EEE PC 900 Portable Solid State Laptop

Well i thought i'd post here since i bought one of these yesterday, i know its been sort of talked about before but not for some time.



A 6 week trip this summer meant i really wanted something to have with me to help with the old 'keeping in contact with everyone' thing and writing a blog and sorting out pictures etc.

The Older EEE PC incase anyone was wondering had a smaller screen and less memory and a slower processor, although that didnt mean it was pants, as the user base was full of lots of answers, work arounds and tweaks to make it sing.

The 900 comes with a bigger screen, more RAM (1gb) and depending on which option you go for either 12gb of solid state drive or 16gb. The varience depends on weather you have windows xp (12gb) or linux as the OS (although you can still install xp on the linux version)(16gb). It also has an intel celeron mobile processor to keep things humming along.

I bought my xp one yesterday from Toys r us (believe it or not, it was the last one) for 329 quid, which is a bit steep for a laptop, but your paying for compactness and solid state stuff here so i thought what the hell.

Out of the box you get a battery (which has caused a stink in the uk as theyve been shipped with the cack 4400ma versions) that you get 2-3 hours out of and a charger, and a nice little case, and of course the PC.

Windows is pre installed so you just plug it in, turn it on and go through all the crap of getting windows set up. Personally i get rid of all the fancy stuff and go for windows classic with a plain background.

One thing you will notice is the ammount of windows updates to go through when first connecting it to the net, and for a machine of small space its a problem... which can be overcome, either the simple way (my way) or a more complicated way which i could do, just cant be arsed to. So for anyone thinking of buying one, heres how i spent yesterday... enjoy...

1. Remove from box, marvel at whiteness and plug in and turn on.
2. Go through windows boring set up. I never bother with a password for the admin as it annoys me when i turn the pc on to come back and find it not 'on' but waiting for a password, its upto you.
3. first thing i did was grab some very good FREE antivirus from the net, since my EEEPC was sitting behind a pretty good firewalled (stops amlicious attacks form the net) router i wasnt worried about viruses for a few mins.
4. Located FREE Avira AntiVirus and installed it and updated it.
5. Next came the extensive windows update.... DONT DO IT UNTILL YOU HAVE READ THE NEXT BITS.
6. Asus in all their weird wisdom took all the solid state drive and split it (partitioned it) and gave 4gb to the C: drive, which is small for the bloated version of windows xp home they have and the stock applications.
7. I ruthlessly went and uninstalled ALOT of stuff i didnt want..... which is listed below....

Anyone bored or want me to continue..... it goes on about mapsouce memory map etc etc..

i've got the 700 version. running xp slimmed down using a proggy called nlite, works really well Do they do a car charger for the 900? I have one for mine which means i can charge it off the bike

Tbh i quite like mine, might trade up once they get cheaper. Mine was only £200

How big is it in real life? Is there anything it can't do? How can you use it to keep in contact with people when away?

I'm computer illiterate, so my brother does all my machines problems. All I do is search the internet, type reports for work, and fly my flight simulator

Lets have the rest Santrix - I'll be doing similar soon - so your feedback is great!

Ok, ive had a bit of wine so here goes, what number was i upto, i who cares i'll just carry on...

What RC mad said was entirely right nlite is good for getting rid of all the crappy stuff that just fluffs up windows and makes it pretty, i used the trial version to whittle a bit of psace back, when i get time i will 'get hold of' a full copy, there are a couple of applications (programs) that so can whittle down fat old xp to something less beastly... personally, again, i can't be bothered, and for those techno phobes out there, probably not the easiest trick in the book.

Any back to the main event.... programs i dont need... (plus other stuff you can kill)

I decided, well 'what am i going to use this for?' and i reckonned, surfing the net, writing blogs and maybe uploading photos to either a blog or my photobucket account, therefore i might need some photo editing software or at least an application to batch reduce sizes of images (onto that later), maybe something to convert or manage the storage of digital video i will be taking on the trip too.

So i got rid of.. hmm let me thing now... oh yes, the Sun 'office' suite 8 was first to go.. 800mb straight off... Adobe reader (fat and clumsy) anything to do with windows live went, and anything email ish...pretty much the whole shabang... (reasons for this given later). Oh and all the java runtime stuff.
to do this, best to go to star/settings/control panel/add remove progs.. I also managed to blag a copy of CCleaner (i think its available as a trial or soemthing but a damned good app) which cleans up (literally) all the crap that gets deposited about your pc by everything. I run this daily as a matter of course.

This freed up enough space to do the lengthy windows update.. which took a LONNNGGGG time, couple of hours on and off maybe..

So we're left with a trimmed down PC that works, is upto date, have antivirus and has about 1 and a half gb left on C drive and about 5 and a half on D.

This doesnt sound alot but this is where the SD slot (bitch whore of love) comes into play... Now not many technophobes know this but applications (programs) can be ran from these little cards as and when you need them.. good huh? Me, i stick with 2gb SD cards, cheap.. reliable.. Many folks go with higher capacity cards (higher cost) which is fine... some work, some dont, go with a recommendation, i cant someone on the net will be able to though. So for me its Kingston 2gb SD for 7 quid a pop.

So what do i want on my little PC? A word processor, something to view videos on, a web browser, maybe an email application, oh and the whole godamn point of it all, MAPSOURCE AND MEMORYMAP....

And i gotta say it, from this point on its a piece of cake....

More to come when im less tipsy.... By all mean anyone else with an EEE join in.. this is just my 2 day old experiences of the new 900......

A suitable candidate foe XP Lite maybe?

http://www.litepc.com/

I used 98 Lite many years ago and was impressed.

As far as im aware xplite is good for setting up windows prior to an uninstall.. my aim here is to try and get it working well with the minimum of fuss.... at some point ill probably do it, but i reckon alot of folks would probably want the easier route, but point taken... the best option is to install a lite version of windows... but for now, thats off the cards.. many folks have used xplite and nlite to good effect.... im very happy with what ive got right now and i havent had to re-install anything.... so this is sort off for 'dummies'... or folks who just cant be arsed.... like me for now... the is an eeesuer forum (google it) that has loads of tips and tricks on it..

My main gripe for now is the battery power. its cack.. probabnly buy a bigger one form hong kong... it hurts but its a required if your gonna be without a charge for a couple of days.

I have seen chargers on the net but from hong kong, if anyone knows of a car charger from the uk let me know.... Itd be much better to charge from the bike while travelling..

ill have a level headed think about this tomoorrow and finish the intro...

Ok, clear head, here goes..

So far we've turned it on, added some antivirus, removed some key fat applications. This has freed up a bit of space on C drive. The Windows updates will use alot of this up unfortunately. Whenever you uninstall stuff make sure you run CCleaner to wash away the residue including old registry keys etc.

After you have installed all the windows updates go to the Windows directory on C drive, look for a folder called Distributed Software (or applications) and delete the contents, these are no longer needed, this should free up more space.

If you wanto, you can get rid of some fonts, but be careful not to delete any system fonts.. (advanced users)

So, now to the applications i really want. I left media player on there because i think the interface for playing music is better than most, apart from that i dont rate it.

I used the bare boned PortableApps system to put everything i need not to do with mapping in a 2gb SD card. Basically this installs portable versions of generic software on a portable device, memory stick, sd card etc. Google PortableApps and have a play. I have on there a word processor, Mozilla Thunderbird (i installed firefox on the PC), a pdf reader and a whole host of other stuff.. when you want to run something, just pop the card in and away you go.. therefore leaving space left on the PC.

Other applications i wanted to install on the PC were ccleaner, everesthome, antivirus, Memorymap and Mapsource. I did this on D DRIVE, which has more space left (you can specify the location of install when you install an app, it usually defaults to C Drive.

Anyway, Mapsource went on ok and everything is installed on D Drive, including city navigator, Memory map went on D drive too, BUT NOT THE MAPS. I selected the maps i wanted and put them on a 2gb SD card, so when i need em, i just bang the SD card in.

Thats it really, its now running pretty sweetly.

In summary.
Things I Like : Size, solid state drives, portability, ease of use. The speed (only 900mhz but seems quicker, probably due to the non mechanical drives). The webcams a nice touch.

Things that could be done better: The wireless range is crap, the mousepad can be too sensitive (i hate them anyway, gonna buy a tiny mouse). Should have had bluetooth as standard. Battery time. Fat version of windows (asus obviously pushed this out in a hurry).

That being said, all these are work arounds and right now, im dead happy with it...

Just out of interest.....

......what is the reason for moving to a solid state laptop vs a 'normal' laptop ???

Very interesting but IMHO a bit like taking a Yamaha V Max on an off road trip. What is the point? The EEPC straight out of the box at £200 ish does a great job. No windows, but what the hell.
I would agree with you however about their suitability for traveling. We set off for 6 weeks camping in Europe in a few days time, and ours will be coming along. We will be charging ours overnight using an inverter and hence at 240 volts. IMHO you get a better charge than by using the 12v system.

For me it would be all about the cabability of running Mapsource

Kritou said:

For me it would be all about the cabability of running Mapsource

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Haven't read the above posts in detail but there's a slight error in an early one about the Linux one - it actually has a 4GB solid state drive and a 16GB one - not just a 16GB one. I bought one of these.

You basically get more memory on the Linux one as you're not paying for the Windows licence.

If you have a Windows XP installation disk, get the Linux Eee and install Windows to it. Install it to the 16GB drive and there is no need to cut down the installation. 16GB is plenty (and you can format the 4GB drive in NTFS as well).

The XP disc must be to Service Pack 2 but, if it isn't, you can merge whatever disk you have into a new disc with SP2 (or SP3 now) by a process called Slipstreaming - google nLite.

Doing the above, there is more than enough space for MapSource and it all runs perfectly well.

MapSource is the main excuse to buy the Eee but most of the time it'll have Linux installed - I've put Ubuntu on it and, after a couple of tweaks, it's performing superbly.

It really is good. It's also the first device that uses a mouse pad that can sense multiple touches - e.g. you can scroll with two fingers which is pretty useful.

stonetown said:

......what is the reason for moving to a solid state laptop vs a 'normal' laptop ???

Click to expand...

Solid state refers to the drives (SSD). Most drives are mechanical spinning discs (hard drives). Solid state have no moving parts - they're just chips.

In the case of the Eee, this gives more robustness and better power consumption.

Some 'power' laptops are also starting to use SSDs as their access times are better (though their sustained data transfer rates are poorer and they aren't as big). In this application, the drive holding the operating system will be an SSD (say 64GB) so the system responds well and there'll be a conventional, bigger HDD for data.

Pressurized, sorry thats what i meant about the linux version.. 20gb ssd as standard...

Anyway theres been alot of talk on the user forums about the battery in the UK being a 4400 mah one which last about 2 hours at best. Apparently theres a move in the pipeline to upgrade everyone who has bought one to a 5800 one, but you gotta pay a tenner or something.

Personally i just recieved a 6600 one from ebay for 30 quidish and it lasted 5 and a half hours today...

I also bought a mouse as i cant stand the bloody tiny touchpad, as nice as it is i also find it too sensitive.

santrix said:

Pressurized, sorry thats what i meant about the linux version.. 20gb ssd as standard...

Anyway theres been alot of talk on the user forums about the battery in the UK being a 4400 mah one which last about 2 hours at best. Apparently theres a move in the pipeline to upgrade everyone who has bought one to a 5800 one, but you gotta pay a tenner or something.

Personally i just recieved a 6600 one from ebay for 30 quidish and it lasted 5 and a half hours today...

I also bought a mouse as i cant stand the bloody tiny touchpad, as nice as it is i also find it too sensitive.

Click to expand...

The 20GB is made up of a 4GB and 16GB SSD - no problem making them act as one with Linux but with Windows it's better to use the 16GB as the C: drive and just have the 4GB available as D: or whatever.

I know a little about the battery issue. Asus's adverts don't specify the 5800 one but they do make claims on battery life which, presumably, will need the big one. This being the case, it would be possible to claim but the hassle of going through the mail-order firm may be a PITA. I'd happily pay £10 for the 5800 as I'd have two bateries and the 4400 isn't too bad. Where do I apply?

When running windows, I couldn't get the mousepad to work quite right. Might have been fixable but didn't have Windows on long enough. Your idea is probably best one.

Am looking forward to using this kit in earnest - it is excellent.

There is nothing wrong with the 4 Gig 700 version
I have put XP on mine and it works fine
Took it on holiday a couple of weeks ago and it survived a proper off road trip
Came in useful for calling home on Skype, surfing, checking the weather and reloading the 276c when we had a change of plan in Austria

And thats what its all aboot.... wasnt knocking the 700, loads of people get great things from them.. me? i wanna use it for other bits and bobs too so the bigger screen suits me best, slightly quicker processor and more on board memory... is it worth the extra 100 quid.. probably...

Im just really suprised how bleedin usefull it is..

santrix said:

And thats what its all aboot.... wasnt knocking the 700, loads of people get great things from them.. me? i wanna use it for other bits and bobs too so the bigger screen suits me best, slightly quicker processor and more on board memory... is it worth the extra 100 quid.. probably...

Im just really suprised how bleedin usefull it is..

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Useful and informative post Santrix ... ta

I agree with Alte Wolf, great info. Just followed it to the letter and have cleared loads of junk off mine and freed plenty of space up for my Garmin software