Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

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FanOfLinux
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Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by FanOfLinux »

Report on installing Linux Mint (LM) Cinnamon Edge on
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502 (model GA502IV-WS74 ), 24 GB.
https://rog.asus.com/us/laptops/rog-zep ... eries/spec

Code: Select all

ASUS
ASUS ROG GA502 Zephyrus R7 RTX 2060 16GB/512GB Gaming Laptop; 
15.6" 144Hz FHD Display, AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS, 16GB DDR4, 
512GB PCIe NVMe SSD, 
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Max Q, 
Win 10 Home, GA502IV-WS74
I upgraded memory from 16GB to 24 GB.

I could not use LM Cinnamon 20.1 stable edition because
its kernel does not support AMD Renoir graphics, which require the 5.8 kernel .

Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge 20.1 ( kernel 5.8 ) installed as dual boot along side WIn10 Home.

Users were warned to avoid the Edge edition since it is experimental and thus unstable.

Observations of problems:
1) At random and occasionally, I get a black screen.
I have to reboot! Everything froze!
This seems to happened more when I used Firefox browser.
But then again, I use Firefox most of the time! Bad inference! Lol!
It also did crashed with Chrome and Firefox browsers running at same time.
Again, this happens randomly.

Conversely, I do not have any blue screen crash or freeze when using Win10, including using Firefox.

2) The functions shared with F# keys like "Air Plane mode" shared with F12, and
"Z^z^z" shared with F11, brightness low and high shared with FF7 and F8 respectively do not work.
i was using Ctrl + F# keys combo, maybe I use the wrong key combination to trigger the command.

3) When I shutdown (from WIn10 or LM) and reboot to Linux Mint again, the keyboard backlit as well as WIFI iwere OFF.
WiFI problem was reported here, viewtopic.php?f=53&t=343135
The problem is Linux Mint is not able to turn these devices on.
Th problem is solved if you reboot into WIn10 (but not login), then restart (but not shutdown), and select Linux Mint from the GRUB boot menu. This means using WIn10 to turn on the backlit and WIFI.
You can disable WIn10 from turning off WIFI during shutdown via Device Manager (under Adapter, I think).
But there is no means to disable turning off keyboard backlit lights when WIn10 shuts down.
Furthermore LM turns OFF keyboard backlit lights when it shuts down!

Would be nice if LM can turn on backlit keyboard lights.
Is there an app that would turn on WIFI and backlit lights?

I was able to test GPU with Superposition 2017, https://benchmark.unigine.com/superposition .
No crash problem.

Because of the crash, I was worried about bad memory bits.
I tested laptop with Passmark Memtest86, https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/how-to-test-ram
No bad bits found!

Hope this report helps someone.

Has anyone else try other Linux flavors on new or similar laptops with 5.8 kernel
and the OS is stable?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by Larry78723 »

The 5.8 kernel can be installed on the standard LM20.1 releases. Edge shouldn't be used unless there are problems with the standard releases.
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by SMG »

FanOfLinux wrote: Sat May 08, 2021 6:17 amUsers were warned to avoid the Edge edition since it is experimental and thus unstable.
I'm not sure where you saw the Ubuntu-supported kernel as being unstable, but that is not the experience of people using it. In fact, for many people, the 5.8 kernel is more stable than the 5.4 kernel. The 5.8 kernel does not have long-term support, but that is different than saying it is "experimental".

Anyone with Renoir graphics needs to be using it as the 5.4 kernel does not have the Renoir graphics drivers in it. Those with a 3rd gen Ryzen or newer tend to find they get better stability and performance when using the 5.8 kernel. We recommend it here all the time.
FanOfLinux wrote: Sat May 08, 2021 6:17 am Observations of problems:
1) At random and occasionally, I get a black screen.
I have to reboot! Everything froze!
This seems to happened more when I used Firefox browser.
But then again, I use Firefox most of the time! Bad inference! Lol!
It also did crashed with Chrome and Firefox browsers running at same time.
Again, this happens randomly.
A black screen sounds like the graphics driver may not have been loaded properly or crashed. Do you have the Nvidia driver installed?
FanOfLinux wrote: Sat May 08, 2021 6:17 am2) The functions shared with F# keys like "Air Plane mode" shared with F12, and
"Z^z^z" shared with F11, brightness low and high shared with FF7 and F8 respectively do not work.
i was using Ctrl + F# keys combo, maybe I use the wrong key combination to trigger the command.
Make sure you have the most recent available BIOS/UEFI for your computer installed.
FanOfLinux wrote: Sat May 08, 2021 6:17 am 3) When I shutdown (from WIn10 or LM) and reboot to Linux Mint again, the keyboard backlit as well as WIFI iwere OFF.
WiFI problem was reported here, viewtopic.php?f=53&t=343135
The problem is Linux Mint is not able to turn these devices on.
Th problem is solved if you reboot into WIn10 (but not login), then restart (but not shutdown), and select Linux Mint from the GRUB boot menu. This means using WIn10 to turn on the backlit and WIFI.
You can disable WIn10 from turning off WIFI during shutdown via Device Manager (under Adapter, I think).
But there is no means to disable turning off keyboard backlit lights when WIn10 shuts down.
Furthermore LM turns OFF keyboard backlit lights when it shuts down!

Would be nice if LM can turn on backlit keyboard lights.
Is there an app that would turn on WIFI and backlit lights?
If you would like help with issues, Section 5 of READ: How To Get Help! explains the data we need to be able to help you. Please provide that system data.
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by FanOfLinux »

A black screen sounds like the graphics driver may not have been loaded properly or crashed. Do you have the Nvidia driver installed?
Yes I did installed NVidia driver.
The 5.8 kernel can be installed on the standard LM20.1 releases. Edge shouldn't be used unless there are problems with the standard releases.
Addendum:
There is a problem with using LM 20.1 standard for AMD Renoir graphcis chip.
See here viewtopic.php?f=46&t=346394
Search for "Renoir".
"Bad company corrupts good character." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menander
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by ZephyROG »

Hello,
I have a 2021 Zephyrus g15 with a 5900HS and a 3070 max q. Here is the output of inxi -Fxxxrz.

System:
Kernel: 5.12.2-051202-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: N/A
Desktop: Cinnamon 4.8.6 wm: muffin 4.8.1 dm: LightDM 1.30.0
Distro: Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: ROG Zephyrus G15 GA503QR_GA503QR
v: 1.0 serial: <filter>
Mobo: ASUSTeK model: GA503QR v: 1.0 serial: <filter>
UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: GA503QR.401 date: 01/12/2021
Battery:
ID-1: BAT0 charge: 81.9 Wh condition: 91.9/90.0 Wh (102%) volts: 15.9/15.9
model: ASUSTeK ASUS Battery type: Li-ion serial: <filter>
status: Discharging
CPU:
Topology: 8-Core model: AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS with Radeon Graphics bits: 64
type: MT MCP arch: Zen 3 L2 cache: 4096 KiB
flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm
bogomips: 105400
Speed: 1135 MHz min/max: 1200/3300 MHz boost: enabled Core speeds (MHz):
1: 1135 2: 1135 3: 1135 4: 1134 5: 1135 6: 1134 7: 1135 8: 1135 9: 1173
10: 1297 11: 1135 12: 1135 13: 1135 14: 1135 15: 1297 16: 1297
Graphics:
Device-1: NVIDIA GA104M [GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile / Max-Q] vendor: ASUSTeK
driver: N/A bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:249d
Device-2: AMD Cezanne vendor: ASUSTeK driver: amdgpu v: kernel
bus ID: 06:00.0 chip ID: 1002:1638
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: amdgpu,ati
unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,vesa resolution: 2560x1440~165Hz
OpenGL:
renderer: AMD RENOIR (DRM 3.40.0 5.12.2-051202-generic LLVM 11.0.0)
v: 4.6 Mesa 20.2.6 direct render: Yes
Audio:
Device-1: NVIDIA GA104 High Definition Audio vendor: ASUSTeK
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 chip ID: 10de:228b
Device-2: AMD driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 06:00.1
chip ID: 1002:1637
Device-3: AMD Raven/Raven2/FireFlight/Renoir Audio Processor
vendor: ASUSTeK driver: N/A bus ID: 06:00.5 chip ID: 1022:15e2
Device-4: AMD Family 17h HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel
v: kernel bus ID: 06:00.6 chip ID: 1022:15e3
Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.12.2-051202-generic
Network:
Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
vendor: ASUSTeK driver: r8169 v: kernel port: d000 bus ID: 03:00.0
chip ID: 10ec:8168
IF: enp3s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-2: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: d000
bus ID: 04:00.0 chip ID: 8086:2723
IF: wlp4s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 953.87 GiB used: 52.30 GiB (5.5%)
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: SK Hynix model: HFM001TD3JX013N
size: 953.87 GiB speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 serial: <filter> rev: 41000C20
scheme: GPT
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 937.40 GiB used: 52.30 GiB (5.6%) fs: ext4
dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 37.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0
Repos:
No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cappelikan-ppa-focal.list
1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/cappelikan/ppa/ubuntu focal main
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/lutris-team-lutris-focal.list
1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/lutris-team/lutris/ubuntu focal main
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com ulyssa main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Info:
Processes: 346 Uptime: 12h 39m Memory: 15.12 GiB used: 1.63 GiB (10.8%)
Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 8/9
Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38
Everything works great but graphics switching. I think that was my fault by installing bumblebee. I used Ubuntu mainline kernel manager to install Kernel 5.12 and all my wierdness went away. Hope this helps.
God Bless and have a great day
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by SMG »

ZephyROG wrote: Sun May 09, 2021 12:57 pmEverything works great but graphics switching. I think that was my fault by installing bumblebee.
Welcome to the forum, ZephyROG. Bumblebee has not been supported on Linux Mint for at least the last several major versions of Mint.

Ubuntu/Mint are set up to pretty much automatically handle switching between Intel/Nvidia computers, but you have an AMD/Nvidia computer so a little "behind the scenes" work has to be done to be able to switch between the AMD and Nvidia gpus. First you make sure both the AMD and Nvidia drivers are installed. Then you can do the "behind the scenes" work.

That work is explained in this post viewtopic.php?p=1881334#p1881334
starting with the line: "Open the File Manager. Create a document in Home….."
Then read the next post in that topic, which discusses how to create a script to make switching GPUs easier.

However, you have very, very new equipment, so if you decide to pursue switching and need help, please create a new thread in the Graphics & Monitors section of this forum. It's possible what has worked for earlier versions of AMD/Nvidia combos may need some tweaks to work on your system. As always, Timeshift snapshots are your friend and I suggest making one before you pursue any of the customizations I mentioned.
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by FanOfLinux »

Hi ZephyROG:

Did you start with Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge 20.1 or
stable/standard Linux Mint Cinnamon 20.1
first before you used Ubuntu mainline kernel manager to install Kernel 5.12?
"Bad company corrupts good character." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menander
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by ZephyROG »

Hello FanOfLinux,
I use standard Mint 20.1. Didn't even know there was a edge version. How would I get that? I went straight from the included (I believe ) 5.4 kernel to 5.12.
Thanks and God bless
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by SMG »

ZephyROG wrote: Sun May 09, 2021 6:58 pmDidn't even know there was a edge version. How would I get that?
Linux Mint 20.1 "Ulyssa" - Cinnamon (Edge, 64-bit)
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by ZephyROG »

Excellent Ill try that out on a live usb :) Thanks for the help I'll give a update once the auto switching works. Love Linux Mint and the community behind it.
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by FanOfLinux »

I got an error at the end of installation for 5.12.2 using the Mainline GUI kernel installer.
I have not reboot yet!
Should I remove 5.12.2?

I assume it will fallback to 5.8 (original) kernel.
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by FanOfLinux »

I retry installing with 5.12.1.
I was not able to do a Ctrl + shift + c terminal copy!
Strange.
Here is the mainline installer screenshot output on terminal
Screenshot from 2021-05-09 20-24-02.png
Somehow my Shutter app was disabled!
I have to use Screenshot app.

Since it is critical fail error, I have to undo this kernel upgrade!
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by SMG »

FanOfLinux wrote: Sun May 09, 2021 9:22 pm I got an error at the end of installation for 5.12.2 using the Mainline GUI kernel installer.
I have not reboot yet!
Should I remove 5.12.2?
I am not sure why you are trying to install that kernel. The mainline kernels are not Ubuntu/Mint supported kernels and ZephyROG does not have the same computer as you.

If you have an issue, Section 5 of READ: How To Get Help! explains the data we need to be able to help you. Please provide that system data if you would like help. What you have provided so far does not let us know how Mint sees your computer.
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by FanOfLinux »

I forgot to mention this:
I also want to note that the Libre package is broken on LM Cinnamon Edge.
The LIbreCalc did not show up (i.e. invisible) when I ran it, but is has an icon on the taskbar!

So I use the flatpak for LibreOffice but is has a very tiny mouse pointer!.
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by FanOfLinux »

More report:
"Unable to boot from USB"
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=349273&p=2015934#p2015934
"Bad company corrupts good character." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menander
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by FanOfLinux »

This is an update .
$ uname -a
Linux foffb 5.11.0-22-generic #23~20.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Thu Jun 17 12:51:00 UTC 2021 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linu
x


The random crash has more or less gone.

Keyboard backlighting now works.
But there are only two brightness levels.
On the backlight control, there are 4 settings: off, brightness level 1,  brightness level 2,
 brightness level 3.
But only  brightness level 2 and 3 works.

When shutting down, it takes forever.
May be one minute or so duration.
This painfully slow shutdown is unusual and unlike the for Linux Mints I have in the past.

May you have a wise heart!   💜💛💚💕💙💟
"Bad company corrupts good character." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menander
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by FanOfLinux »

Correction:

This is inaccurate:

Code: Select all

Keyboard backlighting now works.
But there are only two brightness levels.
On the backlight control, there are 4 settings: off, brightness level 1,  brightness level 2,
 brightness level 3.
But only  brightness level 2 and 3 works.
Correction:

Code: Select all

Keyboard backlighting now works.
But there are only TWO brightness levels and OFF.
On the backlight control, there are 4 settings: OFF, brightness level 1,  brightness level 2,
 brightness level 3.
Only  brightness level 2 and 3 works, as well as backlight OFF.

As for:

Code: Select all

When shutting down, it takes forever.
May be one minute or so duration.
Is there a way for me to display showdown log to get
insights on why it takes a long time to shutdown?
"Bad company corrupts good character." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menander
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by Larry78723 »

FanOfLinux wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 3:06 pm Is there a way for me to display showdown log to get insights on why it takes a long time to shutdown?
You can run the following code. It will list everything that happened during the last boot, in reverse (shutdown at top) and create a gzip file in your /home/user folder called journalctl_username.gzip

Code: Select all

journalctl -b -1 -r | tee >(gzip --stdout > journalctl_$USER.gz)
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by FanOfLinux »

Thanks.
I do not see a means to upload the gzip file here.
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Re: Report on installing Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge on ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 GA502

Post by Larry78723 »

Below the Submit button on the reply page is an attachment tab. Click on it then the add button.
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