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 $

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