Installing Linux on Windows XP Home-based Eee PC 900 Part 3

Filed in archive Devices on May 24, 2008

© jakobbg

After a series of frustrating attempts in getting linux into the Windows XP Home-based Asus Eee PC, I finally decided that the only way to go might be to attach an external optical drive and install Ubuntu from the DVD. So, after a few minutes of getting Ubuntu into the Eee PC, it booted up and boom! Everything seems to be working...

until I checked the WiFi. Unfortunately, WiFi did not work out of the box. That is ok since I can always connect it using the Ethernet port, which I did, but only to get the latest updates via the usual "sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get update" route.

Getting WiFi activated is not that difficult, however. From the EeeUser.com site,

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential
wget 'http://snapshots.madwifi.org/special/madwifi-nr-r3366+ar5007.tar.gz'
tar zxvf madwifi-nr-r3366+ar5007.tar.gz
cd madwifi-nr-r3366+ar5007
make clean
make
sudo make install
sudo reboot

So there, enjoy your Linux-based Eee PC 900. My take on this, get the Linux version right away. Not only do you get more storage, it shields you from the pain of having to remove Windows from it. I just hope that Asus bundles the Xandros distribution on all models.