[SOLVED sort of] Can't boot Mint on HP Laptop

[russellz]

Hi all

I've installed various versions of Linux on a number of machines but stuck on this one. My present laptop has broken hinges and needs replacing.

Bought a new laptop; HP Laptop 17-ak0xx, AMD A6-9220 RADION R4, Graphics card AMD Device 98e4

I did all the usual: Disabled secure boot, enabled legacy support, set power off options to shut down as opposed to the default sleep, shrunk the Windows partition as far as it would go.

Booted from Mint Cinamon 18.3 USB in EFI mode and it just froze.
Removed battery to shut down and retried in compatability mode - it finished with a kernel panic message.
Tried again with v18.2, then 18, then finally 17.3 ran from the live usb but with the message "Running in software rendering mode"
I went ahead and installed it thinking I might find a better video driver to fix that. It seemed to install OK but on reboot there was no Grub screen and it booted straight into W10.

I have tried update-grub and grub-install from a live usb session but just get the message "failed to get canonical path of `/cow`

Any suggestions or should I just send it back and buy a different model?

Russell

[austin.texas]

[TUTORIAL] Installing Mint on a Windows 8/8.1 UEFI Computer - gold_finger

More tutorials

[russellz]

Thanks Austin.texas
I have already seen that but it doesn't seem to help with my situation - or is my 72 year old brain just getting overloaded?
Russell

[Laurent85]

Disable Legacy boot and use the nomodeset kernel parameter:
See https://www.linuxmint.com/rel_sylvia_cinnamon.php > Solving freezes

[austin.texas]

First, make sure your Win10 is installed in UEFI mode. It probably is, but it doesn't hurt to check.
In that case, you do want to install Mint in the same mode (EFI).
If you have a problem booting Mint 18.3 on the USB, try "nomodeset" > https://linuxmint.com/rel_sylvia_cinnamon.php

EDIT: Laurent85 beat me to the post...

[russellz]

Thanks guys,

Yes W10 is installed in UEFI mode. sda1 is a small partition labeled EFI.
I will give the suggested "nomodeset" option a go with 18.3 again. Just waiting for my usb stick to have that version put on it again.

Will report back.
Russell

[michael louwe]

@ russellz, .......

...

.
AFAIK, Linux does not yet support 7th-gen AMD APUs like the A6-9220 and A10-9700. You should have bought the more mainstream 7th-gen AMD Ryzen CPUs which is supported by Linux kernel 4.10 or higher.

Intel provide much better cooperation to Linux, compared to AMD = better Linux support for Intel CPUs.

[russellz]

Thanks again.

Followed that and the live usb ran O.K.
Installed it, rebooted and I was back in Windows however I soon discovered that the boot sequence had put Windows before Ubuntu/grub - changed that and it booted into Linux. I haven't tried booting Windows from Grub yet. I'm updating the Mint installation first.

Only other problem might be that it the graphics are running in software rendering mode so will have to try some other driver options or perhaps the later kernel??

Russell

[austin.texas]

Only other problem might be that it the graphics are running in software rendering mode so will have to try some other driver options or perhaps the later kernel??

See if another driver is listed in the Driver Manager (Menu > Administration > Driver Manager)

[russellz]

I spoke too soon.

After booting with nomodeset I booted into W10 and then back into Mint without editing the line to add nomodset. I had assumed that the editing would be saved. It froze on booting. So restarted and now when I start it goes to a "grub>" prompt. I presume the grub is corrupted. How can I recover it? Do I have to re-install if so how do I add nomodeset permanently?

Sorry for troubling you again.
Russell

[austin.texas]

If you do not get the Grub menu, only the Grub prompt, re-install Grub this way.

[russellz]

Thanks but as I haven't installed anything yet other than updates it might be quicker just to re-install mint 18.3 from the live usb.

When I've done that how do I change the grub entry to use nomodeset without editing it each time? I gather that, unlike the original grub, I can't just edit the file.

Russell

[austin.texas]

When I've done that how do I change the grub entry to use nomodeset without editing it each time? I gather that, unlike the original grub, I can't just edit the file.

You make it permanent by editing the file /etc/default/grub
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash nomodeset"
Then, save the file, and run the command:

Code: Select all

sudo update-grub

But first you check in the Device Manager to see if a better driver is listed.

[russellz]

Thanks, will do.

Russell

[russellz]

That's fixed the boot problem.

The driver manager shows microcode firmware available for the AMD A6-9220 RADION R4, 5 COMPUTE CORES 2C+3G. I have selected that but I still get the "Running in software rendering mode" and slow graphics performance. No other drivers are shown.

Russell

[Laurent85]

Microcode firmware is a CPU firmware update, your GPU is currently not supported by the default open source driver and new AMDGPU-PRO driver from AMD neither supports mobile GPUs.

[russellz]

your GPU is currently not supported by the default open source driver and new AMDGPU-PRO driver from AMD neither supports mobile GPUs.

That's a shame, video performance is very jerky. I guess I will live with it and hope for an updated driver before too long, I can always use Windows if necessary for videos and CAD

Russell

[russellz]

Couldn't live with the poor video performance compared with my old Toshiba. Other problems surfaced - including black screen after suspend requiring battery removal, low brightness and brightness control not working, etc. I have now returned the laptop to the supplier and will look for another model with better current support - I guess it's better to go for Intel processor?

Russell

[michael louwe]

@ russellz, .......

...

.
Yes, go for Intel 7th-gen Intel CPUs like the Pentium or Celeron, which are in the budget laptop range of around US$400 ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaby_Lake
https://www.intel.com/buy/us/en/product ... ifications (Dell Latitude 3580 1.8GHz 3865U 15.6" 1366 x 768pixels Black Notebook*, Intel® Celeron® processor, From $449.00 )
https://paytmmall.com/dell-vostro-3568- ... C%7C%7C%7C (DELL VOSTRO 3568 Laptop Celeron Dual Core 3865U / 4GB/ 1TB/ UBUNTU)

[russellz]

I'm considering one of these: HP PC portable- HP17bs086nf - 17.3 Intel i5-7200U HD620 graphics. Can anyone let me know if that is likely to work well? I see there have been problems with the HD 620 but it seems to have been fixed in recent kernels?

Russell