I love my netbook

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Peter Linu
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I love my netbook

Post by Peter Linu »

Hiyall,
I have an Asus EeePC 1015 netbook that I love to use. I have bin told on this very forum that it is no better than a horse and cart in this era of unlimited speed, freeway driving.
The issue is its 32 bit Atom N455 CPU in a 64 bit world.
Expense aside, is it about replacing hardware or is it software that can be replaced?
If it is hardware, will some knowledgeable soul give me some name/number details?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 4 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Cinnamon 21.3 Thinkcentre M920Q + 2 Thinkpad T440p (modded) + Lenovo Y50-70 (all have VBs) + 2 PC NAS drives w XFCE21.2 + Win7 Starter-32bit on ASUS Atom (2011) [and a few others]
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Re: I love my netbook

Post by freshminted »

You can "surf" the web on an apple 2, but you'd have to have a really good reason to do so nowadays. I love my em250 netbook too (I'm typing this reply on it) but the reality is that it is slow, old and occasionally crashes rendering webpages in firefox. Hidef videos don't play very well. This is only going to get worse. There is no upgrade path, the solution is to totally upgrade the hardware by buying a new computer.
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Peter Linu
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Re: I love my netbook

Post by Peter Linu »

slow, old and occasionally crashes...just like its owner.
I'm afraid that was going to be said. I guess like you, I continue to use it until it becomes embarrassing!
Cinnamon 21.3 Thinkcentre M920Q + 2 Thinkpad T440p (modded) + Lenovo Y50-70 (all have VBs) + 2 PC NAS drives w XFCE21.2 + Win7 Starter-32bit on ASUS Atom (2011) [and a few others]
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Re: [SOLVED] (sob) I love my netbook

Post by Reddog1 »

Mint won't work, but if you are up for a challenge there are some distros optimized for atoms. If it was mine, i`d play with it to see if I could make something useful
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Re: [SOLVED] (sob) I love my netbook

Post by Peter Linu »

Oh Reddog1,
Pray tell, which distros are optimised for Atoms?
Cinnamon 21.3 Thinkcentre M920Q + 2 Thinkpad T440p (modded) + Lenovo Y50-70 (all have VBs) + 2 PC NAS drives w XFCE21.2 + Win7 Starter-32bit on ASUS Atom (2011) [and a few others]
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Re: [SOLVED] (sob) I love my netbook

Post by RollyShed »

I have here an Acer eMachines 350 with an Atom N450 CPU which originally had WinXP on it. For security when travelling I installed 32 bit Linux MATE on it. However to check it out the other day I plugged a Linux Mint Cinnamon 20.3 SSD in and yes it worked though not fast.
Quite a few years ago, when in Australia, I changed the RAM from 1GB to 2GB.

Those "32 bit" CPUs are actually 64 bit.
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Re: [SOLVED] (sob) I love my netbook

Post by RollyShed »

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Peter Linu
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Re: [SOLVED] (sob) I love my netbook

Post by Peter Linu »

Those "32 bit" CPUs are actually 64 bit.
I don't understand. How can it be "actually 64 bit"?

You seem to have been around the block a few times. Explain this to me. About a year ago I replaced the HDD with a SSD drive and installed 2Gb RAM. I then installed Mint XFCE. It flew! It became the fastest laptop in my not-inconsiderable stable. I used/use it for audio playback only but was taking a well-earned break. Turning it on after about a year, it was noticeably slower. What other thing(s) could cause it to slow down?
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Re: [SOLVED] (sob) I love my netbook

Post by RollyShed »

Peter Linu wrote: Sat May 28, 2022 3:19 amI don't understand. How can it be "actually 64 bit"?
They came with 32 bit software and all of the inference was that they were only 32 bit computers but the CPU is actually 64 bit.

As for your one going slower, the first thing that came to mind was you need to wind it up again.... Oops, Sorry.... :cry:
There is though the question, running on battery or mains. It shouldn't make a different but...

Anyone else with a suggestion on the slow-down problem?
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Re: [SOLVED] (sob) I love my netbook

Post by Peter Linu »

It's always on mains.
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Re: (sob) I love my netbook

Post by Hoser Rob »

As mentioned above, the CPU is 64 bit but many think it's 32 bit because they were shipped with Windows 7 32 bit. 64 bit Win7 wouldn't have worked.

ALso as mentioned, even Mint Xfce is a bit of a stretch. I'd try a distro that caters to old/weak hardware. Try Antix.
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Re: (sob) I love my netbook

Post by karlchen »

Hi, Peter Linu.

The output of a simple inxi -C (capital C like in CPU) will tell beyond doubt, whether the CPU is a 64-bit CPU or a 32-bit CPU only.
Example from my Zotac, where I am typing right now:

Code: Select all

$ inxi -C
CPU:       Info: dual core model: Intel Atom 330 bits: 64 type: MT MCP cache: L2: 1024 KiB
           Speed (MHz): avg: 1600 min/max: N/A cores: 1: 1600 2: 1600 3: 1600 4: 1600
Line 1 in the middle: bits: 64. This tells that this Atom 330 is a 64-bit CPU.
The problem affecting netbooks was/is that their CPU's may be 64-bit, but they are sof poorly eqipped with resources that running a 64-bit operating system on them is no real joy.

By the way, your Intel Atom N455 should be a 64-bit CPU. At least this is what the Intel webpage suggests: Intel Atom® Processor N455 512K Cache, 1.66 GHz
Intel® 64 ‡ Yes
Instruction Set 64-bit
Again: a simple inxi -C will confirm so or not.

Cheers,
Karl
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Peter Linu
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Re: (sob) I love my netbook

Post by Peter Linu »

Hi Karl,
Indeed you are correct. It is 64 bit. NOW we're getting somewhere!
You state:"So poorly equipped with resources". This begs the question: Are there modifications that can be made to improve the performance. I prefer that route to having to install (and learn) a smaller OS.
Cinnamon 21.3 Thinkcentre M920Q + 2 Thinkpad T440p (modded) + Lenovo Y50-70 (all have VBs) + 2 PC NAS drives w XFCE21.2 + Win7 Starter-32bit on ASUS Atom (2011) [and a few others]
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Re: I love my netbook

Post by Peter Linu »

Hoser Bob,
They actually were shipped with Win 7 32 - 'Starter Edition'. An even more reduced Win 7 and from usage, I'd say even smaller than Mint XFCE.
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Re: I love my netbook

Post by Reddog1 »

Antix, puppy, bohdi are all designed for low resource machines. Also, sparky Linux has low resource versions. They all will run with 1gb of ram. With 2gb you might get by with mint mate or xfce but there are better choices than mint for weak machines. EndeavourOs xfce runs fine with 2gb
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Peter Linu
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Re: I love my netbook

Post by Peter Linu »

I'm resigning myself to installing a smaller OS. Probably antiX Basic. I have just been researching browsers. They all want to give me email client, chat room and a host of other things as well. All I want is a browser that will be used for no other reason than hardware/software upgrades. My main computer is where I surf.
Any advise?
Cinnamon 21.3 Thinkcentre M920Q + 2 Thinkpad T440p (modded) + Lenovo Y50-70 (all have VBs) + 2 PC NAS drives w XFCE21.2 + Win7 Starter-32bit on ASUS Atom (2011) [and a few others]
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Re: I love my netbook

Post by Peter Linu »

Apologies.
Any advice?
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Re: I love my netbook

Post by ivar »

I salvaged a HP 5103 10" netbook from the scrap pile at work. Atom CPU, 1 GB ram, 500 GB disk. Such a nifty little pc looking for a purpose, lol.

I found an additional 1 GB memory module but havent got it to recognize it. Also should have put in a SSD..
For OS I installed Raspberry PI OS 32bit for x86. Seems to run nice & smooth - right until I open a browser :mrgreen:
So, the pc still sits on my desk, mostly just looking cool, lol! I envision using it somewhere as a SSH console or something
Last edited by ivar on Sun May 29, 2022 9:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Peter Linu
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Re: I love my netbook

Post by Peter Linu »

It seems that all owners love their netbooks and find it difficult to part with them!
Do yourself a favour and add an SSD and 2Gb RAM. You won't regret it.
Cinnamon 21.3 Thinkcentre M920Q + 2 Thinkpad T440p (modded) + Lenovo Y50-70 (all have VBs) + 2 PC NAS drives w XFCE21.2 + Win7 Starter-32bit on ASUS Atom (2011) [and a few others]
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Re: I love my netbook

Post by Hoser Rob »

PCDoctor wrote: Sat May 28, 2022 7:56 pm ...Try MX. its not the smallest but it may support more stuff
I run MX 21 KDE on my main Linux box and it's great. But I also tried the MX Fluxbox edition. Fluxbox is not a full DE, it's a window manager, yet it's no lighter than MX Xfce. MX and ANtix are related and Antix is the light one. MX refers to themselves as midweight.
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