raven remnant
I don't know if it's a hardware problem or not but i'm trying to install linux on my laptop and every distribution i've tried so far has resulted in the laptop freezing after a few minutes or so.
It's running a pentium n5030, 4gb of ram and 64gb emmc. I get that it's a low-spec laptop but it ran windows 10 fine. I don't see a reason why linux won't work at all unless maybe there's some kind of fault in the hardware?
i'm using a different laptop to make the installation media with ventoy installed on a usb drive
i've tried reinstalling different iso's but that's not helped
i might give reinstalling ventoy a try. did update it to the latest version but that didn't work. reckon i should try BalenaEtcher + Rufus if that doesn't work too?
as long as it works tbh. i just want to install either mint or mx linux since it's a low spec laptop
i'll start off by reinstalling ventoy as a whole then i'll see what to do from there
molten portal
as long as it works tbh. i just want to install either mint or mx linux since it...
Do you at least get to the white Ventoy screen?
Go into your BIOS, to the "Main" page, and list all the computer specs here.
I mean the UEFI specs, if any
raven remnant
I don't know if it's a hardware problem or not but i'm trying to install linux o...
Do you ever added swap partition while on installation?
spare swift
This ticket seems like user error
Simply just use etcherz if it's just Linux installed
raven remnant
Etchers is better tho than rufus
spare swift
Create partitions needed, haven't done manual in a bit due to server automation
raven remnant
Etchers is better tho than rufus
While install Linux mint
raven remnant
Is there any error codes we have photos of?
His laptop are freezing so there no error log can see
molten portal
onlyweebOP — Today at 03:58
I don't know if it's a hardware problem or not but i'm trying to install linux on my laptop and every distribution i've tried so far has resulted in the laptop freezing after a few minutes or so.
not sure if this means freezing after reaching/ while on the desktop
or freezing during a very long bootup.
spare swift
@raven remnant hello, what distro
raven remnant
<@456226577798135808> hello, what distro
Linux mint
spare swift
Do you have code on your screen or is this just normal boot
I think you can get the status of boot logs to show
molten portal
OnlyWeeb is the one with the problem
spare swift
@raven remnant cat /var/log/boot.log if you can get into your filesystem and mount. Or can you not even install it ?
journalctl -b*
You should see boot logs
raven remnant
@raven remnant If you're not adding swap partition this is might happen if not crash it will freezing.
HDD only
USB bootable is fine
spare swift
Id definitely choose "use entire disk" Lol
And have it create partitions for you if this is your first time
raven remnant
onlyweeb His ram are 4gb probably one of his ram are having problem
I had experience before I upgrade my ram. my windows 10 is blue screen while using 4gb.
After I upgrade the RAM everything is okay
Yeah confirm the problem of onlyweeb his laptop ram
spare swift
Can't you run with 1gig
Well I forget people use de
With a de I run 4gig fast
Run thru it^
raven remnant
i mean one of his ram are having problem not about size 4gb or 8gb.
molten portal
<@456226577798135808> If you're not adding swap partition this is might happen i...
Mint, Ubuntu, and I believe even MX install a swap file by default. I don't think that is any issue.
raven remnant
Mint, Ubuntu, and I believe even MX install a swap file by default. I don't thin...
Yeah I think his ram. not about not adding swap partition
molten portal
not sure if this means freezing after reaching/ while on the desktop
got to wait for more info from OP on this.
raven remnant
got to wait for more info from OP on this.
Alright
raven remnant
completely my fault. i've been off discord the whole day and didn't realize that i'd gotten so many responses in these past couple of hours
raven remnant
Go into your BIOS, to the "Main" page, and list all the computer specs here.
i do get to ventoy and the live environment boots up completely fine. the problem is that it crashes after a few minutes. i even did a memory test with memtest86 which gave me the conclusion that it's not a hardware fault. all tests concluded with 0 errors
i'm in my BIOS now and as far as specs it's on BIOS version 301 (asus), emmc storage, intel pentium silver n5030 for the cpu, 4gb of ddr4 ram and the gpu is the integrated uhd graphics 605 from intel
i could post the serial number too if necessary
Did you check it, your laptop was overheating or not?
raven remnant
Do you ever added swap partition while on installation?
no i just went through the gui installation (previously was crashing in live environment. just installed mx linux to see if it fixed the error but it doesn't)
raven remnant
Did you check it, your laptop was overheating or not?
i did check and it doesn't overheat at all
even during the memory test the average cpu temp was 69c which should be fine
there's also no chance the memory's being fully used as the resource manager that comes with mx shows i'm only using about 20% (or under) with two firefox tabs open yet it still crashes. not to mention i used to do a lot more when it had windows installed
raven remnant
no i just went through the gui installation (previously was crashing in live env...
What software you're use for burn iso into USB? Rufus or etchers?
it freezes randomly after being in the os for a little
raven remnant
What software you're use for burn iso into USB? Rufus or etchers?
i just download the iso and put it into ventoy
i've done that before on other laptops and it's worked fine so i didn't think that might be the cause
molten portal
it's not the iso
raven remnant
i just download the iso and put it into ventoy
Alright, ever you're try using etchers iso burn into usb Linux?
molten portal
intel gfx should play nice too
raven remnant
Alright, ever you're try using etchers iso burn into usb Linux?
i've never tried no. i usually always go with ventoy
molten portal
did you overclock?
raven remnant
completely yes
molten portal
no mouse no capslock, etc
raven remnant
i've never tried no. i usually always go with ventoy
Just advice, try it using etchers..
Hopefully not crash or freezing
raven remnant
no mouse no capslock, etc
nothing. even the cursor itself sometimes loads something and freezes mid animation. it's the entire screen
molten portal
did the install go fast or slow?
raven remnant
it was completely normal. pretty fast and nothing out of the ordinary
raven remnant
i'm pretty sure the ram is soldered so no
molten portal
k
might consider a BIOS reflash
how long would you stay on the live desktop?
cuz it typically doesnt touch the HDD
raven remnant
it doesn't seem like a fixed amount of time but generally 30 seconds to a few minutes
molten portal
Wondering if its a SATA/AHCI issue
raven remnant
might consider a BIOS reflash
it'd be my first time trying a BIOS reflash but idm giving it a shot
molten portal
it doesn't seem like a fixed amount of time but generally 30 seconds to a few mi...
try test driving in live mode only, or did u try that?
raven remnant
what do you mean by test driving? as in using it regularly and seeing if it crashes?
molten portal
yes like use it as normal a few hours
raven remnant
yeah i did try that and it crashes from about 30 seconds to a few minutes into regular use
molten portal
but just in live desktop
molten portal
yeah i did try that and it crashes from about 30 seconds to a few minutes into r...
ok ty
raven remnant
then just installed because i thought that might fix the problem but it didn't
so with regular use and no pressure on cpu/ram it crashes both in live environment and full install
raven remnant
around late 2019
molten portal
ok not old at all
raven remnant
how old is the pc?
Laptop not pc
pretty minimal use too. it was an unwanted gift for the most part so i think it's been turned on maybe under 20 times
molten portal
I'm thinking try an older distro with the 4.19 kernel
or even the 5.4 kernel (mint 20.3)
raven remnant
i was thinking either mint or mx just because of how light they are. i've heard sysvinit is lighter that systemd which is why i tried mx but i'm not certain how big of a different it makes in the real world
molten portal
i was thinking either mint or mx just because of how light they are. i've heard ...
im thinking it's a kernel-level fault, not resouurces
raven remnant
i was thinking either mint or mx just because of how light they are. i've heard ...
You're tries install mx is fine? No crashed? Or freezing
raven remnant
im thinking it's a kernel-level fault, not resouurces
interesting. and why would that be the case? do some kernels not support certain hardware? this laptop is only just reaching 5 years old in terms of release
raven remnant
You're tries install mx is fine? No crashed? Or freezing
yes the install was fine but the problem persists of it freezing even after the installation
molten portal
You may have to reinstall Windows in order to reflash the BIOS using the manufacturer's recommended method for that exact motherboard. - Unless your mobo has a q-flash usb port and button on the back
raven remnant
about that
molten portal
interesting. and why would that be the case? do some kernels not support certain...
it may be what is called a regression. An update made to the core which inadvertently ruins something that previously worked.
raven remnant
the BIOS utility conveniently has a section called "asus ez flash 3" which i think i could use
molten portal
hence why I said try with MX 18 or Mint 20.3
molten portal
the BIOS utility conveniently has a section called "asus ez flash 3" which i thi...
it would be wise if u can backup the existing bios image first
and then get the exact mobo BIOS image online.
has to be very exact
in case new BIOS totally bricks ur thing, u have a chance of restoring the old one u backed up.
raven remnant
it may be what is called a regression. An update made to the core which inadvert...
two things about that. is there any downside to using an older kernel (in terms of security, compatibility)? and will that regression continue to exist in newer kernel patches or am i just stuck on the older versions?
molten portal
may be stuck
i mean it's more of a troubleshooting/ narrowing it down tactic
I know MX 18.x Continuum used the 4.19 kernel and may still be available to d/l from distrowatch.org
and Mint 20.3 may still be supported (it is LTS afterall) and i know it used 5.4
raven remnant
i mean it's more of a troubleshooting/ narrowing it down tactic
so what can i do if this problem is fixed by downgrading kernels if you say it's just a way to narrow it down?
molten portal
oh did u look at those logs Lukas mentions?
raven remnant
i haven't no
molten portal
so what can i do if this problem is fixed by downgrading kernels if you say it's...
then u gotta stick with the older ones as the new just isn't compatible
see if u can install ksystemlog to your installed linux pc now
it makes it easy to see all logs
and u may see what thing kills the system, if u watch the clock on the minute.
raven remnant
see if u can install `ksystemlog` to your installed linux pc now
sure i'll try this now
i'm just concerned that this laptop might become obsolete sooner than i expected because of the fact that i can never upgrade to a newer kernel
molten portal
cat /var/log/boot.log
this one is related to boot processes/issues. i believe journald log was mentioned too. that would be handy for the runtime logs
raven remnant
is there another way to view logs without booting up the system? the crashes are too unpredictable
it just froze a second after i clicked log in. didn't get the chance to open a terminal
molten portal
i'm in my BIOS now and as far as specs it's on BIOS version 301 (asus), emmc sto...
hardware specifications for anyone reading now.
molten portal
it just froze a second after i clicked log in. didn't get the chance to open a t...
yes u can reach login screen/manager. press ctrl-alt-F1 (or F2 to F6) then u login there in what is a real mode terminal (TTY)
but u'll need to do some googling on another devices to learn where system.log, journald log, xorg log etc are all kept
I just remembered MX has the log viewer thing too.
it's called Quick System Info.. u put a tickmark in a log box, and click save ( u may uncheck the top Quick one)
raven remnant
not sure if this helps but here's a picture i managed to capture as it was booting up
slightly blurry but i hope you can see that a directory wasn't found
molten portal
that's not really an alarming thing
raven remnant
actually hold on. just got a better image
molten portal
i can see the above one fine
raven remnant
raven remnant
yes
molten portal
ok login with ur typical user account name and its password
raven remnant
done
molten portal
ok. can u excuse me a sec. in meantime read thru that bootlog file wich was mentioned.
raven remnant
no problem
raven remnant
and which file do you want me to search for?
molten portal
this one is related to boot processes/issues. i believe journald log was menti...
this
molten portal
no
that was just for practice.
incidentally how many screenfuls of info was it?
also, it'd be interesting to see if you just live in TTY for half an hour if the computer will freeze up or not
just reading through stuff
raven remnant
also, it'd be interesting to see if you just live in TTY for half an hour if the...
could still crash but it's still running after 10 minutes on standby
raven remnant
incidentally how many screenfuls of info was it?
3
molten portal
could still crash but it's still running after 10 minutes on standby
that's the thing, since the TTY uses no graphics drivers, just plain text mode, also virtually no background processes, this can help diagnose
I know MX comes with htop, the terminal based process and resource viewer. launch it now from TTY
just type htop
ctrl-c to "cancel" and exit out of htop or mostly any running terminal app.
ifconfig to check on various network "interfaces" like LAN card port, WiFi chip / radio name. lo = local loopback
ping website.domain to see a timed response from that website, and tell you if you have any internet connection. ie - ping google.com
lsblk -o NAME,TYPE,MODEL,FSSIZE,FSTYPE,OWNER,MOUNTPOINT
^ type that precisely to get an organized and descriptive list of your connected drives n such.
you may share a clear pic of that result here.
and also use the inxi command to show system information :
inxi -Fxxxz will show a "full" report while blocking serial numbers n such. Provide some pics of that. Pg Up and Pg Dn keys should get you scrollback/forward.
molten portal
FYI, uname -r will show specific linux kernel being used currently on your system. Similarly uname -a will show that plus other stuff related to the date of it and the founding distro.
molten portal
is htop or ifconfig necessary?
yes just to make the system work a bit.
molten portal
do all the stuff I mentioned so you get a hang of the "real" terminal. all while this is testing the operation of the system.
raven remnant
ifconfig isn't installed. should i install?
molten portal
ok try the ping
raven remnant
ping is working completely fine
molten portal
what's the response time?
molten portal
milliseconds
raven remnant
yes in milliseconds
molten portal
ok that's fine. let's try to update and upgrade the system.
raven remnant
those are the lowest and highest numbers
raven remnant
ok that's fine. let's try to update and upgrade the system.
sure
molten portal
ok so that the distro knows the latest packages from a catalog it keeps, u do sudo apt update
and give it some time to fetch all info
raven remnant
it's working on it now
molten portal
sudo means "super user do" essentially giving your regular user boss privileges.
not all regular users are part of the sudo group. for example, if u just made a 2nd or 3rd account.
but the user who installs is automatically given membership to the sudo group
ok did it complete fetching info?
raven remnant
it's about to
molten portal
keep in mind this updates nothing, package-wise. Just the catalog of stuff currently available to the debian/MX universe
raven remnant
do u have a typical prompt?
i don't think so?
molten portal
where's it at? show a clear landscape pic of it
raven remnant
molten portal
ty
raven remnant
np
molten portal
ok you see on the right side in orange, it seems to show a quite slow download speed
raven remnant
yeah that's normal actually. i'm not in my home country atm so
molten portal
is your wifi signal perhaps getting interference? (if on wiresless)
raven remnant
it is on wireless yes. this laptop doesn't have an ethernet port
molten portal
did the speed change a bit on the screen?
raven remnant
the laptop i'm on right now has much better connection
raven remnant
did the speed change a bit on the screen?
it hovered around the same speed
raven remnant
it did move actually. i do remember the time was much shorter but i think that's also before the packages were received
raven remnant
then it's not frozen
no it's been frozen since i took that photo. it's the exact same time, speed and it's on the same line for which package it was fetching
molten portal
shame that it slowed this much though. updating the list should only take about 10 to 45 seconds if u have high=speed internet (some tier of it, at least)
raven remnant
i thought you meant earlier before it froze
raven remnant
shame that it slowed this much though. updating the list should only take about ...
yeah it is a shame but can't do much about it atm
molten portal
did the thing showing 68% increase at all?
raven remnant
it did not
molten portal
ok.. this may lead to a new discovery
that your wifi chip or adapter is causing issues
press Ctrl+C firmly
see if it breaks out of the update.
raven remnant
it doesn't
molten portal
and back to a normal prompt
raven remnant
it's still frozen
molten portal
press Capslock key
raven remnant
capslock also isn't working (there's a light that turns on next to it)
molten portal
does the caps light toggle?
raven remnant
it's not toggling at the moment, no
molten portal
i see. so it may well be your wifi chip seizing up the pc
that or the CPU just hates linux
raven remnant
that.. would be interesting. i can't tell because i don't have the best wifi around me right now but it could be the case
molten portal
or that Windows did something to the UEFI/BIOS that put it out of factory-state/image and now the BIOS isn't behaving while running linux kernel
raven remnant
in that case i could always flash the BIOS
molten portal
what version of Windows did you have on the machine before?
raven remnant
window 10. 22h2 afaik
molten portal
yeah cuz we just witnessed total lockup in a non-GUI and very light environment.
btw, Ctrl-Alt-F7 would get u back to the graphical login screen or (had u been in) the desktop.
raven remnant
yeah that isn't working either
molten portal
does that key-combo do anything now?
ok
so you will need to force a shutdown.. take note of how long it ran til the freeze.
raven remnant
i can't check it now that it's frozen but around 50 minutes if i had to guess
45-50
molten portal
try the old MX ISO or MINT iso like i mentioned, as an experiment. you can just run it live off ventoy
and u can just paste it to ventoy drive, no need to reflash the usb
raven remnant
i'm not sure which to try tbh. how much lighter is sysvinit over systemd? because both mint and mx have an option xfce so
molten portal
it may or may not have just froze
from when u said it's beginning the update, to this point, was only 5 minutes.
molten portal
i'm not sure which to try tbh. how much lighter is sysvinit over systemd? becaus...
it's not the desktop, it's the kernel chief. u just witnessed this.
raven remnant
from when u said it's beginning the update, to this point, was only 5 minutes.
the uptime was 32 minutes when i checked htop and that was about 20 minutes ago now
molten portal
raven remnant
it's not the desktop, it's the kernel chief. u just witnessed this.
right, i am just trying it off a live usb. i was just thinking which of the two distro's i should stick with but i haven't even fixed this problem yet
molten portal
get 20.3
raven remnant
sure i'll download that now
molten portal
cinnamon
raven remnant
why not xfce?
raven remnant
alright then i'll just do xfce because why not
molten portal
u can if u want tho
raven remnant
20.3 it is though
molten portal
aight i gotta sign off. I'll pop by in a few hours.
raven remnant
sure. i'll update this ticket in case the live iso works just fine
raven remnant
update: i tried mint 20.3 (una) and it seems that i can’t connect to any wifi networks both in the live environment and full installation
i’m pretty sure that it’s my network card/device at fault but i’m unsure what to do about it
on the upside, i did try running office programs and several tabs on firefox at the same time and that didn’t cause any freezing. maybe it really is the wifi chip as you thought @molten portal
molten portal
on the upside, i did try running office programs and several tabs on firefox at ...
how'd u connect for Firefox? via ethernet to your router?
raven remnant
update: i tried mint 20.3 (una) and it seems that i can’t connect to any wifi ne...
Try: sudo NetworkManager restart
If not work tell me again
I will gave you other commands
raven remnant
how'd u connect for Firefox? via ethernet to your router?
i wasn't connected so i know it didn't take up much ram. i just thought i'd open some tabs while i run office programs to make the system's doing something
raven remnant
Try: sudo NetworkManager restart
this didn’t work
raven remnant
any suggestions?
opaque lynx
any suggestions?
if your WiFi card is fuxxed, you might want to just use Ethernet
or buy an external dongle
raven remnant
if your WiFi card is fuxxed, you might want to just use Ethernet
i’m hoping i can find a fix. wifi card was fine on windows so it might be a compatibility thing
this laptop doesn’t have an ethernet port and limited ports
opaque lynx
this laptop doesn’t have an ethernet port and limited ports
connect your phone via usb and enable usb tethering on your phone.
raven remnant
connect your phone via usb and enable usb tethering on your phone.
i could try that as a temporary fix but then what?
opaque lynx
i could try that as a temporary fix but then what?
when connected, open driver manager
raven remnant
when connected, open driver manager
my bad. wasn't home the entire day yesterday
what next?
opaque lynx
what next?
does it say anything?
raven remnant
does it say anything?
it prompted me with a message that told me my wireless network adapter isn't working which sounded promising
but installing the proprietary drivers gives me an error
molten portal
try sudo apt update in terminal first, with your network tether, and let that fully refresh, then retry the Driver Manager thing.
raven remnant
try `sudo apt update` in terminal first, with your network tether, and let that ...
been using the laptop casually for the past 24 hours and no crashes so far. you were right in that i needed to downgrade kernels
what now though? do i stick with this version forever? will an updated kernel ever support my machine?
molten portal
what now though? do i stick with this version forever? will an updated kernel ev...
You can live-test some distros or updates of Mint in future to see if any improvements; or change out the Wifi module inside the computer, (or unplug it) and use a well-supported WiFi USB dongle.
molten portal
try `sudo apt update` in terminal first, with your network tether, and let that ...
did this work to get Driver Manager to setup the proper WiFi driver for your module?
molten portal
update: i tried mint 20.3 (una) and it seems that i can’t connect to any wifi ne...
SOLUTION DISCOVERED. ^
raven remnant
You can live-test some distros or updates of Mint in future to see if any improv...
i'll try this in the future perhaps. what would be the con of sticking with an unsupported kernel again? iirc 5.4 will be outdated past 2025 which isn't long from now
unsure of what to do then tbh
molten portal
i'll try this in the future perhaps. what would be the con of sticking with an u...
it's totally fine tbh. unless you add more brand new unsupported hardware or there's some major threat news for security past April 2025, nothing to worry to change.
if anything, change out the wifi module. zero soldering required for that. and research a well-supported linux one (like Intel)
I hope you got your proprietary driver set up for the builtin wifi transceiver and all is running well and stable, @raven remnant
raven remnant
if anything, change out the wifi module. zero soldering required for that. and r...
so correct me if i'm wrong on this, but the wifi module is what was causing all the freezing in other distros of linux/versions of mint?
raven remnant
I hope you got your proprietary driver set up for the builtin wifi transceiver a...
it's running well so far. i think i'll try to replace the wifi module in the near future. most of what i'm finding is qualcomm and not intel however