Journal mcgrew's Journal: Ask Slashdot: Installing Linux on an Acer 1 Win 7 netbook 6
I just purchased the first whole computer I've bought since 1989. Ever since then I only upgraded it with parts, even though sometimes the parts were a case, power supply, motherboard and memory. I bought a notebook a couple of months ago, but I don't consider it a "whole computer" since its hard drive and battery are shot and I'll have to replace them. Not bad since I only paid twenty bucks for the notebook (an IBM Thinkpad).
The whole computer I bought yesterday is a netbook; yes, I'm behind the curve. I usually try to stay behind the curve, although my nerdiness makes it hard sometimes. It's an Acer Aspire, and the WalMart guy said that although it doesn't come with bluetooth I can add one for twenty bucks. I took it home, plugged it in, and turned it on. It showed two wifi connections, which I figured were probably neighbors' ports. I went past them, figuring I'd examine them later.
It has Windows 7 "starter edition", which is the first question: What, exactly, do they mean by "starter edition?" What does it lack that other versions of Windows 7 have? And where is the best place to get information about Windows 7 and its operation? Do the XP hot keys still work in 7 (and BTW, Win+A minimizes, hpw do you maximize without a mouse)?
If my neighbors don't have their wireless protected, I'm using it. But I'm conflicted about what to do if it is protected. Your thoughts on the matter will be appreciated.
I'd like to be able to tether my Motorola i776 to it using bluetooth, does anyone have a link to a good howto? My googlefu is weak today.
I'd also like to install Linux, but how can I do that without a CD or DVD drive?
Some answers (Score:2, Informative)
Windows 7 comparison chart on Wikipedia. [wikipedia.org] I am not sure what all of the features it is missing are. I wonder if no multiple monitors support actually means it only allows mirroring or that it won't display on an external monitor/TV at all; I assume the former. It sounds like the noticeable missing features are being able to change the desktop wallpaper and not having Aero (accelerated window manager with graphical effects), neither of which sound like that big a deal. It also sounds like it is less able to
Hotkeys (Score:2)
All the hotkeys that I generally use work in Win7, but I don't use tons. My guess is that they should work for the most part, though. If you set the option to use ctrl-alt-del for logging in, they took the keyboard shortcuts off the screen that comes up when you hit ctrl-alt-del, which I hate (I'm used to hitting C-A-D and hitting k to lock the computer), but on the other hand, I've found other ways (I never knew about windows-L before, for some reason).
As to the starter edition, basically it means it doesn
Various thoughts (Score:2)
You can install from a partition on the HDD, look for various howto's on Vista -> 7 for netbooks. There's about 10 million copy-n-paste jobs of each one, so it shouldn't be too hard to find an example. Mostly it means mucking about on the command line in 7, but if you grok command lines and computer architecture (like partitions, etc) then that won't be hard.
True you can get a bluetooth module for like $20, $30, but you have Windows 7 Starter, which is the least friendly one. Others have already linked y
Linux without CD (Score:2)
Boot from LAN could work as well, never done it tho. Again, you would need to check if the netbook is capable of booting from the network.
There's a tutorial on how to install Linux without any removable media, I can't vo
Re: (Score:2)
However, since you would still need to have the CD, I _think_ you could just download the ISO and mount it as a CD Drive with something like Daemon Tools or Alcohol 120% (or copy the contents to a USB key... maybe)
Anyway, I would try with the self boot USB key first.
Tethering with motoboost (Score:1)
Under Ubuntu, I use Blueman device manager. When it is installed, you get an applet icon on your taskbar. Right click that, select "local services". Check "use blueman" for DUN or dial up networking connections. Close that. On your phone, find the menu entry for bluetooth, then have it look for the bluetooth on the main computer. Synch with that. Enable "trust this device" both ways. Now go back to blueman applet, normal left click it and open it up. Your phone should be showing on the screen now. Select,