Support FAQ

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Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions

1. How can I order an XO laptop?
2. Where is my Get One XO laptop?
3. How can I access the Internet?
4. How do I test my keyboard for sticky/broken keys?
5. Why is my touchpad jumpy?
6. How do I get started? Where is the manual?
7. How do I change my XO's Nickname? my XO's color on Sugar Views?
8. Where does the Give One XO Go?
9. Does my laptop come with a hand crank? Solar panels? Can the XO be used Off Grid?
10. How do I save or retrieve files from a USB drive or SD (Secure Digital) card?

FAQ Knowledge Base

G1G1 Donor Inquiries

How can I order an XO laptop?

We are not selling individual XO laptops at this time. However, One Laptop per Child will run a new Give One Get One program starting November 17 2008 at http://amazon.com/xo . We hope this will become a progressively more global offering over time. While some basic advance details are currently available, please keep an eye on our websites as details emerge:

http://laptop.org
http://wiki.laptop.org

If you are interested in buying 100 to 10,000 or more XO laptops at this time, and have a thoughtful deployment/support plan in place, please see:

http://laptopfoundation.org/participate/givemany.shtml

Where is my Get One XO laptop?

If you believe you ordered an XO laptop between Nov 12, 2007 and Dec 31, 2007, and have yet to receive it -- please email HELP @ LAPTOP . ORG with:

1. your 10-digit reference number (order number)
2. the exact amount you paid
3. the exact date you ordered or paid
4. your original email address used to place your order
5. the precise spelling of the person's name who ordered
6. your up-to-date US or Canadian shipping address (sorry PO Boxes don't work!)
7. your daytime/evening phone number(s)

Thanks!

Historical Information: the G1G1 Fulfillment Information page outlines some past problems with the Give1Get1 shipping and ordering process, dating from back in late 2007 and early 2008, which have now been resolved.

What Microsoft agreement was announced on May 15th 2008?

Please read AnnounceFAQ.
Some questions and answers about this announcement.

Where does the Give One XO Go?

<imagemap> image:P1020317-1.JPG|340px rect 1 1 680 680 Ulaanbaatar desc none </imagemap> The generous G1G1 donors of North America have given of tens of thousands of XO laptops to children in developing countries, including these new XOers in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (Photo by Carla Gomez Monroy, Learning Consultant, OLPC, 17 Jan 2008) 11-1

As of June 2008, about 10,000 XO laptops each are being prepared for Haiti, Rwanda and Mongolia. This expands upon the Mongolian deployment which began on a smaller scale in January 2008. Stay tuned: further details of the Give1Get1 program's matching donations (eg. Afghanistan and Cambodia anticipated) will be forthcoming.

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.

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

Give1Get1 donors who signed up in 2007 can find details of this offer here.

How do I reach Give1Get1: Shipment & Donor Services

Give1Get1 "customer service" questions (which we call Donor Services) need to be directed to: HELP @ LAPTOP.ORG

What is OLPC's tax exempt info?

Our US tax-exempt EIN (Employer ID Number) is towards the bottom of the Give1Get1 Donor Services FAQ.

How can I donate my Get One XO?

Thank you very much for participating in Give One Get One! We thank you also for your generous thought of donating back your XO laptop. It is very kind of you!

If you have the original packaging, please send in that box, or pack carefully in your own box, and mail to the address below. Please send to:

One Laptop per Child

Att: Give Another

One Cambridge Center, 10th floor

Cambridge, MA 02142

You may also be interested in giving your XO laptop to someone locally. Get a big smile for yourself!

Or, you may want to Donate Your Get One XO to an international group in a developing country, a non-profit in North American collecting XO's for schoolchildren in the US or Canada, or a Computer Science Education Project, including high schools and regional community groups.

How can I donate 100+ laptops? Enlist my entire school?

Contact "givemany AT laptop.org". Basic cost/quantity details are here.
For government inquiries only, contact "countries AT laptop.org"

For smaller international rollouts, please work with others on the grassroots mailing list.

While OLPC doesn't have a general mechanism for setting up smaller trials, immediate community feedback on school pilot projects is available in our live chat channels #olpc or #olpc-groups (see IRC channels for details). Similarly, you can have these and other questions answered live in the #olpc-help channel.

Getting Started, Laptop Settings

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.

How do I get started? Where is the manual?

Figuring out the XO in Mongolia

The XO laptop design rationale is to encourage kids to discover/learn things by themselves, rather than giving them a fixed set of instructions. However, you can learn about your new XO laptop with our Getting started guide. A printable PDF version (17.5MB, be patient downloading!) is also now available.

Many volunteers are also working on a Simplified User Guide -- please check back soon for more updates.

Can I print from the XO laptop?

For the first shipment of XOs from December 2007, there is no built-in Printer Support. The XO Community has worked on printing options for G1G1 donors.

How do I access a Linux command prompt?

For a Linux command prompt, run the "Terminal Activity"

What does "Register" (in Home view) do?

"Register" is for children that are connecting to a School Server, and serves no function for G1G1 recipients. See School Identity Manager for more explanation. After a child uses the Register function once at his/her school, this line disappears from the Home view.

Why is there no windowing system? How do I learn the XO Sugar Environment?

One Laptop per Child's XO software environment uses the Sugar graphical user interface on top of the Linux operating system. This environment is new and different from traditional PCs and Macs. We hope you will not only "learn by doing", 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. If there are other ways we can promote OLPC's worldwide learning community, please let us know.

How do I change my XO's Nickname? my XO's color on Sugar Views?

Your XO's Nickname and other options can be changed using the Terminal Activity's command line Sugar-Control-Panel.

How do I set the date and time on my laptop?

You may set the date and time as follows:

1. Connect to the Internet. (For details, see How can I access the Internet? )
2. Open a Linux prompt. (For details, see How do I access a Linux command prompt? Note that unless you are an advanced user, you should use the Terminal Activity button to open the prompt.)
3. Log in as "root". Assuming you are using the Terminal Activity program, you can log in as root by typing "su -" at the command prompt and pressing the Enter key. Note that as user "root" you have the ability to destroy all software on the XO, so you should end your session as soon as you successfully change the date and time.
4. At the command prompt, enter the following commands:
   /usr/sbin/ntpdate time.nist.gov
/usr/sbin/hwclock --systohc
5. Press the Enter key after each. In response to the ntpdate command, if it successfully contacts this US government official time server, the system will output a line of data displaying the correct date and time.
6. Click the "Stop" icon at the upper right corner of the screen to log out and close the Terminal Activity program.

How to set the timezone on my laptop

You can set the timezone by typing the Sugar-Control-Panel command in the Terminal Activity.

How do I disable the bootup sound?

Turn the volume down while the laptop is booting (i.e. before getting into Sugar).

Keyboard, Languages

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

The XO Keyboard has a number of special keys and keycap symbols. See Keyboard Shortcuts.

Can I type languages other than English?

Yes, you can enter letters from non-English languages.

Can I switch my keyboard to Dvorak layout?

Yes, please see Switching to Dvorak.

Internet, Connectivity, Email, Chat

How can I access the Internet?

Our Connectivity Quick Start Guide will answer most questions about Internet Connectivity.

Certain Give1Get1 donors from 2007 could take advantage of the former T-Mobile offer, in cases where Wi-Fi hotspots were nearby.

I am on Google, but the browser then tells me "search failed"!

When the Browse activity is launched, it displays a page with a Google logo and a search box. This page is stored locally in the XO, and it does not indicate that the XO is connected to the Internet. Please check How can I access the Internet for how to connect to the Internet.

Can I use a wired Ethernet connection?

Yes, you can connect to a wired Internet connection; use a USB-to-Ethernet adapter.

Note: XO laptops were intentionally designed for children in developing nations, where it is faster and less expensive to introduce wireless connections, rather than a traditional telecom infrastructure.

How do I disable wireless when flying?

To disable wireless when flying, use the Terminal Activity command Sugar-Control-Panel. For details, see Airplane mode.

Can XO laptops share an Internet connection?

At the moment, an XO laptop cannot be on both the Internet and on the mesh network at the same time with a default laptop configuration. This ability will hopefully be re-enabled by default in the future; until then, School Servers can server as Mesh Portals, and further details can be found on the Mesh Network Details page.

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; there isn't much need for dedicated network hardware. The laptops do the heavy lifting, rather than the traditional hierarchical network of hubs/switches/routers.

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

Is there an email program?

You can use the Gmail activity to access your email, if you have a @gmail.com account; or you can simply use Browse to access most any web-based email program.

Can I install Other software, like Flash, Java, AIM, MSN Messenger, or Skype?

Most Other software is not supported by OLPC. Some software is Free and Open Source Software and supported by its own User Community. Other software does not meet the OLPC standard of Software Freedom.

Mouse, Touchpad

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 stylus for the touchpad?

The touchpad is designed to work with a stylus across the full width of the three panels. (Only the center panel is sensitive to your finger.) A stylus does not ship with the laptop. See Pen Tablet support for more details.

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

Why is my touchpad jumpy?

There are three known touchpad issues. A USB mouse is a useful workaround in all three cases.

File Access

How do I save a file?

The XO automatically saves your work in the Journal Activity, accessed from the Home View. Click the notebook icon just below the XO character to open the Journal and find the activity or file you need.

For more information about the Journal, see OLPC Human Interface Guidelines/The Laptop Experience/The Journal.

How do I load a file on the disk into the Browser?

Open the Browse activity. In a window in the middle of the top of the Browser page you will see the words OLPC Library. Click on that and you will see the url: file:///home/olpc/.library_pages/search/bundle__index.html in the window and the contents of the file: .library_pages/search/bundle_index.html will be loaded in the browser. If you replace that filename in the window with the name of the file you want to load, and have it display, let us say: file:///home/olpc/upload-file.html and click on the window the file upload-file.html will be loaded from your home directory into the Browser.

How do I save or retrieve files from a USB drive or SD (Secure Digital) card?

Please see the complete instructions for using a USB Drive (sometimes known as a flash drive or USB key).

How do I delete a file?

Go to the Journal view, which you can access from the Home View. Select the notebook icon just below the XO character to open the Journal.

Find the file to be deleted by scrolling up and down the list.

Move the cursor over the file to be deleted and press to select and open a preview of the file.

Press the minus sign at the top of the screen to delete the file.

How do I play sound files?

In release 8.1.0 and later builds, Browse can play Ogg audio and video files using the Totem plugin. The eToys activity can play MP3 and Ogg files. After finding such a file in the Journal, click the far right icon (a square in a circle) to start eToys or Browse to play it.

To play sound files, you can also try the Watch and Listen activity, a Media Player based on the Helix project. When on the Journal entry for a sound file, click in the middle of the entry, to show the details. On that page, hover the mouse over the square-in-circle icon in the upper right corner of the screen. It should say "Resume", and list the possible activities that you can resume this file with. Click on Watch&Listen. Check for supported codecs you may need to download, if you require proprietary formats.

General Activity/Interface Questions

How do I close an Activity (program)?

Most activities have an "Activity" tab with a close button () found at the top right of the display; select the close tab and press to close the activity.

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

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

How do I download and run Activities (programs)?

There are many Activities the community has developed for download. From the Browser activity on the XO laptop, go to Activities and click on the .xo file within to download and install the activity to your laptop. When it is finished installing, click OK. Press the Home key () (fifth key from the upper left) to see the taskbar.

Scroll the taskbar to the right (by clicking on the arrow ) until you see the icon for the activity; click on it to start.

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

Is Internet required, or are Activities included?

The XO laptop does not require Internet access to be used. The XO laptop comes with more than 20 Activities (programs) and many more are freely downloadable. See this page for a quick introduction to introduction to pre-loaded Activities on the XO laptop. Start any of these Activities from the Activity taskbar at the bottom of the Home View.

After working properly for a while, activities won't load

There is a known bug in build 650 (the software build shipped in early Give1Get1 laptops late in 2007, and very early in 2008) which can result in activities working fine the first few times they are loaded; but on subsequent boots, the activities may not load.

There is a fix in build 653 and later versions. If you have this problem, please try upgrading to 653 or 656, which is the latest release, following the Upgrade Instructions. (Please note that upgrading to build 656 may disassociate the external applications installed in the previous build. See Trac #6317).

How do I use the Camera?

The Camera can be used with the Record Activity.

How do I take a screenshot?

Press Alt-1 at the same time. Go to the Journal. The screenshot should be the first item in the Journal. You can then copy the screenshot to the clipboard and open it with the Browse, Paint, or Etoys activity, or drag it onto an inserted USB flash drive for transporting it to another computer.

This quick screenshot hack also makes it easier to capture and upload multiple screenshots to a web server.

Specific Activity Questions

If you are interested in a particular activity, you may go to Activities and click on the link right next to the activity icon. This will point you to the documentation of the activity, which is maintained by the author(s).

Read: I can't find the icon for Read Activity. How do I read PDF files?

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

Browse: How do I bookmark a website and browse it later?

Click the star (☆) in the upper-right corner to bookmark the website. The website will be saved in the Journal Activity for future use.

Browse: How can I protect my children from objectionable content?

If you would not allow your children to have access to the internet from a PC, then carefully consider giving them access to the internet with the XO laptop. If you feel reasonably safe accessing the internet with a PC, then you can feel reasonably safe accessing the internet 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 the kinds of threats they may encounter online and appropriate behavior, don't give out personal information such as an address, phone number, 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.

Activity Development

How do I begin to write programs for the XO laptop?

You can find information on how to create your own programs for the XO at Getting started programming.

For those already familiar with both linux and python, the Activity tutorial is a step-by-step guide to building a Sugar activity.

Power Generation, Power Management, Battery Issues

Does my laptop come with a hand crank? Solar panels? Can the XO be used Off Grid?

The Get One XO does not ship with any human powered device or solar panel, which are designed to support the XO laptops shipped to developing countries.

Even without these accessories the XO is a Green Machine suitable for Off Grid and fluctuating power areas.

Future peripheral availability is discussed on the Product News page.

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 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, generally using only 5-10 percent of the average wattage of a standard laptop.

See our overall discussion of Battery and power requirements. For more formal specs, see Hardware specifications.

How long does the battery last?

Battery life is approximately 3 to 6 hours, depending on which Activities are used. Battery life may be increased to 10 hours or longer with future software release, expected starting in the spring of 2008.

How do I power off the XO laptop?

From the Home View, move the pointer over the XO symbol at the center of your screen, and press "Shutdown."

Or depress the power button briefly until the green power light goes off.

• 

  Power button

How do I put an XO laptop to sleep?

The sleep feature was not enabled in software provided on XOs shipped starting December 2007 in the Give1Get1 program. Software upgrades later in 2008/2009 should support suspend/resume sleep features, for much improved battery life.

My XO laptop won't power on

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

Ensure the battery is properly inserted and the power adapter is plugged into the XO laptop and the electrical outlet.

If both the battery and power lights are on (just below your screen, to the right),

• 

  Power button

and the laptop won't start when the power button is pushed, this may indicate a minor problem with the embedded controller (EC). Remove all power sources (by taking the battery out and removing the power adapter), then wait 10 seconds to allow it to reset; and finally reconnect and power up your XO laptop. Confirm your laptop turns on and boots. If your XO laptop does not turn on or boot, it may be damaged.

If your XO laptop was damaged on receipt, contact HELP @ LAPTOP.ORG within 30 days, to exchange it. They are open Monday to Friday 9am - 8pm Eastern time. For warranty information, check the Give1Get1 program's Terms & Conditions, along with the Donor Services FAQ.

Is my battery OK? Why does it say "discharging" when plugged in?

The vast majority of initial battery issues were not in fact hardware problems, but rather software problems. This is because December 2007's Build 650 had a couple bugs which commonly lead to false reporting in the Home view, as to the actual amount of battery life.

These software bugs (#4208, #4401) were largely fixed for the 8.2.x software build.

If however your battery does not retain any charge at all, and you are within the 30-day Give1Get1 warranty, consider applying for an RMA return.

Many non-BYD batteries can also be repaired, using the following Battery Troubleshooting Process.

But if it's a BYD battery (yellow label) and it won't charge then it's almost certainly the "charge balance" issue -- in which case, diagnostic and recovery info can be found here: XO LiFePO4 Recovery Procedure. (olpc-pwr-log is the successor to olpc-logbat for generating battery-diagnostic logs, and should be included in the upcoming 8.2.x release. Users of older builds should download and run olpc-pwr-log rather than olpc-logbat. Although much of the info is the same.)

Finally, note that new batteries are for sale for about $25, at several different community repair repairs.

Software Update, Restore to Factory Default

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

If you have "upgraded" the software on your laptop, try the recover process: power off your XO, press and hold the 'O' game pad key, then power-on. 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 the clean-install procedure to re-flash its entire "disk image" including its operating system.

If you see a "Bad hash at eblock #0" message while performing a clean install, this indicates the image on the USB flash drive is bad. Download the image again, or try a different USB device.

How do I check which version of the operating system I am running?

Please see How to check the OS and firmware versions.

How do I update/upgrade my laptop? Opt out?

Currently two methods for Upgrading the XO are available: online and offline.

To opt out of updates/upgrades to your XO, which occur automatically over the Internet, please see the Update streams page.

What's the latest on current software release builds?

See Release notes for the very latest and a history of releases.

Software "Build 656" (Ship.2.2) shipped on most Give1Get1 laptops in March 2008.
Software "Build 653" (Ship.2.1) shipped on most Give1Get1 laptops in January and February of 2008.
Software "Build 650" (Ship.2) shipped on most Give1Get1 laptops in December 2007.

These software environments include the operating system and all built-in applications for now. Click above for summary release notes.

In early 2008, we recommended most everybody upgrade to Build 656, for improved stability and WPA support. Later in 2008 the "update.1" releases brought further improvements.

To upgrade, back up all critical files to a USB flash drive, and then use Olpc-update to update or the clean-install procedure. Read the Upgrading the XO summary explanation.

Why do I see Build 653/656 on this page? What's the deal with Build 653/656?

Please refer to the section -- After working properly for a while, activities won't load.

How do I recover from a "Disk Full" error?

There are some situations—such as recovering from the "Disk Full" error—that may require you to reflash your XO laptop.

How do I run unofficial/unsigned builds & firmware?

For advanced users/developers only. You will need to download a "developer key". Please follow the process outlined at Activation and Developer Keys.

Disk, Storage Device, Backing Up

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: The flash memory acts as the hard disk. Original specifications are outlined here.

How should I use the SD card slot?

The SD card slot is hidden on the edge of the unit under the power button. It is not intended for casual use, but intended for (semi)permanent augmentation of flash storage on the system. To try to keep water and dust out of the main unit, it has a rubber seal that makes it difficult to extract the SD card.

As a result, we recommend using the USB ports for casual transient storage expansion or moving files from computer to computer.

How do I backup my XO?

See How_to_backup_your_XO

Hardware Repairs, Returns

My XO laptop won't play sound

If there is no sound when you boot the XO laptop; or you are unable to record voice from the Record activity, you may have a broken component—like the speaker. If you confirm sound is completely broken, contact: HELP @ LAPTOP.ORG

My screen has a couple discolored pixels

We regret that our warranty does not provide for replacement laptops in this case, where just a few pixels are imperfect, in keeping with One Laptop per Child's mission to build the best all-around low-cost laptop for the Developing World.

How do I test my keyboard for sticky/broken keys?

Test your keyboard by running the firmware diagnostics. See Cheat codes. Holding the rocker (button below the speaker) to the left, while powering on, will get you into these diagnostics. The keyboard diagnostic will come up pretty soon, if you exit various earlier diagnostics by hitting the Escape key. This lets you see very easily what the computer is seeing as you press or release each key. Any "sticky" key would be visible in light blue on the screen as if a finger was still pressing it.

The touchpad and stylus area can also be tested in the same diagnostic.

Finally, if you've genuinely confirmed your keyboard is damaged, after multiple reboots -- check your warranty if you need to apply for a possible return.

You may also want to check out this interim workaround: Stuck keys.

Problems with sticky keys may also be a software problem. If you have recently upgraded your firmware, which may have happened automatically as part of an upgrade to a newer release, you may also have run into a known bug in firmware q2d09 that can be fixed by downgrading or upgrading the firmware.

What is the warranty info? RMA process?

Our 30-day Warranty is described in the Give1Get1 Terms & Conditions. To exchange your hardware, apply for a Return Merchandise Authorization by following our RMA process.

All Give1Get1 "customer service" questions need to be directed to Donor Services: HELP @ LAPTOP.ORG

Does opening my laptop void the warranty?

Yes, but your warranty expires after 30 days anyway. In fact you may want to disassemble your own XO laptop to explore its components, AT YOUR OWN RISK—for example, the screen connector and keyboard internals are very easy to break!

Do NOT remove the watch battery on the motherboard if you disassemble your machine—prior to the Q2D07 version of firmware, this can result in the computer becoming "bricked" or unusable!

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

Spare parts like replacement batteries, power cords (chargers), screens, touchpads and keyboards are available from http://xoexplosion.com and http://ilovemyxo.com.

Check our Maintenance/Repair pages for other post-Warranty options, most of which are run by volunteers.

If you have a torn or ripped keyboard and do not wish to replace it with a new one, you may want to try these simple instructions for an inexpensive do-it-yourself repair.

Do NOT remove the watch battery on the motherboard if you disassemble your machine -- prior to the Q2D07 version of firmware, this can result in the computer becoming unusable, due to a bug in our anti-theft firmware implementation. Note Give1Get1 systems do not have the anti-theft system fully enabled.