[Solved] Linux Mint 20.2 does not boot after a few days

[kunal]

I replaced my Windows 10 completely with Linux Mint 20.2 2 weeks ago. So there is only Mint on my system. There is no Windows to mess with my Mint system.

I have updated my system. I don't use my system often. I use it once every 2 to 3 days. The system works fine when I use it after a fresh install. When I boot after 3 days, I get a screen with some script running, which is fine as it is normal. Then I get the Linux Mint logo on my screen. Then the screen is supposed to send me to the login window where I am supposed to enter my password and login. But that does not happen. I get a blank screen with a horizontal cursor on the top left part of the screen. It does not blink. To be honest, I do not remember whether I got the problem before the Update Manager installed the newest kernel. I honestly do not know whether the previous kernel gave me the same issue.

Is there a solution? I do not get that screen with advanced options. I know that I can go to advanced options and boot using recovery mode. But that is not possible. The system boots directly to a script and after that the Mint logo and then a non-blinking horizontal cursor on the top left part of the screen.

I would love a solution in which Linux Mint gets out of my way and lets me carry on doing my work, which is usually browsing on Google Chrome and writing some documents. I must say that Linux Mint is much better than Windows. I frequently got different viruses that made my Windows system slow and buggy. I came to Linux when I learnt that I need not have an Antivirus subscription. Nothing is wrong with my Linux system except the problem I mentioned. Rest everything is fine.

Waiting for a solution eagerly. Thanks in advance.

[kunal]

I removed Windows 10 from my laptop and completely installed Mint 20.2 so there is nothing on my system to mess with Mint.

I use my laptop once every 2 to 3 days. Every time I install Linux Mint 20.2 and use it, it runs well. Then I shut down my laptop and switch it on after, say, 3 days. It boots and a script comes up, which is exactly normal. Then the Linux Mint logo appears on the screen. Then the login window is supposed to appear but it does not. Instead, a horizontal cursor shows up on the top left corner of the screen. It does not blink. That is it. The screen does not go past it.

I do not know whether the new kernel update caused it or not. I am not sure whether I had the same problem before the kernel update. I do not want to go back to Windows 10. Is there a solution to this problem?

Waiting for a solution. Thanks in advance.

[SMG]

I replaced my Windows 10 completely with Linux Mint 20.2 2 weeks ago.

Please boot to a live session of Mint using your install usb/DVD and give us information about how Mint sees your hardware. Sometimes issues like what you have described can related to graphics drivers, but we have no idea what your system might have.

Please give us information about your install by entering this command in a terminal: inxi -Fxxxrz
Click </> from the mini toolbar above the textbox where you type your reply and then place your cursor between the code markers and paste the results of the command between the code markers [code]Results[/code]. This will let us know how Mint sees your hardware.

[Moem]

I removed Windows 10 from my laptop and completely installed Mint 20.2 so there is nothing on my system to mess with Mint.

Moderator's note:
Two topics about the same problem merged into one, please do not double post. Thank you!

[kunal]

I replaced my Windows 10 completely with Linux Mint 20.2 2 weeks ago.

Please boot to a live session of Mint using your install usb/DVD and give us information about how Mint sees your hardware. Sometimes issues like what you have described can related to graphics drivers, but we have no idea what your system might have.

Please give us information about your install by entering this command in a terminal: inxi -Fxxxrz
Click </> from the mini toolbar above the textbox where you type your reply and then place your cursor between the code markers and paste the results of the command between the code markers [code]Results[/code]. This will let us know how Mint sees your hardware.

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-74-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.5 wm: muffin 5.0.1 dm: LightDM 1.30.0 
  Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: HP product: HP Laptop 15-db1xxx 
  v: Type1ProductConfigId serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 10 
  serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: HP model: 85EA v: 51.16 serial: <filter> UEFI: Insyde v: F.13 
  date: 08/29/2019 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT1 charge: 35.8 Wh condition: 36.4/41.0 Wh (89%) volts: 13.0/11.4 
  model: Hewlett-Packard PABAS0241231 type: Li-ion serial: <filter> 
  status: Charging 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Ryzen 5 3500U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx 
  bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen+ rev: 1 L2 cache: 2048 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm 
  bogomips: 33538 
  Speed: 1225 MHz min/max: 1400/2100 MHz boost: disabled Core speeds (MHz): 
  1: 1368 2: 1257 3: 1225 4: 1250 5: 1264 6: 1234 7: 1223 8: 1225 
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Picasso vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: amdgpu v: kernel 
  bus ID: 04:00.0 chip ID: 1002:15d8 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: amdgpu,ati 
  unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics (RAVEN DRM 3.35.0 
  5.4.0-74-generic LLVM 12.0.0) 
  v: 4.6 Mesa 21.0.3 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: AMD Raven/Raven2/Fenghuang HDMI/DP Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.1 chip ID: 1002:15de 
  Device-2: AMD Raven/Raven2/FireFlight/Renoir Audio Processor 
  vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: N/A bus ID: 04:00.5 chip ID: 1022:15e2 
  Device-3: AMD Family 17h HD Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 04:00.6 chip ID: 1022:15e3 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-74-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 3000 bus ID: 02:00.0 
  chip ID: 10ec:8168 
  IF: eno1 state: down mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8723DE 802.11b/g/n PCIe Adapter 
  vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: rtw_pci v: N/A port: 2000 bus ID: 03:00.0 
  chip ID: 10ec:d723 
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 111.79 GiB used: 15.14 GiB (13.5%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Kingston model: SA400M8120G size: 111.79 GiB 
  speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> rev: 61E1 scheme: GPT 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 37.33 GiB used: 8.95 GiB (24.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 50.4 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 20 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list 
  1: deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com uma 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: 324 Uptime: 43m Memory: 9.74 GiB used: 2.82 GiB (28.9%) 
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 target: graphical.target Compilers: 
  gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: gnome-terminal 
  inxi: 3.0.38 

[SMG]

Is there a solution? I do not get that screen with advanced options. I know that I can go to advanced options and boot using recovery mode. But that is not possible. The system boots directly to a script and after that the Mint logo and then a non-blinking horizontal cursor on the top left part of the screen.

I'm not sure what the "script" might be unless it is error messages which show up after the system starts booting. You should be able to get into grub's advanced options and use recovery mode, but you have to get to grub before it starts the boot process. That can sometimes be tricky on newer, faster computers.

There have been improvements for 3rd-gen Ryzens in kernels which were released after the 5.4 LTS kernel your system is using.
CPU:
Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Ryzen 5 3500U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx
bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen+ rev: 1 L2 cache: 2048 KiB
flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm
bogomips: 33538
Speed: 1225 MHz min/max: 1400/2100 MHz boost: disabled Core speeds (MHz):
1: 1368 2: 1257 3: 1225 4: 1250 5: 1264 6: 1234 7: 1223 8: 1225

The 5.11 kernel is available in Update Manager. Open Update Manager. Select View > Linux Kernels and click Continue. Make sure 5.11 is selected on the left panel and then click the top-most option on the right panel. An "Install" button will appear. Install the kernel and then reboot for it to become active.

I suspect the issue is your computer's graphic driver is not always loading properly from the older kernel. Let us know if the newer kernel helps clear this issue.

[kunal]

Is there a solution? I do not get that screen with advanced options. I know that I can go to advanced options and boot using recovery mode. But that is not possible. The system boots directly to a script and after that the Mint logo and then a non-blinking horizontal cursor on the top left part of the screen.

I'm not sure what the "script" might be unless it is error messages which show up after the system starts booting. You should be able to get into grub's advanced options and use recovery mode, but you have to get to grub before it starts the boot process. That can sometimes be tricky on newer, faster computers.

There have been improvements for 3rd-gen Ryzens in kernels which were released after the 5.4 LTS kernel your system is using.
CPU:
Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Ryzen 5 3500U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx
bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen+ rev: 1 L2 cache: 2048 KiB
flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm
bogomips: 33538
Speed: 1225 MHz min/max: 1400/2100 MHz boost: disabled Core speeds (MHz):
1: 1368 2: 1257 3: 1225 4: 1250 5: 1264 6: 1234 7: 1223 8: 1225

The 5.11 kernel is available in Update Manager. Open Update Manager. Select View > Linux Kernels and click Continue. Make sure 5.11 is selected on the left panel and then click the top-most option on the right panel. An "Install" button will appear. Install the kernel and then reboot for it to become active.

I suspect the issue is your computer's graphic driver is not always loading properly from the older kernel. Let us know if the newer kernel helps clear this issue.

Thankyou for this solution. It worked. I actually downloaded Linux Mint 20.2 (Edge) Cinnamon. It directly came with the newest kernel. I do not have booting issues anymore. Mint does not get in my way anymore. I do not even feel it's there while I am working. I waited for a few days to see if any issues crop up but they didn't so I am happy. I will mark this thread as solved.

Thank you.