Benq S6 Linux restore disc

[zodmanx]

is this restore disc italian midinux ? if it so could you update system after installing ? thanx

[glent2]

It is in Italian initially, but there is an option to change it to English in the settings.

[MID321]

As glent2 says if you go to 'Settings' and scroll down to 'Language', you can switch the language to English.

Also in Settings, just under the language tab, there's 'System Updater' - it didn't do anything for me, it just gave a 'Unable to retrieve software information' message.

I discovered you could get the wifi working in midinux with the 1785 bios by first booting into xp and switching on (if off) or off (if on) the wifi there using the benq utility and then rebooting into midinux - where the wifi will then connect. You have to do this everytime before booting into Midinux.

Can anyone figure out what's going on here and why midinux will connect after BenQ Utility changes the wifi status first in xp?


After converting the xp (ntfs) partition to fat32, midinux then saw it's documents, images, video, etc folders. I used TweakUI to move xp's documents, music, pictures folders to the midinux folders with the same name.

Although I can't choose what OS to boot directly (without a keyboard) - I can get there the next reboot...

When in XP, I can choose midinux as the next OS to boot by using Bootchooser (http://www.maddogsw.com/bootchooser/ ) - and when in Midinux, I can choose XP as next OS by going to File Manager, copying a boot.ini file which I keep in Documents (whose default os is xp) and pasting it to the xp partition (you get a 'already exist, overwrite it?' dialogue - an unorthodox method, but it works). I also needed to add the line timeout 0 to menu.lst, otherwise grub expects you to press a enter key.

[dragonfire]

no, all variants worth to run will need at least 3.x, a good one 4.4 gb extracted to run.


i´d recoomend to check into the MS embedded device platform kit, a xp embedded with sp3 and net framework 3.5 can be made to fit even with updates while a slipstreamed sp3 installer and lateron net framework3.5 install even in after deleting al unnneccessary stuff in after each reboot and storing as much as possible on the micros-sdhc card only had enough space for the essential ms update till november 2009, so 2gb without an embedded system is not sufficient if instisting riunning windows xp sp3.
xp sp3 without net framework and the elder mid drivers will work just fine, though.

[MID321]

I've found a slightly better method to choose which OS to boot with the S6:

I remembered that OEM's use a modified mbr so that certain function keys (e.g. F10 or F11) can be used to boot a recovery partition. As one of the buttons on the S6 also generates a F11 scancode, I wondered if this method could be made to work.

I then came across Terabyte's MBR Utility, which is able to install such a modified mbr - (http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/downloads/mbr.zip) - it allows you to select which Function key to use , what message to appear, it's timeout and what partition to make active.


Here's what I did to get this working:

1) First, I had to install grub to the midinux partition, otherwise the partition wouldn't boot when made active. Booted from the midinux DVD, at the place where it asks you to press the Motion Sensor button to install, I pressed a random keyboard key followed by enter, which brought up command prompt, I then typed:

grub
grub>root (hd0,1)
grub>setup (hd0,1)
grub>exit

2) rebooted to XP and (using the software Ext2 IFS, which allows you to read and write to ext3 partitions) opened the file /boot/grub/grub.conf and changed all instances of (hd0,0) to (hd0,1)

3)copied the win32 version of the file mbr.exe to the root of C partiton, opened command prompt and typed:

c:\mbr 0 /install selm 5 2 "Press Home to boot XP" 0x07 0x07

(0=hard drive number, 5=seconds message displayed for, 2=F2 key, same scan code as the Home key on the S6, 0x07 is the ntfs partition ID, the partition that gets made active. Usually a recovery partition ID gets changed from hidden to ntfs or fat32 - in this case I just told mbr.exe to chage 0x07 to the same, 0x07).

4) created a bat file with the following line:

c:\mbr 0 /RESET

and added it to XP's startup folder, so it automatically runs everytime XP boots - this returns the midinux partition to active.

5) set the second partition (Midinux) active, which from now on would be the default.


So now when I power on the S6, if I don't press any button, it boots into Midinux, if I press the Home button, it boots into XP.

I'd still prefer to be able to use a normal bootloader - but until someone comes up with something...this is better than nothing...


=========================================

I'm now using (since I've run out of space on the SSD) a 8GB SD card as my 'data partition' which is shared between XP and Midinux and I modified the file /etc/fstab so that the SD card gets automatically mounted when Midinux boots and the documents, images etc folders are automatically where Midinux expects to find them. Also used TweakUI again to change XP's My Pictures to the same location as Midinux's .images, etc.

I changed the line in fstab:

/dev/sda2               /home/root/MyDocs       vfat    defaults,shortname=winnt 0 0

to

LABEL=SD8GB             /home/root/MyDocs       vfat    defaults,shortname=winnt 0 0

(when I formatted the SD card fat32, I used the volume label SD8GB)

[MID321]

I've found another method of using one of the hardware buttons on the BenQ S6 to boot a second OS. I'm liking this method better as it doesn't change the active flag of any partition (so doesn't need a bat file or script to change active status back) and XP is the default OS.

I'm using the FreeBSD bootloader (boot0) which installs to the mbr.

Anyone familiar with BSD will know that it's bootloader uses the Function keys: F1, F2, F3 and F4 to select which OS to boot. On a normal laptop this looks rather quaint and old fashioned - but for the S6, Function keys to boot an OS are just what we're looking for...

I think the F1,F2, F3, F4 keys are hard coded to their respective partitions, but as the Home button on the BenQ is F2 - and F2 is used by BSD bootloader to boot a OS on the second partition...this works out just right...

(The scan codes of the hardware keys on the S6 are:

Home button..............F2
Keyboard button.........F11
Motion Sensor button..CTRL-HOME)

boot0cfg, which installs the BSD bootloader, has an option (which isn't normally used) where you can instruct it that a certain partition should always be the default in the boot menu and that the active flag is not changed.



If anyone needs greater detail:


1) booted from a FreeBSD v8 CD

2) selected default boot

3) selected keyboard

4) under install type, selected Fixit (for repair mode and command prompt)

5) selected run from CD

6) at command prompt, typed: fdisk ad0 (just to check that HD name was correct)

7) typed:

boot0cfg -B -v -s 1 -t 54 -o noupdate ad0

(- B tells it to install the boot0 bootmanager to mbr
-v verbose mode
-s partition number to be the default
-t ticks, timeout value - 18.2 ticks=1 sec, so for a 5 sec time out use the value t=91, I used t= 54 (approx 3 sec timout), t=182 would be a 10 sec timeout, etc
-o noupdate installing with this option means that the bootloader will not change the partition flag (i.e. not write anything to the mbr) when a different OS is selected for booting
ad0 BSD name for the hard drive whose mbr is to be updated)

8) typed: exit, rebooted

Now when I power on the S6:

a) with no key pressed and after a 3 sec timeout, it boots into XP.

b) with the Home button pressed (during the 3 sec timeout) it boots into Midinux.

[zodmanx]

midinux users

are your system updating via internet ?

i installed midinux and wifi works but update not .

non updating midinux is useless for me .

[MID321]

@zodmanx - don't think automatic upgrading via the software update has worked for anyone for a quite a while - see this thread below, which itself is a year and a half old:

http://www.umpcportal.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=3912&start=30

the file /etc/yum.repos.d/additional.repo has the following content:

#This file is for addtional repository
[Aries]
enabled = 1
baseurl = http://211.78.82.25/mid/s6/it/updates/
name = Aries

but the url doesn't seem to point to any valid server?

Reading quickly through a few Italian forums, it seems some members have been trying various other repos e.g rpm.livna.org - but with not much success? - and also trying a few other OS's e.g. ubuntu (wireless probs), android (touchscreen probs) etc.

I don't use linux at all on my other notebooks /tablets (only XP, Win7 and Mac OS) - the main attraction for me of Midinux on the BenQ was that it had already been perfectly tailored for the machine (granted it is nearly 2 years old now and could do with updating) - I mainly use it for internet browsing - saves having to install antivirus on XP.

btw, while figuring out BSD bootloader, I cloned my midinux install using acronis over to an old asus notebook - x obviously wouldn't start (gma950 instead of gma500) - but if you want to play around with Midinux (BenQ specific hardware and drivers excluding), a bigger screen and decent keyboard makes things easier.

Midinux 3.0 alpha was released last fall - I've no idea how closely related it is to 1.50.

Good luck!

[MID321]

Some more info on the wireless connection issues with different OSes and bioses:

1785 (XP) bios with Midinux

Another method of getting the wifi to connect in Midinux (but it also involves rebooting) - is simply changing the language of the GUI. The only options available are Italian and English, when you change from one to the other, you get a mesage saying that the system is going to reboot, which it does. On rebooting back into Midinux and you try to connect, the wifi connects fine.

I assume what's helping here is simply that Midinux is rebooting (there's no reboot option in the Midinux GUI - only shutdown and sleep - unless I've missed it). Why a soft reboot enables the wifi to connect, I don't know.

===================================

1694 (original midinux) bios with XP

This was the one combination that I hadn't tried (it's recommended to upgrade bios of a Midinux S6 when installing XP, although nobody says why...).

I created x2 new ntfs partitions, 1.7GB and 2GB and installed XP to these. Then downgraded the bios from 1785 to 1694.

A) First install (partition2, xp2):

1) installed the older drivers including MidTools (version 1.0.0.4), rebooted

2) ran MidTools and up came a message 'Our application needs driver PortTalk.sys to be installed in the system', clicked install automatically, which it seemed to do.

3) turned wifi on, up came a message 'Can't find I2EC.exe'

4) looked in program files\midtools\ and found the i2ec.exe there, created shortcut to desktop.

5) clicked shortcut to I2EC.exe and then turned wifi on in midtools, no error message this time, up came the message: new hardware found, marvell 802.11 SIDO, I installed the drivers and the wifi connected fine.

6) I've noticed if you reboot with the wifi on, it's off next time you boot, but clicking i2ec.exe turns it on again.


B) Second install (partition 3, xp3)

1) installed newer drivers, netframework 3.5 and BenQ Utility (version 1.1.0.18), rebooted

2) launched BenQ Utility, turned wifi on, message: new device found, installed wifi drivers, wifi connected fine. No problems here at all. (I don't know about 3G or power saving for the wifi card)

Interestingly, although you need netframwork 3.5 in order to install BenQ Utility, you can then uninstall it (saving >300Mb space) and BenQ Utility will continue to work.

[xunil9]

i just got my s6
and when i hook a cdrom to it via usb hub,
with usb keyboard,
it just boots into linux,
doesn't boot to
xp, ubuntu, and other cdrom boot disks.
whats the secret?
i also tried other cdroms and dvdroms, but no dice.

thanks,