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.

Certain XO owners in the Give1Get1 program are experiencing an even more serious touchpad issue, that is expected to be resolved in the next software release, downloadable in early in 2008.

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.

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 colors on my XO figure in the center of my screen?

To change the color of the XO symbol at the center of your Home View, launch the Terminal activity as described in the section How do I access a Linux command prompt. 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 prompt, type just one of the following example commands:

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

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

   sugar-control-panel -h color                            (press "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?

For the first shipment of XOs from December 2007, there is no printer support available. However, documents can be saved to a USB flash drive and printed from another computer. Instructions on how to save and retrieve documents to the USB drive can be found in the section: How do I save or retrieve files from a USB drive

To summarize, insert the USB drive in one of three USB slots on the XO laptop; copy your document from the Journal to the USB drive; insert the USB drive into another computer, and print.

Software to enable printing will be added sometime in 2008 with a software upgrade that supports the standard CUPS / IPP protocols.

Note: In the developing world, paper is a precious resource, so children store their work on their laptops rather than print it out.

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 on this Getting started programming wiki page.

Connectivity and the Internet

How can I access the Internet?

First, you must have wireless(*) Internet nearby; second, verify the network name (SSID) and its password, if it has one; and third, carefully follow the instructions found at: http://laptop.org/laptop/start/connecting.shtml

As of December 2007, WPA security is not supported on the XO laptop. If you are a knowledgeable Linux user, you can find instructions here to access the Internet with WPA security by manually setting up WPA. It may be best for less experienced users to wait for the next stable XO software release, which should be available by the 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.

Note: XO laptops were intentionally designed for children in 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?

Go to: http://www.corecoding.com/utilities/wep2hex.php and convert your password into a hex phrase.
Click on the Access Point in the neighborhood mesh view.
Choose Hex input for the key; and choose "shared" key instead of "open".
Enter your hex phrase.
You should be able to associate to and authenticate a connection to an Apple Access point.

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

Donors will receive an email with a PIN access code and instructions from "service AT laptop.org" at approximately the same time your laptop ships to you. This email also includes your Fedex tracking number.

Details about accessing T-Mobile hotspots across the USA are here and here.

Note: T-Mobile does not provide access in your home; you need to go to or be near a business with a T-Mobile hotspot!

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 use a wired Ethernet connection?

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

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

First, start the "Terminal" activity from the Frame; instructions can be found here. 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".

Second, type the following:

/sbin/ifconfig -a           (press "Enter")

Third, find the hardware MAC address in the first line marked "eth0". Save this address.

Fourth, connect your XO laptop to a wireless network; your IP address can be found in the line right after that.

Where can I find information to help diagnose wireless problems?

The following information can help in the diagnosis of wireless problems.

1. The software build on your XO. Please see this How to check the OS and firmware versions page to find your software build.

2. The access Point/Router brand, model, version, and firmware version (ideally).

3. The security configuration of your home system. If the user changed the defaults, the user can collect the information; if not, the user can discover the default settings, assuming the user has information for #2.

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

What common wireless symptoms do users 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 have 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 (a lock appears), or as open in the mesh view?

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

start blinking and after some time stop, 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 can I enable proxy settings?

The software build on the Give1Get1 shipped in December 2007 (Build 650) does not support a user interface to change the web browser by proxy settings. 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; 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.

How do I disable wireless when flying?

Launch the Terminal activity as described in the section How do I access a Linux command prompt. 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.

Run Sugar Control Panel; type the following:

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

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

Wireless will be restored the next time the XO laptop is rebooted, regardless of the method used to disable wireless connectivity.

How do I disable automatic connection to my Access Point?

If you want to remove any "memory" of connecting to a particular access point, launch the Terminal activity as described in the section How do I access a Linux command prompt. 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.

Delete the network manager config file by typing:

rm /home/olpc/.sugar/default/nm/networks.cfg (press "Enter")

Restart your XO laptop, or restart Sugar by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Erase keys at the same time; 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 need to 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?

The Give1Get1 laptop does not ship with any human powered device or solar panel. These devices are designed to support the XO laptops shipping to developing countries. Future peripheral availability is discussed on the Product News page.

SOLAR PANELS: The manufacturer of the solar 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. From the Browser activity on the XO laptop, go to Activities and click on the .xo file within to download the activity to your laptop's Journal. Open the Journal, and click on the Activity to install and run.

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.

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.

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.

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).

How do I bookmark a website and browse it later?

Open Browse and go to the website you'd like to bookmark.
Click the start on the upper right corner to bookmark the website.
Close (Stop) Browse and go to Journal.
Click on the Browse icon on the very top of the list entries; this takes you to the detailed view of the entry.
If you prefer, click on the field right next to the Browse icon. Rename the session by typing in the field.
Do either of the following:
1. Click "Go Back" at the upper left corner. Then click on the while/grey little dot at the far right of the Browse entry of interest.
2. Click "Resume" at the upper right corner.
Browse starts again and takes you to the bookmarked page.

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 environment is new and different from traditional PCs and Macs. We hope you will 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. If there are other ways we can promote OLPC's worldwide learning community, please let us know.

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 copy the screenshot to the clipboard, and open it with the Browse, Paint, or Etoys activity.

Using files and the filesystem

How do I save a file?

Files are saved automatically in the Journal. Access the Journal from the Home View. Select 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 save or retrieve files from a USB drive?

Insert the USB drive in one of three USB ports on the side of the [[1]] of the laptop.

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.

The USB icon appears in the lower left corner of the display.

To save a file from the Journal to the USB drive, move the curser over the Journal item and drag it to the USB icon.

To retrieve a file from the USB drive, press on the USB icon first, drag the item from the USB drive to the journal icon.

If you are Linux-inclined, the USB drive's filesystem is automatically mounted under /media.

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 curser 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?

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?

Hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys and type u followed by the 4-digit 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 a website is opened; you need to click on the flash window to load flash.

Install Adobe Flash, which plays a larger variety of Flash pages, by following the instructions on our Adobe Flash page. After installation, you need to click on flash windows to open websites with flash.

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 on the XO laptop. The XO laptop has a GNU/Linux based Operating System and features its own programs that are 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?

AOL dialup software is not actively supported on the XO laptop. AOL Instant Messenger is also not supported by OLPC.

If you're technically-oriented and eager for a challenge, 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 "safer than" your PC -- threats to Linux are rare.

Advanced users may be interested in 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 can 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 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.

Power, suspending and Hardware

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

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, see Hardware 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 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 (take the battery out and remove the power adapter; wait 10 seconds to allow it to reset; 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, call Donor Services at 800-201-7144 within 30 days, to exchange it or email them at "service at laptopgiving.org". 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.

How do I power off the XO laptop?

From the Home View, move the curser 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 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 the next software release, which is expected in January 2008.

How do I put an XO laptop to sleep?

The sleep feature is not enabled in software provided on XOs shipped in the December 2007 Give1Get1 program. A software upgrade early in 2008 will support the sleep feature.

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.

Troubleshooting (Advanced) & Repair

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, call or email Donor Services (800-201-7144, service@laptopgiving.org) and ask for a replacement.

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

Details of software "Build 650", which shipped on all Give1Get1 laptops in 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?

Try the recover process: hold 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 its operating system and Activities.

If you see a "Bad hash at eblock #0" message while performing these "Activated Upgrade" steps, this indicates your image on the USB key is bad. Download the image again, or try a different USB key.

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

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