Installing Backtrack4 on the Asus eee 1005P Netbook

[COLOR="]Hi all,

I'm brand new to the Backtrack way of life. This is hopefully the first of many posts. As I learn I hope to document and help others. So what better place to start than the very beginning!

OK, so here goes -

Foreword:
I have used Backtrack4 before as a liveCD, and have gone out and bought a brand new Asus Eee 1005P NetBook costing £250. I plan to install Backtrack4 permanetly to the PC in a second partition.

The Aim:
To install Backtrack4 onto my new netbook to dual boot with Windows7 starter and giving information on the netbook's suitability with Backtrack4.

OK, to start with, the 1005P does not have a DVD tray, and although I could attach an external DVD drive to it, I have chosen to install from a USB Pendrive, as it means far less hassle and a DVD costs money...

After downloading your backtrack4.iso, you will require a program called Unetbootin, it is free as both Windows and Linux operating systems, and can be found here: UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads
Unetbootin is a simple to use standalone .exe that reads your .iso and turns your USB stick into a bootable version of said .iso. Once the program is open all you need to do is select 'Diskimage' and browse to your .iso, then select the USB drive that you wish to install the .iso to. Be aware though - This WILL format your pendrive - so make sure you've taken a backup.

Once the .iso has been written to the pendrive, you will need to reboot the PC, pressing F2 on boot to bring up the bios settings. Here you will need to change the boot sequence so that 'Other device' is above HDD, this will allow your PC to boot from the USB stick instead of going into Windows. Also you will need to disable 'fast boot'. Save your changes and exit with the Backtrack4 USB stick into the PC!

Backtrack4 will boot from the disc and give you a list of startup options, you'll need to select the 800x600 options as the 1005P does not support 1024x768. Backtrack4 will now start to load, leaving you with a 'root@bt~#' prompt. To start Backtrack4 in GUI, you will need to type 'startx' and hit enter.

At the top left of the screen you will see a 'install.sh', as you can probably guess, this is how you install Backtrack4.
Backtrack4 comes with a simple Installer - so I wont need to explain.

At the 'Prepare Disc space' screen it can get a bit tricky, I have managed to wipe out my entire HDD before with a Linux installer, but now I know what I am doing... Just about... The 1005P comes with a single 250Gig HDD split three ways - 100Gig for Windows, 10Gig for its fast boot program and 130ish Gig storage partition. Backtrack4 has automatically seen this storage partition and given me the option to resize it - by sliding the bar I can allocate Backtrack the amount of HDD space that I want - In this case 50Gig. Now, before hitting forward - Check the 'After' HDD image - it shoudl show you that Windows (/dev/sda1) and fast boot (/dev/sda2) partitions have been untouched and the storage partition (/dev/sda5) has been split into storage (/dev/sda5) and Backtrack (/dev/sda4). If it is different to waht I have described and you havent done it your own, custom way - then do not continue! Go back and re-try.

And after 20mins of so... Installation complete!

When starting up your PC now, you will be presented with what is known as a grub screen allowing you to select the OS to boot. I will be editing this later in another HowTo... For now I have selected the top Ubuntu option (Backtrack4 sits on Ubuntu).

I am now presented with 'bt login:' the username is 'root' and the password is 'toor' (default passwords). Now we have that 'startx' command to use again! Wahey!- We've installed a working Backtrack4 to our HDD! No more pendrives!

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Now for the important bit - Suitabilty. I am sure that I will miss bits here - but you'll get the idea.
The NetBooks spec is as follows:

Processor Intel® Atom™ Processor N450
- 1.66 GHz
- 667 MHz FSB
- 512 KB L2 cache
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Starter
RAM - 1 GB
Graphics card Intel GMA 3150 graphics processor
Screen type TFT wide screen
Screen resolution 1024 x 600
Screen size 10.1"
Screen features LED-backlit
Hard drive 250GB SATA
Optical disk drive No
Memory card reader Yes
USB 3 USB ports
FireWire No
Modem/Ethernet Yes
Wi-Fi YES - B/G/N - Atheros AR9285 Wiress Adapter
Bluetooth No
Video interface VGA
Audio interface Headphones, microphone
TV output VGA
Extension card slot No
Sound Built-in loudspeakers
Webcam Yes
Battery - 6-cell lithium-ion battery - up to 11 hours battery life
Accessories included Battery, power adaptor
Size 259 x 175.26 x 22.6-35.5 mm
Weight 1.27 kg


Pro's :
Small and portable
SUPPORTS PACKET INJECTION (out of the box)
8 Hour battery life
responsive
N type Wireless - giving massive range

Cons's :
Unable to use 1024x768 resoloution

Conclusion:
I think that this is a great little machine and supports everything that it needs to for running backtrack, from supporting packet injection to having a great wireless range and strength. Not ony that, but it is relatively cheap at around £250. What more can you ask for? Also, it ALL works out of the box - no need for drivers etc, blah blah blah. I love it and would say that it shoud be the official Backtrack4 netbook. 10/10.

And for the sakes of google - the Atheros AR9285 does support packet injection

Regards
Gingbeard[/COLOR]

Since this is your first thread and it's a tutorial. I will say thanks for sharing. However you do know that there are quite a few already in the "installation department".

Thanks. I hope to use the forum lots. I do know that there are a lot of these around the place, but I think I did it for google more than anything - I spent quite some time trying to see if the Acer 1005P was suitable for Backtrack4, and if it supported packet injection. So I figured that by making this post there was no chance google could miss it. If I do another how-to I will try to make it less general. What do you think to an editing grub menu How to?

Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for. I couldn't do anything because I had no idea how to get into the GUI.

Nice Job! I have EEE-PEB model I triple boot with windows 7 Ultimate,Bactrack 4-R-1 & Weakerthan 4. And I reinstalled Express Gate(get from Asus site installs under windows.
. On the display= i had to issue the "Fix-vesa "command. I use a G-Sky usb 500w external wifi card.
EEE,s rule I have 701/100ha and Red peb. i used netbootn also,then installed to Hardrive.:)

... and what about your screen resolution? are you able to get 1024x600 or are you stuck at 800x600???

when i start from USB then i write startx bactrack it gives
Fatal server error:
No Screens found
What can i do ?

Hi. Thread title is Asus 1005P, yet this post says Acer 1005P.

I'd like to know exact model you used. Shopping for one now and all I see (on Newegg) are Asus 1005PEB, 1005PEG, 1005PR models, and maybe a few more, but no "1005P" models. Unless, of course, the E* after the 1005P are non-trivial and personal preference and all the other hardware is the same?

Thanks. Great write-up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gingbeard

Thanks. I hope to use the forum lots. I do know that there are a lot of these around the place, but I think I did it for google more than anything - I spent quite some time trying to see if the Acer 1005P was suitable for Backtrack4, and if it supported packet injection. So I figured that by making this post there was no chance google could miss it. If I do another how-to I will try to make it less general. What do you think to an editing grub menu How to?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by gvardal

when i start from USB then i write startx bactrack it gives
Fatal server error:
No Screens found
What can i do ?

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1st read the post above! Before typing startx. type.. fixvesa then type startx you will be at a default screen 800x600..Which is the only xserver display that works as far as i know. on this model unless someone gets a work around. Hope this helps.:o

Search for a driver here: Intel Linux Graphics

Maybe someone will work for you ;)