What is your failure rate working with Mint?

[axrusar]

This is a mix of rant and question for you guys..

I have been using Mint for 6 Months already and i use the computer to do work.
Most things are done in a web browser nowadays so i don't have much complaints there, but working with applications and networking
has been a journey of awesomeness because of the whole concept, free apps and what not, but it also let me down at very hot moments
like right in front of customers..

Issues are random... such as not being able to connect to new wifi networks, or not getting internet once connected, multiple lockups using different programs, video glitches after unplugging external monitors, multiple issues when resuming from sleep state all the way to insecurity right on the login screen showing the open apps in the back without actually typing the password, random cinnamon glitches and lockups, unresponsive file manager, applets and taskbar apps crashing, bluetooth issues where now i need to deal with workarounds, sound issues, scaling issues, multiple issues after running system updates, lost configurations after reboots, duplication of programs, or having to reboot in order to get back to a working system, and i can keep going on...

Im using a pretty decent i7 laptop with 16 gigs of ram, NVME and also an older i5 desktop were i had a few issues with Mint too.

Right now when i go to work with a customer, i need to think beforehand what i will be doing in order to not look like an idiot and boot either Mint or Windows 10 so i can actually do what i need, but all my work and files are in the Mint installation so it is an issue.

IMHO, i can say this is not a "professional" / "stable" / "productive" DESKTOP system by any means and i highly doubt there is any distro out there that is even close to this territory.

So what are your experiences?

For the record.. i will not go back to using Windows full time like i did around 10 years back then that i was testing a few other linux distros.

[lamar]

My failure rate with mint cinnamon = 0 on 4 computers

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Most of my problems with Linux were due to my own ignorance of it. Fortunately, mostly thanks to this site, I've been learning.

[cliffcoggin]

Having suffered eleven major faults in six months of usage it is not unreasonable that you would want to go back to Windows. Alternatively you could do the sensible thing and ask for help here. You don't really suppose your experience is normal, do you?

[AndyMH]

Most of my problems with Linux were due to my own ignorance of it.

Likewise, and the learning curve flattens with time. But...

Issues are random... such as not being able to connect to new wifi networks...

While some of these will be PEBKAC, a lot sound like hardware issues, as suggested, got a problem, raise a topic.

Right now when i go to work with a customer, i need to think beforehand what i will be doing in order to not look like an idiot and boot either Mint or Windows 10 so i can actually do what i need, but all my work and files are in the Mint installation so it is an issue.

Either dual boot with a shared ntfs data partition, D: in win and mounted somewhere like /home/you/data in mint so that your data files are available whichever OS you are booting, or

Run win10 in a VM with shared folders so that win can see all the data files you need - this will be quicker than dual booting. Back when I was working and using my mint laptop onsite at the customers premises this is what I did. I was only embarrassed once, and it was my own fault. I was a year into using mint at the time and knew a lot less than I do now.

[axrusar]

heard you guys.
To address some of your points...
I have used this forum previously and it is amazing the help i got, positive attitude and mind blowing skills
shown by many. I totally understand there is a place to ask for help and what not.

I was talking about a system that it is been already setup and configured. Of course i tamed my own ignorance and learned many things on the way and there is a lot to learn still.... but once i have my system setup, i expect it not to crash with the examples i have given in the OP.

I must clarify that most of these issues are usually GUI related hangs, and inside the terminals, things usually work much better, but the type of tools i use for my
work are graphical as i work with video, web, graphics, and i am used to a graphical type OS.

Andy i do have a shared Fuse partition.. but i am getting used to work with the programs in Linux and have many connected accounts on this side that switching to windows becomes a problem anyways.

Noooo!! i said i am NOT going back to windows. I rather suffer these issues than go back to a self bloating system full of privacy issues and most likely more backdoors for people i am not interested in sharing my info with.

Ill have to start recording my screen and capture the random problems i always get. And no, there are many i can show is not a hardware related issue but the programs themselves.

Running VMs is cool to an extent... but i do work with video, audio and graphics so things get sluggish there

Also, i am not furiously expecting things i never paid for must do EXACT as i would want to and i am aware i need to invest time tweaking things here and there from time to time. I just wish things would work better that's all.

[DAMIEN1307]

My first reinstall of my Mint was today...A power outage caused it while i was online...when the power was back 2 hours later, my system was corrupted.

I whipped out my Mint OS USB, took 7 or 8 minutes to reinstall Mint, rebooted the system and updated it, then yanked out all my USB backups and had everything as it was before the outage in about 2.5 hours.

This is the first time i have ever had to reinstall my own Mint or any linux distro i have in 6 years and it was not the fault of the OS...it was the Electric Company that caused the failure...lol...DAMIEN

[Pierre]

Low ..

quite low, actually . .

most issues do occur with an Installations, in the main.
- - hardware issues mainly.

some folks also did have issues with updates,
where an hardware issue was occurring.

for myself .. in the main .. very little issues.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Most of my problems with Linux were due to my own ignorance of it. Fortunately, mostly thanks to this site, I've been learning.

I've never has a System crash that wasn't due to my ignorance.

I have occasionally had updates cause problems but those are easily fixed by doing a Timeshift restore (in fact, I make a snapshot prior to installing kernel and suspicious updates). The last one was a recent NVIDIA update that broke my screen brightness "control". I just restored the snapshot I made prior to the update and the problem was solved.

[HaveaMint]

In the process of learning Linux I was my worst enemy, I am still learning every day and will be learning until the day I die. I have UPS's on each system I run so power interruptions aren't a problem "so far". Through time of using Linux I have learned how to climb out of most holes I dig for myself. So far every problem I have had with Mint was me.

[AndyMH]

I have UPS's on each system I run so power interruptions aren't a problem "so far".

Likewise, rural and subject to frequent but short power interruptions (couple of seconds) so a UPS is essential. Laptops have their own battery, everything else - router, switches, APs, NAS and desktop are on a UPS.

[rossdv8]

I've managed to break every version of Mint since Cassandra - regularly.

Ok, this next bit sounds like I am big-noting myself. I am pointing out that Linux, and particularly Mint, is capable of almost anything that Mac and Windows can do. In many cases I have been told what i want to do is 'impossible' using Mint and not using dedicated printers. Yep, failed often - briefly, but learned pretty quickly that impossible just takes a little thought.

This week I even broke Mint 20.1, so now I am running Mint 20.2. In fact up to a few years ago I had probably broken almost every popular 'top 10' distro.
But - it was not their fault!
While Mint has a few glitches, unless there have been serious changes for the better in Windows, I would hate to have to switch back. I never found any sort of tech support for Windows. I had better tech support from Digital Research for DR-DOS and cp/m.
On the other hand, with Linux there is support in forums for every distro. That goes right back to the old days when we only had bulletin boards or AOL.

My health has only now allowed me to get my head around stuff I promised I would never do again, like networking. In one week I have set up VNC into another Mint computer and a raspberry Pi. Not something spectacular, but pretty easy once I 'thought sideways' and listened to a couple of suggestions on this forum.

I also set up a LAN with the same computers. Ok, I cheated. I was having problems, and remembered that once I was one of the only people in my city that could do networking in the days of coax cabling and Xenix POS systems in the 90s, when I was still working doing support for both Microsoft and IBM. I was supposed to be something of a whizz when we were using Samba - so I used that. Took me a few minutes to remember how to use smb.conf, but once I had one, i copied it to the other computers and changed a few share names.

I have been doing Dye Sublimation printing using Linux and Brother printers since around 2009. I managed to invent a simple process to dye sublimate 100% cotton that nobody else seems to have duplicated, in 2013. Other processes sublimate 'onto' the cotton. I sublimate 'into' the cotton. You can;t feel it and it never washes out even in boiling water. - All done using Linux.

My thoughts on 'MY' Failure rates in Linux, any Linux, are that it is nearly ALL operator error.
For many of us it is simply the result of not thinking laterally, and not asking the right questions if we need a bit of prompting.

Ok, end of rant. Time for my 'ugly sleep' so i can get up mice and fresh tomorrow and break some more Mint stuff...

[Portreve]

What is your failure rate working with Mint?

It all has to do with the hardware you're using (or trying to use). Personally, I've never had any of the issues you're talking about. Modern Linux distros in general, and Linux Mint in particular, have been the most stable OSs I've ever used.

[Ivy_Pool]

Thus far, the only time I have had problems with LM was when I installed a 32bit version on my old dual-core machine. Everything worked, but then it was buggy. Once I installed the correct 64 bit version, LM has been awesome.

Which version of LM did you install? Maybe, post your system report so others can gain a better understanding of your setup.

[lsemmens]

If you can be specific about each of your issues we may be able to assist in resolving said issues. The members here as very helpful. That said in the many years since I've ditched Windows I not had any major issues that can account as failure with the OS. I've had a few apps cause some grief but, mostly because I asked them to do something that they were not specifically designed to do.

[NoWinBob]

For trouble-free Linux install: 1.research you specific hardware for compaibility BEFORE you install.2 DO NOT dual boot.( unless you understand fully how that works and how to fix it WHEN it breaks.3. stick with built-in audio and video if at all possible.4.If possible,put all data files on a separate HD.That way,if you need to reinstall,it is a pretty trivial matter.Since I did all these things,I have never had a system crash.When I have issues with a particular program,I try to find another one that will do the job.

[151tom]

Most of my problems with Linux were due to my own ignorance of it. Fortunately, mostly thanks to this site, I've been learning.

Me to seems I'd create problems trying to do different stuff and usually wound up having to reinstall my Linux distro although not a waste as I do learn from my mistakes.

Nowadays I search for solutions and when searching fails to come up with a working solution I will ask questions.

[AZgl1800]

Most of my problems with Linux were due to my own ignorance of it. Fortunately, mostly thanks to this site, I've been learning.

My 1st year with LM 17 Cinnamon was very frustrating, and almost another year with 18.3 Cinnamon
but somewhere, along the way, I collected enough 'notes' in my little scratchpad to get things fixed.

and I have learned how to write a proper search term now, and Google helps me find what I need to know to make it right.

for the most part, it has been almost a year now since anything screwed up with it.
I add a new program to see if I like it, then use Timeshift to get rid of it and any trash it brought along.

I always use the Cinnamon desktop, I don't want to be bothered with trying to add on applications that should have been there in the first place.... which is what I discovered with XCFE and that other version, don't even look at them anymore, not worth my time....

the worst desktop I ever saw, was something called "Plasma", what a horrid mess.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Most of my problems with Linux were due to my own ignorance of it. Fortunately, mostly thanks to this site, I've been learning.

My 1st year with LM 17 Cinnamon was very frustrating, and almost another year with 18.3 Cinnamon
but somewhere, along the way, I collected enough 'notes' in my little scratchpad to get things fixed.

and I have learned how to write a proper search term now, and Google helps me find what I need to know to make it right.

for the most part, it has been almost a year now since anything screwed up with it.
I add a new program to see if I like it, then use Timeshift to get rid of it and any trash it brought along.

I always use the Cinnamon desktop, I don't want to be bothered with trying to add on applications that should have been there in the first place.... which is what I discovered with XCFE and that other version, don't even look at them anymore, not worth my time....

the worst desktop I ever saw, was something called "Plasma", what a horrid mess.

I make small step by step tutorials as I go so I (hopefully) won't forget anything I have learned along the way.

I also make a Timeshift image before trying a new program, major setting change, suspicious updates, etc. That has bailed out my ample asset out many times.

I started with Cinnamon and never tried anything else (even though I watched videos about other desktops). I firmly believe "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and I don't consider Cinnamon to be "broke".

[Kev]

For a few years now I've had zero notable failures with Mint, except for those that I cause. Which isn't to say that specific hardware or use cases etc etc might find things, but the situation in the OP is highly abnormal for the vast majority.

As for what I cause, well Linux distros will let the user do a great deal and it is up to me to decide what is wise and unwise and what my limits of expertise are... I don't always get it right. Plus the huge range of linux distro and desktop variations makes compatibility with 3rd-party software and advice less likely to be 100% applicable to one's own setup. There's an article on their website called something like 'Don't Break Debian', which of course is not directly applicable to Mint (in all the specifics) but IMO the general concept applies to all distros.

FWIW, when I leave my comfort zone with new stuff, i try to do so in a Virtual Machine or another installation (via multi-booting). Plus, as alluded to above, timeshift and disk/partition images allow me to revert to a recent state if necessary.