Linux on the ASUS N10 N10J

[marco1475]

Hi guys, I'm back I've been running Gentoo very successfully on my N10J for about a year now and I got most of the things working thanks to this guide. So thanks for all the hard work!

One of the things I didn't have working was HDMI Audio, because I didn't need it until recently. I then visited this site after a lengthy absence and saw the following in the Wiki: Note:

This section is redundant if you run a custom built kernel, having followed the section #Kernel_Upgrade.

Now the kernel config is Debian/Ubuntu's a full of stuff I don't necessarily want or need. Can you tell me which part of it enables the HDMI Audio by default so I don't have to patch ALSA, etc.?

Thanks,

[ALLurGroceries]

Originally Posted by marco1475

Can you tell me which part of it enables the HDMI Audio by default so I don't have to patch ALSA, etc.?

Menuconfig:

Device Drivers ---><M> Sound card support ---><M> Advanced Linux Sound Architecture --->[*] PCI sound devices ---><M> Intel HD Audio --->[*] Build NVIDIA HDMI HD-audio codec support

or in .config:
CONFIG_SND_HDA_CODEC_NVHDMI

[tleilaxian]

Hi, guys!

Thanks for the guide! It was very useful, since I'm new to the Linux system. I just installed the Ubuntu Network Edition. Everything works just fine, except the webcam. I've read that some people have the upside down problem. But my webcam just doesn't work at all! I tested it in Skype and Cheese. Green light near the cam turns on, but webcam itself doesn't work. What might be the issue?

Sorry for such stupid question And sorry for my English

[ALLurGroceries]

Does the webcam display say no device, or is it only showing black? If the light is going on, it makes me think there is a problem with the version of the UVC driver in the version of ubuntu netbook edition you're using. Make sure you've tried it near a light to make sure it's not just a contrast issue.

You can find the device ID of the camera with lsusb. Then see if it's in the list here:
Linux UVC driver & tools

It might be worth trying the latest release of UVC, which you can find here:
Linux UVC driver & tools

[tleilaxian]

It's just black. When videocalling in Skype it shows like it's trying to turn on, but nothing happens.
Devide ID is 04f2:b071 CNF7129 (Asus N10JA2 and EeePC 1000HE netbooks, K50IN notebooks)
I installed the v4l-dvb, but it didn't help

[ALLurGroceries]

You're sure it's not a brightness/contrast/low light issue? You can try installing the v4l2ucp package and tweak brightness and contrast while you have cheese or skype open.

Nobody has reported this problem out of the box, the upside-down image is usually the problem, so I'm not sure why you'd be experiencing it. I haven't had an N10 for some time now, and few people post here anymore, so it's hard to say if this is a common issue with recent releases of Ubuntu Netbook Edition.

Did you actually compile the v4l modules from source? It's quite a bother, especially on an n10j with so little power. The instructions are in the INSTALL file in the archive here. That's my only recommendation, if it's not a brightness problem, besides upgrading your version of Ubuntu. At a bare minimum, you'll need:

sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`

There are also instructions here but they're a bit scattered.

[tleilaxian]

I'm sure it's not a brightness problem. When trying to take a picture or record a video in Cheese, the application just hangs and doesn't respond.

I compiled and installed v4l. It was quite complicated, but after a few tries I managed to get it right.

UPD I just asked previous owner of this notebook. He said that the webcam didn't function in Windows Vista also. So maybe it's a hardware problem...

[ALLurGroceries]

There's always the chance that it's a loose connection, but your camera might just be defective. That's too bad. If it's not entirely broken, it might just be a loose USB connector on the mainboard. There are disassembly pics here:

N10J Guts!!! pics and all (Page 1) - N10 Hardware Modifications - Asus N10 Series Forum | N10E | N10J | N10Jc | N10Jb | N10Jh |.

Unfortunately the pics aren't detailed enough for me to tell you which connector is which, but you can get at this area by simply taking the keyboard off. If I remember correctly there are one or two screws labeled 'K' on the bottom of the case, which hold the keyboard in. Then you can take a plastic guitar pick or other thin plastic piece to pop out the tabs near the ESC, F5, F11, and Delete keys and pry the keyboard out. Then just make sure the connectors are fully attached by pushing gently on them. I would advise against reseating (disconnecting and then reconnecting) the cables, since the pins are very fragile.

[tleilaxian]

Thanks a lot for help! I'll look into it!

One last question, now concerning Linux. I've read your guide, it was very useful and interesting. But I discovered that there are newer versions of kernel and Nvidia driver. Is it safe to just replace links given in your guide to the newer ones? Or it needs additional manipulations?

[ALLurGroceries]

I can't tell you for sure since I don't own an N10J anymore -- I sold mine almost a year ago

The latest NVIDIA stuff is usually fine -- if nobody's making noise on nvnews.net in the Linux forum about it being broken, it's usually a good sign.

james-- had been updating the guide, but nobody has seemed to make a new config for 2.6.35. I can try to make one if you want, but I can't guarantee that it will be perfect since I don't have the machine to test it on. I do remember most of the quirks though.

I'm not really sure how many people are still using the guide, since most of the stuff works out of the box now. The graphics drivers and tweaks sections are really still relevant but they rarely change. There isn't too much traffic on the n10user.com forum either, so it may be hard to keep the guide going much longer... but let me know if I can help with anything (like a new kernel config, etc).