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Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
Hello Everyone,
I recently bought a brand new N900 and have been trying to tweek it to run faster. It has been pretty slow since I bought it and it's not even the speed as much as the lagging and errors that bother me. Some examples of problems I have had include: 1. When going into Applications Manager it takes forever to load the menu. Then when I hit download it takes forever to load that next menu. Usually it does not load it and becomes stuck in a loading mode. If I exit and try again maybe 10 minutes later it starts to work and I can download and install a new program but after that it's extremely difficult as it gets stuck again loading. Sometimes it even says "No Application Catalogues." 2. Some applications will not install. So far it has been the two Contact Merger programs that are available. Other applications just freeze up when loading or when launching the internet or facebook it takes forever. 3. It takes forever to load pretty much anything, but especially the contacts, SMS, etc... 4. I tried using Cutetube, myTube, and Zoutube and unfortunately they will not play any video when I hit play. Cutetube takes a while to load but doesn't actually load it. The only program that seemed to work is MediaBox but it lags and sometimes freezes the frames when playing and youtube videos. So far I have installed the Extras-devel catalogue, Conky (which doesn't show much CPU being used at all so no problems there), SPB TV (Which works great and smooth unlike all the other youtube apps I have tried), ForecaWeather (which doesn't lag and works well), and Hermes. I have installed the Speed Patch which seems to have improved things very slightly. I also installed the Optimizer and when I double click on the icon it seems to refresh everything but it starts to lag after I start another program and use it for a few minutes... I had horrible lagging problems on my previous phone (Nokia E90) but it eventually loaded things, this phone I thought would be faster and often it just gives me an error that the application is stuck and whether I want to exit out of it. I was thinking about overclocking? Are there other ways to increase performance and speed? Is it normal for it to lag this much? Also if anyone has any suggestions for "Must Have" programs for the phone please let me know. Thank you all and I look forward to your replies! |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
1. Use FAPman (http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/fapman/)
2. Never happened to mine so I don't know how to help on this one. 3. Is it fully brand new? Or was it used before? Because if it's been used before, you might want to reflash the N900 to start fresh (http://wiki.maemo.org/Updating_the_tablet_firmware) 4. Again, this shouldn't be happening (I would suggest Flashing the N900 before doing all this again). Try using CSSU and see if that makes things better for you and your N900.. (Use the Stable version if you don't want to experience any headaches).. http://wiki.maemo.org/CSSU EDIT: Also CSSU's default application manager seems to be slightly faster than non CSSU application manager.. But that's only from my own observations |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
One thing I would ask too, is what is the PR version installed on your n900? (check settings, then About)
Also, speed patch created a very heated discussion on the forums. It's benefits have never been unanimously confirmed. Also, you'll need to Redland the device to fully remove it. I would recommend using the CSSU stable release too (as bandora suggested above) |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
Considering how late you got your hands on an N900, and how your problems doesn't seem to be regular resource problems, I'd take some time to consider why this particular device was for sale this late. You may have bought something with worn threads, if you catch my drift.
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Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
Not sure if this is still a problem but the, check for new updates, used to kick in everytime the device connected to the internet, slowing it down a lot.
I changed the time between auto checks to 7 days and it made a huge difference to the usage. Can't remember where the setting was now but it's mentioned in the forums somwhere. rgds ps. oh and swappolube seemed to make things much better too. |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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It is fully brand new. It came in a the original box which was in Mint Condition and was sealed with a Nokia sticker. It says 23/2010 on the box which might mean it was manufacutred then? With CSSU this is just a firmware and OS update pretty much? Should I just use the backupmenu to backup everything? Will it delete everything or this backup is just in case? I ussually just use OviSuite for backups, is this better? |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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I had upgraded the firmware using Nokia OV Suite... Do I need to update this software? |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
No, you are all good. That is PR1.3.1, which is the latest version released. :)
As you said you were having issues with certain apps, I thought there may be a firmware issue? However you should be ok with that, not sure what's causing your problems :) |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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That is yet another huge problem is battery power. It drains the battery like crazy. Was a bit worried about using the battery patch... What about those Gold batteries which are Made in Japan and have 2680MAH? Swappolube definately helped A LOT! Probably more than anything. It runs sooooooo much smoother and faster. At least for the time being. Although the youtube programs load faster now they still have a lot of trouble actually playing some of the media. The only one that seems to work well is Cutetube. But it works really a lot smoother now than before! |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
The best batteries are the scud blue dream. Best value for money for me are the japods from dealextreme. Buy an external charger, and try to reduce the usage of the usb to a minimum, it has the bad habit of falling off.
I'd still reflash though, I don't trust ovi suite's update firmware function, and all the problems you describe seem software related. Make sure you flash both rootfs and emmc. You can use backupmenu for backups, it saves the device state completely. It could also be a corrupted fat partition, it gets easily corrupted and might slow things down. Plug your phone to your pc in mass storage mode and do a disk error checking on it. And welcome to maemo.org |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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Copy and paste it on here... We would then have a better understanding of what dependencies your phone is missing. |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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They are Made in Japan and are supposed to be good quality. The seller seems pretty reputable. Have you used these before? In regards to reflashing, things to be working much smoother now after swappolube. I might still reflash though eventually. Why don't your trust OVI suites firmware update? Should I not backup with Ovisuite? Just with backupmenu? I restored a lot from my E90 onto me N900 (contacts, SMS, etc...) thanks to OVI suite. Should I still upgrade to the CSSU? |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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Also do I need to have a good 3G signal to use fMMS? It seems that it keeps timing out when I try to send an MMS or says not enough network coverage... I am getting about 2-3 bars in 2.5G right now in the house... but am connected to Wifi |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
just because I had problems with it in the past, and it is generally buggy so I wouldn't trust it with a such an important function. Also ovi suite gained N900 support quite late and I have no data about the results of firmware upgrades with it. The flasher on the other hand is being used successfully by me and hundred other people that report here, and the results are always as expected (if you follow the steps correctly).
for the battery there is a very nice thread with proffesional measurements of most of the batteries in the market. I don't know about those specific batteries that fit into the N900 without a custom (bigger) cover cannot be over 1500mah. Even the scuds that are 1500mah are a bit bigger than the original bl5j so that they don't fit into other compatible phones. The N900 has a little extra space and they fit ok in it. So those batteries actually lie about their capacity, so there is no way you can know how much they lie. The CSSU is the community software update. Since nokia stopped official updates for the N900 the community took over and has fixed many bugs and added new features to the N900. I definitely recommend it. |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
OP, put "CSSU" (see top right corner of this page. the yellow cssu logo) and overclock to somewhere between ... 700-900 mhz
You will notice a difference. But.... if you're coming from let's say... SGS2 or HTC One X etc etc... you'll still find the N900 slow. It's not its speed we all adore though.... that machine has many other qualities. |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
there's a wiki for cssu where you can find answers to everything.
it is proposed to backup before you update although I never lost anything. but, just in case, do a backup! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- *as for the overclocking... there are a lot of ways. just do your research , check the replies on the threads and decide... for example , i chose the xterminal way. kernel-config load lv (or ulv, ideal, xlv.... whichever voltage you fancy) kernel-config limits (### ###) <--- your min & max MHz kernel-config save lv*insert name* kernel-config default lv*name* ^ 20 seconds process |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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IMO overclocking is recommended too much. It's not really required if you look after it and don't install so much rubbish. OP Do you have Devel and Testing enabled in HAM if so disabling them will speed up your apt-get's |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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N900 is almost 3 years in the market. So we can easily reach to conclusion that it lasted in the long term. Also..... come on man... the magic of this device is the tweaking, customizing 7 overclocking (and programming for the few good ones) it's nice taking risks with this device |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
In HAM click the top menu and then select application catalogues.
This will then list your repos. devel and testing repos are for unstable apps and download from here should be done with caution. If you which to install a devel or testing application @hella I have no problem with customizing etc, that's the maemo spirit, it's why we are still here. But pointing a newbie at overclocking and not explaining the facts is poor. It's his choice to make not everybody else's. @OP Everything you need to know about maemo is in the wiki's wiki.maemo.org have a search on there. |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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anyways, he must read the OC wiki before he does anything. and of course OC has its risks. i thought it was a given! |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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Thanks a lot for your help. I have now installed the CSSU and done all (except the overclocking for now). It seems that everything is working much faster and better now. The thing that seemed to help the most was the Swappolube... Are there any must have apps that people would suggest for me? What is the difference between a QML and a non-QML version of something? I noticed that Cutetube QML works a little faster and better than the non QML version...? |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
Btw baronkatz make sure you install rootme.. So you can have easy root access..
And then try to do: Code:
sudo gainrootEDIT: So for you it would be something like this Code:
sudo gainroot |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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You should normally have these enabled
Swappolube, Kernel Power and CSSU combined are what should be installed first IMO. BTW I have Kernel Power but don't overclock as it provides fixes and enhancements see KP wiki. I recommend Kernel Power without overclock package and this will enable Smartreflex which will make your device work most efficiently. Are you using the proposed settings in Swappolube and have you saved them? IIRC Cutetube original version is now not updated only the cutetube-QML version currently, you should use QML version for this package. |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
Yes
I realise it only checks for updates once a day by default but it often takes a very long time to check for those when it is doing it as it is a background task which, apart from slowing the system down at the beginning of every day when you connect to the net, wastes battery every morning. You do sit on the crapper and browse first thing every morning? I also think it may retry the update during the day if you disconnect the internet before it finishes too. I for one, didn't want my system wasting processor time and hence battery duration checking for updates every day when I know there are none to be had so I set it to check only once per week and saved a whole tonne of battery use and I get faster browsing whilst on the crapper. rgds |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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Here is what I currently have in the repos under FAPman. Are these just different names for the same thing that Appmanager has? What do I need to add or remove for FAPman and where can I get it from. I don't see Maemo.org or other things listed in the same way here... Fremantle ssu apps, fremantle ssu 002, and extras all ENABLED. fremantle1.2ovi and extras-devel DISABLED. In App manager it is: Nokia Apps Nokia SSU maemo.org Community SSU Ovi PR 1.3 As you suggested. Quote:
BTW, where can I get nice backgrounds panoramics of cities or cool graphics. I downloaded some themes that came with backgrounds but they are not in the images folder and nowhere to be found. When I select the theme it does not change the background. A nice panoramic of London or some other place would be nice or a cool animation style one that goes seemlessly between the backgrounds... |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
I've installed the new Power Kernal now as well as you suggested! it's 2.6.28.10-power50.
Any suggestions on where to find the wallpapers I've downloaded or how to install the themes with the papers? Also do you know of a repository with some great panoramic wallpapers that flow either animated or real? Thank you! BTW any other must have apps would be great. My N900 is working super fast and smooth now thanks to you all! I don't see the need to overclock just yet although it is tempting! I am a newbie and would love to learn all these great linux commands. I once installed MAC OS through a linux program on my PC and I had to learn a lot of the Sudo commands, etc... to get it running and install drivers, etc... |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
you could have a look through www.n900wallpapers.com or you can resize any image to 800x480 to fit your screen.
There is also the show us your maemo5 desktop thread that has loads of wall papers littered through it. It is a huge thread but don't worry, it is mostly pics. |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
BaronKatz, don't overclock unless you think it's absolutley necessary (ie a specific application runs too slow to be usable). If you really feel you need more speed you could check out cssu-thumb which is bleeding edge and might make you lose everything, cause a reboot loop or other things but at least it can't harm your device in the long run.
It's true that very few people had problems with overclocking but a brand new N900 is really hard to find anymore and I would take as much care as I could of it. Finally, don't bother with app manager, except for cssu updates. Use fapman for browsing/installing and apt-get/dpkg If you download a deb file off somewhere do dpkg -i mydeb.deb as root and you're good to go. Beware of deb files not specifically made for the N900, they might fill up your rootfs space. |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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I want wallpapers that are not just single ones but that seemlessly merge together into one from my 4-5 desktops as the default Nokia one does and some other ones... Isn't there something that automatically just replaces all 5 wallpapers from the files or? |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
The site with a lot of wallpapers has a program called Prism or similar that makes setting up particularly easy.
In general -- the most important thing to learn is how to flash. That gives you a safety net that will get you out of almost any problem. Listen to everyone but test and draw your own conclusions. Make lots of mistakes and recover. Even some of the least respected programs like battery patch have their good points. Learningto overclock is another good way to learn. The doc umentation is excellent. Learn to use apt-get. Use Backupmenu and the backup that comes with the device; they both have their uses. |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
Yeah sorry I meant rootsh and not rootme lol
It's usually best to install apps through an app manager because it is safer to do so.. apt-get is usually more suitable for power users.. The reason why I told you to use that is to see what error will come up when trying to install merge contacts.. For you it's best to use apt-get command as a last resort thing (if all else fails).. At least until you get more familiar with the N900 and Maemo.. The reason I said all this is because there is a slight potential that the apt-get (if used incorrectly) will break important packages and will then create a big problem for u.. :) |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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Was the kernel update what made your n900 smoother, or was it something else? |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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It's highly recommended to increase performance of all mentioned above. |
Re: Newbie to N900 Need Advice!
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As far as reliability. I'm not sure whether this is due to the new Kernal but in General if I have the unit on for 24 hours for example and use it quite a bit, it will eventually start to freeze up. It's actually restarted or shut down on its own accord before, and sometimes when I open an app it will just close it automatically after a couple of seconds before even loading it. Not sure what's causing this? |
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