Hi Mark.
on my ZG5 the ssd seems to take time to work, I think this is normal as they wear out after a time, but when I log on to ‘this’ site I get messages such as ‘waiting for cache’ which seems fine but also I get the message ‘waiting for facebook.com’
As I’m not on facebook, any ideas why this should be, as this can take ages for the page to load,
also is there any way of knowing if my SSD is in need of replacing?
thanks
Keith
“Waiting for facebook” will be where it’s having to get info from the facebook servers because of the “like” button plugin that people requested.
You might want to try clearing your browsers cache, and see if that helps.
No way to know if the SSD is wearing out that I’m aware of beyond the SMART data.
sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda
(the above assumes your SSD ia /dev/sda)
(Warning :: smartctl depends on a features database that contains drive information for “known” drives … quite often SSD’s do not feature in this database … so if this gives completely wild numbers, it probably means that your SSD isn’t in the DB … )
thanks for the replies
they clear up why the facebook thing comes up,
the smartctl shows nothing.
I think its definite that the SSD giving up the ghost, so I’ll look at buying a new one and get my son to install it.
again thanks
Keith
Yup, mine mentions not being in the database in the smartctl output … but mine’s not the standard SSD for an AA1
[EDIT]
The AA1’s SSD doesn’t even support TRIM/discard … so I doubt if it’s going to give any real info on it’s state … though hdparm does suggest it supports SMART.
mark@AA1-Blue ~ $ sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda
[sudo] password for mark:
/dev/sda:
CompactFlash ATA device
Model Number: STT_FEM16GF13M
Serial Number: P756867-PRR4-921C013
Firmware Revision: Ver6.P1C
Standards:
Supported: 5 4
Likely used: 6
Configuration:
Logical max current
cylinders 16383 16383
heads 16 16
sectors/track 63 63
--
CHS current addressable sectors: 30146256
LBA user addressable sectors: 30146256
LBA48 user addressable sectors: 30146256
Logical/Physical Sector size: 512 bytes
device size with M = 1024*1024: 14719 MBytes
device size with M = 1000*1000: 15434 MBytes (15 GB)
cache/buffer size = 1 KBytes (type=DualPort)
Nominal Media Rotation Rate: Solid State Device
Capabilities:
LBA, IORDY(cannot be disabled)
Standby timer values: spec'd by Standard, no device specific minimum
R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 1 Current = 1
Advanced power management level: 254
DMA: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5 udma6
Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns
PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4
Cycle time: no flow control=120ns IORDY flow control=120ns
Commands/features:
Enabled Supported:
* SMART feature set
Security Mode feature set
* Power Management feature set
Write cache
* Host Protected Area feature set
* WRITE_BUFFER command
* READ_BUFFER command
* NOP cmd
* CFA feature set
* Advanced Power Management feature set
SET_MAX security extension
* 48-bit Address feature set
* Mandatory FLUSH_CACHE
Security:
Master password revision code = 65534
supported
not enabled
not locked
not frozen
not expired: security count
supported: enhanced erase
60min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT. 60min for ENHANCED SECURITY ERASE UNIT.
Checksum: correct
I think I’m correct in saying that the standard SSD in the AA1 was actually slower than the HDD version in some tests, it was that poor. It was basically just a USB flash drive soldered into a drive case! I always thought it was quite reliable though…?
I kinda miss my AA1, it was a neat little machine that taught me the ins-and-outs of Linux well. The BIOS died on it (apparently) - I thought it was toast, so I gave it away to a friend who said that he Googled the symptoms, flashed the BIOS, and it was fully functional, doh!! 
Yeah I’ve covered the BIOS recovery procedure on here somewhere … kinda freaks you out the first time it goes all blank on ya :o
Yeah the stock SSD isn’t quick and it isn’t pretty, reliable as they are like any other solid state drive they will eventually die, and most AA1’s are now pretty old, so depends how often it’s used and what for.
That said, the SSD doesn’t usually “slow down” as much as one day just won’t work at all.
Yeah, I’d assumed the motherboard had died, as it didn’t even give a POST beep and no HDD access (so not dead GPU or screen)
Mine was a good three years old when it died (mine was one of the first), and I don’t do laptop hardware repairs (well, at least until I found this website - http://www.tim.id.au/blog/tims-laptop-service-manuals/ - now I’m like “let me at it!”). A friend fancied having a go, and fixed it without even opening the case! If only I’d known!! Hindsight is 20:20 
Handy site … cheers 
I’m now a master at stripping down AA1’s … to tell the truth, other than keyboard removal which is a bit tricky the first time you do it (and easily broken) they’re pretty simple to strip, damn site easier than the MSI Wind (who’s plastics break just undoing screws) that’s for sure :
Any recommendations on SSD’s, makes etc, I’ve had a look and there’s loads.
I’m not looking for a large capacity, only 16 or 32 gig and not too expensive .
thanks
There’s NOT loads … the one for the AA1 is VERY specific … it’s a ZIF 1.3" PATA (IDE) SSD
I have one of these 16GB SSD’s:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Talent-miniPCIe-Solid-Aspire/dp/B002HRE1H2
or 32gig version:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Talent-Aspire-Solid-State/dp/B001H14G4M
thanks Mark, i didn’t know they were specific ones for certain computers
the 16 gig one seems reasonable, so I think I will give it a try,
I’ll let you know how I get on.
Here’s a link to the service manual with strip down instructions:
http://tim.id.au/laptops/acer/aspire%20one.pdf
Thank chemicalfan for that
There’s also a video on this forum somewhere
How about replacing it with an HDD? Or is that a specific one too? Or is the chassis different between the SSD & HDD AA1 (A110 vs A150)? Wiki mentions a Samsung P-SSD 1800 as a faster alternative SSD that came with later AA1s, might be worth searching for.
The chassis IS different, but it’'s still possible to fit (hack in) an HDD … though YES it has to be a specific one (60 GB Samsung HS06THB.), any 1.8" ZIF IDE HDD should work, but you may need to get a different cable for say the Toshiba drives.
See here (and other places):
http://tnkgrl.com/2008/08/16/modding-the-acer-aspire-one-hard-drive/
BTW, the SuperTalent SSD’s I linked to are supposed to be faster than the stock ones too … but I reckon there’s not much in it between any of them, probably as much of a “bus” limit as a limit of the SSD’s’
Thanks both Mark and chemicalfan,
a good link, enjoyed having a look at it, but as my son used to repair and update laptops, doing a fair few netbooks, I’ll let him do it, ;D
I think I bought my aa1 in 2008 (I’ll have to check) and all the talk then was the 2 different SSD cards, one quicker than the other, luckily mine was the quicker samsung one, up until about a year ago it was still very quick, but it gradually become slower and at times now is almost unusable,
I’ve used mine everyday for a couple of hours or so,(if not more) so it hasn’t done bad,
If you’re going to replace the SSD (or anything else that requires stripping down the AA1), can I suggest you take this opportunity to install a 1gig RAM upgrade (so you have 1.5gig) … that makes a HUGE difference to the speed of the AA1, and how smoothly it runs.
See here:
http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/listparts.aspx?model=Aspire%20One%20(A110)&Cat=RAM
Mine already has 1 gig of memory,
in your opinion would it be worth adding another 500 (if I can add that amount) as I’ve never had a problem with memory (I think)
I can’t believe how cheap memory is now days.
Your call … you need to see if you ever end up using the swap file … if you do, more memory is best.
running:
free -m
when your system is under load (ie wtha few web browser tabs open, and mamybe a flash video running in one of them) should tell you.
The motherboard will take 2G (I think!) - you can never have too much RAM when you’ve got under 4G. These modern web browsers & HTML5 just eat it up, and it’s only going to get worse with time.