Support FAQ

Where do I get Support?

Click Support for an extensive list of documentation, live chat support, interactive web forums, regional user groups, and repair options.

Please consider joining one of the many One Laptop per Child (OLPC) communities created as a result of the Give1Get1 laptop program. XO laptops are now arriving across the US and Canada!

Getting started

How do I get started?

You can learn about your new XO laptop with our Getting Started guide, which is found here: http://laptop.org/start.

What are the functions of all the keys on the keyboard?

A description of the keys on the keyboard can be found here: http://laptop.org/laptop/start/keyboard.shtml

Visit Keyboard Shortcuts for more information.

Can I attach an external keyboard or mouse?

Most USB keyboards and mice work fine. However, avoid "PalmPilot keyboards" as these use IR (Infrared) and "wireless keyboards" as these use Bluetooth, neither of which are supported on the XO laptop.

Is there a Caps Lock?

There is no Caps Lock key. However, in a future software release, there will be a way to create Caps Lock behavior in the Write activity.

Is there a stylus for the touchpad?

The touchpad is designed to work with a stylus across the full width of the 3 panels. A stylus does not ship with the laptop.

Currently, there are no activities that use the stylus. However, in the next software release, the Paint Activity (formerly known as Draw) will work with a stylus.

Why is my touchpad jumpy?

If the mouse does not follow your finger on the touchpad, or if the mouse jumps to the corners when you press the touchpad, your laptop may need to be recalibrated. Automatic recalibration occurs every few minutes.

You can fix this problem by rebooting your laptop (turn off your laptop and restart it). After you restart your laptop, do not touch the touchpad for a few minutes. The recalibration software may fix the problem.

If restarting your XO doesn't work, please try the recalibration procedure (the four finger salute):

• press the following three keys at one time: the upper left, upper right, and lower right of the keyboard

• press the fourth key (the lower left) last, and then release all keys.

If this method doesn't fix the problem, shut down the laptop and remove all power sources (power adapter and battery) from the laptop for 10 seconds. Add the power sources back to the laptop (reinsert battery and plug in power adapter) and power the laptop back on. Do not touch the touchpad while the laptop is powering up.

Why is there no windowing system?

The XO laptop uses a new graphical interface, called Sugar, designed for young children in the developing world.

You can explore the Sugar interface in our Getting Started guide: http://laptop.org/en/laptop/start/homeview.shtml

Note the "Frame key" at the top-right corner of your keyboard, which toggles the presence of the Frame on and off the screen. (The Frame is the black border around the screen that holds the activity taskbar, clipboard, buddy list, etc.) http://laptop.org/en/laptop/start/keyboard.shtml

You call restart Sugar by pressing the Ctrl-Alt-Erase keys simultaenously.

How do I access a Linux command prompt?

For a Linux command prompt, run the "Terminal Activity" . This is a pre-installed program found in the Activities taskbar at the bottom of your Home View. You may need to scroll through the Activities taskbar (at the bottom of your screen) to find the icon.

Another way to bring up the Linux command prompt is by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Neighborhood keys at the same time. The Neighborhood key is represented by a circle with 8 small dots .

At the prompt, type "root" for username and (generally) leave the password blank and press return. BEWARE: as user "root" you now have full control to destroy all software!

Note: You can find Keyboard Shortcuts and the keyboard illustrated here.

How do I change my machine's Nickname?

Launch the Terminal activity from the Home View as described in the section above. A summary follows: scroll through the Activity taskbar (along the bottom of your screen) to the right by pressing on the button on the bottom right of the Frame. When you find the Terminal icon , press it once to launch the Terminal activity. The login is "root"; a password is generally not needed so you can press return.

At the Terminal's text-based command prompt, type the following just for kicks:

   sugar-control-panel                            (press "Enter")
   sugar-control-panel -l                         (press "Enter" to list parameters)

To change the nickname on the machine type:

   sugar-control-panel -s nick MY-NEW-NICKNAME    (hit "Enter")

Bonus: a few extra tips on running sugar-control-panel.

How do I change the XO figure's color, in the center of my screen?

To change the color of the XO symbol at the center of your Home View; scroll the Activity taskbar (along the bottom of your screen) to the right by clicking on the button on the bottom right of the Frame. Look for the Terminal icon (). Click on it once to launch.

Type in just one of the following example commands:

   sugar-control-panel -s color green purple medium dark   (hit 'Enter')
   sugar-control-panel -s color blue yellow light light    (hit 'Enter')

The first color you specify will apply to the XO figure's outline.
The second color will apply to the XO figure's innards.
For further help, type in:

   sugar-control-panel -h color                            (hit 'Enter')

Restart Sugar by pressing these 3 keys at once: Ctrl-Alt-Erase.

Bonus: a few extra tips on running sugar-control-panel.

Can I print from the XO laptop?

At the time of first shipments (December 2007), there is no printer support on the laptop. You can save your documents to a USB flash drive and print from another computer. We expect to add printer support sometime in 2008, with a software upgrade that supports the standard CUPS / IPP protocols.

In the developing world, paper is a precious and fragile resource, so the children store their work on the laptop itself.

How do I get started writing programs for the XO laptop?

Get started in developing your own programs for the XO at this Getting started programming wiki page.

Connectivity and the Internet

How do I get online?

First you must have wireless(*) Internet nearby, and verify the network name (SSID) and its password if it has one.

Then carefully follow the instructions at: http://laptop.org/laptop/start/connecting.shtml

If your wireless internet requires WPA security, we regret it's not yet supported through the graphical user interface, as of mid-December 2007. If however you're a knowledgeable Linux user, here are instructions for manually setting up WPA. Less experienced users will be better off waiting for the next stable releases of the XO software environment, which you'll be able to upgrade by end of December 2007.

(*) See below for Wired Ethernet: if a wireline network is important to you, you should use a USB-to-Ethernet adaptor. Please understand: XO laptops were intentionally designed for developing nations, where it is faster and less expensive to bring wireless connections, rather than a traditional telecom infrastructure.

How do I connect to an Apple Access Point?

1. Goto: http://www.corecoding.com/utilities/wep2hex.php and convert the password into a hex phrase.
2. Click on the Access Point in the neighborhood mesh view
3. Choose Hex input for the key; and choose 'shared' key instead of 'open'.
4. You should be able to associate and authenticate now.

How do Give1Get1 donors access their free year of T-Mobile wireless Internet?

Donors will be receiving an email with a PIN access code and instructions shortly, starting Monday December 17th, 2007. You should receive email from "service AT laptop.org" right around the time your laptop ships out of the Chicago area. This email should also include your Fedex tracking number.

Details about accessing T-Mobile hotspots across the USA are here and here. (Note: this will not provide access in your home, unless perhaps you live directly next to a business with a T-Mobile hotspot!)

Is there an email program?

XO laptops do not come with a client email program. You may however want to try out the Gmail activity if you have an @gmail.com account. Or you can simply use Browse to access most any web-based email.

Can I use a wired Ethernet connection?

Yes, you can connect to a wired Internet connection as well, using a USB-to-Ethernet adapter.

How do I find my wireless MAC address and IP address?

1 - First start the 'Terminal' activity from the Frame. You may have to scroll the icons along the bottom of the Frame to the right (by clicking on the button at the right of the Activities taskbar) to find the icon; it is labeled "Terminal".

2 - Type in the following command, then hit Enter:

/sbin/ifconfig -a

3 - The hardware MAC address can be found in the first line, marked eth0. After you've connected your XO laptop to a wireless network, your IP address can be found in the line right after that.

What overall info helps diagnose wireless problems?

1 - XO's build (Please see the How to check the OS and firmware versions page).

2 - Access Point/Router brand, model, version, and firmware version (ideally).

3 - Security configuration (this is the case where if the user changed the defaults, user should be able to go collect the info - if they did not, one can discover what is the default, assuming we know "2")

4 - The description of the problem from the user perspective.

What wireless symptoms do users commonly report?

1 - I cannot associate to an Access Point from the mesh view. (The symptom is usually a flashing circle icon where the rim of the circle never turns white—this indicates the XO is trying to connect, but the connection fails.)

2 - I associate but I get no connectivity OR I cannot access the Internet from the browser in my XO.

3 - ...

What questions help non-technical wireless users?

1 - Do you see the wifi Access Point in the mesh view? (Include instructions on how to search for one using the search bar)

2 - Have you previously successfully connected to this Access Point from an XO?

3 - Can you connect to the Access Point from another (non-xo) laptop?

4 - Is the Access Point displayed as protected (lock), or as open in the mesh view?

5 - When you click on the Access Point circle does it:

• start blinking and after some time stops, without connecting? (no external white circle)
• prompt for a window with:
  • a menu for "Encryption type" only
  • a menu for "Key type" and another for "Association Type"

6 - In case you have a protected Access Point what happens after you type in a passphase or a key?

• It immediately returns and empty dialog window
• Nothing happens when I click OK
• The window disappears, the Access Point's circle starts blinking and after some time, the windows is displayed again.
• The window disappears, the Access Point's circle starts blinking and after some time nothing happens (no connectivity - no white external circle)

How do I set proxy settings?

In the initial Give1Get version of the software (Build 650, in December 2007) there is no user interface to change web browser proxy settings, due to the problem with displaying pop-up windows. There is an outstanding bug (#2910) on this.

What exactly is a mesh network?

A mesh network allows nearby XO laptops to talk to one another directly (wirelessly) without the need for a traditional Internet Service Provider.

This feature makes very rural deployments (say, Nigeria) practical, because we don't need much dedicated network hardware: the laptops are doing the heavy lifting, rather than traditional hierarchical network of hubs/switches/routers.

Try the mesh demo here, to see how a mesh can connect to the Internet.

How do I disable wireless when flying?

• The easy way is to go into the built-in Terminal activity and run Sugar Control Panel as follows:

sugar-control-panel -s radio off               (hit 'Enter')

To restore Wireless, reboot.

• For advanced users: another way is to use Airplane mode.

• Both above methods will restore wireless on the next reboot.

How do I disable automatic connection to my Access Point?

If you want to remove any 'memory' of connecting to a particular access point, go into the terminal activity and delete the network manager config file:

1. start up the 'Terminal' activity
2. type:

rm /home/olpc/.sugar/default/nm/networks.cfg 

Now when you reboot or restart Sugar (Ctrl-Alt-Erase); your laptop will NOT automatically try to connect to the 'known' access point.

Give1Get1: Shipment & Donor Services

When will my laptop ship? What is tax exempt info? Warranty info? RMA Process?

Give1Get1 holiday shipping/delivery time estimates are here.
Our US tax-exempt EIN (Employer ID Number) is towards the bottom of the Give1Get1 Donor Services FAQ.
Our 30-day Warranty is described in the Terms & Conditions.
For returns, follow our RMA process if you need a Return Merchandise Authorization.

All Give1Get1 "customer service" questions should be directed to Donor Services at 800-201-7144, open Monday to Friday 9am - 8pm Eastern time—or email "service at laptopgiving.org".

What if my Give1Get1 laptop was lost or stolen in transit?

File a lost or stolen package claim immediately with FedEx, by calling 800-GO-FEDEX. They will work with you and the credit card company to find the problem.

Does my laptop come with a hand crank? Solar panels?

No. The Give1Get1 laptop does not ship with any human powered device. Such devices are being designed for the developing countries, not for the Give One Get One program. However, future peripheral availability is discussed on the Product News page.

SOLAR PANELS: Our priority with solar panels is the developing world. The manufacturer of these panels may make them available to the US, Canada and beyond in 2008.

How do I donate 100+ laptops?

Contact "givemany AT laptop.org" or call 800-379-7017. Basic cost/quantity details are here. For government inquiries only, contact "countries AT laptop.org"

Activities and software

Questions regarding a specific activity should be directed to the author(s) of the activity.

How do I download and run Activities? (programs)

There are many Activities the community has developed for download. Just click on the .xo file within Activities to download the activity into your laptop's Journal. Open the Journal, clicking on the Activity to install it and run.

All activities on the laptop have been developed in the open-source community, mostly by volunteers. OLPC encourages all laptop owners to contribute to this effort if they like.

How do I close an Activity? (program)

Most activities have an "Activity" tab with an close button () at the top right; select this tab and then click on this button to close the activity.

For most activities, the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl-q or Ctrl-Esc should also close the activity. (Esc is the key.)

Alternatively, return to the Home view by pressing the "Home" key (). Hover your cursor over the activity icon to bring up a menu; then click on "Stop".

Is Internet required, or are Activities included?

The XO laptop does not require Internet access to be used. In fact it comes with more than 20 Activities (programs) and many more are freely downloadable. Take a look at this quick intro to built-in Activities. Start any of these Activities from the Activity taskbar at the bottom of the Home View.

How do I load the Read Activity, for PDF?

The Read activity does not have an icon, and it is automatically loaded when you click on a .pdf file, either through the web browser (Browse activity) or from a USB stick (Journal activity).

How do I learn the XO software environment?

One Laptop per Child's XO software environment uses the Sugar graphical user interface on top of the Linux operating system. This is very new and different from traditional PCs and Macs, and we hope you'll not only "learn by doing" at http://laptop.org/start but also seek out others to collaborate with you in the learning process—taking the initiative to join/form users groups both online and in the real world. Any other ways we can welcome you to OLPC's worldwide learning community, please let us know.

How do I change Proxy settings of the Browser?

In this version of software, 650, there is no user interface to change webbrowser proxy settings due to the problem with displaying pop up windows (bug trac #2910).

How do I take a screenshot?

Press Alt-1, and go to the Journal. The screenshot should be the first item in the Journal. You may then copy it to clipboard, and open it with Browse, Paint, Etoys, etc.

Using files and the filesystem

How do I save a file?

Files are saved automatically in the Journal. You can get to the Journal from the Home View. Click on the notebook icon just below the XO character to open the Journal and find the activity or file you were working on.

For more on the purpose of the Journal, see OLPC Human Interface Guidelines/The Laptop Experience/The Journal.

How do I save or retrieve files from a USB drive?

Insert the USB drive. Go to the Journal view to see the USB icon in the lower left. To save a file from the journal to the USB drive, click on the Journal item and drag it to the USB icon. To retrieve a file from the USB drive, click on the USB icon first, drag the item from the USB drive to the journal icon. Or, if you're Linux-inclined, the USB drive's filesystem is automatically mounted under /media.

How do I delete a file?

File storage is handled by the Journal activity.

1. Find the file by scrolling up and down the list.
2. Click on the file you want to delete. This will open up a preview of the file.
3. Click on the minus sign at the top of the screen to delete the file.

How do I play sound files?

To play sound files like MP3's, try the Watch and Listen activity, a Media Player based on the Helix project. Check for supported codecs you may need to download, if you require proprietary formats.

Language, keyboard, and display

What languages are supported?

We support the following keyboard layouts: English (US international), Spanish (Argentine), Portuguese (Brazilian), Amharic (Ethiopian), Arabic (Libyan), West African (Nigerian), French (Rwanda), Thai, Urdu, Cyrillic, Turkish, Nepali, Devanagari, Mongolian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Pashto, and Dari.

To see what languages are currently supported, go to Manufacturing Data#Keyboards.

You can also click on the link to each language to find out how to configure the keyboard layout. For activity localization, see Sugar Control Panel. However, please be advised that some configurations may cause the machine to behave abnormally (#5559).

If the characters do not display correctly, you might need to install language-specific font(s). Drop the ttf file into /usr/share/fonts and rerun fc-cache.

How can I type Unicode foreign characters?

Holding down Ctrl-Shift, then type u, followed by the 4-digit Unicode code point for the character you want.

Other software

Can I install Adobe Flash Player?

Give1Get1 XO laptops come with an open source flash player, Gnash. Flash files are not played by default when you visit a website; you have to click on the flash window to request that it load.

You can install Adobe Flash, which plays a larger variety of Flash pages; to do so, follow the instructions on our Adobe Flash page. You will still need to click on flash windows in order for them to run.

Can I install Sun's Java? Other commercial software?

Installing Sun's Java might work but is NOT supported by OLPC—see this summary of Restricted Formats.

Can I load Microsoft Windows or my own software onto the XO laptop?

Currently, Microsoft Windows cannot be loaded onto the laptop. The XO laptop has a GNU/Linux based Operating System and features its own programs, specifically designed for children. There are thousands of software developers around the world currently developing content for the XO. For more information, visit Activities.

Can I install AOL dialup software, or AIM?

Sorry AOL dialup software is not actively supported. If you're technically-oriented and eager for a challenge, you may explore Googling "AOL Linux" if you also own a USB modem, and if you're willing to seriously explore this installation process, at your own risk.

Similarly, for AOL Instant Messenger, we regret it's similarly not supported by OLPC. While there are probably ways to install it (in Terminal mode, using your XO laptop's underlying Red Hat/Fedora operating system) you will need to be technically very savvy, and research others' past Linux work here.

What antivirus & firewall security software is available?

Out of the box, your XO laptop is going to be "safer than" your PC -- threats to Linux are rare.

Advanced users may want to look into Linux's free open source antivirus (ClamAV) and firewall (iptables) software, but these are NOT supported by OLPC.

Note: There are few software/services that listen for connections from the Internet (Avahi mdns, ssh), which helps limit your risks.

How can I protect my children from objectionable content?

If you would not allow your children to have access to a PC, then carefully consider giving them access to an XO laptop. If you feel reasonably safe with a PC, then you should feel reasonably safe with the XO.

The best thing you can do to keep your children safe is to participate in their education. For example, explain to them what kind of threats they might run into, not to give their address etc. over the Internet.

Finally, there are possible 3rd party solutions, such as http://DansGuardian.org, emerging as part of One Laptop per Child's Uruguay rollout. OLPC is also exploring options for future client-side filtering.

Power, suspending and Hardware

What kinds of power sources can I use with the XO laptop?

See also #Does my laptop come with a hand crank? Solar panels?

In addition to plugging the laptop into an electrical outlet (110-240 volts AC), the XO laptop can be powered by solar energy and human energy with pull cords and hand cranks. The XO laptop can take a DC input ranging from 11 volts to 40 volts, a range that’s far more flexible than most portable devices. The XO laptop is remarkably energy efficient, using only 5-10 percent of the average wattage of a standard laptop. For formal specifications, Hardware specification#Specifications.

My XO laptop won't power on

Carefully read the power/battery issues at: http://laptop.org/start/troubleshooting.shtml

Ensure the battery is inserted and the power cord is plugged in.

If both the battery and power lights are definitely on (just below your screen, to the right) yet the laptop still won't start up when you push the power button, this may be a minor problem with the embedded controller (EC). If so, remove all power (extracting battery and power cord/charger), and wait 10 seconds to allow it to reset. Then, power up your XO laptop to confirm the screen comes on, and the laptop proceeds to boot.

If your XO laptop was damaged on receipt, call Donor Services at 800-201-7144 within 30 days, to exchange it. They are open Monday to Friday 9am - 8pm Eastern time. You can email them using the address "service at laptopgiving.org". For warranty information, check the Give1Get1 program's Terms & Conditions, along with its Donor Services FAQ.

How do I power off the XO laptop?

From the Home View, pause your mouse over the XO symbol at the center of your screen, and click on 'Shutdown'.

How long does the battery last?

Battery life is generally 3 to 6 hours, depending which Activities you're running. This should be optimized with the next software release in January 2008, given our technology is designed for developing countries. Battery life 10 hours or longer may be possible then.

How do I put an XO laptop to sleep?

We didn't enable the sleep features in the initial December 2007 Give1Get1 build; they weren't ready. We expect a software upgrade early in 2008 that will support putting your laptop into sleep mode.

How much memory/disk is built in?

The XO laptop has 256MB of dynamic RAM memory, as well as 1024MB (1GB) of flash memory. Note that this flash memory acts as the hard disk. Original specs were delineated here.

Troubleshooting (Advanced) & Repair

My XO laptop won't play sound

Do you hear any sound at all when you boot the computer? Are you able to record voice from the Record activity?

If the laptop boots up properly, but you don't get any sound at all, this could be a broken component—like the speaker. If you confirm sound is completely broken, you might want to ask Donor Services (800-201-7144, service@laptopgiving.org) for a replacement.

What's the latest on the current software release? (Build 650)

Details of "Build 650" of our software environment, as shipped on all Give1Get1 laptops as of December 2007, are found in the General Release Notes. (This software environment includes the operating system and all built-in applications.)

How can I restore my Give1Get1 XO to its factory configuration?

First, try the recover process: Try holding the 'O' game pad key during boot. This should boot from an alternate "disk image" (the one shipped with the machine).

Second, for advanced users only—be prepared to lose all data— try upgrading the activated laptop to re-flash its entire "disk image" including both its operating system and its Activities.

If you see a "Bad hash at eblock #0" message while performing these "Activated Upgrade" steps, it means the image you copied to the USB key is bad. You should re-download the image, or try a different USB key.

How do I obtain replacement parts, EG. batteries and chargers? Repair?

Replacement batteries and power cords (chargers) should be available in early 2008. Also, check our Maintenance/Repair pages for emerging post-Warranty options.