Before doing this, remove any repositories you may have added. You ONLY want to use the packages from the Asus update repositories. To do this: ctrl-alt-T, sudo kwrite /etc/apt/source.list. Put ‘#’ (no quotes) in front of any repositories other than the Asus ones. Save and close. Then, sudo apt-get update.

Enabling to full desktop mode (KDE)

This method will get you the components needed for the ‘full desktop’, which is the K Desktop Environment (KDE). You must be connected to the internet before doing this.

1. Open a console window (CTRL-ALT-T).

2. Type the following to install ksmserver and kicker, the two programs we need (answer Y if it asks you if you’re sure you want to install anything):

3. sudo bash

4. apt-get update

5. apt-get install ksmserver kicker

6. Restart (should go to Easy Mode)

NB: Now you need to choose either ” Simple Way” or “Boot directly” below. You’re not done yet.

Simple way to boot into Advanced Mode

Using this method will result in a sort of “double boot” that will lengthen the startup time by about ten seconds. If you use this method, your desktop icons will disappear at each reboot. In order to maintain them, as well as improving booting speed, you need also to follow the instructions to ” Boot directly into the mode last used“: Easy Mode or Advanced Desktop Mode below.

1. Go to Settings → Personalization

2. Select “Full Desktop Mode” under Login Mode

3. Reboot.

You should now be in full desktop mode.

Other walkthroughs using this method

• downloadsquad

Another simple way to boot into Advanced Mode (no double boot effect)

This way you will directly boot into KDE, with usb and samba shares fully working. All the changes are made in the user directory, so the side effects are reduced, and reversion is simple as an rm -f .xinitrc.

First open a terminal (by hitting Ctrl-Alt-t) and open the .xinitrc file in your home directory with your loved text editor (e.g. nano -w ~/.xinitrc), then paste this in :

.xinitrc:

#Needed to get automount working

xhost + si:localuser:root

sudo rm /tmp/nologin#Needed to get the network working

sudo /opt/xandros/bin/start_netserv &

startkde

Save (Ctrl-O and Y with nano) and reboot.

Boot directly into the mode last used: Easy Mode or Advanced Desktop Mode

This method remembers which mode you were using the next time you start the computer. It also avoids the “double boot” effect. It seems to properly recognize SD cards and USB devices and show the Windows Network in file manager (previously common problems).

WARNING: Incorrectly editing startsimple.sh may result in an “unbootable” system that can only be recovered by either using a Live Linux Distro on a CDRom or Flash drive to restore a copy of startsimple.sh, or by performing a full system recovery (pressing F9 during bootup).

First do Enabling to full desktop mode (KDE)

Replace the text in the existing startsimple.sh file with this one using nano editor or any other one.
Don’t forget to back up the original startsimple.sh file (cp /usr/bin/startsimple.sh /usr/bin/startsimple.sh.bak)
Don’t forget to back up the original startfull.sh file (cp /usr/bin/startfull.sh /usr/bin/startfull.sh.bak)

Edit these by copying the text below, launch a console and type: sudo kwrite /usr/bin/startfull.sh. Paste in the text.

startfull.sh:

#!/bin/shtouch /home/user/.kdesession #changed

killall xinit

startsimple.sh:

#!/bin/shsudo /usr/bin/sessreg -d -l :0.0 -u /var/run/utmp user

xhost + si:localuser:root # Allow local user root only to access the diplay

if [ -f /home/user/.kdesession -a ! -f /home/user/.easysession ]; then #changed

 sudo /usr/bin/sessreg -a -l :0.0 -u /var/run/utmp user

 [ -f /usr/bin/dispwatch ] && /usr/bin/dispwatch &

 for i in /sys/block/s[dr]?/uevent ; do

   sudo /bin/sh -c "echo add > $i"

 done

 (sleep 8; /opt/xandros/bin/start_netserv) & #added

 (sleep 16; /usr/local/bin/asusosd) & #added

 sudo rm -f /tmp/nologin #changed

 exec startkde

else

 sudo /usr/bin/sessreg -a -l :0.0 -u /var/run/utmp user

 if [ -f /home/user/.easysession ]; then

  # we are switching from full to easy mode

  sudo rm -f /home/user/.kdesession #added

  for i in /sys/block/s[dr]?/uevent ; do

   sudo /bin/sh -c "echo add > $i"

  done

 fi

 /opt/xandros/bin/AsusLauncher &

 icewmtray &

 [ -n "$XIM_PROGRAM" ] && $XIM_PROGRAM &

 powermonitor &

 minimixer &

 networkmonitor ath0 eth0 &

 wapmonitor &

 (sleep 3; /usr/bin/keyboardstatus) &

 (sleep 8; /opt/xandros/bin/start_netserv) &

 (sleep 16; /usr/local/bin/asusosd) &

 sudo rm /tmp/nologin

 [ -f /usr/bin/dispwatch ] && /usr/bin/dispwatch &

 exec icewm

fi

Notes

Startsimple.sh is called every time the OS loads. Xinit is a symbolic link to startsimple.sh.
Startfull.sh is called by the easy mode shutdown dialog when the user clicks the Full Desktop button.
/opt/xandros/bin/start_netserv is required for the Windows Network to be accessible in the File Manager.

Source: http://wiki.eeeuser.com

What you’ll need:

- An Eee PC, completely unmodified (4GB version, 512MB RAM)
- A SDCARD (you’ll need this, 2GB minimum, the bigger the better. I’m using 8GB, which are nice and cheap now)
- A Vista DVD
- A 1GB USB stick

Here’s what I did!

- Download vLite from http://www.vlite.net/, and use to create a custom ISO with bits of Vista removed you don’t need, the edition you want (I used Home Premium), such that it’ll fit on your USB stick.
- Format USB stick with a single FAT32 partition, and set active. I did it in Vista, with the following commands from a command prompt (with admin rights):

DISKPART
LIST DISK (note the number of your USB DRIVE at this point)
SELECT DISK 1 (or the appropriate number from the command above)
CLEAN
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
SELECT PARTITION 1
ACTIVE
FORMAT FS=32
ASSIGN
EXIT

- Copy contents of your newly created ISO to the stick (you can extract the ISO with Winrar, burn it to CD mount it with Daemon Tools etc. etc.)
- Insert USB stick into Eee
- Turn on Eee, pressing escape at startup to select the USB stick as the boot device
- Install Vista, configuring 1 single 4GB partition.
- You should now have Vista, but chances are there isn’t much space left. Ensure your SD card is in the slot at this point, and showing as drive D:.
- You need to download PendMoves and MoveFile to your machine from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysintern…/PendMoves.mspx. Put them in \Windows\System32

Right, now the clever stuff. The thing that stops Vista playing ball on the Eee is it’s HUGE side by side directory, \Windows\winsxs. I mean huge… on my machine it was 1.5GB. The real problem is that it’s huge AND very difficult to move. We’re gonna put it on SD however

- Navigate to the \Windows\WinSXS directory, and view the security properties. You need to first give yourself ownership of the directory, and then give yourself full access (i’d use the administrator account to do this stuff).
- Now run a command prompt, and create a dummy directory. Type ‘mkdir c:\windows\winsxs.moved’
- Now that’s done, we’re gonna create a junction (like a Symbolic link for Vista). Type ‘mklink /J c:\windows\winsxs.link winsxs.moved’
- Good, now delete the winsxs.moved directory. Trust me on this one. Type ‘rmdir c:\windows\winsxs.moved’

That’s the preperation done. Now we need to use MoveFile to schedule renaming of the winsxs at reboot.This is the magic that will give us control over that nightmare directory.

- From the command prompt, run ‘movefile c:\windows\winsxs c:\windows\winsxs.moved’. As you can see, this is renaming the winsxs directory before anything can get a hold on it.
- From the command prompt, run ‘movefile c:\windows\winsxs.link c:\windows\winsxs’. This puts a winsxs directory back (as far as the OS is concerned), so everything doesn’t collapse in a heap.
- Now type ‘pendmoves’. It should show the 2 pending moves you’ve entered above, with NO ERRORS. If it all looks good, REBOOT!

On reboot the critical renames / moves will happen, and we’ll be free of the shackles that stopped us messing with that pesky winsxs directory.

- When your PC is booted, again open a command prompt, and ‘dir c:\windows\winsxs*’. If it’s all gone well, you’ll see a winsxs.moved real directory, and the winsxs junction. If it HASN’T worked, repeat the above steps!

If it’s all good, then we’re nearly home and dry. All we need to do is relocate WinSXS and amend the junction.

- Using Windows Explorer, COPY the whole winsxs.moved directory to a \Windows directory on your SD card. As it’s HUGE, it’ll take ages, and is often quicker using a USB card reader than the internal card reader.
- When this has finished, rename the directory on the SD card from winsxs.moved to winsxs. Go to a command prompt (again!) and type ‘rmdir c:\windows\winsxs’. Then, type ‘mklink /J c:\windows\winsxs d:\windows\winsxs’.
- To be sure everything is happy, in explorer browse to c:\windows\winsxs. You should see a ton of files. They’re really on your SD card
- Reboot

After reboot, you should be able to delete c:\windows\winsxs.moved and FINALLY liberate all that disk space. Now you’re at the point where you need to tweak your system. This means reducing / moving the page file, disabling hibernation and so on and so forth. To disable hibernation on Vista, drop to a command prompt and type ‘powercfg -h off’.

There’s one last thing you should do. When you download Windows Updates etc., the files get put into C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution, and this will quickly become huge. I recommend moving this to the SD too. It’s easier though… stop Windows Update service, move directory, create junction, restart service, DONE!

It goes without saying that when you install apps (e.g. i’m gonna put Office 2007 on), you should install them to D:\Program Files - your SD - where appropriate!

Job done, you have Vista on your EEE

Source: http://www.modaco.com/content/Asus-EEE-PC-http-www-EEEasy-com/261965/Installing-Vista-on-the-Eee-ive-done-it-and-it-works/