i should be working (but i'm fixing my computer).

This is likely to be a rambling entry, as I am waiting for OpSu linux to install on my Acer Aspire 1 ao532h. So far all going well.

But, in the saga of the dying Gateway LT3103u, more to report. As it turns out, the LT3103u is an abandoned product and not repairable (or at least not to be repaired). Best Buy will replace it with something else, I guess, but I have not got that far. I wanted to trade out the hard disk rather than give it up as it has some fairly sensitive data on (encrypted, I hope) but they will not do the warranty trade-in even if I buy an equivalent new hard drive to replace the one I would like to keep.

In other words, this is sucky warranty service. Plus, they are demanding "all accessories and other items" that came with the computer. I don't think there was much in the way of accessories and other items, but there was some sort of setup manual and I don't seem to know where it is. (Still got the original box, though ...)

It's not clear to me whether it is possible to replace the fan. I've done so on other laptops, but I could not track down any parts for the LT3103u. Which, other than not running because of thermal shutdown, is still entirely functional.

In addition, DELETING my data seems problematic for two reasons -- one is, you are never certain whether the data is deleted or where the hard drive may end up. I once bought two used thinkpads that had data from a bank on their hard drives. Apparently, the bank upgraded all of their employee laptops and sold out the old ones in bulk to used equipment resellers. I didn't look at it very in depth and I don't know that there was anything "compromising" on the think pads. But it makes me wary as to where my hard drive may end up if I swap the computer in for a new one.

OTOH, I am otherwise out $400+, or something just under $100/mo (plus a lot of lost setup time, actually far exceeding the cost of the machine.) But how do I delete data on a machine that won't run because of thermal shutdown??

EGADS.

I bought a laptop cooler ($30+) and the Gateway runs just fine (temps normal, not that you can tell in Windows Vista, but I do have linux installed). So, I archived my data and decided to think about the future of this computer. Will it continue running or die of other problems? Interesting questions. Because, it will run okay sitting on the laptop cooler. It could replace one of my older laptops that is running in desktop mode (due to obsolescence and burned out battery). The plus factors are (a) high resolution -- with the 1920 x 1024(?) mode -- don't recall what it is exactly at the moment, with an external monitor this could be a pretty sweet desktop machine. And, (b) fairly fast, x86_64 operation, 2gb memory; and (c) I've already to windows xp installed in virtualbox on it.

So, I don't know precisely what the performance is, but generally speaking while it has been running I have preferred it to my Sony Vaio, which was about 3x more expensive.

But, researching the specs on my Acer Aspire One ao532h, I learned a few things. I bought it because it was cheap and one of the first atom 450s to hit the market. It turns out (to my surprise) that the specs. on the 450 are faster than on the AMD processor in the gateway; and also, the 450 will run in Intel64 mode, which means I theoretically can load OpSu 11.2 x86_64 on to it. I'll report success or failure later, but at the moment it's installing. The last time I tried to install x86_64 on an i586 machine, the OpSu installer refused to do it, reporting processor incompatibility, so I assume the install is going to work.

Another "to my surprise" feature is that (at least in install mode) the Acer runs my external monitor in 1280x1024 mode just fine. I wasn't expecting this, as the Gateway won't. The Gateway only offers wide screen geometries and when I ran it on my 1280x1024 monitor several undesireable things happened. (a) the view was not particularly legible; (b) it distorted to the square(r) screen; and (c) it cloned the laptop screen to a shrunk-down matching geometry.

The Acer only reports the dismal 1060(?)x600 (forgot at the moment the exact dimensions), so I was totally surprised that I got a perfectly fine external view in 1280x1040 on my external monitor when I started up the OpSu installer.

As has happened every time I have resized a Windows Vista/Windows 7 partition, the OpSu installer crashed after the repartition and I had to start the install process over again. But, as has been my experience before, the partition was actually repartitioned and the next install seems to go ok. (BTW, remember you can edit the automatically offered /home partition and set it for encryption).

At the Acer Aspire forum, a number of users report success in replacing the 1gb ram with 2gb. I hope this is doable. I can't just cannibalize the ram out of the Gateway, as the Gateway ram is slower than required for the Acer.

But, it is beginning to look as though I will end up with a lighter, longer lasting netbook with perhaps better speed than the Gateway. As I was totally satisfied with the Gateway, this could be a very good thing indeed.

One last comment -- I had installed "Jolicloud" on this computer and I wanted to remove it to make way for the OpSu install. Good News! Jolicloud has an uninstaller that it left behind in the Jolicloud directory in Windows, and it worked just fine. One click and in a few minutes Jolicloud was gone.

I mean no disrespect to the Jolicloud effort. I really like the interface and the ease of install and use. But, I use a lot more linux software than is readily available from Jolicloud, so it was time to move on, especially as the Acer is being promoted to replace the Gateway as my workhorse away from the office. (Let's hope.)

Well, OpSu reports 45% finished, with 1 hr. 17 mins. left to go. Why, oh why do I always do my linux installs late at night (oh, yeah, I remember ... that's when I have time to do it ...)

TTFN