Tuesday 6 August 2024 Upgrade of the OCC laptop ========================= During the 2024 edition of the Old Computer Challenge, I ussd an old Acer Aspire One 522 POVE6. This laptop came with a spinning disk and only 760 Mb RAM. I ran the challenge X-less, no X11 or Xorg. I did like the form factor of this laptop. It has a 10.1 inch display with a resolution of 1280x720. The challenge is over, and I wanted to see if this little laptop can also work as a X11/Xorg workstation. Opening the laptop ------------------ To discover the options to upgrade, I decided to try to open it. To get access to the internals, one has to start with removing the keyboard. A scary operation, because the keyboard is fastened by some notches on the house, that holds the top edge of the keyboard, just above the function keys. Using a small screwdriver I was able to lift the keyboard, but in the process the F3, F4 and the Pause/Break key caps came loose. After lifting the keyboard, some screws become accessible. Removing these makes it possible to remove a hatch at the bottom of the laptop, to get access to the hard disk and the memory. With the case open I could confirm that the laptop is equipped with a 2.5 inch SATA disk, and an 1 GB DDR 3-1333 SO-DIMM, the 1.5 Volt variant. The video takes some memory, leaving only 760 Mb for the operating system. Going cannibalistic ------------------- Somewhere I had read that the maximum memory this laptop supports is 1 GB. Also I read that the processor, an AMD C60, can support up to 8 GB RAM, probably in a 2x4 GB setup. Not wanting to order memory with the chance that it would not work, I started looking for an solution. One of my laptops, and old HP laptop, was equipped with a SO-DIMM with the text "PCL3-12800s" on its sticker. It looked like this might fit in the Acer, and on the internet I read that it should work in a DDR-3 1333 slot. I gave it a try, and indeed the Acer booted nice and reported 4 GB RAM :) Next, I started looking for an SSD to replace the spinning disk. I happened to have a 120 GB Kingston SSD, that I used in my former jail-server [1]. I replaced the spinning disk with this SSD. The laptop --with still the keyboard loose and the bottom hatch removed-- booted from this SSD, so all problems solved. FreeBSD 14.1 ------------ After installing FreeBSD 14.1 on the laptop. I installed the package `drm-kmod', and added a line to /etc/rc.conf: kld_list=radeonkms Also, I installed the Xorg packages and the package for the ratpoison window manager. After a reboot, the display went to the higher resolution, confirming that the radeon driver worked. The command "startx" started a Xorg session, with a working mouse and I was greeted by the green window borders of the nostalgic TWM window manager. And all this without any additional configuration :) Ratpoison --------- Next, I copied some config files from the home directory on my ThinkPad X201 to the Acer, like ~/.Xresources, ~/.xinitrc, and ~/.ratpoisonrc, and also some files from the ~/bin-directory, like the small script that loads the current windows into ratmen. As far as I remember, there is no FreeBSD package for ratmen, and I copied ratmen from `/usr/local/bin/' from my X201 to the Acer. I removed a number of lines from the config files, because currently there is not much software on the Acer, and I want to keep it without Firefox, just the textmode browsers eww, lynks and links, to keep the enshittifacation at bay Typing 'exit' in the left xterm in TWM shutdown the X session and return you to the console. After this, a 'startx' opened a new Xorg session, with the great ratpoison window manager. Mission accomplished :) Xterm font ---------- In ~/.Xresources for xterm I set the font 8x13. I am now typing this with this font. I looks good in this display, a bit on the small size, but that is expected on a mere 10.1 inch display. Using ssh I have opened Emacs on my jail server, and have two windows side-by-side. Without any counting, I estimate to have at least 80 chars in either window. First impressions ----------------- I have only used some text mode applications, like ssh, lynx, and links, and all this works fine. Opening a web page with `links -g' is snappy enough! Next I am going to install Emacs and CCL, and see how that goes. Just like I discovered during the Old Computer Challenge, the touchpad is sensitive for your hands on the palm rests. Maybe this sensitivity can be tuned, something to investigate. Enjoyable netbook ----------------- With the memory upgrade, running X with the ratpoison window manager seem to do no harm. So far, I am pleasantly surprised with the performance. The low power consumption, because of the C60 processor and the small display, are a nice bonux. I expect to enjoy working with this small, light weight and energy-efficient netbook. [1]: gopher://box.matto.nl/0/painless-freebsd-server-migration.txt Last edited: $Date: 2024/08/06 19:41:06 $