Installing Linux on Windows XP Home-based Eee PC 900 Part 2

Filed in archive Devices on May 24, 2008

© Winston Davidian

Not finding the default Xandros Linux distribution for the Asus Eee PC 900, I decided to go the Ubuntu route with the latest and greatest version, Hardy Heron 8.04.

First step is to get the installer into a USB thumb drive. After getting the ISO from the Ubuntu mirrors, I managed to get it into a 1GB USB thumb drive using the Pendrivelinux instructions. I created the installer using my Ubuntu 8.04 running as a guest OS on VMWare Fusion on my Macbook Air.

Getting the Eee PC 900 to boot up from Linux on the USB thumb drive is pretty straightforward... or so I thought. The machine just wouldn't boot up. I tried the other 2 USB ports and nothing. All I got was a blank screen. Maybe the problem was with the USB device so I created another version using a 2GB drive. For some strange reasons, it will wouldn't boot. Another 8GB USB drive and still nothing!

Using the same instructions from Pendrivelinux.com, I tried xubuntu, an Ubuntu variant, using the same 1GB, 2GB and 8GB USB thumb drives and no luck! It was frustrating considering that it should be painless.

I also tried tweaking the BIOS - changing the Install status from Finished to Start, changing the boot sequences, etc. No luck! Maybe it was because I was creating the installer using a virtualized OS.

So off I went booting up the Ubuntu workstation just so I can create the installers and lo and behold, still nothing! Frustrating, huh? Are the Pendrivelinux.com files (sysconfig and initrd) the problem?