Ubuntu works- but cannot get Linux Mint to work on Dell Precision 3560

[liveman1]

Hi,
I have Linux Mint 20.1 installed on 3 HP computers, which works well.

I ordered a new Dell Precision Workstation 3560 CTO with Ubuntu 20.04 pre-installed.

Of course, I want to change to Linux Mint, but installing Linux Mint on it is easier said than done.

This happens:

1. It refuses to boot from, USB, unless using safe mode.

2. Installation then seems to go fine, but at startup it crashes – so I had to change from quiet splash to nomodeset – which works.

3. Now it starts and at login I get the message that I need to check the video driver and have 3 options – nvidia-driver-460, xserver-xorg-video-nouveau and nvidia-driver-450
No matter which I choose the installation doesn’t work out well.
Sometimes nothing happens – sometimes it seems to work and sometimes I get the message to run dpkg –configure -a
Running dpkg –configure -a seems to do the job, but at next startup, no matter what I do, we are always back where we started with the message that I need to check the video driver.

4. Next problem is that the network card does not work. (Wifi works so this is not my main worry at the moment.)

5. Worse is that trying to patch it doesn’t work well at all. After patching – I cannot get into the computer. Instead of the login menu – I simply get a “-” where nothing can be written.

Playing around with Bios turning off all Intel performance settings – then I am let me in after restart. However, after having been let in, then I can turn them on – and I am still let in.

6. But this does not seem to be the real solution, as after trying again to sort the video driver – now with the Intel performance settings turned off - I am locked out and get the “-” instead of the login screen.

This time, turning them on, let me in.

The clear conclusion seem to be that Linux Mint out of the box is not fully compatible with either the hardware or bios of the new Dell Precision Workstation 3560.

It has Intel i7-1165G7 non-vPro
32 GB Ram
2 TB SSD HD
NVIDIA T500 2GB, TBT

Needless to say, this is too unreliable to use.

Anyone that have any suggestions for a solution to try, so I don’t have to go back to ubuntu ?

Thanks in advance.

[kc1di]

First thing the hardware may be a bit too new for Mint. But I would try upgrading the kernel to the 5.8 series if you haven't already try it.
Good luck.

[Moonstone Man]

It has Intel i7-1165G7 non-vPro

Install the Edge version: https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=287

[bodge99]

Hi,

I've had something similar with another 11th gen Intel//Intel GPU/Nvidia laptop recently. Cinnamon Edge was of no use here.

What I had to do was this: Install Mint 20.1 Cinnamon onto an external drive with another machine.

After installation & reboot:

***Alter /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf. Change COMPRESS=lz4 to COMPRESS=gzip to ensure that any subsequent 'initrd' rebuilds actually unpack on boot.*** .

I then fully updated the installation and installed the latest Linux kernel using 'mainline-gtk'. I then created partition archives which were placed into the third partition on the drive (EFI, System & [one used for] Archive).

I then booted the laptop from the external drive and extracted the partition archives to the laptop's drive (2TB M.2 NVMe).
The partitions were then resized/created to suit the user's requirements (add a home & timeshift partition). 'fstab' adjusted to suit.

Reboot, and run 'update-grub', just to be sure.

Bodge99

[SMG]

I ordered a new Dell Precision Workstation 3560 CTO with Ubuntu 20.04 pre-installed.

Welcome to the forum, liveman1.

Usually when that happens, Dell works with Ubuntu to make sure the kernel version used on the install works with all the equipment. Did you happen to check to see which kernel was used?

There are two OEM kernels available for Ubuntu 20.04, the 5.6-oem kernel and the 5.10-oem kernel. Neither of those are a standard Mint or Ubuntu release kernel, but both are available in the repositories.

Getting the correct kernel installed for your system is probably the best place to start. I know the 5.10-oem kernel does have some patches for the Intel driver that mainline kernels do not have, so that is probably the kernel you should try first. You can install it with sudo apt install linux-oem-20.04b.

3. Now it starts and at login I get the message that I need to check the video driver and have 3 options – nvidia-driver-460, xserver-xorg-video-nouveau and nvidia-driver-450
No matter which I choose the installation doesn’t work out well.

The NVIDIA T500 was just released in December. You are probably going to need the most recent driver Nvidia has released. Did you check to see what driver works with that card? I was not able to find it in the Nvidia lists, but perhaps that card also goes by another name? (Or maybe Nvidia has not yet released a Linux driver for it?)

but at next startup, no matter what I do, we are always back where we started with the message that I need to check the video driver.

Presuming you have the correct Nvidia driver installed, there can be several reasons that might happen including Secure Boot interfering or the nouveau driver loading faster than Nvidia. The quick test for the latter is to run Ctl-Alt-Backspace to restart the X Server.

[liveman1]

Thanks for the help.

Good news - I don't need to go back to ubuntu.

I did the following:
First I updated the kernel to 5.8 - but that did not sort it.

Instead I installed the edge version. That sorted most of the problems.

Then I installed kernel 5.10 and now the computer is lightning fast.

Only one minor problem remains, and that is the following:

Ethernet now works, but is slow, especially downstream.
(Wifi works, so this is not the end of the world.)

However, if anyone has a suggestion, it is appreciated.

[SMG]

I did the following:
First I updated the kernel to 5.8 - but that did not sort it.

Instead I installed the edge version. That sorted most of the problems.

Literally, the only difference between the regular Mint ISO and the Edge ISO is the Edge ISO has the 5.8 kernel install by default. It sounds like something happened either during your original install or in the efforts you made after it which affected the system because upgrading to the 5.8 kernel should have done the same thing as installing from the Edge ISO. I'm mentioning this for anyone in the future who might be reading the thread.

Then I installed kernel 5.10 and now the computer is lightning fast.

I presume this means you installed the 5.10-oem kernel. That is an Ubuntu-supported kernel while the 5.10 kernel (without oem) is a mainline kernel and not an Ubuntu-supported one.

Only one minor problem remains, and that is the following:

Ethernet now works, but is slow, especially downstream.
(Wifi works, so this is not the end of the world.)

However, if anyone has a suggestion, it is appreciated.

I suggest you create a new thread in the Ethernet section of the forum. Section 5 of READ: How To Get Help! explains the data forum members need to be able to help you. Please provide that system data in your first post.

This issue seems to be resolved, so if you go to your first post in this thread and click the pencil icon, you can edit the title of the post to add [SOLVED] at the beginning so others with this hardware will benefit from the fact you created the thread.

[liveman1]

Thanks.

After more testing I found that using USB-C – ethernet works with the same speed as Wifi.

So it is only if using the RJ-45 port that it is slow.

(When I tested the computer with the factory version of Ubuntu 20.04 I noted that ethernet with RJ-45 was slow on it as well.)

However, I will anyway use the dockingstation and USB-C, so problem sorted.

Another finding to mention in case it can be of help to someone.

The Driver Manager recommends using the nvidia-driver-460 driver.

However, that makes the system much slower compared to if using the xserver-xorg-video-nouveau driver.

Boot time:
xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 22 seconds
nvidia-driver-460 driver 26 seconds

Loading time from login screen:
xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 2,1 seconds
nvidia-driver-460 driver 4 seconds


For me this now works perfectly.

[kc1di]

Glad you got it sorted out and will be enjoying Mint on that machine

[bodge99]

Hi,

Re: Slow ethernet.. I'll bet that this is down to your firmware..

Have a look at the output of 'dmesg', (sudo dmesg > dmesg.txt). This will tell you what firmware has been "looked for" (by your specific kernel version) and what has actually been loaded.

I've had something similar a little while ago with a Realtek chip.

Bodge99