Google just announced the Acer C7 Chromebook. It's an Intel Core processor so I believe the latest ChrUbuntu instructions should work properly on this newest model but I'm looking for confirmation. A few things to note if you try this:
- Any issues running the script? If there are errors, please report exactly what the error message was.
- The ChrUbuntu script should detect the larger 320gb drive and let you choose more than 5-10gbs of space for ChrUbuntu (something like 5 to 290gb or so would be my guess). If it only prompts for 5-10 or so, send me the output of the command "cgpt show /dev/sda".
- How do graphics look? It should be an Intel graphics card which Ubuntu 12.04 should have no issues with but I want to confirm.
- I'd be curious to know the output of commands like "dmesg", "lspci -vv" and "lsusb" if anyone gets around to running them.
- How well does the trackpad, sound, webcam, etc work?
If you're get an Acer C7 Chromebook and you're reading this, let us know all about it in the comments!
Update: I've already noticed a few possible issues with the current script and I'm working on some updates. Be sure to use the most recent instructions (the goo.gl link will differ) in order to get these changes.
Update: I've already noticed a few possible issues with the current script and I'm working on some updates. Be sure to use the most recent instructions (the goo.gl link will differ) in order to get these changes.
But ChrUbuntu is for ARM devices right? I think Ubuntu alone can be installed on this rather than any other special flavored Linux.
ReplyDelete@prts: No, ChrUbuntu is for both x86 Chromebooks and ARM Chromebooks, there are separate installs for each. The regular Ubuntu install methods don't work on Chrome OS devices due to their specialized firmwares.
Deletehi Jay
ReplyDeletejust had my C7 delivered today, downloaded and ran the ChrUbuntu script from these instructions http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/chrubuntu-1204-now-with-double-bits.html
install went through fine, rebooted into 12.04 but there was an kernal message shown [ 12.157543] sdhci-pci 0000:02:00.1 Invalid iomem size. You may experience problems.
but the desktop loaded, so it was OK..
System details is showing 1.8Gb memory being used which is, i guess, about right :) also says "Graphics Unknown" so i assume ubuntu is not aware of the onboard graphics controller in this Chromebook, but the display looks fine at first glance, i have to test some more
i added you on Google+ msg me if you want to chat more.
btw thanks for making it so easy to get Ubuntu 12.04 running on this new chromebook, appreciate your time and effort to develop this script :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteUpdate..
ReplyDeleteFATAL: Module nfs not found.
same problem as this comment..
http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.com/2012/04/chrubuntu-1204-now-with-double-bits.html?showComment=1342306443826#c3751620988457766329
Hi Julian, is this issue resolved, I have couple of questions:
ReplyDelete-Can we get an option of dual boot in the begining eg windows and Ubuntu / chrome or ubuntu?
-Did you manager to remove the fatal error?
-Can we install windows OS on it (light one like windows XP)?
I might be buying one this weekend, I am waiting for it to be on display here in London so that I can see how it looks before buying it.
Thanks
The script worked beautifully. There's an error message at boot... something about memory, but I forget to write it down.
ReplyDeleteHere are a few answers to your other questions:
1. It asks for a number between 5 and 293.
2. Graphics look pretty good... 480p video from YouTube is fine... 720p is a tiny bit jumpy, but overall works.
3. Trackpad is good... two-finger gestures work, although two-finger scrolling could be a bit better.
4. Sound and other features seem to be working.
5. Shoot me an email at my contact form and let me know where I should send the dmesg and other output. They seem a bit lengthy for a blog comment. http://liliputing.com/contact
Hi Jay,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the script - everything worked for me initially, but after the second reboot Bluetooth is no longer working. Everything else is working great. It is a very useful $199 laptop.
iomem error on boot, installed skype from third party repository, all dependencies met, no mic or webcam found
ReplyDeleteuser@ChrUbuntu:~$ lsusb
ReplyDeleteBus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0489:e04e Foxconn / Hon Hai
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 064e:d251 Suyin Corp.
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 046d:c043 Logitech, Inc. MX320/MX400 Laser Mouse
interesting notes, if i go into skype options it shows the cam with video. however calls, get no video or audio. the sound recorder that comes with ubuntu also records no sound. i went into the sound panel and upped the amplification on sound input to no effect.
ReplyDeleteI found a tip that helped Skype video a lot. Go into the Notification area of the Preferences and turn off the sound Selection for every single notification type. The tip suggested that Skype does not play well with PulseAudio.
Deleteusing guvcview i can record a video, audio is just static though, in chromeos it works as ive tested with google hangouts.
ReplyDeleteCananyone pls verify if TrueCrypt works?
ReplyDeletei am able to run truecrypt on chrubuntu with custom kernel, more instructions here:
Deletehttps://groups.google.com/d/topic/chromebook-central/PPQFpC7mYzk/discussion
you will need to recompile the kernel with XTS support:
http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/TrueCrypt#Requirements
thank you very much. I'm surprised that the standard ubuntu kernel wont work. i didnt think it would be so complicated! :(
DeleteApologies, I know that this blog gets a lot of traffic, but I've tried to install ChrUbuntu 4 times now on my Samsung 550 and everytime I try to turn it back on after downloading the files all I get is the chrome logo on a white background followed by a black screen. I can't tell what's going on.
ReplyDeleteIf you could repost the original instructions with the updated links that work properly I would be grateful. I've tried navigating through the comments on the original post but there are hundreds, and I'm not sure which to follow.
Thanks
I used script version 2x8a4, installed on $199 Acer C7 no problem.
ReplyDeleteESC-Refresh-Power to change to dev mode.
Setup wireless access.
Ctrl-Alt-ForwardArrow to shell.
Logged in and ran sudo chromeos-firmwareupdate --mode=todev
Ran wget http://goo.gl/2x8a4; sudo bash 2x8a4
Chose 282G which left ChromeOS with 11G
Ran wget http://goo.gl/2x8a4; sudo bash 2x8a4 again and done.
Only problem was at one point using pspmodel's suggestion to switch back and forth between ChromeOS & Ubuntu eventually corrupted the ChromeOS partition which forces a hard recovery from USB - Destroying the Ubuntu efforts.
Jay, I recommend you give us an optional script to create a dedicated ChrUbuntu (I'd prefer Ubuntu Studio since the C7 has a hard drive) in order to make a reliable workstation - otherwise the platform is too volatile. As an alternative, can you give us the mods you did to support the ChromeBook hardware so we can do a dedicated install ourselves?
Thanks for all your hard work!
I noticed the eventully corruption as well as the initial error. I was also getting a video error when rebooting.
ReplyDeleteThe other issue I was having was a constant request for grub installation. I cancelled it but after reboot it would randomly attempt installation again.
I installed ubuntu on Acer C7 chromebook as per instructions on this page - http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.com/2012/04/chrubuntu-1204-now-with-double-bits.html
ReplyDeleteInstallation was fine, everything worked fine but when I rebooted it is not in ubuntu, it goes to chrome os.... and I have to download ubuntu from step1...everytime I turn off and on the machine...
Sounds like you missed step 12 in the instructions.
DeleteMy school teacher always told me to make sure I read ALL of the instructions 1st :) (Sorry, I had to...)
Thanks. It is now working. This is great. I will recommend Acer C7 and Ubuntu to anyone looking for low cost, light weight laptop. It is easy to install ubuntu and it works fine, all the applications are working presently. Additionally I see the bluetooth sign, although I have not tested it. Great cheap solution to windows and ultrabooks.
Delete$199 Acer C7 w/Jay Lee's ChrUbuntu week 1 update:
ReplyDeleteNo more instability. I suspect it was because I tried to look at one of the ChromeOS partitions from the Desktop that corrupted ChromeOS.
Working fine are Wine (inlcuding 3D OpenGL), XChat, Pidgin, Remmina Remote Desktop, System Indicator Monitor, Blender, Gimp, AVI/WMP/MPG moving playing, etc.
Although Skype chat works fine, video causes Skype to crash-quit after a few seconds of working live video. NetFlix-desktop hangs right at the moment of video play. Upgrading to Ubuntu-studio desktop/menu/theme failed. SSD mini/micro cards work fine back & forth w/Windows only if Ubuntu touches the new card first.
Skype video works much better now that I followed a tip to shutoff the sound preference on every single Skype notification. The rumor is that Skype is not playing well with PulseAudio.
DeleteFollow-up on the SSD. I'd have to say SSD is critically failing for me. I'm using a Patriot 32G micro in a SSD holder. The built-in ChrUbuntu Backup app configured to use the SSD consistently crashes the C7 beyond recovery. Copying multiple files to the SSD causes the C7 to crash beyond recovery. ChrUbuntu is unable to format the SSD regardless of settings. ChrUbuntu Disk Analyzer hangs when trying to analyze the SSD. I've tried multiple micro SSD cards - although they've all been Patriot brand.
DeleteJust got my C7 and just installed Ubuntu.
ReplyDeleteWorks great but a few issues.
Touchpad is terribly unresponsive.
Frequent wi-fi disconnects (lasts just a few seconds so it is easily manageable if not a touch annoying). This could be an issue on my end as the exact same thing happens on another laptop running mint.
Is this just me?
In any case, great work and thank you.
I'm having the same problems, I'm switching back to chrome OS as primary for now given the trackpad issues.
DeleteNonetheless thanks for the great work!
I found the touchpad issue to be this, only have one finger on it at a time.
DeleteAfter a year dealing with the Cr48, I went straight to a USB trackball on the Acer C7 and have had no problems.
DeleteI noticed on one of Jay's other ChrUbuntu blog threads someone brought up the idea of modifying synclient to try and adjust the trackpad.
Delete* to show current settings:
synclient -l
I'm having the same issue with the touchpad becoming unresponsive, making the C7 almost inoperable to use under Ubuntu. Very annoying. I've switched back to the Chrome OS until this problem is resolved.
ReplyDeleteHello at night, ubuntu froze, I used power button to shut down the computer, it shut down, but after that when I am starting it it starts in chrome os. I was working for 4 hours and have files in ubuntu. How to get back to ubuntu. Do I have to reinstall it? will I get the files back? I have seen that the 2x8a4 script has been changed to i817v, how will this affect my reinstallation if I have to do it, as I had used the 2x8a4 one...
ReplyDeleteThanks for your reply.....
how to switch to ubuntu from chrome os, after removing the battery and being in chrome os...(probably not in developer mode)
ReplyDelete@Spencer, Zuch & kfelgs, the WiFi has been problem free under 802.11n at work and under 802.11b at home. Also switching between WiFi and Ethernet-copper live has been working great.
ReplyDeleteI find the C7 touchpad the same level of annoying under ChromeOS, and the same as it is on the Cr-48 - I just use a USB trackball.
@School teacher, what I did to get back to my ChrUbuntu after leaving DevMode was ESC-Refresh-Power to get to the DevMode activation screen, switch to DevMode, Ctrl-Alt-ForwardArrow to shell, login in with chronos and:
sudo cgpt add -i 6 -P 5 -S 1 /dev/sda
BTW, I run 2D Unity to get some CPU & Memory back for performance. I keep a 32G Micro SSD in the machine for automated backup. Also I've been using ChrUbuntu on the C7 as my primary workstation for nearly a week now.
It's like having a NetBook on steroids.
Just switched to Unity 2D based on your comment, the performance difference is astounding, thanks for the tip Randel!
DeleteZuch, that's great to hear. After your inevitable upgrade to Ubuntu 12.10 you'll have to run with the XFCE desktop instead, as Unity2D was "disappeared" under 12.10.
DeleteAlso be sure to follow Karl's steps, below, for a swap file for added performance and stability!
I'll have to retract what I wrote about the SSD for backup. Using a Patriot 32G micro SSD with the ChrUbuntu Backup app causes constant hard crashing of the C7. Copying multiple files to the SSD causes consistent crashing of the C7. Disk Analyzer just hangs when analyzing the SSD. ChrUbuntu will not format the SSD.
Delete@Randel
ReplyDeleteYeah I am in the process of troubleshooting. I think it is my router at my house. No issues here on my school's wifi.
The touchpad is definitely more sluggish on Ubuntu side than on Chrome side for me. I would say it feels fine 75% of the time but sometimes becomes very unresponsive at times to the point of not reading my finger movements at all.
Initially it was a huge annoyance, but with prolonged use it becomes merely a minor annoyance.
To the guy who asked, ChrUbuntu 12.04 is 64-bit on all platforms. I removed your post because of your username. Change it if you'd like to post here again.
ReplyDeleteJay
Would it be possible to change the memory space to 250 gb if you already installed it under 10?
ReplyDeleteIf not, how would I be able to uninstall and then reinstall?
@MusicVillian, search for and go to the Google Chromebook Recovery page, download Recovery Tool and run against a 2G or 4G USB stick. Recover the Chromebook and start Jay's instructions again. I selected a ChrUbuntu partition of 282G leaving ChromeOS with 11G.
ReplyDelete@All, Upgraded my C7 to Ubuntu 12.10 now - startup and shutdown are a little slower but overall performance is better. Netflix-desktop is now working from the upgrade. Stick with gnome-screensaver and avoid installing xscreensaver as it bogs the CPU just being installed. Use the System Settings->Sound->Applications to get extra volume when necessary. I installed htop and if I overload the machine I can CTRL-ALT-Fx to a tty and run htop to get better handle on things.
How did you upgrade to 12.10? I thought ChrUbuntu used its own kernel.
DeleteKarl, I used the "Update Manager"->Settings->Updates-tab. Change "Notify me of a new Ubuntu version" to "For any new version" and you will be given an opportunity at the main update screen to upgrade to 12.10.
DeleteHow did you update if you don't mind me asking? every time I update to 12.10 or run updates to 12.04 when I reboot it just boots straight back to Chrome. I think it may be to do with grub - I have tried installing and not installing grub update but always boots back to Chrome!
DeleteI've installed about 8 times now too
adam, I ALWAYS allow my C7 to boot under ChromeOS from a restart or powerup. I view it as a security precaution. After I boot to ChromeOS, I Ctrl-Alt-RightArrow to the shell, login as chronos, and run a ubuntu script based on the partition setup from William McEwan's page (http://williammcewan.blogspot.com/2012/07/installing-ubuntu-on-chromebook.html)...
DeleteMake Ubuntu the priority, but only give it one try, and fallback to kernel A if it doesn't work:
sudo cgpt add -i 6 -P 5 -T 1 -S 0 /dev/sda
sudo cgpt add -i 2 -P 4 -S 1 /dev/sda
I add a "sudo shutdown -r now" as the last line.
Thanks! I forgot to reply! All working perfect now - I also have the graphics detected correctly now as Intel Sandybridge Mobile
DeleteI'm having trouble with function keys on the C7 (Vol Up/Down, Brightness, etc) under ChrUbuntu (i817v). They were working immediately after install. Then a software update (latest 12.04 updates as of 12/4) seems to have nuked them. Anyone know how to get the function keys working again?
ReplyDeleteJoe, I used Settings->Keyboard->"Application Shortcuts" and added:
Deleteamixer set Master 0 F8
amixer set Master 10%- F9
amixer set Master 10%+ F10
I had a secondary problem before I got sound back, Multimedia->"PulseAudio Volume Control"->"Output Devices" has a left-pointing-triangle-button to the right of the label "Built-in Audio ANalog Stereo" that had muted sound.
I haven't setup shortcuts for brightness controls but I suspect it would be with the xrandr command.
For your brightness keys you want Keyboard->"Application Shortcuts":
Deletexbacklight -dec 10% F6
xbacklight -inc 10% F7
Don't use xrandr, it's a direct hardware control and can drive the brightness too high.
Acer c7, Installed i817v, runs well replaced unity with Cinnamon which is much nicer imho. Keyboard volume keys brightness etc don't work after update process.Skype crashes so not useable. I have had 12.10 issues on another machine so i will stay away from that for now. Otherwise its faster than I thought it would be and much more useable, its a great machine for £200, Ive just ordered 8gb ram and a bt adapter for a mouse. Will probably change to ssd drive in a few weeks time to try that. Great stuff. Will donate for sure.
ReplyDeleteI get this error every time I wake the laptop up:
ReplyDelete"package power limit notification"
Anything to be concerned with?
"package power limit notification" sounds scary! Might it lead to crashing and data loss?
ReplyDeleteAfter using for a couple of days the system consistantly freezes and then refuses to boot forcing recovery of Chrome OS and then redoing of Ubuntu. Total data loss. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteI FOUND THE OS VERIFICATION CHIP
ReplyDelete@Sean, #1 I dismounted the ChromeOS kernel partitions weeks ago and I think avoiding touching them is one reason I've been corruption free. #2 on freezing I ctrl-alt-F1 to a fresh TTY, login, run htop, shift-M, delete the top 1 - 3 processes (usually FireFox/Chrome/Opera) and ctrl-alt-F7 back to a working desktop.
ReplyDelete@Thomas, have you found the key to a dedicated ChrUbuntu Acer C7 w/o any ChromeOS kernel partitions?
@All, another week of using ChrUbuntu on C7 as my primary workstation. Eclipse working, native OpenGL code compiling and running. For fun: ZSnes, DGen, and Mupen64Plus all working. NOTE: I've switched exclusively to Midori (same as the Raspberry Pi folks) as my primary browser and performance is much better.
Hey all,
ReplyDeleteAcer c7 ubuntu user here, I recently switched to using ubuntu primary on this device, however as mentioned by a few other users (Spencer and Randell) I had significant wifi and trackpad difficulties.
However it seems that I was able to fix the wifi problem, and no longer experience any issues. After scanning through similar error reports with other ubuntu users I was able to find this quick fix which has worked for me. For a few days now I no longer experience any issues with dropping wifi or wifi performance.
Following advice of a user with a similar issue I created
/etc/modprobe.d/ath9k.conf with the following line:
options atk9k nohwcrypt=1
This is not a proper fix, however I have yet to notice any drop offs in PC performance, and wifi has since not been an issue. Although disabling hardware encryption is just a temporary work around, it seems to get the job done.
Let me know if it works for you too!
The trackpad is still a little touch and go however.
Thanks again Jay for this great work!
Im new to the ubuntu lingo around here but i recently added this version of ubuntu to my C7. First of all thanks for the time you have spent on this.
ReplyDeleteI added a 4gb stick of RAM to my computer prior to adding ubuntu and it is still telling me that the memory is 1.8gb. Does this version of ubuntu tolerate more memory or is it an issue with the C7 itself.
Also how do you work in any future updates to this OS?
Thanks for everything.
I added a 2gb stick to mine and it's showing as having 3.8 GBs. I would double check to make sure your memory is socketed correctly.
DeleteI have installed Crubuntu on my C7. It seems to work fine, with one significant exception:
ReplyDelete1. I changed the power options to keep the machine running when the lid is closed.
2. Closing the lid keeps the system running.
3. After a while, the screen turns off - and will not turn back on. The machine seems to freeze at this point.
I'm not much of a Linux hacker, not sure where to even start looking at what is going wrong.
WhiteGhostBear, I've looking for a cure to this as well. So far I've only got two recommendations, #1 Don't close your lid - as well as set your stand-by-mode to never. #2 When you do hang, you can do a harsh restart by Ctrl-Alt-Fx to a TTY, log in, and then "sudo service lightdm restart". That will recover to a fresh desktop but all your unsaved work will be lost.
DeleteI have noticed that my freezing is gone now that I'm Ubuntu 12.10, using XFCE desktop, run Midori as my browser, removed UbuntuOne from the system all-together, and never run XScreenSaver (avoid even installing it).
So you upgraded to 12.10 with XFCE and you no longer have the black screen of death if you close the lid?
DeleteThanks
Wildcat, I've given up the fight and I've completely disabled suspend/hybernate and no XScreensaver installed at all. Currently when I close the lid under 12.10 w/XFCE the screen goes black, including VGA or HDMI monitor screens, in less than a minute. But when I open the lid, the login screen appears.
DeleteThe downside of my current setup is that I have to remember to Ctrl-Alt-L (Keyboard setup to xflock4) or close the lid (which I don't like to do because it tempts moving a running machine around) to logout. If I don't logout, my ChrUbuntu will sit on, insecure and accessible indefinitely.
Luckily since the C7+ChrUbuntu shuts'down and starts so quickly, it's no big deal to do just shutdown if I'm nervous someone might move the laptop on me - now that there's no suspend/hybernate. Also you'll notice in a comment I made above in the blog thread, I rigged my C7 to always boot to ChromeOS as an extra security step.
Hi Jay,
ReplyDelete"Impressive, ... Most impressive!" Great work here!
I'm playing with ChrUbuntu on a C7 over a 768kbps internet connection so I've been trying to get the local storage option working but so far no joy. From what I've determined, the SD card slot on the C7 is identified as mmcblk0 (like Android). I can successfully mount it with:
mount -t vfat /dev/mmcblk0p1 /tmp/usb_files
and can see the files on it, but can't get the script to see them. The two usb card readers I have both turn an SD card into /dev/sdc so they don't work either. Any suggestions?
i817v script works pretty well.... but:
ReplyDeleteI performed automatic system update after the installation and here are the issues I'm experiencing so far:
- touchpad works shitty after disconnecting the AC power; it starts working OK after connecting it back. It looks like some settings with power management. ChromeOS does not have this issue.
- I had troubles polkitd eating CPU. It looks like this have helped: rm -rf /root/.pulse /root/.dbus /home/user/.pulse /home/user/.dbus
- Once my C7 has started spontaneous cycles of waking up and going back to sleep until it had completely discharged the battery.. Not sure why this happened -- I'll try to investigate this should this happen again.
Am having black screen problem with C7. This is reproducible, and occurs after recovery back to chrome OS. Occurs with all versions of Chrubuntu, and also Gentoo. Worked first time, then swapped hard drive for SSD. Not worked since, even wiyth original HD. Pointers appreciated.
ReplyDeleteClarification - System hangs on boot into Ubuntu. Never proceeds.
DeleteIf you're talking about restoring Chrome via Google's method, I found out the hard way that this process wipes out the ChrUbuntu partitions. So, unfortunately, a re-install is necessary.
DeleteI am undertaking that procedure to destroy the partition and start afresh deliberately. U-boot does not launch the 64-bit Ubuntu kernel. I wonder if a 32-bit build would fare better.
DeleteI suppose it could be simply related to the signing of the kernel image transplanted into Ubuntu.
DeleteAny fix for the Buggy track pad and laggy video driver ?
ReplyDeleteMy intermittent track pad response problems were much improved by cranking up the Touchpad sensitivity in System Settings, at least in gnome3. Also, experiment with "Disable touchpad while typing". I left it on, but it occasionally gets in the way by waiting a few too many milliseconds to re-enable the touchpad.
DeleteI don't know what you mean about a laggy video driver.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI am a complete Linix newbie but I could really use some help. I have the acer c7 and just installed Chrubuntu and it works really well! I love it!
Whenever I restart it says os verification is off and press enter to erase and reformat. Is there a way to not see this screen? I'm afraid something bad might accidentally happen. Right now I hit ctrl+D to boot to ubuntu.
Thanks so much,
Benjamin
Benjamin, I've been running this way for weeks now - problem free. I actually ignore the screen and the warning beep (fetching my coffee), when I return, everything is booted fine.
DeleteHi Jay,
ReplyDeleteI'm very familiar with Debian, and this is my first Ubuntu install. The instructions at http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/12/how-to-install-ubuntu-on-acers-199-c7-chromebook/ worked perfectly. Jay, suggest you make it easier to locate the most current script link on your website.
I gave the C7 a rather thorough test, including using the Ubuntu Software Manager to update all the installed packages, and install new packages, including XBMC whch works great. I could see the C7 with its 3 HDMI outputs on a high speed internet acting as a nice media center. Suspend and resume works perfectly both at the desktop and in XBMC.
By the way, for linux hackers, note that the kernel must be signed, the private key is hidden in the C7 hardware, and any hacked kernel must be run in Chromebook Developer Mode to be accepted by the BIOS.
The only issue I have identified and isolated is an ALSA bug with internal microphone support. The internal mic is digital, and can successfully amplify and play through the laptop speakers in realtime. Setup requires typing 'alsamixer' at the command line, F5 to see all the inputs and outputs, use spacebar at Digital Capture to toggle it on and off, mute the analogue mic and turn up the digital inputs and digital boost at the far right. However, this mic input cannot be captured by any application because ALSA only feeds the analogue mic input to applications, which results in loud static. To make sure this was an ALSA bug, I uninstalled PulseAudio, but it still was present. Not sure where to go from here, and hoping the ALSA developers already are aware and working it. By the way, both ALSA Mixer and the PulseAudio speaker volume control and mute at the upper right of the Umbutu Desktop must have volume up and be unmuted.
Nice work Jay. Thank you.
Doug
Thanks, your post helped a lot.
DeleteSo then there is no way to run skype is there?
Correct. Note though that VLC webcam capture works, digital mic capture works, and I'd be surprised if Google Cromebook doesn't correctly pipe digital mic to apps, so am assuming its just a matter of time until ALSA is fixed for the C7.
DeleteHave you checked to see if there is a bug report submitted or submitted one yourself? (I'd do it, but you seem to have a FAR better idea as to what's going on here.)
DeleteI've been running Skype chat problem free. Skype with webcam and audio was crashing until I followed a tip to shutoff sound preferences for every single notification type. Now skype with webcam and audio seem to work fine. Apparently Skype can not multiplex sound with PulseAudio, so you need to make sure that the webcam is the only sound usage during Skype video conference.
DeleteFirst I'm new to ubuntu and I'm also having problems with the internal mic just static. Alsamixer same as Doug any help would be appreciated.
DeleteSame here. I have ChrUbuntu 12.04 on Acer C7, updated and fully functioning, except for no Mic Audio Out on Skype.
DeleteOnly static on Skype test call. Vid out works just fine on Skype with members of Contact list, but no mic audio out.
Me noob, too. Thanks in advance for advice. :)
has anyone been able to correct this issue?
DeleteJust got Ubuntu installed on my C7. Thank you thank you thank you!
ReplyDeleteIssues: The volume keys and brightness keys don't work. I imagine there's some sort of workaround, but haven't figured it out yet.
I did have a problem with the machine locking up, while I ran Unison and had about 10 windows open in Google Chrome. I _think_ I fixed it by making a swap file. As installed, CHrUbuntu doesn't have a swap file. I used the instructions here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwapFaq to create a 2 gig file and mount it. So far the problems haven't returned.
Next project: figure out how to run VirtualBox.
Karl, can you give us step-by-step instructions on how to make the 2G swap partition for ChrUbuntu. That website is too general and I certainly don't want to mess this up - since I've moved into the machine as heavily as I have. For example, the first step on your recommended website is to boot Ubuntu from an alternate media source and I don't understand how to do that - did you instead do the partition swap partition creation from ChromeOS?
DeleteThanks!
No problem. I followed the directions following the heading "Four-step process to add a swap file". The only difference is I replaced 512 with 2024. Really, just go step by step. This doesn't mess with partitions at all, which I didn't want to do, because I don't quite understand how the partitions are setup with Chrome.
DeleteWhen you have followed all those steps up to the modifying you fstab file, you should be able to do this;
karl@ChrUbuntu:~$ swapon -s
Filename Type Size Used Priority
/mnt/2024MiB.swap file 2072572 0 -1
Good luck! It's not too hard. Just be careful of the dd command. Typos there can be deadly.
Oh, to clarify, I did this all from within Ubuntu. I didn't want to mess with ChromeOS.
DeleteWholly crap, Karl, this thing is hang-proof now! I ran every application I had simultaneously including Blender, Gimp, a 3D OpenGL game, multiple browsers, FireFox under Wine playing a NetFlix movie, multiple Terminal Windows, htop in another TTY, XChat, Skype, Orage Calendar, a Notes App... Everyone should do this in some form to their C7!!!
DeleteHere's the commands I ran:
user@ChrUbuntu:~$ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/mnt/2024MiB.swap bs=1024 count=2072572
2072572+0 records in
2072572+0 records out
2122313728 bytes (2.1 GB) copied, 28.5039 s, 74.5 MB/s
user@ChrUbuntu:~$ sudo chmod 600 /mnt/2024MiB.swap
user@ChrUbuntu:~$ sudo mkswap /mnt/2024MiB.swap
Setting up swapspace version 1, size = 2072568 KiB
no label, UUID=937ee14c-7d00-4677-a9e0-1fe8c8d21d4d
user@ChrUbuntu:~$ sudo swapon /mnt/2024MiB.swap
Restarted the C7 and ran EVERYTHING. Finally saw htop swap field show some ticks. Thanks, again, Karl!
Did you have to modify the /etc/fstab?
DeleteKarl, you're right, I forgot to list that step on my recital. I did:
Deletesudo vi /etc/fstab
and added as the last line:
/mnt/2024MiB.swap none swap sw 0 0
Before I restarted. Thanks for catching that. Your "swapon -s" line is handy to check swap usage.
Jay, you may want to consider adding this to your install script. Possibly a secondary question after the partition size question. It really promotes the C7 w/ChrUbuntu to lagless preformance.
Wow.
DeleteJust followed the instructions here and in the link, thanks Karl (and Randel for the line by line).
This just absolutely revolutionized this device, since I was still using chrome, memory usage was getting to be a big issue. Its not bothering me at all anymore...
Thanks so much!
@Zuch, that's great news!
Delete@Karl, I left my machine downloading headers with Pan Newsreader overnight. By morning, the login screen was to slow to respond so I Ctrl-Alt-F1'ed to a TTY, slowly loged'in, ran htop. Pan occupied the top 6 slots under Memory usage, and the top spot on CPU usage. But what was odd was that the summary bars at the top showed very little memory and CPU usage overall - and a nearly full swap file. Is this because I (we) didn't do the the optional hybernate option?
In the meanwhile I finally shutoff all my hybernate/suspend triggers in Power Management. Suspend/hybernate have been problematic on the ChrUbuntu/C7 from the start.
I'm afraid I'm at the limit of my knowledge. I don't use Pan newsreader--perhaps you could limit the simultaneous connections it uses? 6 might be a bit much for the C7.
DeleteBy the way, I udpdated to 12.10, and netflix-desktop works better than it did under 12.04.
Another thing to look at is enabling SNA 2d acceleration for the video: http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/how-to-enable-intel-sna-acceleration-in.html
Karl, I did some research on Pan and it turns out it's a memory pig. After I upgrade my C7 to 4G RAM & up my swap to 6G I'll try Pan again.
DeleteI couldn't even get netflix-desktop to work until I upgraded to 12.10.
I looked at the SNA URL and did some research. I understand we're on an Intel Mobile NM70 ULV Express chipset and not an HD Intel X000 chipset. Our chipset supports Sandy Bridge specifications through our LVDS display according to this older article:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Intel-s-Least-Capable-Chipset-to-Be-Released-this-Autumn-272051.shtml
Did the xorg.conf trick work for you? I think we're both running XFCE.
I can run SNA via the xorg.conf trick. I'm not sure how much better it works. I did run a Phoronix rendering benchmark, and it was better, slightly, with SNA turned on. There are about a 100 or so Phoronix tests, so I might not have picked the best one.
DeleteThanks the swap worked great
Deletecan someone explain to me in laymen terms what's going on with the script above? e.g 'swapping partitions for ChrUbuntu'?
DeleteDoing this with a C7 Chromebook. Script ran fine, with i817v. It correctly offered me between 5 and 293 gb partition. I'll add more responses as I continue following the steps.
ReplyDeleteGraphics and sound are both quite clear. Youtube runs smoothly in 1080p in windowed mode, but the video slows a little when fullscreen.
ReplyDeleteTrackpad is working perfectly, as I would expect.
Wireless gave me no troubles on the first network I tried. I'll try more in the future, but for now, no problems.
lsusb gave:
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0489:e04e Foxconn / Hon Hai
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 064e:d251 Suyin Corp.
Output of 'dmesg' http://paste.ubuntu.com/1446213/
ReplyDeleteAcer c7, when powering on chrome screen asks to verify google certification beeps twice then boots Ubuntu is there a way to get rid of the chrome screen at start-up? also webcam is not working.
ReplyDeletehit Ctrl-D at the verification screen to skip the beeps. What program are you trying to use with the webcam? Mine works fine with "Cheese".
DeleteCtrl-D fixed the beeping, thank you. im trying to use skype, and omegle.
DeleteAnyone has problems with consolekit, dbus-daemon and polkitd consuming CPU after resuming from suspend?.. (12.04)
ReplyDeleteI'm having similar issues with these packages clobbering the CPU. I've done some searching around, and this thread seems to get at the issue: its not a bug its a feature: https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17720
DeleteAnd it seems like it won't be fixed as the upstream maintainer claims that the migration to systemd cures this and possibly cancer.
Looks like I need to do some more research...
After a bit more digging, it seems that upstart isn't playing nice with polkitd. Output of ps aux here: http://paste.ubuntu.com/1450402/
DeleteIt's a software issue that forces me to use shutdown instead of suspend.. I avoid high CPU usage on battery because of the shortened battery life. Moreover, this makes system slower.
DeleteOnce I managed to mitigate it accidentally in process of upgrading from 12.04 to 12.10 -- CPU usage fall down to normal while upgrade was running. But the issue has not been fixed this way: it has appeared again after the reboot.
There are interesting messages in /var/log/auth.log about this -- few messages a second about polkitd providing root privileges for the root process..
Also, dbus-monitor shows tons of messages about ConsokeKit opening and closing sessions -- it looks like a ConsoleKit bug.
Unfortunately it looks to be impossible to uninstall ConsoleKit because of its dependencies.
Here are some similar links I've found (I'm not sure they are connected with our issue):
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=568076
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?p=1598004#post1598004
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-server/2012-January/006047.html
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-main-sponsors/2009-January/010381.html
This appears not to happen in Xubuntu. I don't recall it happening in Kubuntu. It might be a fix, if you aren't overly attached to Unity or Gnome.
DeleteI've installed Kubuntu package, logged in to KDE and the problem still persists.
DeleteI found a workaround: use "Suspend" from system menu before going to suspend instead of just closing the lid.
DeleteZander, Karl, Blake - this is caused by a kernel bug in the chromeOS kernel. Please boot chromeOS and use the report a problem option in chrome to report that the kernel is sending over 13,000 events to /proc/apci/event when the lid is opened or closed on the c7 chromebook.
DeleteHas anyone had any luck getting VirtualBox to work?
ReplyDeleteOr know if ChrUbuntu is running version 3.4.0 of the customized Chrome kernel or the generic Ubuntu kernel?
There appear to be remnants of 2 or 3 prior kernels as well, resulting in a very confusing situation. This may not be related to the VirtualBox issue, but ...
Yes. THere's a thread on it over at chromebook central. I am currently running the self-compiled kernel.
DeleteThe only problem is that the Acer C7 doesn't have the virtualization turned on in the BIOS, so it doesn't run very well.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/chromebook-central/PPQFpC7mYzk
Thanks so much! I've been watching that thread too, but after being forced to re-install ChrUbuntu twice (> 12 hours downloading) I'm a little more cautious. Now, at least I know the technique works on the C7.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI've managed to build&install the updated kernel according to this manual, but...
DeleteNew kernel refused to load any .ko modules (those that have been build together with this kernel).
This issue has effectively prevented kernel from loading a WiFi module as well as VirtualBox module...
I had no errors during building and installing the kernel so I assume some changes have been committed to ChromeOS Git repo.
Does anyone have these problems with kernel built from Git sources from 22nd December?...
Having problems with the wifi. iwconfig shows an insane amount of Tx excessive retries, as well as a gagillion invalid misc. The more I use the wifi the higher they get. wifi starts out fast at 54mbps and then ramps down to 1mbps. What is going on?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAnyone tried ChrUbuntu on the new $299 Acer C710-2605 premium model w/4G RAM, 500GB HD, and 5,000mAh battery, yet?
ReplyDeletehttp://tech2.in.com/news/notebooks/acer-c7102605-chromebook-launched-for-299/641952
BTW, sent Jay $20 on his donate button. If every here does this he can at least buy a C7.
Anyone else having issues with the default password? It is not accepting "user", but I did not (knowingly) change it to anything.U
ReplyDeleteThis is after apparently successfully installing Ubuntu using Jay Lee's script i817v (from liliputing.com).
I can't reset the password, either, because it seems to still boot up into chrome OS at first (it brings up the OS verification is OFF screen); so hitting the shift key to bring up the boot menu does not work. However, it still loads into Ubuntu after this screen comes up...so perhaps I did manage to change it so it boots into Ubuntu by default? But then why is the default password no longer "user"?
I can't add another user or install any software without knowing the password...yet I'm already logged in as ChrUbuntu User every time it boots.
SO confused. Please help.
I have unfortunately re-installed this on my C7 about 10 times now. (I really should figure out a way to do this locally vs over the net for multi-installs from messing around).
DeleteThe username and password every time has been user/user. If your password is not working unfortunately the easiest way is to re-install.
The password being needed is a security feature in linux so without the password you pretty much cant do anything besides basic browsing, downloading and use of the computer.
you probably did the last line of the instructions -
sudo cgpt add -i 6 -P 5 -S 1 /dev/sda
this makes the chromebook always boot into Chrubuntu versus chrome.
If you have a backup image you can either restart with powering down. Holding the Esc F3 (refresh) and powering back up. This will say the image needs to be recovered and with the image recovery USB (If you made it) will restore the partitions and everything back to the way it was out of the box. then you can start over.
If you did not make a recovery disk you can download the image or just push space-bar to re-enable the verification and have chrome re-do it all again as well. I have used this method once and it seemed to work fine.
Good luck!
Anyone know how to completely wipe the SSD so much to even get rid of chromeos. Im trying to wipe ubuntu but the installer files will never go away and then I get a bad install that has has a lot of issues. I have tried to use recovery but it still leaves the installer files. Or does anyone know where the script stores the 52 files?
ReplyDeleteIf memory serves, /mnt/stateful_partition/ubuntu or something similar. Recovery of Chrome wipes out everything here, but the C7 has a HDD not SSD.
DeleteI cannot get bluetooth working in ChrUbuntu on my C7.. everything else works great.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the C7 really has bluetooth. I believe that ChrUbuntu expects it because we're running the kernel and modules for the Cr-48 (mario) by default.
DeleteJust installed Chrubuntu on my C7, so far got 3 problems needed to solve.
ReplyDelete1) cannot install skype - no idea why. Doesnt appear in Software center. Downloaded it from official site version for Ubuntu 12.04, still gets interrupted and doesnt install
2) webcam doesnt seem to work. Tried to record a vid on a website. It said WC is used by another program.
3) invalim iomem size error durring system loading.
Also dont think that system doesnt recognize video controler since it sais UNKNOWN.
Is there solutions for any of those problem?
thanks in advance!
AFAIK, none of these issues has been addressed, and there are several others as well. It's possible that the Acer AC700 kernel & modules might be more compatible with the C7.
DeleteDTM, I installed Skype the same way without trouble. Chat, Audio, Video now all work fine. I did an upgrade to 12.10 and I do constant updates, if that helps. I also ended up disabling all Skype sounds for all notification events from a tip I read online that Skype doesn't multiplex with PulseAudio.
DeleteWebcam works with Skype and Cheese for me, no special installs.
Follow up - the mario (default Cr-48) and zgb (AC700) kernel & module packages are identical - dead end.
DeleteI have been seeing a lot of people having trouble with Skype....your internal mic works with Skype randel? Would you mind sharing your alsamixer settings and any other relevant info....this static through the mic thing is driving me crazy
DeleteI just completed the ChrUbuntu install on my Acer C7. Not sure how long it took exactly because I kept walking away during the process. I followed the steps, had zero problems and now have a working copy of ChrUbuntu. This is my first time using Linux, so I am not sure what to do now...
ReplyDeleteJohn, read through this entire blog thread, and keep checking back for updates throughout the thread.
DeleteRun Ubuntu Software Center and browse around for software, it installs and removes right from there. Pay attention to the software ratings, requirements, and user comments.
Run "sudo apt-get update" every few days.
So far it has been working very well for me. I have two "issues" of which only one affects my normal usage.
ReplyDelete1)-the normal iomem error upon startup
2)-the touchpad became extremely glitchy when running on battery power after installing a few programs.
Awesome work everyone! Received my C7 as a gift and am now 37 hours in, with the last 30 on ChruBuntu. Only problems I have, for my needs at least are:
ReplyDelete1> mem error on boot as noted a few times above (i dont consider this a REAL problem)
2> No audio over HDMI, but I knew that going in to this
3> Virtualbox (just read through the link on recompiled kernel and will be delving inti that tomorrow morning.....expecting some reinstalls lol)
I HAVE followed instructions on creating and acriviating a swap partition, and seems to be a great option. When initially installing, I gave Chrubuntu 200G. I then shrunk my ChromeOS partition, using gparted, used that free space to create a linuxswap partition, applied, rightclicked on new swap and swaponed.
I am happily downloading my torrents onto local drive as well as USB drives, and my NAS, all flawlessly.
I also did the full updates and am NOT having any problems with trackpad, funvtion keys, brightness keys, or other problems noted above. They've either been addressed since those postings, or I just got lucky.....
I will be spending much time here, and thank everyone's effort, and hope soon, I can contribute more!
OK Do NOT use gparted for swap partition......everything was great.....UNTIL i rebooted. Reinstalling and gonna try with a swap file instead......
Deletewill update
I was afraid of that ... same here, TWICE! I finally modded the script to create the partition with cgpt and stayed within ChromeOS's 12 partition scheme.
DeleteIndeed, that will work too. I ended up making my partition 3G bigger and allocated a swap file......everything seems to be quite stable and snappy now.
DeleteNow I'm gonna try to break it all again by getting virtualbox running.......
Any input on this task (im checking the links from above posts on this for now), but I fear that all the info I CAN find is on the CR-48 and I am using an Acer C7.
Will post updates.....
Joe - Did you get the VirtualBox running? I tried walking through the thread re-compiling the kernel but I ran into an issue with the vbutil_kernel commands just not responding as expected. The library / files were copied from the chrome side to the Chrubuntu side but alas all I got was multiple re-installs.
DeleteAnother Christmas User, wondering if there is a better dual boot scenario set up for swapping between one OS and the other than manually editing the boot config. Appreciate running my Steam on a Chromebook through Ubuntu, (never thought I'd say that sentence,) but Chrome OS does have WebGL and native client coolness that Ubuntu just does not have right now.
ReplyDeleteAudio over HDMI resolved for me:
ReplyDeleteI installed puavcontrol(Pulse Audio Volume Control). When HDMI plugged into TV/Monitor via HDMI, goto Configuration Tab, and choose Digital Stereo (HDMI) Output.
Voila! I am now watching my movies fullscreen, with sound on my 60" monitor, using my C7. This lil gem keeps getting better!
Great - a solution!
DeleteAlong those lines, the fictional Bluetooth on the status bar can be suppressed by deactivating the 'Generic Bluetooth USB driver' in System Settings, Additional Drivers. However, I think support for it is compiled into the kernel.
I was hoping maybe they actually hid a bluetooth module in this badboy lol. Haven't actually done bluetooth testing, but gonna dig out a headtset and keyboard now......
DeleteJoe, thanks for the encouragement! When I first tried this on my own I failed, but after reading your comment I went back to it and got it working. Like most sound with the C7+ChrUbuntu, you have to keep raising all volumes - the Movie Player, the PulseAudio Control Panel outputs, etc.
DeleteTried installing ChrUbuntu for the first time. Messed up on the steps at first. When I tried the steps again correctly, it wouldn't work. Any reasons as to why that is?
ReplyDeleteCannot thank you enough for the development efforts. I followed the recipe over at http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/12/how-to-install-ubuntu-on-acers-199-c7-chromebook/ and all worked great.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed that all hardware on my Acer C7 works! Additionally, I am now researching removing unity and installing mate, if it goes well, I'll blog about that and link your info as well. Again, thanks so very much!
Hello, everyone...I have been religiously reading this forum for about 2 weeks ever since I got my Acer C7. I've installed 12.04, then upgraded to 12.10 with no problems. Here are my issues (which have all been stated before)...
ReplyDelete1.) Internal mic (or digital mic...not sure exactly which one) has only static when trying to record. I really only care about getting it to work with Skype so if anyone has an update on how to fix this I would be greatly in their debt. I found a commit for this on git.kernel.org but I am extremely new to Linux and pretty much everything other than basics goes over my head for now.
2.) Can get VirtualBox to work....it installed alright but when I try to run it I get a couple of errors...here they are...
Failed to open a session for the virtual machine win7.
The virtual machine 'win7' has terminated unexpectedly during startup with exit code 1.
Result Code: NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)
Component: Machine
Interface: IMachine {22781af3-1c96-4126-9edf-67a020e0e858}
THERE is this first one the next one says
Kernel driver not installed (rc=-1908)
The Virtual;Box Linux kernel driver (vboxdrv) is either not loaded or there is a permission problem with /dev/vboxdrv. Please reinstall the kernel module by executing
'/etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup'
as root. If it is available in your distribution, you should install the DKMS package first. This package keeps track of Linux kernel changes and recompiles the vboxdrv kernel module if necessary
I also get a "failed to access subUSB directory" error when going into settings
3.) Trackpad gets a little iffy when using battery power rather than charging, but it is nothing that makes it unusable.
4.) Wifi sometimes lags for a couple of minutes...I read something about other people experiencing this problem so it might just be in my head because 90% of the times I don't notice anything strage about Wifi.
I think that is all the major problems that I am dealing with on my Chromebook, but I will update as much as I can. This is the best place I have found for reporting issues and seeing people respond back. I would greatly appreciate any help that I can get on any of these errors as well as anything else people have come across to make Chrubuntu a better experience.
I am willing to give an error logs I can as long as people can be patient with a recent Linux convert who has a VERY basic understanding of what I am doing....can follow detailed directions well though.
Thanks in advance
First month update of Acer C7 w/ChrUbuntu as primary workstation. I'll try not to repeat info I have above in the blog thread.
ReplyDeleteMemory & CPU usage is better under XFCE. I only use FireFox for downloads, otherwise it's Midori full-time (which has weak keyboard shortcuts but you can add a shortcut edit plug-in). Karl's swap feature is working great. Check out my tip above for getting Skype video working. I can play DVD movies with the built-in Movie Player using a Buffalo BluRay burner (http://www.amazon.com/BUFFALO-MediaStation-Portable-Blu-Ray-Writer/dp/B003CJTQPG) after installing libdvdread4. Haven't tried burning/ripping a DVD or playing/burning/ripping a BluRay yet, I'll update when I do. Memcoder has been working great on video file conversion as well. DropBox is working as well as DropBox does (like all cloud services it has its share of write-thru problems). OpenArena plays well - FPS not impressive - but very playable. Remove UbuntuOne - it uses up way too many resources. Don't install XScreenSaver and remove it if the upgrade to 12.10 installed it. OggConvert works fine. Wine, even with OpenGL pass-thru, works fine. All the 16/64-bit game console emulators work okay - little buggy - but playable. NetFlix desktop works fine. Phatch photo batch processor works great. I'm staying away from Pan newsreader until I get more memory installed. Do use that trick of keeping htop running in a spare Ctrl-Alt-Fx TTY for those trouble times.
I haven't yet, but here's the extra 4G memory stick I plan on installing in the empty slot: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XN3OL4/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00
Let me know if you think I'm about to buy the wrong one or you think there's a better deal. Seems anything above 4G jumps from 1333MHz to a higher unnecessary bus speed.
Hit that DONATE button on Jay's blog!!!
My skype video works as well....just having an issue with the mic
DeleteAre you able to get windows programs running in wine?
DeleteCDawe, never had a problem with the mic. Maybe play with the PulseAudio Control Panel input settings?
DeleteYes, Wine works great. I've run OpenGL games under Wine and netflix-desktop runs using FireFox under Wine.
I have been having issues wil the mic as well, followed the instructions here with the ALSA mixer in the terminal. Is there a fix? It won't capture audio at all.
DeleteI have been trying to find some kind of answer for about 2 weeks....some people seem to have their mics work but unfortunately i am not one of them. Can't get a straight answer on any of multiple forums and such online. I too went through alsamixer and changed settings but nothing worked....if you find an answer I would greatly appreciate it
DeleteHey guys-I just installed Ubuntu 12.04 on my Acer C7. The only issue I've run into so far is that the mic isn't picking up any sound as well. I've tried increasing the amplification in the Sound setting menu as well as played around with the ALSA mixer and increase the volume for everything including the mic. Please let me know if any of you have an idea as to what's going on! ~Thanks
DeleteNot an owner of a C7 yet, but I thought this might help with people's wifi problems. It helped on my desktop computer running Ubuntu 12.10:
ReplyDeletehttp://askubuntu.com/questions/178547/connection-drops-out-regularly-with-a-ralink-rt2800
My suggestion would be to try compiling the compat-wireless drivers from source. You can download from: Linux Wireless - Stable
I recommend using compat-wireless-3.5.4-1-snpc
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential
tar jvxf compat-wireless-3.5.4-1-snpc.tar.bz2
cd compat-wireless-3.5.4-1-snpc
./scripts/driver-select rt2x00
make
sudo make install
I used the latest version of compat-wireless.
http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download/stable/
Hector, thanks for the help, although I think people should figure out what's going on more, first. Reason is, my Acer C7 with ChrUbuntu 12.10 has been fluently transitioning from a 6 year old Linksys 802.11b (home) to a 1 year old Cisco 802.11n (work) to hardwire ethernet without any trouble, for weeks. I even go from the hardware ethernet to the wireless N live, back and forth, without any trouble. I'm wireless about 80% of the time without any hiccups. I use Remote Desktop, DropBox, GoogleDocs, OpenArena, XChat, and other long TCP-sessions without any interruptions. I've kept SSH terminal sessions open for days, even keep checking them to make sure they're still connected and live. Since we should all be on the same C7 hardware, and updated to the same 12.04 or 12.10 Ubuntu, we should try to understand why some people are having troubles and I'm having none.
DeleteOK, I am running into an issue on 12.04 - all updates are installed and the only package I have installed is emacs. When the chromebook resumes from sleep, polkitd dbus and networkmanager go insane. Nothing helpful is in dmesg or the syslog. Anyone have any tips for how to start debugging this? Only thing I have tried so far is to disable ipv6 as there is a networkmanager error pertaining to it in the syslog when the thing resumes from sleep.
ReplyDeleteOK, I don't understand why, but the /etc/acpi/lid.sh script was causing dbus, network manager, and polkitd to freak out. I changed this script and these were no longer the problem processes. HOWEVER I noticed the system was still hovering at around 50% cpu usage with no clear culprit. Playing with it further still showed that it had nothing to do with the system going to sleep. It is actually just the process of closing the lid and opening it back up. Eventually I tried stopping acpid. I can open and close the notebook lid without problem now. Everything seems to work ok with acpid off. Anyone know any drawbacks to just permanently disabling this daemon?
Deleteoh, here is how I disabled acpid (in a shell):
Deletesudo stop acpid
sudo echo 'manual' > /etc/init/acpid.override
If this breaks something for you
sudo rm /etc/init/acpid.override
sudo start acpid
will undo this change
Dug into this further. For some reason the kernel is sending 13,000 lid events to the /proc/apci/event when you open or close the lid. This causes the /etc/apcid/lid.sh script to run 13,000 times, which is what is screwing up the other processes. I will boot back into chromeos and see if the same problem exists there...
DeleteYup happens under chromeOS, looks like a kernel bug. Probably got overlooked because chromeOS does not use apcid. This foe is beyond me.
DeleteChrubuntu maintainer, this bug will negatively impact the battery life of everyone with a c7 that closes and opens the lid of their chromebook.
How do I submit a bug report to google?
welp, I used the submit bug report thingie in chromeOS. Wonder if I will get a response.
DeleteYou could always compile a new kernel. It's a bit tricky, but the directions are here:
Deletehttps://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!searchin/chromebook-central/virtualbox/chromebook-central/PPQFpC7mYzk/eGK43-amr5gJ
Be sure to read through the entire thread--the directions are complicated.
That's funny. Killing acpid solves my lid closing (et al) issue, but when I try to invoke:
Deletesudo echo 'manual' > /etc/init/acpid.override
I get a "permission denied" error. Wonky. Gonna experiment with a different kernel config (when I get around to it).
Hint: use "Suspend" from the system menu and close the lid AFTER that :)
DeleteResult: no polkitd/dbus CPU problems.
Karl, does the c7 require any binary only drivers I know some chromebooks do. I don't see the tainted message in dmesg, but I don't know if they just removed that message from the kernel... Can't find an answer to this on google. I am just assuming there is some reason the chrubuntu script uses the official chrome OS kernel.
DeleteBlake, I am sorry my directions were bad, it has to do with the way bash interprets the command...
try:
sudo bash
echo 'manual' > /etc/init/acpid.override
exit
Sorry!
Zander:
It is inconvieniant! I want to be able to just shut the lid!
Anyone brave enough to try this ChromiumOS command in the ChromeOS Chrosh shell to get rid of the developer-mode verification screen?
ReplyDeletesudo /usr/share/vboot/bin/make_dev_ssd.sh --remove_rootfs_verification
When I tried it it gave me a very nasty warning and asked that I do the command again adding a "--partitions 2" parameter. I chickened out at that point - I'm weeks into using my C7+ChrUbuntu as my primary workstation and have way too much installed and customized to risk losing it to a reinitializing of my ChromeBook at this point.
It's from:
https://www.google.com/search?q=chromiumos.org%20poking%20around
I got an Acer C7 for Xmas and installed the ChrUbuntu and so far it is working fine.
ReplyDeleteIf I run into any issues I will report them here.
Thanks
Paul
After using the Acer C7 with ChrUbuntu for 4 hrs reading emails, scanning websites I rebooted and now I see only a black screen.
ReplyDeleteI get the "Os Verification is Off" screen, then 2 beeps and then a black screen
Any ideas?
Paul
Paul, which script did you use on the install (the last set of letter numbers on the wget command)?
DeleteWhat size partition did you choose?
when sitting at the black screen, does ctrl+alt+f1 get you to a screen with some text on it? If it doesn't there isn't really a way to troubleshoot boot errors. Just press space at the first screen and re-enable chromeos. From there you could try reinstalling.
Deletetry ctrl+d
DeleteI've replaced the internal drive with my sata internal sdd drive, replaced the wifi card with a ath5k based card that I had lying about, installed an extra 2gb RAM and updated to 12.10.
ReplyDeleteAll now seems to be working absolutely perfect and running like a dream!!
With the ath9k based card wifi was not stable and I could not share files with other machines nor my apple tv2 xbmc install as wifi showed connected but was dropping out and dropping connections with the new card all great!
Last thing to sort is to compile a better vga driver to cope with full screen 720p youtube (they play fine in chrome os).
Adam, sounds awesome....didn't think installing a new wifi card would be possible but sounds like nyou figured it out. I to noticed the 720p (and 1080p for that matter) videos didn't look so great, expecially through hdmi to a TV. So, if you ever get a new video driver or whatever you do to fix it I would like to know. Also, can you confirm that you can use the internal mic (or digital mic....I still think I am a little confused on which one is actually suppose to work)? I know that with pulseaudio and alsamixer people are having issues with Ubuntu porting the sound to programs (the one I care about is Skype) So, if yours is working I would like to know what you did, or if you didn't do anything special maybe I need to reinstall everything. Thanks
DeleteClosing the lid on the laptop freeze and other things
ReplyDeleteI have found that if I suspend the laptop before closing the lid even after hours the screen turns back on when I open it.
I have also found with dbus/polkit cpu issue only seems to happen on 12.10 and not 12.04, I'm sticking with LTS 12.04.
PS. I have been able to run NETFIX
Thanks R4
Also thanks to the previous post on the following
ReplyDeleteI have setup a swap file and I am running Unity 2D.
Lid closed
ReplyDeleteI closed my lid without suspending first and the screen was black when I opened it (5 mins). I setup F7 to "xbacklight -inc 10" so I hit F7 and the lights turned back on!
how do you go about doing that?
DeleteNevermind just got it! Thanks! big help I hated that goddamn black screen.
DeleteOk for the 100% poltid issue I set ulimits to 65k and it seems to help
ReplyDeleteI have had my C7 since Xmas now, have read this forum religiously since then, commented a few times, and done for me, a lot with this lil gem since then. First off, I want to thank the "uber geeks" who made this whole thing possible! You're script work I thoroughly appreciate. I consider myself a decent nerd, entrapped in the Windows world, and know JUST enough to be dangerous in the "linux world". I am perfectly comfortable "blowing it all out and starting over", as I have done it at least 6 times on this C7 in the first few days. Lol.
ReplyDeleteThis lil machine is awesome now. As a personal project, using Ubuntu, I am using this machine as a HPC as well as a green screen/time lapse photo capture machine, and it handles it all FLAWLESSLY. I am using a Canon Rebel Xti, and using the gphoto2 libraries with darktable as the gui front end, doing a remote capture to a "hot folder" on an external 500G Seagate My Passport Drive, and dumping it to my Windows based Chroma Key software via Wine for instant greenscreen editing on my photos. I have also set my camera on a tripod and captured a full sunrise without ANY hiccup. What I'm trying to say here is, "This little $199 machine is quite impressive!"
That being said, I, like others have said, consider myself a very good instruction follower...so for you "uber geeks" out there, please be patient and give me some solid guidance when I need it! Lol I've figured all out so far simply by taking the time to READ a LOT of these forums. The guys (and gals) that are doing the REAL work on this are doing a great job (THANKS again!) I define myself as a "high end end user" :) Look/ask/read, and this little machine will do quite a bit!
For casual users, looking for advice or information, feel free to ask me......I'm no super user, but I've had good luck getting everything I wanted to do with this C7 doing it and doing it well IMHO.
Sorry for the ramble, but I feel like a lil kid again with this machine......
Have you explored getting Audio Out to function with Skype on Video Calls? So far, I am stuck with no idea of how to make it happen.
DeleteChrUbuntu on Acer C7 with no hardware changes, all packages updated. PulseAudio. I've put all the pertinent specs I can think of, but if I've missed anything, I can flesh it out.
Thanks in advance.
Finally got my hands on an Acer C7. I installed 12.04, then did an update, then did an upgrade to 12.10. A few issues:
ReplyDelete-The video driver is "unknown."
-Whereas under 12.04 there were 4 or 5 proprietary drivers listed (one of which was an intel video driver I think), there are no proprietary drivers listed in 12.10.
-The kernel version confuses me. Vanilla 12.10 is kernel 3.5, but my 12.10 upgraded ChrUbuntu is 3.4. Does the kernel never get updates, security or otherwise?
-When my C7 is power off and I close the lid, opening the lid again automatically turns the C7 on. I didn't notice if this was the default behavior of the C7. It's annoying.
I thought there was something wrong when ChrUbuntu turned on like that, too, Hector. Seems like a default behavior. :)
DeleteI was able to get the graphics identified. I read someplace else to do this:
Deletesudo apt-get intall mesa-utils
Then I rebooted. Graphics recognized as Intel Sandybridge Mobile instead of unknown.
FYI, WXMupen64Plus, Nintendo 64 emulator, works great. I did:
ReplyDeletesudo add-apt-repository ppa:sven-eckelmann/ppa-wxwidgets2.9
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sven-eckelmann/ppa-mupen64plus
sudo apt-get update
Then from System->"Synaptic Package Manager" I selected wxmupen64plus, which installed all the dependencies. I'm using a USB Xbox360 controller and playing N64 games on the Acer C7 (Yes, with working sound). Joy!
I have chrubuntu on my acer c7 but when i go to install something from the ubuntu software center it asks for a authentication password and i have tried my login password and my google account password and i cant install anything without the authentication password
ReplyDeleteNick, perhaps it's still "user"?
Deletehey guys,
ReplyDelete1) i am very into portal and portal 2, but for some reason only the original portal works (on wine, its not on steam beta yet). I assumed this was a graphics issue since the game actually ran, it just didn't render and instead gave a gray screen. so i added the repo x-swat and upgraded all of my stuff. portal 2 worked fine, but then every time i restarted i would get a gpu hang error. any way to get graphics drivers working? would the mesa-utils mentioned in one of the recent comments work?
2) how can i upgrade to 12.10? i wasnt able to boot the last time i tried so i factory reset.
3) i keep getting an error on boot about iomem size.
sending my c7 to texas right now cuz the screen broke, i will try all of your fixes once i get it back.
Thanks,
Mathew
one thing I found when trying to install this was whenever it starts it has a message saying "Invalid iomem size. You may experience problems."
ReplyDeleteAs well the touchpad is very unresponsive. it always sticks even after I mess with sensitivity settings.
one more thing, the keyboard doesn't work. I haven't tested it all but what I found was the "@" button doesn't work in chrubuntu.
I've updated to 12.10 and fully updated patches etc I have no issues with touchpad. the @ doesnt work as you are set to US keyboard, you need to add UK keyboard and remove US under settings.
Deleteiomem error we all get just ignore it!
I have 2 of the same problems as you, Ned:
Delete1. invalid iomem size error on boot
2. touchpad can be unresponsive
No idea what's causing the iomem thing.
With the touchpad:
Occasionally I just can't get the cursor to move. I think that's more related to the system locking up than a specific touchpad issue though.
Most of my touchpad issues are with 2-finger scrolling. When I'm doing a series of 2-finger swipes to scroll down a page, ~1/20 swipes cause unintended "right clicks" from the 2 finger tap feature (I'm not smacking the touchpad then dragging my fingers though). Also when doing series of 2-finger swipes, occasionally the swipe just won't register and the page will not scroll. This lasts for ~1-3 swipes, then it kicks back in and starts scrolling again.
Interesting, my touchpad lags under direct sunlight... sometimes it may be unresponsive under the room light but it looks like making a shadow with a hand above the touchpad somehow mitigates the responsiveness issue.
DeleteTwo things I can't figure out. iptables -t nat does not work and I get make: *** /lib/modules/3.4.0/build: No such file or directory. Stop. when I was trying to compile a driver. Otherwise things seem to be functioning. I can't figure out how to right click with this mousepad though but I was able to plug in a trackball and rightclick that way. My next plan is to do something like this http://www.antonfagerberg.com/archive/my-perfect-irssi-setup and then I'm also going to use the netbook for playing offline stuff like videos etc. I'm really glad that there's an alternative to the expensive netbooks/laptops out there. My last system that worked well for me was a ASUS eeepc HE1000 and that worked well too. One thing I'd really like to know is if there's a IRC channel, Google+ Community or website or if this blogspot will be the only location for ChrUbuntu stuff.
ReplyDeleteForgot to add, this is ChrUbuntu on the Acer. If there's anything else you'd like to know about my setup ect feel free to let me know and I'll try my best to give my best answer.
DeleteJeremiah O'Neal
Tap the touchpad with two fingers for right click
DeleteThanks!!! That was driving me nuts today having to replug in a mouse to use r-click. Two fingers works quite well.
DeleteMy C7 has 8 GB of RAM now. While I'd prefer to boot Chrubuntu from flash stick or some good SDHC card, so Chrubuntu won't be wiped out by some Chrome OS silent upgrade, your installation success is still interesting to me. My questions are:
ReplyDelete1. Is it 64-bit Ubuntu 12.04 you have as Chrubuntu? If any, what went wrong after upgrading to 12.10? Is there any repo to get 13.04 beta as Chrubuntu 52 files?
2. Apart from iptables I barely have use for, what else out of essentials doesn't work?
3. Does UK keyboard work better than US (default one) in terms of Ubuntu-correct shortcuts etc.
4. Chrome OS on Acer C7 has extremely low audio volume (and nobody out of CrOS developers cares). How is audio volume in Chrubuntu on C7? Does ALSAMixer work?
5. How good XBMC works with HD content, both streaming and static files (esp. from Google Drive)? Sopcast? Veetle? Vimeo? MythTV with HDTV USB dongle?
------------------------
I'm here: http://fineoils.blogspot.com
@maroger
Delete8G:
Having read your post, I hate myself for buying a 2G stick at Frys yesterday. I console myself with the fact that it was only us$12. Furthermore, ark.intel.com indicates that max mem for the Celeron 847 is 16G. They do mention a caveat about memory type, so 8G might actually be a working max for this platform
12.10:
Works great, you will get prompted for the upgrade after you have 12.04 operating.
Audio Volume:
Works great. I am using my c710 to listen to streaming radio thru it's speakers while i do housework.
I cant speak to the rest of your questions, all the stuff that i care about works.
My own additional input:
I yanked the 320G HD and stuck in a 60G patriot SSD and reinstalled CrOS and then chrubuntu. This is working very nicely. lowered the weight and battery drain and bumped the performance.
THE C710 HAS BLUETOOTH. THE SPECS LIE. IT'S CURRENTLY PAIRED WITH MY PHONE.
us$200 for a laptop. us$70 to double the ram and add an SSD. What an awesome deal.
Been having a problem with my chromebook waking up in its bag. Major bummer to find out it is dead with no charger around. Anyways, I made the following script and added it to the root crontab set to run every minute. Solved the waking up issue for me.
ReplyDelete#!/bin/bash
lidstate=$(cat /proc/acpi/button/lid/*/state | grep closed | wc -l)
if [ $lidstate == "1" ]; then
echo "Thought lid was open when it was closed" >> /root/trackbadlid
pm-suspend
fi
does anybody have any thoughts about how to get hibernate to work with this thing?
ReplyDeletesudo pm-hibernate doesnt do anything other than return and i am not seeing any interesting messages in dmesg. Is there another place I should look for error messages for this?
This is my personal primary defect with the platform and I have enuf development skills to actually work on this if i can figure out where to start.
Spaz, you might easily get this working if you add a physical swap partition to your chromebook and edit the commandline passed to the kernel when it boots. I think the commandline is resume=/dev/whatever. Since the chromebook does not use grub, I suggest checking out the chromiumOS page to find out how to edit the kernel command line
DeleteOk, after some hacking, I made an alsa patch that gets the internal microphone working. For everyone else, just plug headphones into the headphone jack, adjust the volumes in alsamixer, and enjoy your now working mic untill ubuntu patches alsa.
ReplyDelete