[SOLVED] GRUB problems installing Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon next to Win 10

[Simone47]

Hello.
I’m running into a number of problems installing Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon next to Windows 10.
In particular, I cannot get a normal GRUB activation and therefore a clean Linux Mint launch.
The only way I have to launch LM is to select Advanced Options and then to run Linux in Compatibility mode (and then I only have 800x600 resolution on the monitor!).
The origin of my problems - I think – lies in an interruption of the internet connection which occurred during the first installation of Linux Mint (after having duly partitioned the disk, operating in the Windows 10 environment).

I tried to solve the problem by installing Boot Repair in a live Linux environment and then following the instructions given at viewtopic.php?t=343392).
It happened that, after selecting “Recommended repair” and having answered “yes” to a couple of questions (“This will install the [pastebinit] packages. Do you want to continue?” and “Upload the report to a pastebin?”), I got a Boot repair window with this report:
“An error occurred during the repair.
Please write on a paper the following URL: https://paste2.org/ ← ????
In case you still experience boot problem, indicate this URL to: boot.repair@gmail.com.”
As requested, I reported the problem to the given address, 10 days ago, but got no answer.

That’s why I write to this forum, thanking in advance for any good advice you will want to give me.
Best regards and Happy New Year !
Simone

PS: the system I am operating on belongs to a nephew of mine and is a bit peculiar: it’s a Nucky3 mini PC from Yashi Computers, connected via hdmi to an LG monitor model 24MP88HV.
Following the forum instructions, I ran the commands inxi and sudo parted and now I try to pass the results to you.

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System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-26-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 4.6.6 wm: muffin dm: LightDM 
  Distro: Linux Mint 20 Ulyana base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop Mobo: INTEL model: SKYBAY serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends v: 5.11 date: 08/09/2016 
CPU:
  Topology: Dual Core model: Intel Core i3-6100U bits: 64 type: MT MCP 
  arch: Skylake rev: 3 L2 cache: 3072 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx 
  bogomips: 18399 
  Speed: 500 MHz min/max: 400/2300 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1519 2: 1468 
  3: 1612 4: 1406 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Skylake GT2 [HD Graphics 520] driver: N/A bus ID: 00:02.0 
  chip ID: 8086:1916 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: fbdev unloaded: modesetting,vesa 
  resolution: 800x600~75Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 9.0.1 256 bits) v: 3.3 Mesa 20.0.4 
  compat-v: 3.1 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel 
  bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:9d70 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-26-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:8168 
  IF: enp1s0 state: down mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Broadcom and subsidiaries BCM43224 802.11a/b/g/n 
  driver: bcma-pci-bridge v: N/A port: e000 bus ID: 02:00.0 
  chip ID: 14e4:4353 
  IF-ID-1: wlp2s0b1 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 465.76 GiB used: 10.35 GiB (2.2%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: HGST (Hitachi) model: HTS725050A7E630 
  size: 465.76 GiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter> 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 78.24 GiB used: 10.22 GiB (13.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda7 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 36.0 C mobo: N/A 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/fossfreedom-rhythmbox-plugins-focal.list 
  1: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/fossfreedom/rhythmbox-plugins/ubuntu focal main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
  1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com ulyana 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: 195 Uptime: 10m Memory: 7.68 GiB used: 872.6 MiB (11.1%) 
  Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash 
  v: 5.0.16 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38 

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Model: ATA HGST HTS725050A7 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End    Size    File system  Name                  Flags
 1      17.4kB  134MB  134MB                                      msftres
 2      135MB   660MB  524MB   ntfs                               diag
 3      660MB   764MB  105MB   fat32                              boot, esp
 4      764MB   108GB  108GB   ntfs                               msftdata
 5      108GB   409GB  301GB   ntfs         Basic data partition  msftdata
 7      409GB   495GB  85.9GB  ext4
 6      495GB   500GB  5242MB  ntfs                               diag

[acerimusdux]

Well if the grub menu is actually launching, and you are selecting advanced options and compatibility mode there, then I think grub is working fine.

It appears though that your problem may be with the installation of the video driver:

Device-1: Intel Skylake GT2 [HD Graphics 520] driver: N/A

Now I'm not sure why, as I think that should probably be supported by the kernel. But I'd check first in System Settings, under Admniistration, the Driver Manager program. Run that and see if it finds anything. Then also check the update manager, see if there are any updates there that need to be installed.

[Jo-con-Ël]

Maybe that select Advanced Options and then to run Linux in Compatibility mode means failsaveX option in recovery menu.

As acerimusdux said it not not a problem with loader (GRUB) and that resolution and intel driver N/A are because of the way you start Mint and If that is your only installed kernel of course you have to install all pending updates. Did you try disabling Secure Boot in UEFI/BIOS settings?

In any case be sure you have not added nomodeset or any other parameter to kernel line. Post back following codes result

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mokutil -sb-state
cat /etc/default/grub

[Simone47]

Acerimusdux, Jo-con-El, thanks for your attention.
I have read your answers carefully and followed your advice.
Here is the outcome of the operation:
1) Update Manager: I ran the program and installed all proposed updates;
2) Driver Manager: here, I have to report an oddity: every time I run linux (in Recovery Mode), soon after the login a message window appears saying “Check your video driver” and inviting to “Start Device Manager”; the strange thing is that, if I do run Driver Manager, at the end of his activity the program says nothing about video drivers; (it only states that the Broadcom BCM432224 device does not work - “no proprietary drivers in use” - but that just refers to a second wifi card hosted in the system);
3) Jo-con-El is asking me something about a ‘failsavex’ option: I’m sorry: I don’t know anything about that;
4) command [mokutil –sb-state] : this is the 2 lines output I got:
[SecureBoot disabled] and [Platform is in Setup Mode];
5) command [cat etc/default/grub]: the output is like this:

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# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
#   info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden
GRUB_TIMEOUT=10
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

# Uncomment to enable BadRAM filtering, modify to suit your needs
# This works with Linux (no patch required) and with any kernel that obtains
# the memory map information from GRUB (GNU Mach, kernel of FreeBSD ...)
#GRUB_BADRAM="0x01234567,0xfefefefe,0x89abcdef,0xefefefef"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

I must say that, unfortunately, at present nothing has changed.

I report below some other considerations and the results of some other tests I have done, in the hope that they will help guide the investigation.
A) I tried to replace the monitor, using a Samsung SyncMaster 172s which I normally use on another system (with LM 20 Cinnamon). The behavior of the system has not changed, in the sense that still the only way to have Linux operational was to launch it with Advanced Options and Recovery Mode; moreover, in this case too I received, after login, that message saying “check the video drivers”. However, with this monitor, the system gives me the option to choose between two resolutions: 1020x768 and 800x600.
B) Back to the LG monitor (please note that, under Windows, a wide choice od resolutions is available): I made some tests that seem to confirm a certain ability of the system to activate high resolution even outside of Windows. For instance:
- case 1) if I let Grub proceed autonomously with the launch of LM 20 Cinnamon, some writings in high resolution appear on the screen (only for a few seconds, unfortunately), then the green LM logo appears in the center of the screen and, after a while, the screen goes black and the system stops responding;
- case 2) if, on the other hand, I select Advanced Options, Grub offers me the second screen for choosing which linux to launch; if I let it proceed autonomously with the launch of linux 5.4.0-94-generic, some low-resolution writings appear (and immediately disappear), then the LM logo is shown and, shortly after, some high-resolution writing appear (and soon desappear) then the screen goes black with only a little undeline character blinking in the upper, and the system stops responding.
I apologize for writing a too long message.
I don’t know how to go forward. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Greetings.
Simone

[acerimusdux]

Well it's a system from 2016 with Intel graphics, so the driver almost certainly should be included with the kernel. Very likely it should be supported by the i915 kernel module. So we have to figure out why that isn't loading.

From a terminal or console, try:

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journalctl -kb -p3

just to see if there are any errors logged which might be related to this.

And then:

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journalctl -b -g i915

to see if there are any messages that mention i915

[acerimusdux]

Actually, it might be helpful, when you get the blank screen, to try Ctl-Alt-F4. If only the graphics driver is failing, that might get you to a console where you can login. The above commands only give messages from the current boot, you would be more likely to see the errors on a failed boot.

Alternatively, maybe just leave out the b in the above commands, and instead do:

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journalctl -k -S today -p3

and

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journalctl -S today -g i915

[Jo-con-Ël]

3) Jo-con-El is asking me something about a ‘failsavex’ option: I’m sorry: I don’t know anything about that;

Sorry, there is no such failsaveX option in recovery menu when booting Advanced options>kernel (recovery mode). I didn't notice but now it is done by default when selecting Resume option.

As recovery mode is preventing graphic drivers to charge, that notification (booting w/o graphic acceleration and need to check Driver manager), is just in case that is the problem with another users not you. There is no alternative driver for intel graphic cards.


You "only" will need to solve that black screen problem, but need some more information.

A)Boot default option (case 1) and, on black screen (give it time to charge system completely), try to open a text session with Alt+Ctrl+F1 or F2 and after login with your user name and password run following codes (you will need to write, one line each time, and press enter) and post back result (urls) to know what is happening or get any clue.

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cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | nc termbin.com 9999
dmesg | nc termbin.com 9999

You can do the same with codes proposed by acerimusdux just adding | nc termbin.com 9999 and post back those urls too.

You can try to open a graphical session with startx. Even it wont work , you will receive additional information about what is failing.

In any case, if you have created a dedicated config file (/etc/X11/xorg.conf or /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/XX-intel.cfg,...) it is time to remove them (sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.cfg ....).

You can remove completely xsever-xorg-video-intel (apt purge xserver-xorg-video-intel) to ensure modesetting driver will be used on rebooting.

B)Waiting for urls result, you can try to solve most common known problems. Edit your first boot option in GRUB menu as indicated here (Solving freezes during the boot sequence) and try adding parameters to kernel line, as intel_idle.max_cstate=1, i915.enable_dc=0, ahci.mobile_lpm_policy=1,... (look here and also here). If any of those parameters solves your problem you can make it permanent as indicated in first link.

With nomodesetparameter you can get also minimal working graphical session in the same way as with recovery mode>resume. Also can use some of those used when booting Linux Mint live in compatibility mode as you didn't mention any resolution problem on installing (acpi=off noapic noacpi nosplash irqpoll all together with nomodeset is real compatibility mode).

[Simone47]

Hello Acerimusdux and Jo-con-El, I went through your indications and I’m ready to pass on the risults. I’ll start with Acerimusdux.

Today, before launching the journalctl commands, I deliberately performed two boots.
With the first one, I let Grub run autonomously and thus I arrived at the usual lockout situation (black screen, small underline at the top left corner, no response to the keybord).
With the second boot I drove LM launch with Advanced Options and Recovery Mode + Resume; then I opened the terminal window and gave the journalctl commands, as indicated by Acerimusdux.
And here are the results (I really hope I have not made any mistakes in moving and naming the various text files):
1) [journalctl -kb -p3]

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-- Logs begin at Tue 2021-12-21 21:04:34 CET, end at Sat 2022-01-15 18:52:47 CET. --
gen 15 16:55:40 NUCKY3 kernel: [Firmware Bug]: TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata; please update microcode to version: 0xb2 (or later)
gen 15 16:55:44 NUCKY3 kernel: Support for cores revisions 0x17 and 0x18 disabled by module param allhwsupport=0. Try b43.allhwsupport=1
gen 15 16:56:05 NUCKY3 kernel: brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: qos enabled: false (implement)
gen 15 16:56:05 NUCKY3 kernel: brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_config: change power-save mode: false (implement)
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER: PCIe Bus Error: severity=Corrected, type=Data Link Layer, (Transmitter ID)
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:   device [8086:9d13] error status/mask=00001000/00002000
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:    [12] Timeout               
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER: PCIe Bus Error: severity=Corrected, type=Data Link Layer, (Transmitter ID)
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:   device [8086:9d13] error status/mask=00001000/00002000
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:    [12] Timeout               
gen 15 16:56:10 NUCKY3 kernel: brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcmsmac: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: associated
gen 15 16:56:10 NUCKY3 kernel: brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: qos enabled: true (implement)
gen 15 16:56:10 NUCKY3 kernel: brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: arp filtering: 1 addresses (implement)
gen 15 16:56:11 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER: PCIe Bus Error: severity=Corrected, type=Data Link Layer, (Transmitter ID)
gen 15 16:56:11 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:   device [8086:9d13] error status/mask=00001000/00002000
gen 15 16:56:11 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:    [12] Timeout               

..... (repetitions of the 3 lines above)

gen 15 16:56:44 NUCKY3 kernel: hdaudio hdaudioC0D2: Unable to bind the codec

..... (repetitions of the 3 lines below)

gen 15 18:52:47 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER: PCIe Bus Error: severity=Corrected, type=Data Link Layer, (Transmitter ID)
gen 15 18:52:47 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:   device [8086:9d13] error status/mask=00001000/00002000
gen 15 18:52:47 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:    [12] Timeout               

2) [journalctl -b -g i915]

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-- Logs begin at Tue 2021-12-21 21:04:34 CET, end at Sat 2022-01-15 18:50:40 CET. --
gen 15 16:56:44 NUCKY3 kernel: snd_hda_codec_hdmi hdaudioC0D2: No i915 binding for Intel HDMI/DP codec

3) [journalctl -k -S today -p3]

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-- Logs begin at Tue 2021-12-21 21:04:34 CET, end at Sat 2022-01-15 18:49:39 CET. --
gen 15 16:55:40 NUCKY3 kernel: [Firmware Bug]: TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata; please update microcode to version: 0xb2 (or later)
gen 15 16:55:44 NUCKY3 kernel: Support for cores revisions 0x17 and 0x18 disabled by module param allhwsupport=0. Try b43.allhwsupport=1
gen 15 16:56:05 NUCKY3 kernel: brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: qos enabled: false (implement)
gen 15 16:56:05 NUCKY3 kernel: brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_config: change power-save mode: false (implement)
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER: PCIe Bus Error: severity=Corrected, type=Data Link Layer, (Transmitter ID)
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:   device [8086:9d13] error status/mask=00001000/00002000
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:    [12] Timeout               
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER: PCIe Bus Error: severity=Corrected, type=Data Link Layer, (Transmitter ID)
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:   device [8086:9d13] error status/mask=00001000/00002000
gen 15 16:56:07 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:    [12] Timeout               
gen 15 16:56:10 NUCKY3 kernel: brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcmsmac: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: associated
gen 15 16:56:10 NUCKY3 kernel: brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: qos enabled: true (implement)
gen 15 16:56:10 NUCKY3 kernel: brcmsmac bcma0:1: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: arp filtering: 1 addresses (implement)
gen 15 16:56:11 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER: PCIe Bus Error: severity=Corrected, type=Data Link Layer, (Transmitter ID)
gen 15 16:56:11 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:   device [8086:9d13] error status/mask=00001000/00002000
gen 15 16:56:11 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:    [12] Timeout               

..... (repetitions of the 3 lines above)

gen 15 16:56:44 NUCKY3 kernel: hdaudio hdaudioC0D2: Unable to bind the codec

..... (repetitions of the 3 lines below)

gen 15 18:49:39 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER: PCIe Bus Error: severity=Corrected, type=Data Link Layer, (Transmitter ID)
gen 15 18:49:39 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:   device [8086:9d13] error status/mask=00001000/00002000
gen 15 18:49:39 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:    [12] Timeout               

4) [journalctl -S today -g i915]

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-- Logs begin at Tue 2021-12-21 21:04:34 CET, end at Sat 2022-01-15 18:48:28 CET. --
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: vgaarb: deactivate vga console
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: vgaarb: changed VGA decodes: olddecodes=io+mem,decodes=io+mem:owns=io+mem
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: [drm] Finished loading DMC firmware i915/skl_dmc_ver1_27.bin (v1.27)
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: Failed to program MOCS registers; expect performance issues.
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: [drm] Initialized i915 1.6.0 20190822 for 0000:00:02.0 on minor 0
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: fbcon: i915drmfb (fb0) is primary device
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: fb0: i915drmfb frame buffer device

Then I thought of repeating the first two commands with reference to the penultimate boot (the one that had led to the black screen):
1.a) [journalctl -k -b -1 -p3]

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-- Logs begin at Tue 2021-12-21 21:04:34 CET, end at Sat 2022-01-15 18:53:24 CET. --
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER: PCIe Bus Error: severity=Corrected, type=Data Link Layer, (Transmitter ID)
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:   device [8086:9d13] error status/mask=00001000/00002000
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1c.3: AER:    [12] Timeout           

2.a) [journalctl -b -1 -g i915]

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-- Logs begin at Tue 2021-12-21 21:04:34 CET, end at Sat 2022-01-15 18:51:35 CET. --
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: vgaarb: deactivate vga console
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: vgaarb: changed VGA decodes: olddecodes=io+mem,decodes=io+mem:owns=io+mem
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: [drm] Finished loading DMC firmware i915/skl_dmc_ver1_27.bin (v1.27)
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: Failed to program MOCS registers; expect performance issues.
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: [drm] Initialized i915 1.6.0 20190822 for 0000:00:02.0 on minor 0
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: fbcon: i915drmfb (fb0) is primary device
gen 15 16:50:11 NUCKY3 kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: fb0: i915drmfb frame buffer device

As for trying to get out of the black screen deadlock, I tried various sequences (Ctl-Alt-F4, Ctl-Alt-F2, Ctl-Alt-F1, …) but without success.

I now come to the indications of Jo-con-El (those of group A).
And here are the results:
A1) [cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | nc termbin.com 9999] gave [https://termbin.com/3x01]
A2) [dmesg | nc termbin.com 9999] gave [https://termbin.com/r2tb]
A3.1) [journalctl -kb -p3 | nc termbin.com 9999] gave [https://termbin.com/edpq]
A3.2) [journalctl -b -g i915 | nc termbin.com 9999] gave [https://termbin.com/wqfm]
A3.3) [journalctl -k -S today -p3 | nc termbin.com 9999] gave [https://termbin.com/sbkv]
A3.4) [journalctl -S today -g i915 | nc termbin.com 9999] gave [https://termbin.com/waq9]

As for startx: I gave the command (in a terminal window) but I just got messages saying:
[/usr/llib/xorg/Xorg.wrap: Only console users are allowed to run the X server
Xinit: giving up
Xinit: unable to connect to X server: Connection refused
Xinit: server error
unable to get a file descriptor referring to the console]

As for xorg.cfg, I checked: that file does not exist in /ect/X11/ folder; nor does a xorg.conf.d subdirectory exist in that folder.

Finally, I ran the command [apt purge xserver-xorg-video-intel] and the package has been removed.

At the reboot, no significant changes, but I trust your help to get rid of this problem.
Best regards.
Simone

PS: as for Jo-con-El group B indications, they scare me a little and I think I need to better understand how to implement them.

[acerimusdux]

When you boot your machine, when the grub menu comes up, you can hit "e" for edit, and it will allow you to edit the boot command. It's a box that pops up with several long lines of code, but you just have to arrow down to the "linux" line near the end where it says "ro quiet splash" and you can add in any boot parameters there. Then hit F10 to boot. Don't be afraid to try these, any changes there aren't permanent. They only impact that boot. If it fails, you reboot and try something else.

It appears from your output that the i915 driver is loading on the failed boots, and only isn't loading on the others because of the recovery mode. So I'm still not sure if the issue is really with that driver. But the two errors showing from the X.org.0.log Jon requested seem graphics related:

open /dev/dri/card0: No such file or directory

and

Screen 0 deleted because of no matching config section.

Often the kinds of problems you are experiencing can be solved by a kernel update. That is more common on newer systems, but it is still possible that there is a bug here which was resolved in a later kernel. So at this point I think it is worth also booting into recovery mode, and using the software manager to install a newer kernel. Click on "view" in the toolbar there, then "linux kernels", then choose 5.13 there, then click on the latest (5.13.0-25) and it will give an option to install.

Other than that, try kernel options. The only other error showing there in the logs from the failed boot seems to be the same as that experienced by this user, who seems to have had success with using a kernel option of "pcie_aspm=off". I'm sceptical that solves our problem, since the symptoms are very different, and aside from being Intel graphics, the system there is very different and newer.

So to be clear, if a kernel update doesn't improve things, you could try editing the boot line, and replacing "quiet splash", one boot at a time, with each of these:

Code: Select all

intel_idle.max_cstate=1 
i915.enable_dc=0 
pcie_aspm=off
pci=nommconf 
pci=noaer
ahci.mobile_lpm_policy=1

[Simone47]

Dear acerrimusdux, it went well!
I first upgraded the kernel but got no changes.
Then I followed your other advice and edited the linux boot line adding the [intel_idle.max_cstate=1] option and … It worked!
I also made the variation permanent in grub configuration, by acccordingly setting the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT parameter (through [sudo nano etc/default/grub] and [sudo update-grub]).
I am not sure what this “intel_idle.max_cstate=1” option does but it was miraculous and I really have to thank you for the tip.
Of course I also thank Jo-con-El for his generous help and now I’m going to set this topic title as “solved”.

[acerimusdux]

I wasn't sure what that did either, but Jo-Con-El suggested it, so I thought it was a good idea to try.

It appears though that it prevents the CPU from using lower power states. While your computer has a "laptop" motherboard, it has no battery, right? I would think running an actual laptop all the time without letting the processors idle might wear out a battery pretty quickly. But maybe not so bad for your machine.

I would still try some other settings, though. It may be that your machine could still run OK with that max_cstate set to 3 or 4, which would still allow some degree of processor "sleep".

Another thought, since it seems the problem is only occurring when it uses these low power states, is that on an older machine, this kind of thing can also sometimes be caused by an old power supply perhaps no longer performing to spec. Worth considering if it gives you any more problems.

[Simone47]

Dear acerrimusdux,
I followed your advice and did tests with the other parameters as well.
It turned out that, in addition to the intel_idle.max_cstate=1, the following settings also worked: intel_idle.max_cstate=3, intel_idle.max_cstate=4, pcie_aspm=off, ahci.mobile_lpm_policy=1.
I’m glad of it. But now – given my ignorance – I don’t know which, among these alternative settings, suits my system better.
Can you please give me this suggestion too?
One thing I seem to have guessed: all problems would seem to depend on a low power supply.
In fact, to power the system, I had to research and purchase a specific 12 volt power supply (because my young nephew, who bought the system online, was not shipped with the original power supply).
But I also ask myself: why does the problem not manifest itself when Windows 10 is launched?
Many thanks and regards
Simone

[acerimusdux]

I haven't looked at all of them, but I would just use max_cstate=4, if that works

According to what I linked above, that still allows deep sleep (C3) and deeper sleep (C4) and only prevents the deepest sleep level, which turns off memory cache. And I doubt that last step is saving enough power to notice anyway, especially on an always plugged in system. So I think that is unlikely to cause you to lose any needed functionality elsewhere.

By most accounts, things will run fine even at max_cstate=1, but I think it might just run hotter than necessary if there is no ability to idle at all. But I doubt you would see any side effects at all of max_cstate=4.

Another thing which also might work here, is changing bios settings related to power management. Maybe turning off some advanced power management, or chooseing a "performance" setting there if one is available, might also prevent problems. But just another way of doing the same things as some of these settings.

[Simone47]

Dear acerrimusdux,
I will certainly follow your advice.
Thanks again for the invaluable help.
Take care
Simone