Stick

However to get the wifi to work, you will need to run

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Then reboot the PC, alternatively, the Ethernet port should work fine.

Updating the packages

Once rebooted, the default Kubuntu 4.1 install isn't the prettiest one, however we can ensure things are a lot more streamlined, by installing the additional packages from the Launchpad repositories.

Open the Konsole app and enter the command

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

and add the line

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kubuntu-members-kde4/ubuntu hardy main

to the end of the list, save the file, and exit

Update the repository

sudo apt-get update

Once the update has complete, you will need to update some packages.

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-kde4-desktop kdeplasma-addons amarok-kde4 and kontact-kde4 kate-kde4 kmail-kde4'''

I've installed a few extra packages from the norm, the Amarok 2 is still flaky at time of writing, let all these packages install and reboot the PC, the login screen might still look a bit strange, compared to the rest of the layout, which should now have the more up to date backdrop.

Open Konsole again, and type

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

With this done, not only is the interface more streamlined, applications and dialog boxes which would normally open larger than the screen size will become scalable.

Install all the updates, and reboot. You should now have a cleaner looking system, to get the soundcard working, following the above instructions, for fixing the soundcard.

Additional Packages

Some additional packages which you may wish to install, in order to make KDE 4.1 just that little more "appealing" are

• kpowersave - provides a system tray icon displaying remaining power

• kscreensaver-kde4 - provides screen savers

• GTK-QT

To improve the look of GTK (Gnome) apps, use the gtk-qt-engine-kde4 ackage, which makes the apps look a little more slick.

sudo apt-get install gtk-qt-engine-kde4

• LANCELOT

If you're not a fan of th new KDE menu, thats ok, its a plasmoid, and cna be change easily, using Lancelot as you've already added the necessary repostory, this can be installed quickly, (From Konsole)

sudo apt-get install plasmoid-lancelot

Then add the new Widget on the Deskbar plasmoid.

• Cairo-Dock

Cairo-Dock is an animated application launch bar for the desktop comparable to Mac OS X's Dock, or Rocket Dock (for those of you who come from Windows).

It is compatible with Compiz-Fusion, Beryl, Compiz, and also Xcompmgr, but it can run without a composite manager (with fake transparency). Cairo-Dock can run under GNOME, KDE, and XFCE.

More information about Cairo-Dock can be found here

• Change the Login Screen back to GDM

• Usplash change

KDE 4 will change the USplash (graphical boot and shutdown) theme to Kubuntu. Run these two commands to switch back to the Ubuntu theme, the first will prompt you to select the theme you want:

sudo update-alternatives --config usplash-artwork.so
sudo update-initramfs -u

Useful links for KDE 4.1 installs

• Cairo Dock

• Lancelot KDE Menu

• KDE 4 Wikipedia

Knows issues and usage notes for all Mini 9 systems

Special keys

With the new BIOS A01 and A02, the keys F11 and F12 have been remapped:

• F11 -> Fn+Z

• F12 -> Fn+X

F12

On the Dell Mini 9, you will notice a message at boot time proposing among other options to press F12 for boot options. There is no F12 key on the Mini9, however pressing "0" will have the same result.

F11

The F11 key commonly used to switch applications to full-screen mode does not physically exist on the Mini 9 keyboard. It has been mapped to the "Windows" key, also called "Super" key in some utilities.

Bluetooth / WiFi switch

The Function + "2" keys combination will cycle through enabling Bluetooth and wireless capabilities.

Upgrading the BIOS

As of Dec. 29 2008 it is not recommended to apply any BIOS upgrades unless they are specifically approved for Ubuntu (ie any BIOS upgrades available from the Dell website). The recommended BIOS update method is documented at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DellBIOS . If such method doesn't propose updates, then it should be considered none are available yet.

Outdated BIOS upgrades for Ubuntu are available at Flashing the BIOS From the Solid-state Drive in Ubuntu. You may want to check that page from time to time to watch for updates.

Resetting your password

You need to first boot into Recovery Mode (see below if your system came with Ubuntu pre-installed).

Once the boot sequence ends, you will be at a prompt similar to:

root@machine:~#

Type the following command to find out your username:

getent passwd 1000 | cut -d : -f 1

Supposing your username is "james", the output would be:

james

proceed to reset the password by issuing this command:

passwd james

You will then be prompted twice for a new password. There will be no feedback, so you need to type the new password blindly:

Enter new UNIX password: 
Retype new UNIX password:

Once the password has been successfully changed, you will get a confirmation message:

passwd: password updated successfully

You can then resume normal booting by pressing CTRL-D or typing exit followed by ENTER.

Interface Changes

• FONT SIZES

The default font sizes are very large, you may want to edit the font sizes in the System > Preferences section, to about 8, keep the fonts however as changing them can make the system look a little strange.

Performing system updates

Use a wired connection to fully update your system. Once this connection is established, install all the required updates and reboot the computer.

Known issues and usage notes for Ubuntu factory-installed Mini 9 systems

Booting into Recovery mode

If you have an original Dell Mini 9 with Ubuntu pre-installed, you may have a hard time entering the GRUB menu as the default delay is zero. This is particularly problematic if you're trying to reset your password using the passwd command.

You can enter the recovery mode following these steps:

1. Boot the mini 9 while pressing ESC every second
2. When you see the "MBR 2FA:" prompt or similar, the boot process is stopped.
3. Press ENTER and ESC very fast one after the other.
4. You should then see the GRUB menu. Using the up and down arrows, highlight the second option and press ENTER to boot into recovery mode.

1 GB RAM limitation, system crashes

This happens on factory-installed Ubuntu Mini9s or when using UNR (lpia kernel).

• See this forum post - kernel recompiling may be necessary

Adding more memory than you ordered from Dell may also cause system crashes.

Smaller disk space than expected

Some early Mini 9 systems shipped with Ubuntu pre-installed may report smaller disk space than expected (ie. 4GB instead of 8GB or 16GB). The "missing" space is on the system, but remains unformatted. This has been resolved in later factory installed systems as well as in an update at the Dell Mini repositories. Perform all updates and it should be resolved.

Wifi

If you are having issues with wifi or can't seem to have it recognized, make sure your system is fully updated. Disabling the restricted wifi drivers and re-enabling them may be necessary.

The FN-2 (Function + "2") combination of keys will cycle between enabling wireless and bluetooth modes.

If your wifi is properly recognized but you are not detecting any access points, try this:

1. Go to System > Administration > Network

2. Click the Unlock button

3. Highlight Wireless connection with a single click

4. Click on Properties

5. Ensure Enable automatic mode is checked. Click OK

6. Close all network preferences windows
7. Wait 15 to 60 seconds
8. Click the Network Manager icon in GNOME panel, access point(s) should appear

Also see this thread on the Ubuntu Forums for more information.

If you are having issues where the PC locks up soon after attaching to your wifi hub, this may be a conflict with the ACPId, to disable this on startup

• Ubuntu -> System -> Administrator - > Services

• Click on unlock, enter you password
• Scroll down, untick Power Management (acpid)

Sound

Microphone problems

On early factory-installed Ubuntu systems this may be necessary to properly enable microphone functionality:

1. Start a terminal window

2. Type alsamixer

3. Select Capture (tab)

4. Right arrow to Capture, up arrow until its at a reasonable level

5. rightarrow to Input Source, up arrow to select Front Mic

Skype

Skype is distributing an i386 build of their program. This is fine for most desktop machines, but for a netbook using Intel Atom and an lpia kernel instead of i386, you will need to install Skype via the command line instead of the graphical interface. This is true of many Debian packages which are not available through the Ubuntu repositories.

To do this, download Skype for Ubuntu to your home directory. Then open a terminal (Application > Accessories > Terminal) and run the following command to install Skype:

Note: Please make sure that you moved the package to your home directory and that the package name matches.

•  sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture skype-debian_2.0.0.72-1_i386.deb

Kown issues and usage notes for Ubuntu vanilla installs

Enabling sound

If your Mini9 is not a factory-installed Ubuntu system or if you re-installed using vanilla Ubuntu media, this is how to enable sound:

• From the command prompt:

  sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base

• Add this line to the end:

  options snd-hda-intel model=dell

• Save the file and exit.
• Reboot the computer.
• Once the computer is booted, double-click on the sound icon in the toolbar.
• Increase the speaker volume.

Compiz

Works fine after the updates.

Webcam

Works after all updates applied.

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