Install KDE on the Asus EEE pc

Using this method will result in a sort of “double boot” that will lengthen the startup time by about ten seconds. If you use this method, your desktop icons will disappear at each reboot. In order to maintain them, as well as improving booting speed, you need also to follow the instructions to ” Boot directly into the mode last used”: Easy Mode or Advanced Desktop Mode below.

1. Go to Settings → Personalization
2. Select “Full Desktop Mode” under Login Mode
3. Reboot.

You should now be in full desktop mode.

Other walkthroughs using this method

• downloadsquad

This way you will directly boot into KDE, with usb and samba shares fully working. All the changes are made in the user directory, so the side effects are reduced, and reversion is simple as an rm -f .xinitrc.

First open a terminal (by hitting Ctrl-Alt-t) and open the .xinitrc file in your home directory with your loved text editor (e.g. nano -w ~/.xinitrc), then paste this in :

.xinitrc:

#Needed to get automount working
xhost + si:localuser:root
sudo rm /tmp/nologin

#Needed to get the network working
sudo /opt/xandros/bin/start_netserv &

startkde

Save (Ctrl-O and Y with nano) and reboot.

This method remembers which mode you were using the next time you start the computer. It also avoids the “double boot” effect. It seems to properly recognize SD cards and USB devices and show the Windows Network in file manager (previously common problems).

WARNING: Incorrectly editing startsimple.sh may result in an “unbootable” system that can only be recovered by either using a Live Linux Distro on a CDRom or Flash drive to restore a copy of startsimple.sh, or by performing a full system recovery (pressing F9 during bootup).

First do Enabling to full desktop mode (KDE)

Replace the text in the existing startsimple.sh file with this one using nano editor or any other one.
Don’t forget to back up the original startsimple.sh file (cp /usr/bin/startsimple.sh /usr/bin/startsimple.sh.bak)
Don’t forget to back up the original startfull.sh file (cp /usr/bin/startfull.sh /usr/bin/startfull.sh.bak)

Edit these by copying the text below, launch a console and type: sudo kwrite /usr/bin/startfull.sh. Paste in the text.

startfull.sh:

#!/bin/sh

touch /home/user/.kdesession #changed
killall xinit

startsimple.sh:

#!/bin/sh

sudo /usr/bin/sessreg -d -l :0.0 -u /var/run/utmp user
xhost + si:localuser:root # Allow local user root only to access the diplay

if [ -f /home/user/.kdesession -a ! -f /home/user/.easysession ]; then #changed
sudo /usr/bin/sessreg -a -l :0.0 -u /var/run/utmp user
[ -f /usr/bin/dispwatch ] && /usr/bin/dispwatch &
for i in /sys/block/s[dr]?/uevent ; do
sudo /bin/sh -c "echo add > $i"
done
(sleep 8; /opt/xandros/bin/start_netserv) & #added
(sleep 16; /usr/local/bin/asusosd) & #added
sudo rm -f /tmp/nologin #changed
exec startkde
else
sudo /usr/bin/sessreg -a -l :0.0 -u /var/run/utmp user
if [ -f /home/user/.easysession ]; then
# we are switching from full to easy mode
sudo rm -f /home/user/.kdesession #added
for i in /sys/block/s[dr]?/uevent ; do
sudo /bin/sh -c "echo add > $i"
done
fi
/opt/xandros/bin/AsusLauncher &
icewmtray &
[ -n "$XIM_PROGRAM" ] && $XIM_PROGRAM &
powermonitor &
minimixer &
networkmonitor ath0 eth0 &
wapmonitor &
(sleep 3; /usr/bin/keyboardstatus) &
(sleep 8; /opt/xandros/bin/start_netserv) &
(sleep 16; /usr/local/bin/asusosd) &
sudo rm /tmp/nologin
[ -f /usr/bin/dispwatch ] && /usr/bin/dispwatch &
exec icewm
fi