[SOLVED] Whether to upgrade

[pedroi]

I've been using workarounds for two problems, and would appreciate opinion as to whether to upgrade to LM 19.3.
I'm using LM 19.1 mate on a Dell 64 bit laptop with AMD Ryzen, and Radeon graphics.
Here's the problems:
1. Intermittent drop out of wifi, after great help on this forum trying different things, sorted by using an older version of firmware
2. More recently, after turning off the battery was still draining, and I had to press the on/off button for a few seconds (presume to turn off properly) before it would turn on again. A google search led to some comments about a 'kernel panic' (great phrase!) so I went back a version of the kernel to resolve this.
3. Sometimes the fan noise increases and the cursor response slows or even stops, requiring turning off with the on/off button and restart.
Any advice appreciated on upgrading, or any other thoughts from this amazing forum. Many thanks!

[pedroi]

PS if install LM19.3, is it best to clean install, or use the upgrade in the Update Manager, or doesn't it matter? Thanks,

[gittiest personITW]

Can you post the output to the following commands:

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inxi -Fxz

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rfkill list all

The rfkill command - could you post that both when it is working and when the connection drops

[pedroi]

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pedro@pedro-Inspiron:~$ inxi -Fxz
System:
  Host: pedro-Inspiron Kernel: 5.3.0-51-generic x86_64 bits: 64 
  compiler: gcc v: 7.5.0 Desktop: MATE 1.20.1 Distro: Linux Mint 19.1 Tessa 
  base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Dell product: Inspiron 3585 v: 1.0.0 serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: Dell model: 0CNMRV v: X01 serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: 1.0.0 
  date: 11/20/2018 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT1 charge: 24.4 Wh condition: 32.2/42.0 Wh (77%) 
  model: SDI 0x4D,0x39,0x32,0x49,0x00,0x00,0x0048 status: Discharging 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Ryzen 5 2500U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx 
  bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen L2 cache: 2048 KiB 
  flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm 
  bogomips: 31941 
  Speed: 1368 MHz min/max: 1600/2000 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1368 2: 1369 
  3: 1373 4: 1381 5: 1376 6: 1367 7: 1412 8: 1371 
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Raven Ridge [Radeon Vega Series / Radeon Vega Mobile Series] 
  vendor: Dell driver: amdgpu v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.6 driver: amdgpu,ati 
  unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,radeon,vesa resolution: 1440x900~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: AMD RAVEN (DRM 3.33.0 5.3.0-51-generic LLVM 9.0.0) 
  v: 4.5 Mesa 19.2.8 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: AMD vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.1 
  Device-2: AMD vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.6 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.3.0-51-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL810xE PCI Express Fast Ethernet vendor: Dell 
  driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 2000 bus ID: 02:00.0 
  IF: enp2s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter 
  vendor: Dell driver: ath10k_pci v: kernel port: 2000 bus ID: 03:00.0 
  IF: wlp3s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
  Device-3: Atheros type: USB driver: btusb bus ID: 3-2.4:5 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 82.93 GiB (34.8%) 
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Toshiba model: KBG30ZMS256G NVMe 256GB 
  size: 238.47 GiB 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 233.24 GiB used: 82.93 GiB (35.6%) fs: ext4 
  dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 60.6 C mobo: N/A 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): fan-1: 0 
Info:
  Processes: 250 Uptime: 49m Memory: 5.76 GiB used: 2.52 GiB (43.7%) 
  Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.5.0 Shell: bash v: 4.4.20 
  inxi: 3.0.27

[pedroi]

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pedro@pedro-Inspiron:~$ rfkill list all
0: hci0: Bluetooth
	Soft blocked: yes
	Hard blocked: no
1: phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no
pedro@pedro-Inspiron:~$

[pedroi]

Connection is working fine at the moment, after using older version of firmware as suggested on this forum. Thanks.

[gittiest personITW]

Could you post your inxi again so we know which kernel (!?) it was you changed to, and edit your original post - in the Subject tab put [SOLVED]. Cheers

[pedroi]

kernel - I've gone back to is 5.3.51.

Think there's been misunderstanding, my problem at present is 3. in the original post as follows:
3. Sometimes the fan noise increases and the cursor response slows or even stops, requiring turning off with the on/off button and restart.

1. and 2. in the original post, i.e.
1. using older firmware which solved the problem of intermittent wifi and
2. using older kernel which solved the problem of not turning off completely,
was additional information that may be helpful to know, but are not now a problem.

I was asking whether upgrading to LM 19.3 might resolve the problem 3.
(And if so whether it's best to install from scratch rather than install using the Update Manager).
Hope that's clear, thanks!

[pbear]

I was asking whether upgrading to LM 19.3 might resolve the problem 3.

Unlikely. Indeed, I'd be astonished. And I have every version of Mate since 18.1 installed in test boxes, running 19.1 on my main machine. By the way, I notice your system got to 60ºC in 49 minutes, with the fan still at zero (which I assume means, not running). Might be a problem with the fan.

[pedroi]

This forum is so useful. Many thanks for your reply.

[ninemen]

Why are you upgrading to LM 19.3, If possible wait for sometime as LM 20 will be out soon and then you would have to go through the whole reinstallation from scratch thing.Also you can try Live boot 19.3 and check if your problems are resolved or not. I use live boot on pen drive sometimes and its very fast ,its faster than my installation.

[pedroi]

That's good to know, I might try that when I have a bit of time, thanks!