Install xubuntu 13.10 on Acer V5-123

xubuntu_on_acer_V5-123

* Introduction

It seems that, like game, notebooks should hang. When they are too new it takes a lot of time to install Linux on them. In the Acer V5-123 the graphics card (ATI KABINI [RADEON HD8210] seems to be the problem today (nov 21, 2013). To install a working driver, the information on [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI]] was helpful for me. At the end I still get messages stating "microcode: failed to load file amd-ucode/microcode_amd_fam16h.bin" in dmesg that I couldn't solve and I don't know how harmful they are.


* Procedure

1. Install ubuntu. After the installation there is no x-windows, but there are working terminals.
2. Log in.
3. Download the "catalyst" driver version 13.11 (beta version as of today)
   from  [[http://support.amd.com/en-us/download]] and
   unpack it.
4. Install it according to the instructions on
   [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI]]
    section 3: "Installing upstream drivers directly from AMD's website".
   generate the drivers with the following instruction:
   ~sh amd-catalyst-13.11-beta6-linux-x86.x86_64.run --buildpkg Ubuntu/saucy~
5. After the first reboot I got a couple of crash-reports, but eventually it works.


* Notes

1. With some distributions it is not possible to install Linux from a distrubution disk or USB, due to the problems with the graphics driver. [http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=122257] describes how this problem can be circumvented with a Mint distribution copy.
2. [[http://tuxmobil.org/mylaptops.html][Tuxmobile]] links to many instruction to install Linux on laptops.