Arch Linux on the Asus 1015e

Since I bought my Asus 1015e I have installed and configured too many GNU/Linux operating systems on it. Debian Testing, Elementary OS, Crunchbang, Xubuntu, and Manjaro Openbox/Xfce all ran great and required very little tweaking to get setup. But they all left me wanting more.

After Manjaro 8.7 and 8.8 refused to install GRUB 2 correctly I decided to switch back to Arch Linux. I ran Arch back on my desktop and Dell Mini 9 around 2009. I have run a mix of Debian and Xubuntu since then and only flirted with Manjaro for the last year. Debian wasn't bleeding edge enough for me, Xubuntu and the Ubuntu ecosystem left me feeling locked into their way of doing things, and Manjaro ended up being a hot mess and unreliable.

Switching to an Arch System with Xfce, Thunar, Slim, and Syslinux just feels right and works for me. My Asus 1015e feels fast and responsive and everything is customizable. I enjoy the control Arch gives it users and newest kernels/drivers/packages available.

Setup was easy, I just followed the Arch installation guides, there were no real hacks or tweaks needed to get Arch up and running.

I did borrow the old Manjaro Openbox wallpaper, Manjaro Xfce theme, and pamac package manager. Pacmac is no where as robust as Synaptic but it makes managing my AUR packages easy. I highly recommend if you're feeling lazy. :)

Manjaro 0.8.7 on the Asus 1015E

After spending some quality time running Debian Testing with xfce4 on my Asus 1015E Netbook, I decided that testing just wasn't cutting it for me. As much as I love Debian and Ubuntu, I've been running Manjaro on my desktop and enjoying being on the cutting edge of kernels, drivers, and programs.

I decided to install Manjaro 0.8.7 xfce edition on my Asus 1015E. The process is painless and it runs incredibly well.The default kernel, 3.4.60, does not connect the correct kernel modules for a wired internet connection. The fix is easy, but running old kernels isn't fun.I decided to upgrade to the 3.11 kernel.

Manjaro 0.8.7 with the 3.11 kernel creates kernel panics with the opensource brcmsmac kernel module. If you want to run want to run the 3.11 linux kernel you're going to need to blacklist the opensource driver, and load Broadcom's proprietary wifi driver, wl.

Once you configure the wl wifi driver everything just works; hardware keys, sensors, wired and wireless

First install the 3.11 kernel
in a terminal type:
 sudo mhwd-kernel -i linux310

Blacklist the opensource drivers for the broadcom chip
in a terminal type:
sudo leafpad /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

In the newly opened blacklist.conf file add these four lines:
brcmsmac
bcma
b43
ssb
- save and exit

Reboot the Asus 1015e and load into the 3.11 kernel with a wired internet connection

Ensure that the open source drivers for the Asus 1015E's Broadcom BCM4313 card are not loading
In a terminal type:
sudo rmmod b43
sudo rmmod brcmsmac
sudo rmmod ssb
sudo rmmod wl

then install the closed source broadcom driver from AUR
in a temrinal type:
yaourt broadcom-wl
- select the broadcom-wl driver for the 3.11 kernel and the BCM4313 [14e4:4727] hardware. once its done installing wifi will work.

You can then uninstall the old 3.4.60 linux driver
in a terminal type:
sudo mhwd-kernel -r linux34

Everything is configured and ready to go. Enjoy! I'm loving Manjaro 0.8.7 n my Asus 1015E. It's plenty fast and works amazing well.

Broadcom BCM4313

 lspci -vnn -d 14e4:
02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4313 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:4727] (rev 01)
    Subsystem: AzureWave Device [1a3b:2047]
    Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17
    Memory at f7d00000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: bcma-pci-bridge
    Kernel modules: bcma

Installing Debian Testing "Jessie" on the Asus 1015E

After trying multiple distros, Arch, Manjaro, Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Linux Mint 15, CrunchBang #! 11, Atposid, Siduction, and Elementary OS. I decided to go back to Debian Testing. Although Crunchbang came in a close second. The Asus 1015E ran great on CrunchBang and everything just worked. Unfortunately, CrunchBang which is based on Debian stable is just a little too outdated for me. If you want somethign that works and is easy to install CrunchBang is definitely the way to go. If you want to live closer to the edge of development try Debian Testing.

After downloading, a Debian Testing image, I was excited to install "Jessie" on my system. The only problem was the installer hung when trying to detect my Asus 1015E's hardware.

The fix is pretty easy, once the Debian testing netinstall iso loads:

Select Advanced options/Expert install

Once in advanced options select Execute a shell

At the command prompt type:
nano /bin/check-missing-firmware

Insert exit 0 directly after #!/bin/sh

Save file file with ctrl-o and the exit nano with ctrl-x

At the command prompt type:
exit
to exit back to the installer

Now you can install Debian without a problem :)

Setting Up an HP LaserJet P1006 In Manjaro Linux

For some reason my HP LaserJet P1006 just stopped printing with the latest Manjaro Linux updates. These are the steps I took to get it working again. These instructions will also work if you need to initially setup your HP LaserJet P1006.

Install the necessary packages

In a terminal type:
sudo pacman -S hplip
- installs HP's solution for printing, scanning, and faxing with HP inkjet and laser based printers in Linux.

sudo pacman -S python2-pyqt
- installs the necessary components to use the HP graphical user interface to setup your printer. PyQt is a set of Python v2 and v3 bindings for Digia's Qt application framework and runs on all platforms supported by Qt including Windows, MacOS/X and Linux

yaourt hplip-plugin
- use Manjaro built in AUR package wrapper to install HP's binary plugin printer driver library

sudo gpasswd -a YOUR_USERNAME lp
- to add yourself to the printing group

Now that you have all the components installed you can configure your printer

In a terminal type:
sudo hp-setup
- to will launch the HP graphical user interface to setup your printer

select Universal Serial Bus (USB)

click next once it disocvers your USB connected HP Laser Jet P1006

You only need to click Add Printer to finish configuring the printer, but you can add details for your printer profile if you'd like.