Installing a digital drive drive using Fedora Linux

by Wirehead

Rightardia upgraded an HP NC 8000 laptop and with a refurb Toshiba 60 GB drive that lasted about two weeks before it failed. Wirehead thought it would make make more sense to purchase a digital drive that had no moving parts.

We looked a Tiger Direct and found a PATA drive that would work but it was only 16GB. For the same price we ordered the big brother 32 GB Kingspec SSD Professional drive from China. 

It took about 2.5 weeks for the drive to arrive, but we are happy that we have the extra space. However, it was a bear to install on Linux.

We experimented with Ubuntu Linux 9.04, 9.10, 10.04 and the brand new 10.04 and Ubuntu Netbook.  We also tried Linux Mint and Dream Linux, a Brazilian Linux version, and even XP Pro. 

The digital drives specs indicate it was tested with XP Pro, but XP Pro could not detect the drive. We found that the latest 32-bit version of Ubuntu Linux 9.10 Live could format the drive. However, there are a few items you need to pay attention to.

Before you try to install Ubuntu Live 9.10, make sure you can see the drive in Desktop Places after you boot off of the CD. You will have to go into the BIOS and setup your laptop to boot off of the CD.

Make sure the new partition is bootable if you have this option by checking the bootable radio button.


If you cannot see the drive , you will have to reformat until you can see it in Desktop Places. You can use the Gnome Disk Utility to reformat the drive.

Wirehead prefers the Disk Utility because it it allows you to delete the partition, reformat the drive and make the drive bootable. The GParted utility can also  be able to detect a missing drive.

We recommend that you reformat the drive as EXT 2 if Linux installer can't see the drive and then reboot off of the CD. Now the Linux installer will be able to see the drive and in step 4 of the Linux install, it will reformat the drive with an EXT3 or EXT4  format. 

If the disk doesn't boot, reboot using the CD and use the Disk Utility to check the a partitions to make sure they are bootable. also make sure the disk is mounted. Make sure you unmount the drive before you try to install Linux.

If it still won't boot, reboot off of the CD and reinstall the Linux Live Ubuntu 9.10 OS.

After installation, you will be prompted to remove the CD or DVD. We also recommend you change the BIOS boot options to boot off of the HD.

Wirehead found he could get Ubutu 9.10 to work on the digital drive, but the updates to the OS created a mess.

Wirehead had run into a similar problem when he formatted his wife's PC for Linux more than a year ago. He used a Fedora ll (Red Hat Linux) to format the PATA hard drive so he could install Ubuntu Linux 9.04.

His wife has been happily using Ubuntu for more than a year without much trouble and not a single reinstall. 

When Wirehead bought the recent copy of Linux Pro magazine, he noticed that a copy of Fedora 13 was enclosed. He tried installing Fedora 13.

Back to the drawing boards. The first Fedora install failed because the Grub boot loader did get installed at the very end of the Fedora install. The second install worked, but installing Adobe Flash and better screensavers locked up Fedora 13. The third attempt was a success.

Fedora 13 is a cut above Ubuntu Linux in many respects. It is as pretty as Linux Mint and has an excellent firewall front end.  The wireless connection came up a lot faster than in Ubuntu which may take a 30-minute wait after the wireless adapter is manually configured with a static IP address. The updates worked and did not corrupt the OS.

Here is what a Fedora formatted digital drive looks like.

This is what the Fedora LVM volume or partition looks like:

A digital drive is quiet and resistant to vibration. The drive is expected to last 10,000 hours. Oh yes, the drive is very fast. One blogger, Ben Moore, reported:

With the Hitachi HD the (Thinkpad) X40 took 2:14 to hibernate and 1:05 to resume. With the KingSpec SSD it takes :29 to hibernate and :20 to resume. These aren't terribly scientific nor comprehensive but they are what I care about.

A digital HD is a great update for an older laptop. You need some patience to get this drive to work in Linux.

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HP NC8000 laptop rebuild update

Rightardia rebuilt an HP NC8000 for $104. See the original article at http://rightardia.blogspot.com/2010/08/building-laptop.html

We also decided to upgrade the 10GB HD we had on hand with a Toshiba 60GB drive that cost $30.00. So for another $80.00, you can have a 60GB HD, another 1GB of RAM and a speedy wireless INTERNET connection. The total got up to $184.00.

Rightardia Also found a great padded case with an HP logo on it for $15.00 and a port expander for $12.00 ON EBay. An automobile PS charger was $5.00

What upgrades gave the most bang for the buck? The new hard drive improved performance, but the laptop flew when we added one GB of RAM. The 802.11 n adapter (D-LINK DWA-140 WIRELESS N USB ADAPTER DLINK 802.11n) really improved browsing speed.

We liked the port replicator, too.  It gave us two more USB ports and a better typing angle. The laptop is elevated, too, for better cooling. The port replicator has a Gigabit Ethernet port, two PS2, ports, a DVI and analogue video port and specialized audio ports including SPDIF.

The port replicator fits in the HP case so it is portable. We are very happy with this laptop. It has a P6 CPU that is quick, and You Tube video and audio is lag less.

With the laptop case and port replicator as well as a an automobile power supply, the complete system is under $215.00.



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Building a laptop

You can purchase a laptop for around $300 at Wal-Mart. Rightardia decided to build one using parts from Ebay.

We started by purchasing a bare bones HP NC 8000 laptop on Ebay. It came with a 1.7GhZ CPu, 512 MB RAM and a DVD player. The laptop cost $81.00 from Reclamere in Tyrone, PA. We have seen this laptop from other sellers on Ebay for under $50.00.Rightardia was able to get the laptop operational with a 1OGB hard drive, 512MB RAM, Linux Mint and an 802.11g wireless adapter. .

We had to purchase an external power supply and a hard drive caddy for the  expansion slot. The power supply cost $9.72 and the caddy cost $12.99. We also bought a used port replicator for $9.99, a HP laptop bag, a 802.11n wireless USB device  (D-LINK DWA-140 WIRELESS N USB ADAPTER DLINK 802.11n) for $20.00 and another GB or RAM for $30.00.

We purchased the missing parts form Hong Kong to save money. We got the HP NC8000 to work for $104.00, but this price didn't include shipping.  Be prepared for a two week wait or longer for Chinese parts.

We also decided to upgrade the 10GB HD we had on hand wih a Toshiba 60GB drive that cost $30.00. So for another $80.00, you can have a 60GB HD, another 1GB of RAM and a speedy wireless INTERNET connection. The total is now up to $184.00.

We recommend the 802.11n wireless USB adapter if you have an 802.11n gateway/router in you home. It was big improvement to the Netgear 802.11g wireless adapter we had been using.

We got a real HP case for $10 dollars and a port replicator for another $10 bucks. The port replicator offers:

• Dual 2.0 USB ports
• PS / 2 compatibility
• VGA
• Digital video out
• S-Video
• Serial port
• SPDIF audio
• Audio in/out
• IEEE 1394 firewire
• 10/100 ethernet

The operating system was free because we used Ubuntu Linux mint which worked great! We also recommend you purchase a laptop bag or case. If you have any laptop parts around your house, you may be able to trim these costs even more.

In summary, you can put together a nice laptop kit with case, upgrades and a port replicator for under $200. A key issue is the operating system. Linux Mint runs great on older laptops and is free. Expect performance losses if you use Windows XP or Windows 7.

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MSNBC: Are desktop PCs headed for extinction?

by Wilson Rothman

When I woke up this morning, for one second, I wanted an iMac. The new ones, announced today, have smokin' quad-core chips, gigabyte ATI graphics cards, terabyte internal drives and other equally impressive-sounding jargon. But then I remembered they can't go anywhere. Laptops rule, right?

It's true that 75 to 80 percent of computer sales these days are laptops. But nearly 90 percent of American homes still have a trusty desktop PC, compared to just 50 percent with laptops, says sales-tracking firm NPD. How can that be?

Most households treat a desktop computer like they treat a big-screen TV, says NPD tech-industry analyst Stephen Baker. It's up for grabs, and everyone shares it.

The desktop is where the family photos are kept, where music lives. It's more comfortable for older buyers who prefer larger screens and full-size keyboards. Parents like being able to keep tabs on the online activities of young kids. And enthusiasts who edit video or play games get more power per dollar in a desktop.

Desktops are far easier to repair and upgrade than laptops and have better cooling systems. Most laptops have a fan in them the size or an eraser head and if it fails, the laptop is toast. Many laptops have to be repaired by specialists or sent to the manufacturer for repair.


Laptops come in array of sizes: net books, notebooks, laptops and heavy desktop replacements. Laptops are selling well because you can buy them for less than $500 today. The latest Acer special at Wal-Mart was $299.


Some people in Microsoft thought the desktop PC might be replaced with a desktop home server. Rightardia thinks that idea makes sense and perhaps one day it will catch on. There is a steep learning curve for servers, however.

source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38437158/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

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