Parallella Speed Up Ubuntu

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Revision as of 23:29, 22 May 2014 by Shodruky (talk | contribs) (Clear persistent-net.rules)
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This is a how to guide to speed up the official Ubuntu for Parallella, this is only for ubuntu-lxde-14.03.06-p16g1.img. Do not apply these tips to another version.

Please apply these instructions without altering them.
Each configuration is carefully constructed and is interdependence, so if you alter something, it may get even worse.

Demo Video

By applying these tips, you will get,

  • Better desktop performance
  • Boot up stability
  • Sound output from HDMI
  • USB devices (e.g. webcam, USB stick)

Apply all the tips at once.

Fix the permission of .gconf

sudo chown -R linaro:linaro ~/.gconf

ALSA configuration

nano ~/.asoundrc

(copy, paste and save)

pcm.!default {
  type rate
  slave {
    pcm "hw:0"
    rate 48000
  }
  converter "samplerate"
}

Disable PCManFM Desktop mode

rm -f ~/.config/lxsession/LXDE/autostart

sudo nano /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE/autostart

Delete the line "@pcmanfm --desktop --profile LXDE".

Append this line to the bottom of the file.

@feh --bg-fill /usr/share/lxde/wallpapers/parallella.png

Select from Menu -> Preferences -> Desktop Session Settings, uncheck "GNOME Settings Daemon", [OK]

Speed up Firefox

Launch Firefox, Type "about:config" in the URL bar, Type "browser.cache.disk.enable" in the "Search:" bar, Change the value true->false by double-clicking.

Type "mousewheel.acceleration.start" in the "Search:" bar, Double click, set [2].

Speed up SSH login

Disable sshd hostname look-up.

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Append this line to the bottom of the file.

UseDNS no

Remove xscreensaver

xscreensaver causes freeze on X startup. So remove it.

sudo apt-get purge xscreensaver

Note: It is insufficient to disable xscreensaver by "Screensaver" configuration. We have to "apt-get purge" to completely disable xscreensaver.

Make Leafpad the default editor

Right-click a text file on PCManFM, select Properties->General->Open with: Select Leafpad

Install fake-hwclock

sudo apt-get install fake-hwclock

Clear persistent-net.rules

Clear garbage configuration.

sudo rm /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules

Force screen resolution to 1280x720 and enable devtmpfs

Create device node of the SD card.

sudo mknod -m 660 /dev/mmcblk0 b 179 0

sudo mknod -m 660 /dev/mmcblk0p1 b 179 1

sudo mknod -m 660 /dev/mmcblk0p2 b 179 2

Install device-tree-compiler.

sudo apt-get install device-tree-compiler

Mount partition1 of the SD card.

sudo mount /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt

cd /mnt

Create devicetree.dts from devicetree.dtb.

sudo cp devicetree.dtb devicetree.dtb.bak

sudo dtc -I dtb -O dts -o devicetree.dts devicetree.dtb

Edit devicetree.dts.

sudo nano devicetree.dts

(Search(Ctrl-W) and Edit the "bootargs" line then save)

bootargs = "root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rw rootfstype=ext4 rootwait video=HDMI-A-1:1280x720";

Compile it to dtb to enable it.

sudo dtc -I dts -O dtb -o devicetree.dtb devicetree.dts

Configure Xorg.

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

(copy & paste and save)

Section "Device"
  Identifier "Card0"
  Driver "modesetting"
  Option "ShadowFB" "True"
  Option "SWCursor" "True"
  Option "HWCursor" "False"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
  Identifier "Screen0"
  Device "Card0"
  SubSection "Display"
#---- Uncomment your preferred mode ----
    #Modes "1920x1200"
    #Modes "1920x1080"
    Modes "1280x720"
    #Modes "640x480"
  EndSubSection
EndSection

The preferred resolution is 1280x720, however you can set another resolution.

To check the available resolutions, type this command on a terminal. (with HDMI connected, on native X Window, not in ssh)

cat /sys/class/drm/card0-HDMI-A-1/modes

Or, type this command on a terminal. (with HDMI connected, on native X Window, not in ssh)

xrandr -q

Note: The resolution settings of the xorg.conf (Modes "1280x720") must match with the bootargs settings (video=HDMI-A-1:1280x720).

I strongly recommend 1280x720, not 1920x1080, because too high resolution makes everything slow.

But if you prefer the default resolution of the monitor, try these settings.

bootargs = "root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rw rootfstype=ext4 rootwait";

And comment out all of the "Modes" line in xorg.conf.


Reboot

sync

sudo reboot