Hi all,

Been looking at the Asus eee-901 netbooks and they look to be a nice little product. I would ideally look at getting the Linux version as it has more storage but with the peripherals we have and the fact that we now have a wi-fi network printer that has no linux support it looks like it'd have to be XP on the little machine.

Now the extra 8gb of storage on the Linux version isn't an issue as i have an 8gb SD card sat doing nothing on my desk. So rather than get the Linux version and re-install XP (which would also obviously mean purchasing an XP licence from somewhere) i was looking at just getting the XP version of the 901 from the start which has the slimmed down netbook version of XP pre-installed.

Now to the bit i'm looking for assitance on. I know the C: on the unit is only 4gb and keep seeing the odd report by people saying that as soon as XP is updated it fills the C: drive completely..... Can anyone confirm this for me..... I'm assuming this might be the case if you also have programs installed on the drive instead of using the D: drive for programs and keeping the C: drive solely for the OS. Also i'm assuming doing a little housework and removing unwanted functions from XP and moving the My Docs folder etc... to the D: would also help.

So there we go..... Anyone got the XP version of this little fella that would like to share their experience with me?

Cheers

Dave.

I would ideally look at getting the Linux version as it has more storage but with the peripherals we have and the fact that we now have a wi-fi network printer that has no linux support it looks like it'd have to be XP on the little machine.

My friend has the Acer model, with Linux, and has had nothing but trouble trying to connect to the university wifi network. In my opinion its worth going for the XP for hassle free compatibility with any gadgets or peripherals you may go for.

Now the extra 8gb of storage on the Linux version isn't an issue as i have an 8gb SD card sat doing nothing on my desk. So rather than get the Linux version and re-install XP (which would also obviously mean purchasing an XP licence from somewhere) i was looking at just getting the XP version of the 901 from the start which has the slimmed down netbook version of XP pre-installed.

Good idea, I have a 16GB SDHC to store my documents on, as I have heard that the flash memory on the Asus EEE has a very short lifespan if its used alot. I managed to loose all my data on the 8GB drive as I moved My Documents and temp internet files to it. It wasnt a fatal failure, but inconvenient. I moved everything back to the C drive but as its limited to only a few GB be sure to put shortcuts in My Documents to the other hard drive and regularly clear the temp internet files.

Now to the bit i'm looking for assitance on. I know the C: on the unit is only 4gb and keep seeing the odd report by people saying that as soon as XP is updated it fills the C: drive completely..... Can anyone confirm this for me..... I'm assuming this might be the case if you also have programs installed on the drive instead of using the D: drive for programs and keeping the C: drive solely for the OS. Also i'm assuming doing a little housework and removing unwanted functions from XP and moving the My Docs folder etc... to the D: would also help.

Yes, the C drive can fill very fast, so be careful what you install and if possible direct the install to the D drive instead. My C drive shows 3.72GB and has 1.06 free with only XP (with SP3 and all updates) on it (and nothing in My Documents). Some people choose to uninstall XP and reinstall it slip streamed, but for me there is no advantage to it.

I suppose it all depends on how much you use it and what for with regards to the drives to be honest. I only use mine for checking mail, internet shopping, MSN, and mostly MS Word to take notes on. Its fine for watching movies on also, and I even have rollercoaster tycoon and a couple of other little games on it if I get bored in a lecture.

Keyboard size is perfect, and after a day of use I was touch typing on it just as I would a full size keyboard.

Battery life is unbeleivable, got wifi on, super performance mode( which overclocks it to 1.66GHz or something), screen brightness at full, and its saying 92% 4hrs 10mins left.

I can squeeze 8hrs if Im careful with it.

If you need anything else just give me a shout!

Mike

Thanks Mike for your input..... Looks like the XP version is the way to go then.... And to keep the C: for windows only with all other files/programs on the other drive or SD card.

Mike did you remove anything from the XP install to strreamline it a little more or is your install the standard netbook XP install with SP3 and updates?

Cheers

Dave.

Dave - I had cause to sort a 701 for someone, that had Linux on it and the 4Gb SSD. Found it really difficult to keep the install for XP down much lower than 3Gb. Ridiculous really.

Also, consider the HP 2133. Recently had a proper look round it and feel the build quality is superior to the 'Eastern specials'. Cracking price from Misco currently IMO:

HP 2133 Mini Note (Linux) - Misco.co.uk

Steve

Mike did you remove anything from the XP install to strreamline it a little more or is your install the standard netbook XP install with SP3 and updates?

Nah, just did a disk cleanup and removed any installation files.

PS, mines the 901 just incase I didnt mention it.

Dave - I had cause to sort a 701 for someone, that had Linux on it and the 4Gb SSD. Found it really difficult to keep the install for XP down much lower than 3Gb. Ridiculous really.

Also, consider the HP 2133. Recently had a proper look round it and feel the build quality is superior to the 'Eastern specials'. Cracking price from Misco currently IMO:

HP 2133 Mini Note (Linux) - Misco.co.uk

Steve

Must admit that's a good price Steve but i'd have to add a windows install too as Linux isn't an option so it would be back up to more than i can get the 901 for..... Plus battery life is only stated as 2-3 hours compared to the 6-10 hours of the Asus.

It's defo going to be something without a HDD as i have enough storage for what it's going to be used for..... If ever more is needed we have a 500gb external drive that can be connected too. I'd rather have longer battery life than more storage.

Cheers

Dave.

Edited 19 January, 200917 yr by WaveyDavey

Is that an independent test figure for the Asus battery life Dave? Sounds very impressive if it is

I would have expected a better performance than 3hrs out of the 2133 to be fair though, considering the screen size/CPU. They must be limited in the size of battery they can fit. My dual-core 2510p HP on Vista can manage nearly 5hrs on the std battery

Steve

Is that an independent test figure for the Asus battery life Dave? Sounds very impressive if it is

I would have expected a better performance than 3hrs out of the 2133 to be fair though, considering the screen size/CPU. They must be limited in the size of battery they can fit. My dual-core 2510p HP on Vista can manage nearly 5hrs on the std battery

Steve

I've seen three or four independant reviews of the 901 that when underclocking the CPU have battery figures of anything up to 10 hours..... (The 901 has the ability to underclock / overclock the CPU as reqd.... 1.3Ghz through to 1.8Ghz. Plus it's the new Atom CPU which has been designed for use in Netbooks etc....) The HP only has a 3 cell battery compared to the 901's 6 cell battery.

Cheers

Dave.

I've seen three or four independant reviews of the 901 that when underclocking the CPU have battery figures of anything up to 10 hours..... (The 901 has the ability to underclock / overclock the CPU as reqd.... 1.3Ghz through to 1.8Ghz. Plus it's the new Atom CPU which has been designed for use in Netbooks etc....) The HP only has a 3 cell battery compared to the 901's 6 cell battery.

Cheers

Dave.

I have to admit 10 hours sounds a bit optimistic, 8 hours is probably more what you can get. I think 10 hours must have been with it just sat on a bench not doing anything lol.

You may well be right there Mike..... But 8 hours is still probably double what some of the other HDD fitted netbooks will get.

Cheers

Dave.

I have the 701 with the 4GB SSD on it, and a full fat version of XP Pro SP3 installed on it. The key to getting it to work in a tidy fashion is to use hardlinking, using this you can move some key windows system folders off the C: drive to an SD card. I have an 8GB SD card in mine, and hardlinked the windows\software distribution folder , moved the documents folder (you can do this without hardlinking). You can also move the temp internet files, the temp folder and several others to keep the used space down. Just remember to install your apps onto the sd card and all should be good. I still have 1.2GB free on my 4GB c: drive. I also have the windows paging file disabled, to do this I upgraded the ram to 2GB to give enough space to run programs.

I've already priced the 2gb DIMM for the 901.

I think i'm a lot happier now getting the XP version and just slimming it down a little. The 901 has the 8gb D: drive as well as the 4gb C: so along with the 8gb SDHC card i have it'll be plain sailing when it comes to apps / file storage.

Cheers

Dave.

For about £130 you can buy a 64Gb SSD card that just replaces the one already in the slot in your eeePC. That one is MLC. I have the 64Gb SLC drive which was £400 when I bought it, but it's very quick, and installing XP is no trouble at all now:D

I've just been having a nosey around on the Asus website at the eee pc pages and found they have a utility in the eee pc downloads section called eee PC shrinker..... Used to streamline the OS install on the C: drive to free up space. Might be worth a look at as & when.

Cheers

Dave.

My friend has the Acer model, with Linux, and has had nothing but trouble trying to connect to the university wifi network.

If it's the Aspire One, make sure he's done all of the patches as there are updates for just about everything from out of the box. The wireless patch improves stability - I've managed to connect ours to just about everything without a single hitch. Use the connection manager to specify the settings rather than the autodetect as you can confirm that all is correct that way.

The penny's just dropped here as to one reason for the battery life difference between the 901 and models such as HP's 2133. The HP has a 120Gb 'normal' HDD in it. The SSDs must use a hell of a lot less juice

Steve

The penny's just dropped here as to one reason for the battery life difference between the 901 and models such as HP's 2133. The HP has a 120Gb 'normal' HDD in it. The SSDs must use a hell of a lot less juice

Steve

Yep you got it fella. Also the newer Intel Atom processor has a very low power consumption too which all helps.

For what it would be used for 12gb plus an 8gb SDHC card will be plenty enough storage.

Cheers

Dave.

I should have spotted that earlier to be fair - ah well, it is a Monday after all!

Have a play with a few models is what I'd suggest, if possible. I wasn't that taken with the quality and feel of the Asus. Quite a few others to choose from

Steve

If it's the Aspire One, make sure he's done all of the patches as there are updates for just about everything from out of the box. The wireless patch improves stability - I've managed to connect ours to just about everything without a single hitch. Use the connection manager to specify the settings rather than the autodetect as you can confirm that all is correct that way.

Nah, its that they are using WPA Enterprise with PEAP and MS-CHAPv2 and his laptop doesnt have it as an option in the network settings. Works fine on home networks though.

I'm pretty such the Acer meets the post 2003 Wifi certification standards, and as such should find that particular combination a cakewalk. If it doesn't then Acer have dropped the ball in a potentially lawsuit-inducing way.. especially as the combination you've suggested isn't a rare one on W2K and above networks, especially those with Cisco kit knocking around. I'm pretty sure I'ver had mine on a similar network with no hiccups, but I couldn't swear to it. Third party driver time!

Linux can be a pain in the proverbial when it comes to wireless connections (whether it's wlan or printer servers) so XP might be a prudent choice in your position.

I've a 900 running Linux and have learnt quite a few useful things from EeeUser.com ASUS Eee PC 701, 900, 901, 1000 Blog Forum Wiki Community - could be worth a visit, a lot of peeps with xp installed discussing their various headaches there

If you want a netbook don't buy anything without an Intel Atom in it and at least an 80g HD, the £80 you save is more than accounted for with these bits and double memory and XP over Linux, and a lot of them are re-branded MSI Wind's.

If you want a netbook don't buy anything without an Intel Atom in it and at least an 80g HD, the £80 you save is more than accounted for with these bits and double memory and XP over Linux, and a lot of them are re-branded MSI Wind's.

But why do i need an 80gb HD for browsing the net and word processing??? I'd rather have double the battery life.

This is being used as a second laptop and a 3rd choice computer in our house not an only computer or laptop.

Cheers

Dave.

I'd go with the Atom recommendation, but not necessarily on the HDD option. Depends what individual needs are.

But I think you've grasped these two issues anyway

Steve

I've just bought an Acer Aspire One from ASDA for 150 quid.

Intel Atom, 512MB ram, 160GB HDD.

Currently running Linux which isn't a problem but as I plan to use it for VCDS (VAG-COM) it will have to be XP'd at some point. Will probably dual boot just need the time at the moment to sort it out.