Mastodawn

Edinburgh Linux Cafe Mar 22

Hello! We are Edinburgh Linux Cafe, joining Mastodon was something we meant to do for a while but never got around to. We are a small but dedicated group helping people to install Linux on their laptops. Our interests are Linux (obviously), repair, reuse, and bicycles. Amazing to see that we have actually been mentioned already (👋 @DoomsdaysCW )!

i_dont_like_AI a_programmer

@edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW _Wonderful_ what you say about helping people install Linux on their laptops! Here is something-- after having installed it on two different Asus laptops, one inexpensive Vivobook and one expensive gaming laptop, and one inexpensive HP, as of past 12 months:

The internal Wifi/Bluetooth is unstable in today's newest Debian Linux'es (and on some inexpensive HP Bluetooth doesn't even start). On Asus and some HP it can be repaired: my script
https://yoga6dserver.org/setup_for_install-bt-stability-for-mint.txt

Peter van Heusden (he/him) 🗿Mar 29

@i_dont_like_ai @edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW I've got something very similar happening with my Windows 11 Asus TUF Gaming 15, especially after playing games (thus GPU enabled, more power consumption). I'm not inclined to run scripts from the Internet but reading the script gave me some ideas of what settings to tweak - now to find out how to do so on Windows! :|

i_dont_like_AI a_programmer Mar 29

@pvanheus @edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW Perfect!

I spent like many dozens of hours of research on this before I wrote the final version at Stackexchange here
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/804068/linux-mint-22-3-bluetooth-finds-no-devices-and-is-not-discoverable/804220#804220

..and in the process I realized that despite Microsoft saying they 'love' Linux, it seemed to me to be consistent that Intel, the main source of most Linux-unstable Wifi/Bluetooth cards, consciously avoid presenting the _full_ information that could easily make them work at once at all Linuxes; forcing dongles.

Linux Mint 22.3 Bluetooth finds no devices and is not discoverable

I'm using Linux Mint 22.3 and today when I went into Bluetooth, I suddenly encountered a screen like the one attached. While Bluetooth is on, it doesn't see other devices and isn't seen by other de...

Unix & Linux Stack Exchange

Linux and praxis: part of the resistance 🇵🇸 ☮️Mar 29

@i_dont_like_ai @pvanheus @edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW

The only time I've needed a dongle for Linux is for a Lenovo thin edge. My kit from PCSpecialist and Novatech works just fine with wifi.

i_dont_like_AI a_programmer Mar 29

@linuxgnome @pvanheus @edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW

Right, glad to hear Linux works.

[Btw: I am just about to update my answer at https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/804068/linux-mint-22-3-bluetooth-finds-no-devices-and-is-not-discoverable/804220#804220 with a comment with a fix for a 2024 Lenovo Wifi that I was sent from @diversetechgeek.bsky.social Anthony Dean and found to work on Mint and other linuxes]

Linux Mint 22.3 Bluetooth finds no devices and is not discoverable

I'm using Linux Mint 22.3 and today when I went into Bluetooth, I suddenly encountered a screen like the one attached. While Bluetooth is on, it doesn't see other devices and isn't seen by other de...

Unix & Linux Stack Exchange

i_dont_like_AI a_programmer Mar 29

@linuxgnome @pvanheus @edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW

The last lines of this link, according to the mentioned contact, works on Linux Mint, Ubuntu, and Pop!OS for his Thinkpad to cure Wifi, and this is a three-year old solution so it means that this is a gem of a solution to archive for Linux install experts:

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=290480

[SOLVED] RTL8852BE firmware keeps crashing / Kernel & Hardware / Arch Linux Forums

Linux and praxis: part of the resistance 🇵🇸 ☮️Mar 30

@i_dont_like_ai @pvanheus @edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW

I have a 14-yr-old laptop from PCSpecialist running Kali and occasionally TAILS from a usb stick - no problem with the wifi. Just for info. No dongle needed for that.

i_dont_like_AI a_programmer Mar 30

@linuxgnome @pvanheus @edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW That's wonderful, and it is a healthy ecological perspective on putting old laptops to new use via Linux; like you, I often find that it works perfectly well.

For all students who are about to buy a new laptop, where is the 'canonical' list that says--do not by that HP but buy such and such Asus instead if you wish to run such and such Linux--but tune it this way? Ubuntu tried to make such a list for a while. Idea: make a Wiki or so for it.

Edinburgh Linux Cafe Mar 30

@i_dont_like_ai @linuxgnome @pvanheus @DoomsdaysCW that would be an extremely useful list! Where I think it could get complicated is that some devices work well with some distributions but not others. Think of the device compatibility list of the relatively small list of open source Android ROMs, applied to the much more diverse range of Linux distributions. I don't have the spoons to take on this task, worthwhile though it would definitely be.

Edinburgh Linux Cafe Mar 30

@i_dont_like_ai @linuxgnome @pvanheus @DoomsdaysCW Having said that, would be happy to setup a wiki somewhere (codeberg?) if there was enough potential contributors. There are also some existing communities (Rebel Tech Alliance, Tech Reclaimers) who might be interested.

EDIT: the Tech Reclaimers are on the fedi! @TheBulletin and https://video.infiniteloop.tv/c/techreclaimers_channel/videos

techreclaimers_channel

Reclaim your tech with us! You have the right to control your data, devices, and services. We coordinate, develop and foster communities of Reclaimers who want digital independence. Together, let's...

InfiniteLoop.TV

DoomsdaysCW Mar 30

Oooooh, @edinburghlinuxcafe ! Good to know @TheBulletin is here!

i_dont_like_AI a_programmer Mar 30

@edinburghlinuxcafe @linuxgnome @pvanheus @DoomsdaysCW @TheBulletin Perfect I have just followed Tech Reclaimers and also written to them; I think such a Wiki about compatibilities between this and that Linux and this and that new and old PC would attract followers if it is clean, have a good name, is not too ambitious technically but simple to grasp, and somebody had a strong moderation hand on it so it isn't filled up with copy-paste stuff. I would gladly be a contributor & add some funds too

i_dont_like_AI a_programmer Mar 30

@edinburghlinuxcafe @linuxgnome @pvanheus @DoomsdaysCW Yes! But this is exactly what Wiki's have shown themselves good at sometimes, if the moderation and set up is good. The quest is to be so moderate it is accurate:

E.g., somebody could submit:
"I got Linux such-and-such version .. to work with Asus laptop bought in 2026 & this is its type number.. perfectly / or: not perfectly, for Bluettooth was instable and such-and-such fix was required and now it is perfect / or: works with Wifi dongle"

Edinburgh Linux Cafe Mar 29

@i_dont_like_ai @DoomsdaysCW that's interesting, have occasionally had issues like this, but usually solved by updating/changing the driver. Though haven't seen many Asus laptops come our way. I've bookmarked the link for future reference, thanks.

i_dont_like_AI a_programmer Mar 29

@edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW Awesome! Apart from a selection of Acer and Lenovo, there is usually, in my experience, a profusion of Asus and HP laptops in the typical electronics store. Asus and HP internal Wifi cards which in most cases have been produced by Intel, callibrated so that with slight over-use they break down but Windows is programmed to calm them. _Scores_ of people at forums report B/W instabilities. It is I think the main way in which Microsoft keeps Linux down and they do.

:EA DATA. SF:Mar 29

@i_dont_like_ai @edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW I haven't had the WiFi problems you describe on my HP OMEN 15-ax252nr with an Intel i7-7700HQ (2.80 GHz) CPU and NVIDIA GP107M GeForce GTX 1050i Mobile GPU running the current Linux Mint Debian Edition.

The problem I do have is with that GPU. Once I install the official nVidia DKMS drivers from the regular LMDE repo, the various powerstates become unstable. Hibernate is already weird in Linux compared to Windows. I've had issues with it for as long as I've tried to use it. But with the official nVidia drivers, hibernate, sleep, and shutdown don't work correctly most of the time. The screen shuts off and the fans stop running but the lights stay on, including the keyboard lights. Opening / closing the lid doesn't do anything. I have to hold the power button down and force it to shutdown.

The longer the laptop is on, the more likely this is to happen. It's a pain in the ass. I never had these problems for the five years it ran Windows 10 but it's reliability repeatable in the couple of years it's run Linux: Linux Mint, LMDE, and Bazzite all did it.

i_dont_like_AI a_programmer Mar 29

@edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW

[Btw: Should I delete extra handles when replying to one?]

It is interesting what you say about the GPU stopping to work the longer the laptop is on.

A (vaguely conspiracy-like😅 ) interpretation:

Microsoft has a way of reducing intensities&ensuring that Linux folks don't get to hear about how _essential_ it is to slow the use or tune power management of some chips.

Solution: search for script-adjustments to slowing GPU use or tune powermanag.

:EA DATA. SF:Mar 29

@i_dont_like_ai @edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW

Incidentally, I plan to try harder for my next laptop to have an AMD GPU. My current Windows 11 laptop (Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9) and this Linux laptop are the last two I've purchased and nVidia was cheaper because it was on sale. This is what buying "on sale" gets me.

Looking at these to try to fix my Linux laptop:

i_dont_like_AI a_programmer Mar 29

@jrdepriest @edinburghlinuxcafe @DoomsdaysCW

Keep me updated on how it goes!

Of all laptop brands, I have a penchant for liking Asus though obviously the most cheapest Asus are sponsored to have a little instabilities which requires fixing on Linux. But it appears to me that Asus has a higher love for open source than some others (& unlike HP, even inexpensive Asus has battery charger limiter)

An the more expensive gaming Asus laptops I think have a tendency to work top with Linux