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considering you started a week ago and you still have system issues, this is what I would do:
I would start trying out distros like crazy and keeping the one that works best out of the box,
and then without the pressure of having to make things work for work, I would try to make my favourite distro work. -
@erandria It's usable as-is, just frustrating. Once I buy a nice keyboard, the only real issue I'll have is graphics drivers (I hope!). Assuming the wifi hardware doesn't keep disappearing, anyway. What's up with that?
@epse Sadly it is not. I considered requesting one of those instead, but the specs didn't compare, and this one was on sale so it was a considerably better value. i7, 32gb ram, 1tb m2, beautiful 4k, etc. I incorrectly estimated a few days' effort to get everything working. I should have asked for a System76 instead, but it would have cost a full 50% more! -
@Root real sad that system76 is kinda expensive
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@RememberMe I don't know.
Longer version: After changing the bios drive mode from Raid->AHCI, Windows 10 refused to boot into anything but safe mode, even after changing it back, resetting factory defaults, etc. And apparently windows refuses to modify partitions in safe mode, so it basically refused to let me save its life. So I happily nuked it into oblivion. I never saw enough of Windows to tell what was working and what wasn't.
@epse Insanely expensive! It would have been $3.4k for a comparable laptop! -
@Root okay, insanely expensive then, I am apparently completely out of whack with anything but the lower end of the pc market. I do hope whatever issue you have gets fixed because this is really odd
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@Root have you tried using Ubuntu with it (I assume you're trying Debian?)? Some Dell laptops (especially Precisions) have the option to preinstall Ubuntu and I believe the XPS and Precision laptops share a lot of stuff so there's a good chance that Ubuntu would probably work OOTB.
Also, hardware diagnostics from the system firmware/new Windows install. -
I was going to ask the same thing.. if it ships with Ubuntu then why the headaches. (I know, Linux)
Also.. Lubuntu is super fast, clean and useable if you don’t like normal flavour Ubuntu. I surprisingly loved it after a distro binge one month, literally zero complaints especially after some theme tweaks. -
@Root yeah, that happens. Usually BIOSes say not to change that setting after installing an OS, for good reason.
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@jotamontecino hey, I also have a Dell and it goes randomly into Airplane mode - no wifi, no ethernet. The drivers also disapper.
Is this problem present in all the Dell machines or what!? -
@bhumish they often have problems network cards drivers. On my old one, I had to do some weird shit to install one. 4 months later I installed the new Ubuntu, and no problem.
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@Root I literally just went though this, so here's a few tips:
1. Ditch bumblebee as fast as possible, it's performance is horrid, and usually slower than the iGPU.
2. Use official Nvidia drivers (yes... that OS one is good for old cards not new ones)
3. Install bbswitch (thats the useful part of bumblebee, it does power management for the dGPU) and install optimus-manager.
4. Configure optimus-manager to use bbswitch, otherwise you'll screw your system up (trust me, I just had to deal with it the other day).
5. Profit! -
@Root another tip, when you're on the go, use the Intel iGPU, when you're plugged in use the Nvidia.
Plus, have a look at fan control software, you might be missing that.
For all your other PCI card issues... If you're brave enough (I trust you), open up the laptop, and double check that connection points are strong (it could just be something loose). -
@chabad360 Thanks!
I'm not even using the nVidia gpu now; I purged bumblebee and all of the nVidia packages and I'm just using straight nouveau. It's terribly slow but it works.
I'll look into bbswitch and optimus-manager when I have some downtime and don't mind screwing up my work machine for awhile. -
@Root it's actually pretty smooth to do (unlike setting up an Intel optane cache, my next project).
What distro are you using? -
@Root how are you using nouveau (i.e. with PRIME)?
P.s. try Arch, it's not as intimidating as it seems :) (obligatory comment) -
@Root oh g-d... You're really missing out...
But honestly, if you can't do anything else (at the moment) at least switch to the Nvidia drivers, you'll thank me later.
Once you get a chance tho, follow my instructions for installing optimus-manager. I made it sound a bit simpler than it is actually, but it's very, very easy.
Definitely figure out how to manage your fans, it won't be so toasty anymore. Also, there shouldn't be any down time for that. -
@Root what's the problem with auto-probe?
You may be having an issue with your Nvidia card being off when you use those drivers, especially if you uses it with bumblebee. because apparently, the default behavior is to leave the card off (for obvious reasons) and turn it on when you want to use it. If that's the case it wont be detected by xorg.
The struggle is real
Thanks Nvidia for the helpful error message.
This freaking laptop.
The WiFi randomly stops working -- and by that, I mean the hardware is no longer detectable, let alone functional. It simply disappears on boot, even from dmesg.
The same happens with audio and bluetooth: on some boots they simply do not exist.
The power usage is also ridiculous: the battery dies in about two hours, and it gets soo hot. Toasty wrists unless I use my tiny bluetooth keyboard ☹ So I need to fiddle with powertop a bit more.
nVidia drivers are also a bloody pain, and having two graphics cards this is even more difficult to set up. I still haven't managed. (nvidia-driver, bumblebee, optimus, official driver messes, manual xorg configs, ...). So I have a beautiful 4k built-in display running at 4-18 fps, and a non-functional 4k external. That's fine for now, but >.>; frustrating.
In better news! I just managed to get the sound to work by backporting the new 4.19 kernel (yay!) -- I have never been so happy to hear an ad. but fixing the sound killed my bluetooth. (The `bluetooth` utility reports the adapter is present, but nothing else can seem to see it 🙄) So now I'm going to have burning hot wrists all day and want to cry because terrible sweaty awfulness.
Just. It's frustrating.
It's fast, though.
and ever so pretty.
rant
shrödinger's hardware
nvidia
bluetooth
work lappy