Computer Died (Rant Alert)

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MurphCID
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by MurphCID »

Lady Fitzgerald wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 12:26 pm
MurphCID wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 11:47 am
Lady Fitzgerald wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 1:16 am

Well sonavagun, it's raining! So far, my neck of the woods...er...desert has received .16 of an inch. That's nearly a flood in these parts and is the first measurable rain we have had since August.
Get your life raft ready :) Well hopefully you will have no leaks.
By the time the rain ended during the night, we had .63 of an inch. Inconvenient but we really needed it so I was happy. I was up and down, mostly up, during the night because of some of the worst leg cramps I've ever had. My upper inner thigh muscles were locked up so bad, I almost couldn't walk and it hurt like the dickens even though I had taken Aleve at breakfast and supper. I just crawled out of bed a little while ago and still don't have my nap out. Again, old age is like a vacuum; it sucks! I'm probably not going to get back to it until Monday. I have to wait for parts from Monoprice anyway (they are shipping by a one-dog dog sled and that dog is old and fat).
And that one dog sled was waylaid by Coyotes and had to pay in dog biscuits to get past them..... :)
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by Lady Fitzgerald »

MurphCID wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 3:00 pm
Lady Fitzgerald wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 12:26 pm
MurphCID wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 11:47 am

Get your life raft ready :) Well hopefully you will have no leaks.
By the time the rain ended during the night, we had .63 of an inch. Inconvenient but we really needed it so I was happy. I was up and down, mostly up, during the night because of some of the worst leg cramps I've ever had. My upper inner thigh muscles were locked up so bad, I almost couldn't walk and it hurt like the dickens even though I had taken Aleve at breakfast and supper. I just crawled out of bed a little while ago and still don't have my nap out. Again, old age is like a vacuum; it sucks! I'm probably not going to get back to it until Monday. I have to wait for parts from Monoprice anyway (they are shipping by a one-dog dog sled and that dog is old and fat).
And that one dog sled was waylaid by Coyotes and had to pay in dog biscuits to get past them..... :)
I can believe that.
Jeannie

To ensure the safety of your data, you have to be proactive, not reactive, so, back it up!
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by MurphCID »

One of the joys of System 76 laptops is that they have pretty good keyboards as a general rule. I LOVE the keyboards on both Darter Pros, and the Lemur Pro has a pretty decent one. So I suspect that your Serval is similar in that regard.
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by Lady Fitzgerald »

MurphCID wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 9:15 am One of the joys of System 76 laptops is that they have pretty good keyboards as a general rule. I LOVE the keyboards on both Darter Pros, and the Lemur Pro has a pretty decent one. So I suspect that your Serval is similar in that regard.
'Tis. The 17" 1920 x 1080 screen is even nicer.
Jeannie

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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by MurphCID »

Lady Fitzgerald wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:19 pm
MurphCID wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 9:15 am One of the joys of System 76 laptops is that they have pretty good keyboards as a general rule. I LOVE the keyboards on both Darter Pros, and the Lemur Pro has a pretty decent one. So I suspect that your Serval is similar in that regard.
'Tis. The 17" 1920 x 1080 screen is even nicer.
So how is the other Clevo doing? Did it take Linux Mint well? I tried this: sudo apt-get install linux-oem-20.04d which installed the 5.14-1010 kernel and it works like a champ, NO ISSUES at all. I suspect the BOXX being a bit newer might have a different selection of ports? I really like USB-C, and Thunderbolt, one of the better ideas IMHO.
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by Lady Fitzgerald »

MurphCID wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 7:40 am
Lady Fitzgerald wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:19 pm
MurphCID wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 9:15 am One of the joys of System 76 laptops is that they have pretty good keyboards as a general rule. I LOVE the keyboards on both Darter Pros, and the Lemur Pro has a pretty decent one. So I suspect that your Serval is similar in that regard.
'Tis. The 17" 1920 x 1080 screen is even nicer.
So how is the other Clevo doing? Did it take Linux Mint well? I tried this: sudo apt-get install linux-oem-20.04d which installed the 5.14-1010 kernel and it works like a champ, NO ISSUES at all. I suspect the BOXX being a bit newer might have a different selection of ports? I really like USB-C, and Thunderbolt, one of the better ideas IMHO.
I haven't gotten round to doing any more than horsing around with it a bit with Win 10 still installed just to make sure the laptop worked (and discovering I hate Win 10 even more than I thought). I have other, more pressing projects I need to deal with first.

The ports are identical for both computers.
Jeannie

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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by MurphCID »

Any update on your great project? How goes cable pulling?
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by Lady Fitzgerald »

MurphCID wrote: Thu Dec 16, 2021 7:14 am Any update on your great project? How goes cable pulling?
See viewtopic.php?f=52&t=362987 for details on the "Great Project" (I have better names for it but Mama told me not to use those words).
Jeannie

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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by MurphCID »

Lady Fitzgerald wrote: Thu Dec 16, 2021 7:51 am
MurphCID wrote: Thu Dec 16, 2021 7:14 am Any update on your great project? How goes cable pulling?
See viewtopic.php?f=52&t=362987 for details on the "Great Project" (I have better names for it but Mama told me not to use those words).
I did, I am seriously impressed.
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

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Lady Fitzgerald wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 8:33 am
MurphCID wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 7:40 am
Lady Fitzgerald wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:19 pm

'Tis. The 17" 1920 x 1080 screen is even nicer.
So how is the other Clevo doing? Did it take Linux Mint well? I tried this: sudo apt-get install linux-oem-20.04d which installed the 5.14-1010 kernel and it works like a champ, NO ISSUES at all. I suspect the BOXX being a bit newer might have a different selection of ports? I really like USB-C, and Thunderbolt, one of the better ideas IMHO.
I haven't gotten round to doing any more than horsing around with it a bit with Win 10 still installed just to make sure the laptop worked (and discovering I hate Win 10 even more than I thought). I have other, more pressing projects I need to deal with first.

The ports are identical for both computers.
Well, I finally got around to installing Mint 19.3 on the Boxx laptop (now known as Laptop 2, aka LT2). I had originally planned on installing 20.3 on the Boxx and, if that went well, do the same on the System 76 (aka LT1). Since, for me, doing a fresh install would be a nightmare since I've tweaked the snot out of Mint 19.3, to make sure the Boxx would work with Mint, I "restored" the latest image I had made of the LT1 boot drive to a new boot drive in a USB connected external enclosure, swapped out the Win 10 boot drive with the newly "restored" Mint boot drive and, "sonuvagun" if it didn't work.

Some features didn't work, such as all the symlinks (shortcuts) were broken but much of that was because I didn't have any data drives installed yet. I had ordered some 2.5" drive mounting brackets and pads from System 76 shortly after I got LT2, had two 2.5" SSDs already installed in the brackets and populated with the data that was on the 2.5" SSDs in LT1, and had populated the M.2 drive so, after installing a couple of foam pads inside the computer due to the drives being only 7mm, I popped all three drives into LT2 and fired her up. Most of the symlinks were now working.

I also had to update the fstab entries to match the UUIDs of the LT2 data drives so they would automagically mount at boot.

I had added quite a few files, mostly movies and TV shows, since I had populated the drives and recently did a massive data reorganization so I'm now in the process of updating LT2's data drives from LT1's backup drives. The first two drives and the first partition on the third drive are done (I divided the 8TB M.2 drive into two 4TB partitions so I could use my herd of retired 4TB 2.5" SATA SSDs for backup drives). The last partition on the third drive is currently updating after which all the symlinks should be functional (I've got over a thousand of them; they are as handy as sliced bread!).

Once the last partition has been updated, I'll check to make sure my aliases are still working, starting with the "TRIM all" alias and the one to TRIM the LT1 backup drives. If they work, I'll assume they all will work.

LT2 is more powerful than LT1 (which is no slouch, either). It has twice as much RAM and a more powerful CPU and graphics card (sadly, still NVIDIA). I didn't have to install or change any drivers. The brightness controls work on this graphics card. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold the brightness setting so I have to reset it every time I boot up unless I can find a setting to change in the NVIDIA settings.

I haven't tested the HDMI port with my TV yet.

So far, I haven't been able to turn off the keyboard backlighting or change the color.

My Ventoy USBs and Rescuezilla work better on LT2 than they do on LT1. I haven't created an image and tested it yet.

One thing the BIOS settings lack on LT2 is the ability to set the computer to charge the battery up to only 80% and not start recharging until the charge drops below 40%. I tried TLP and couldn't make any sense of it or the directions I found online (why can't people give good directions?). I tried TLPUI and I could set the charging parameters but LT2 ignored them. I tried Slimbook Battery. Twice. Both times it bricked the boot drive (this was before I had installed the data drives) and I had to re-restore the boot drive each time.

Once I finish getting LT2 updated, tested, and tweaked, I'm going to put it away and only pull it out monthly to update it. It will be my spare laptop for if LT1 should ever go belly up or have to go in for repairs.
Jeannie

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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

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The updates to the data drives/partitions have finished (FINALLY!). I couldn't get to sleep because of my dear (drear?), darling allergies so I tested three of my aliases and they worked just fine. I'll deal with the other "stuff" at another time.
Jeannie

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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

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I fixed the brightness issue in LT2. It turns out setting the brightness by clicking on the battery icon in the panel is only temporary but setting it in the Power Management is permanent. Who knew? Pity it doesn't work for LT1 (different graphics card).
Jeannie

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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by MurphCID »

Ok, well at least things are going well. Now you have two fully operational battlestations, AKA Deathstar 1 and 2, you can now rule the universe!

Seriously though take a look at LMDE 5 it works great on System 76 systems.
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by MurphCID »

Now that things are going well, any good updates? What is the "chisme" (gossip as my wife says)?
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

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MurphCID wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 10:58 am Now that things are going well, any good updates? What is the "chisme" (gossip as my wife says)?
The System 76 machine is doing fine but I'm having problems syncing the boot drive with the Boxx's boot drive. I have another thread on it. I need to, at the very least, stabilize the problem before I test the Thunderbolt dock in transit to me on the System 76 machine so, if the the dock's charging current burns out my System 76's Thunderbolt port (it doesn't support charging), I will have a working computer while the System 76 machine is getting repaired under warranty (they have already told me, in writing, it would be covered).
Jeannie

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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

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Lady Fitzgerald wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 1:33 pm
MurphCID wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 10:58 am Now that things are going well, any good updates? What is the "chisme" (gossip as my wife says)?
The System 76 machine is doing fine but I'm having problems syncing the boot drive with the Boxx's boot drive. I have another thread on it. I need to, at the very least, stabilize the problem before I test the Thunderbolt dock in transit to me on the System 76 machine so, if the the dock's charging current burns out my System 76's Thunderbolt port (it doesn't support charging), I will have a working computer while the System 76 machine is getting repaired under warranty (they have already told me, in writing, it would be covered).
At least it is still under warranty. Hopefully the dock will work and not cause any issues.
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by The Muffin Man »

Some credit cards double the mfg warranty on electronics.

However, FWIW, I bought a used Dell Latitude E6330 (intel i5-3320M) at the start of the COVID pandemic for $108.00 from Amazon. I maxed the ram out (after market) at 16GB ($30?) and I already had an SSD. I promptly put Mint on it when I got it. I used it 100% of the time for business and home, until the my company started goofing around with VPN vendors.

The laptop works like a champ after almost 3 years.
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by MurphCID »

How are the three electronic children doing?
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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by Lady Fitzgerald »

MurphCID wrote: Fri Aug 19, 2022 11:09 am How are the three electronic children doing?
Well, #1 child is doing fine; I'm using it right now. #2 child won't be accessed until after the first of September but it was doing fine. #3 child is sleeping in the storeroom and I will not disturb it until after the first of October.
Jeannie

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Re: Computer Died (Rant Alert)

Post by MurphCID »

Lady Fitzgerald wrote: Fri Aug 19, 2022 11:13 am
MurphCID wrote: Fri Aug 19, 2022 11:09 am How are the three electronic children doing?
Well, #1 child is doing fine; I'm using it right now. #2 child won't be accessed until after the first of September but it was doing fine. #3 child is sleeping in the storeroom and I will not disturb it until after the first of October.
LOL! Make sure they have their blankets.....
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