[kim-chee-san]

I think this is a great box for linux users, but if you plan on installing XP and/or expect audio over HDMI to work forget about it.

Installing XP causes the MAG to give you a most welcoming BSOD. Unless you have XP SP3 (I can't vouch for whether or not SP2 will work), you must slipstream an install cd to include the service pack updates...which I had to do.

All that work was for nothing because now I can't get audio over HDMI to work. At the moment I'd like nothing more than to drop kick this machine into oblivion since it was supposed to be a gift for my parents.

Seems like it would be a really nice machine if you can get it to work.

[pletopia]

i definately got audio to work over the hdmi (both navigation and movie audio)

create a ~/.asoundrc and paste this in

Code:

pcm.dmixer {
type dmix
ipc_key 1024
ipc_key_add_uid false
ipc_perm 0660
slave {
pcm "hw:0,3"
rate 48000
channels 2
period_time 0
period_size 1024
buffer_time 0
buffer_size 4096
}
}

pcm.!default {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmixer"
}

reboot and you should be golden

[banerjees]

hello all
this is my first post here

i wanted some info and help around getting wireless to work on the zotac mag
i have installed xbmc live to hdd and it works flawlessly except for wireless
( i am using the lifehacker linked xbmc live with ion drivers built in )
my zotac is far away from a wired ethernet and i need wireless to work

any help in this regard would be awesome

ps : lspci shows the atheros wifi card

i just need to set the card up and download the drivers

thanks in advance........

[BobbyOne]

hello all
this is my first post here

i wanted some info and help around getting wireless to work on the zotac mag
i have installed xbmc live to hdd and it works flawlessly except for wireless
( i am using the lifehacker linked xbmc live with ion drivers built in )
my zotac is far away from a wired ethernet and i need wireless to work

any help in this regard would be awesome

ps : lspci shows the atheros wifi card

i just need to set the card up and download the drivers

thanks in advance........

You need to edit /etc/network/interfaces to get the wireless card to work

press CTRL ALT F1, login and type:
sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

I use the following code in my MAG because I don't use any encryption:

auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
essid <your_essid>

Remove auto eth0 to minimize the connecting time.

more info on this page:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=202834

[banerjees]

thanks for the superfast response

i tried this - i didn't disable the auto eth0 previously

will give this another shot right now.... will also check out the links.

EDIT : no go - i am using xbmc live.. installed to pendrive as a hdd install. could this be because i downloaded the live distribution modded for the acer revo (ion optimised) which does not have wireless?

[flipridah17]

any of you try the minimal install on Zotac MAG?

I tried using it but I am stuck with the gettting the script and setting up the devices.

I was able to do a full ubuntu 9.10 but not sure if minimal install is better

[banerjees]

live install works smoothly .... i tried it and except wireless everything is perfect!!

in my research i came across xbmcfreak distro a breakaway distro and i will be trying that before a full or a minimal ubuntu install - i do understand xbmcfreak is a taboo topic here.

go for the live cd and install it to hdd - works a charm...

[krijeck]

Got my Zotac Mag ND-01 a few days ago... So far I am not so happy with it, because I hoped the sticker on the package which says "extremly silent" would be true - but my one is within minutes just the opposite: very loud.

So probably the other mag-owners here have some advices for me, how to get it that promised extremly silent ;-) I did not change any settings in the bios so far - but I did update it to the latest bios from the zotac homepage (but as far as I have seen, the latest bios was already installed before - so it did not change anything).

I am wondering: did you do any changes in the bios settings? Especially in the MCP SMU SmartFan Control section? My out of box settings for the smart fan are: 30 / 70 / 50 / 240. CPU temp (according to the info in the bios) is around 69° C / 70° C idle. This is just 15° C below the thermal specifications for the cpu, as I read here:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details...Spec=SLG9Y

What settings do you use?

I set my smart fan settings in the BIOS to 50/80/30/200 according to another forum I found in the WWW. I will check this and report back later on the silentness of my box. I will experiment with the fan settings a little bit ... hopefully not destroy my shiny little zotac!

[ler0y]

I received my Zotac Mag today and installed ubuntu 9.10 and XBMC on it using the XBMC Setup Script I found in another thread here. Seems to be 100% working. CPU is 5-10% when playing 720p mkv. Great little computer, I like it.

Hey there mightydrake, can you point me to where the XBMC setup script is? I can't find it anywhere, and my Zotac Mag can't play anything at all properly

[krijeck]

i don't understand why people think that this box should be cheaper (yes i know, cheaper is better .. but i think its still a great deal)

i've been debating what kind of htpc box i'd like to build myself over the last month
i've priced out bunchs of different combo's from atom to c2d to athlon/phenom models

eventually i decided on atom/ion combo using a zotac mobo at which point the debated ranged over whether to get a cheaper (but bigger) case or the tiniest (but pricier) case i could find .. and once i poped memory and a hd (also debate cheapo HD or more pricey SSD) the config was always at least 300$

so then i found this box for $300 (or acutally $287 with my discount at tigerdirect) .. i hopped aboard the Zotac MAG train

i think the best part of this box vs other atom/ion prebuilt machines is the fact it comes without an OS (or more correctly put, without a windows license which means $$$) and since i always planned on using linux this was perfect

Fully agree with you!
I had the same considerations.

[krijeck]

i definately got audio to work over the hdmi (both navigation and movie audio)

create a ~/.asoundrc and paste this in

Code:

pcm.dmixer {
type dmix
ipc_key 1024
ipc_key_add_uid false
ipc_perm 0660
slave {
pcm "hw:0,3"
rate 48000
channels 2
period_time 0
period_size 1024
buffer_time 0
buffer_size 4096
}
}

pcm.!default {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmixer"
}

reboot and you should be golden

I made this change on my system did not work for me! I had navigation sound but after starting a movie and coming back to menu the navigation sound is away!
anything I have forgotten?

[FishOil]

So far I like the little ZOTAC MAG ND-01. Had it about a week now. Installed XBMCfreak and sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop. Got suspend and wake to work over USB. Changed the smart-fan settings to 50/73/50/240 (Still testing this one)

My only "REAL" complaint so far is the wireless is CRAP! Out of the box it can not even get 75% 2 feet from the AP. Its the crappy AR9285 card inside (or a really bad antenna). 40 feet away it only gets 35% signal strength. This was improved by installing the bleeding edge compat-wireless and compiling it and using the new ath9k driver. Now I get about 65% in the bedroom 40 feet away. If you can mount it high it gets a lot better than that even. Oh yeah I forgot to mention to ditch ubuntu's network manager and install wicd. You will never look back on that one.

Instruction for improved wireless install here.


Once you get it running just the way you like it. (Wireless, Movie database, desktop, etc.....) Do your self a favor and download clonezilla (its free) and make a copy of your perfect setup. Then you can feel free to try any new tweak you want and have no fear of messing it up. Clonezilla can back it up (on the network SMB share) in about 8 min and restore in about half that (wired connection).



EDIT:

Newegg had a tiny Wireless N adapter on sale for $10. Stuck it in the top USB slot, a few tweaks and POW, connected @ 270 Mb/s. link quality 88/100 40 feet away.

[Oxidd]

Hi all!

I've got the Zotac Mag too..

I did the minimal install, ran the script.

Weird this is... by default, can play .avi, but can't play mkv/mp4. When I start then, the background image changes, but the menu stays up.

I changed from "automatic" to VDPAU, xbmc reboots each time I start one. If I use the other acceleration method (dont remember the name) everything is fine. Tried the old video drivers, the current one and the beta, no difference. weird.

but so far, im satisfied.

[FishOil]

Hi all!

I've got the Zotac Mag too..

I did the minimal install, ran the script.

Weird this is... by default, can play .avi, but can't play mkv/mp4. When I start then, the background image changes, but the menu stays up.

I changed from "automatic" to VDPAU, xbmc reboots each time I start one. If I use the other acceleration method (dont remember the name) everything is fine. Tried the old video drivers, the current one and the beta, no difference. weird.

but so far, im satisfied.

Try the XCI install script

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=69753

[sparticle]

Had a ZOTAC MAG for a while now 2GB 330.

Tried just about every variation on XBMC. Started with live, installed to a 4GB SD card. I do not use internal HDD which has windows 7 enterprise build on it and XBMC.

Linux xbmc-live works ish can only get it to talk to my Sony AMP and 55" Bravia at 1080I very annoying. No navigation sounds. Plays most things, not quite powerful enough for full BD rip at 1080P.

Music sound a bit weird, if I set it to cross fade songs in party mode, it plays the first song fine then I get audio initialisation error. Turning crossfade off it works and it plays through the playlist fine.

Just rebuilt this using the XCI script on top of minimal ubuntu build using 190 NV driver and standard ubuntu 9.10 ALSA driver. Get navigation sounds but crossfade error still there. Might install again and choose beta ALSA driver to see if that helps.

Also when it scans my music library I get no Fanart, settings same as the initial live build which pulled all album and fanart no problem.

If I boot into windows 7 and run XBMC I get full dolby (blue light) and 1080P video....but of course I have to put up with windows overhead. Slower video performance (much worse on full BD rip than linux).

Still working on getting this to work properly without the niggles, it needs to be wife and kid proof really. Once I find a build then every room in the house with a tv will get one of these. USE windows MCE remote to operate it. 12 quid off ebay.

Just my findings to date that I thought would be worth sharing. Ping me if you want any info on what I have tried, probably upto 60 hours plus of tinkering.

Cheers
Spart