Which kernel is best for AMD C60?

[Liam Proven]

On 31 March 2012 18:53, Art Edwards
<edwardsa at icantbelieveimdoingthis.com> wrote:
> On 03/31/2012 03:00 AM, Liam Proven wrote:
>> On 31 March 2012 07:57, Art Edwards
>> <edwardsa at icantbelieveimdoingthis.com> wrote:
>>> I have installed oneiric on an Acer Aspire 1 with amd dual core c60
>>> processor. The kernel chosen automatically during install is a -pae
>>> version. I thought that pae was "physical address extension"
>> Correct.
>>
>>> that is
>>> special hardware that allows a 32 bit processor to access a 64 bit
>>> address space.
>> Wrong.
>>
>> PAE allows a 32-bit kernel to access more than 4GB of RAM by paging
>> small amounts of the RAM above 4GB into the memory area below 4GB. It
>> does not use any 64-bit technology, features or anything. It is
>> analagous to LIM-spec expanded RAM in MS-DOS.
>>
>>>  When I look on the web for information about the
>>> processor, the spec's say it is a 64 bit processor. So, did the
>>> installer choose the correct kernel?
>> The installer cannot choose between kernels - unlike on Mac OS X,
>> Linux uses a whole different system for 32-bit or 64-bit operation.
>> The 64-bit version is a different download and all the programs are
>> compiled for 64-bit operation. If you're booting off a 32-bit CD, then
>> all the available kernels and all the binaries on that CD are compiled
>> for 32-bit.
> Right.
>> The only way to change between 64-bit and 32-bit on any Linux distro
>> is to wipe and reinstall - or dual-boot between the two.
> I assume that the wipe does not have to include the home directory.

Correct. If you put /home on its own partition, then you can share a
single home directory - i.e. the same user account - between 32-bit
and 64-bit versions, I believe.

>>> I'm having major stability issues--
>>> the system often freezes on the login screen, requiring a hard shutoff
>>> and reboot. I'm wondering if this is a symptom of the wrong kernel.
>> Sounds like hardware problems to me, I fear. Overheating is a common
>> issue on portables.
> Actually, this happens immediately on startup. Also, W7 is running fine
> on the machine. I now have the choice or installing natty or oneiric. My
> son's Aspire One is running very happily on natty, with none of the
> stability issues I'm finding with oneiric. I'll post my experience with
> natty here.

Oh! My, that's strange. Probably not hardware, then - although CPU
throttling works differently on Windows and Linux, so it's not
/entirely/ out of the question.

Definitely might be worth trying a few variants, then.

-- 
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