Asus EeeBook X205TA Debian Linux Install Notes

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Install notes for a single boot install of Debian on the Asus X205TA (EeeBook).

Asus X205TA Linux Install

Hardware Used

  • Asus X205TA-B 11.6inch, eMMC 64GB Storage, 2GB Memory
  • USB Wi-Fi adapter: Buffalo WLI-UC-GNM2 (Ralink RT2870 chip)
  • Random 8GB USB stick
  • Micro SD card
  • Random USB sound card

Notes

  • Kernel 4.1.6-1 operation is smooth
  • Kernel 4.2.0-1 causes random freezes

Links

Basic Install Steps

  • Image used: Debian Testing Netinst i386 (32bit), ‘Stretch Alpha 3′.
  • Created bootable FAT-32 formatted USB stick with UNetbootin & disk image: debian-stretch-DI-alpha3-i386-netinst.iso
  • Copied ‘firmware-ralink_0.44_all.deb‘ from the firmware package (download here) to usb stick ‘/firmware‘ directory to have support for Ralink drivers during netinstall.
  • Hit ESC on boot to enter setup
  • Security -> Secure Boot menu -> Secure Boot -> Disabled
  • Boot again ‘ESC’ to select ‘UEFI’
  • Install straight forward with Xfce Debian desktop environment

Keyboard Shortcuts

In Applications — Settings — Settings Manager — Keyboard — Application Shortcuts.

TouchPad Toggle (check correct id with xinput list):

  • xinput set-prop 12 “Device Enabled” 0
  • xinput set-prop 12 “Device Enabled” 1

Screen Brightness (apt-get install xbacklight):

  • xbacklight -dec 10
  • xbacklight -inc 10

Network Adapters

Internal Broadcom BCM43341

  • Download & unpack: bcm43341.tar.gz
  • mkdir -p /lib/firmware/brcm/
  • cp fw_bcm43341.bin /lib/firmware/brcm/brcmfmac43340-sdio.bin
  • cp /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/nvram-74b00bd9-805a-4d61-b51f-43268123d113 /lib/firmware/brcm/brcmfmac43340-sdio.txt

External Ralink 802.11n WLAN

Network interface name was crazy long, dmesg: “rt2800usb 1-1.2.1:1.0 wlxcce1d54d5908: renamed from wlan0”. Changed name to wlan1 in ‘/lib/udev/rules.d/80-networking.rules’ file.

  • command: ‘ip link‘ to check mac address of interface
  • added line: SUBSYSTEM==”net”, ACTION==”add”, ATTR{address}==”aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff”, NAME=”wlan1″

microSD Card

  • /etc/modprobe.d/sdhci.conf
  • add line: options sdhci debug_quirks=0x8000
  • update-initramfs -u -k all

23 thoughts on “Asus EeeBook X205TA Debian Linux Install Notes”

  1. Excellent written and very easy to follow!
    Much appreciated, have been waiting for some one to do this.
    Did all above and everything works like said, only sound to be fixed in the future (soon hopefully ) .
    Cheers

    Reply

    • ..glad to hear! There is more, like a fully working touchpad, but this very basic install (for a very basic machine) has been enough for me. I’ll add to this over time.

      Cheers and thanks for your comment.

      Reply

    • I believe it was installed together with Stretch Alpha 3 version of Debian. If you have an older version, you can upgrade your system with aptitude. The kernel package is located in the stretch repository. Good luck!

      Reply

  4. I managed to install an Ubuntu 15.04, then migrate to 15.10
    I am using Belkin usb WiFi dongle… and was interested in managing the internal wifi…
    But the fourth line fails with «/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/nvram-74b00bd9-805a-4d61-b51f-43268123d113» file not found
    Any clue ?

    Reply

  6. Hello!
    Thanks a lot for the information!
    I was wondering if it is possible to install Debian on the SD card and still have Windows on the SSD, and then select where to boot from in the BIOS.

    Thanks

    Reply

    • No prob, thanks! Just my notes.

      Surely it’s possible but how is not something that I am concerned with. I would imagine that the ubuntuforums.org thread contains some useful information. If you do find out something please share if you feel like it.

      Reply

    • Do you know if they are still working on the sound or is there some roadblock in development? Yeah, and I think using a USB sound card just takes away the whole point of the laptop — compact and minimal. Thanks 🙂

      Reply

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