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Old 05-14-2020, 05:01 PM   #1
binkyd
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Angry How to find a real-life hardware guru to look at this blasted machine


I have a Dell box that has been giving me fits all year.
I'm looking for an actual person to whom I can take this box for a thorough diagnosis.

Get this - I'm in Toronto Canada and I can't find a computer technician who knows anything about how Linux and hardware work together.

The box has passed every hardware test I can find, but none-the-less no OS works for more than a couple of days without developing strange issues.

Does anybody out there know of someone in my area who can help?

I'm ready to strip it for parts and start again.

Last edited by binkyd; 05-14-2020 at 05:05 PM.
 
Old 05-14-2020, 08:17 PM   #2
jefro
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Dell usually has some models with linux so there might be an authorized Dell service tech I'd think.

You can test a box with a billion Windows diags and never find the issue with linux.

Linux and other OS's just do not work the same. Timings and pal's and firmware all might be an issue.

It is currently unclear what might be the problem however. If you wish you may consider a new thread on a single distro on this and post the issues. ??

Last edited by jefro; 05-18-2020 at 04:27 PM.
 
Old 05-14-2020, 08:31 PM   #3
scasey
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Yes. I’ve always found Dell support to be excellent, ‘tho it’s been a few years since I’ve used/needed it.
 
Old 05-14-2020, 09:13 PM   #4
frankbell
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There's a LUG in Toronto. Perhaps they can help.
 
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Old 05-14-2020, 09:35 PM   #5
ferrari
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Quote:
The box has passed every hardware test I can find, but none-the-less no OS works for more than a couple of days without developing strange issues.
Are these installed OS's running via the HDD? Perhaps it's that or the controller? Try a live distro (via USB), and see if the same symptoms occur. RAM, HDD, and other stress/diagnostic tests are were I'd start

https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/stress...ith-stress-ng/
https://www.admin-magazine.com/Artic...tally-Stressed
https://www.stresslinux.org/sl/
 
Old 05-14-2020, 09:48 PM   #6
binkyd
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Thanks, frankbell - I'd lost them when they changed their name.

And so far, it's been Dell's system diagnostics that have found no issues - I don't even have Windows on the box anymore.
Tried HDD ans SSD - same issues. Gsmartcontrol's long tests say the disks are fine.

And to add insult to injury, Dell is not being co-operative at all - saying I killed the warranty taking Windows off yada yada . Not going to waste any more time on them.
 
Old 05-16-2020, 04:44 PM   #7
business_kid
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Quote:
Originally Posted by binkyd View Post
I have a Dell box that has been giving me fits all year.
I'm looking for an actual person to whom I can take this box for a thorough diagnosis.

Get this - I'm in Toronto Canada and I can't find a computer technician who knows anything about how Linux and hardware work together.

The box has passed every hardware test I can find, but none-the-less no OS works for more than a couple of days without developing strange issues.

Does anybody out there know of someone in my area who can help?

I'm ready to strip it for parts and start again.
My experience in Linux is that it's not windows, and that you often have to batter things into shape. The great advantage is that you can batter things into shape, and they work reliably, repeatedly and well. To get any serious help you need to give specific information, specific issues, and do suggested tasks to eliminate problems, or gather more detailed info. If you haven't got it in 8 posts, usually you're not doing you bit. If you want to try, Tell us your box specs, and what it's doing wrong, and we'll start from there. Don't keep ue guessing.
 
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Old 05-18-2020, 04:28 PM   #8
jefro
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You can run a billion Dell diags and not discover the issue with linux.
 
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Old 05-19-2020, 08:32 AM   #9
taylorkh
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I have used Dell hardware since 1987 when it was called PCs Ltd. Generally with very good results with Windoze and Linux. A couple of universal Dell fixes...

1 - Disconnect the power cable, network cable, monitor cable (anything which could back feed power into the box.) Pop the coin battery and let the BIOS clear itself. After a couple of minutes reinstall the battery (or better yet a new one as you probably never replaced the original), reconnect the cables and power it back on. It will probably go into BIOS setup so you can set the date etc. Do that and reboot.

2 - Unplug and re-plug stuff on the motherboard. Especially the memory. A little corrosion on the contacts may not be seen by diagnostics but when the system warms up with use...

Dell's support of Linux leaves something to be desired. A few years ago I purchased a Precision Workstation with Ubuntu 14.04 pre-installed. It would not power off after shutdown. Their "Premium US based technical support" had me on the phone for over an hour dorking around with it. Finally he determined I needed to update the BIOS. After doing this I had no issues with it not powering off after shutdown. It would not boot up. He started off on another tangent. No I said. It is only a week old. Send a call tag and take it back.

I purchased another one, same issue, installed CentOS 7. No problems. When I eventually did update the BIOS for some reason (shortly before the end of the warranty period) I applied my #1 fix and it has been working just fine ever since.

Ken
 
Old 05-19-2020, 10:26 AM   #10
TB0ne
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Quote:
Originally Posted by binkyd View Post
I have a Dell box that has been giving me fits all year.
I'm looking for an actual person to whom I can take this box for a thorough diagnosis.

Get this - I'm in Toronto Canada and I can't find a computer technician who knows anything about how Linux and hardware work together.

The box has passed every hardware test I can find, but none-the-less no OS works for more than a couple of days without developing strange issues.

Does anybody out there know of someone in my area who can help? I'm ready to strip it for parts and start again.
Bolded a part of what you posted for emphasis only. You say "no OS" and "strange issues"....but don't tell us what OS'es you've tried, or what exactly the strange issues are. Does the box behave the same with Windows as it does with Linux??

And with things like this, where you've run numerous diags/tests and they all pass, that usually leaves one piece; the power supply. Not a ton of diagnostic tests you can run on it, without a meter and pulling it out, but even then, it may TEST fine, but get flaky under load. Do you leave the box up and running, or power down nightly? Any correlation between system load and the 'strange issues'??
 
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Old 05-19-2020, 10:46 AM   #11
browny_amiga
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What strange issues? Can you be more specific?

I have a lot of experience troubleshooting hardware problems under Linux, just listening to the kernel is very insightful, Linux has a huge tradition in proper logging that Windows totally does not have, Linux logs are very detailed and I have been able to see hardware malfunction like this immediately, while in Window? There is nothing to look at, no logging, no errors.

But it would all depend on what strange issues you have.
 
Old 05-20-2020, 04:28 AM   #12
business_kid
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@ blinkyd: As I write, there's 11 posts in answer to your plaintive cry of frustration in post#1, so this will make it 12. You have been asked more than once for specific issues so we can get down to fixing those issues. At this stage, I have to ask:
How_To_Ask_a_Question
Are you going to tell us in detail what's up with your box, in line with the above link? Or will we all dismiss you as a blowhard and clear off? We're unpaid volunteers here.

We all have moments of frustration, but we all have lives, too.
 
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Old 05-25-2020, 02:14 PM   #13
binkyd
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Sorry for not replying sooner ...

... I tried something and I was waiting and watching.

I was looking for hardware testing utilities in the Manjaro repos and I discovered that there was a dedicated AMD kernel available.

linux-amd v.5.6.v.14-4
linux-amd-headers 5.6.v.14-4

Installed it immediately and now 3 full days with no glitches or issues. Might be solved, finally.

Prior to that, I had tried Mint, Ubuntu, Manjaro and openSUSE, all on SSD - all got glitchy after less than a day - and not just Cinnamon. Live USBs too, after about 1/2 day.
I had dumped WIndows off it a while ago, because I wasn't using it.
Even replaced the graphics card.
Ran a bunch of Phoronix tests, found nothing there either.

But I'd no idea there was an AMD kernel. Wow. And silly me - why wouldn't there be one?

Again, sorry for trying everyone's patience - and thanks HUGE for the help.


Operating System Manjaro Linux
Cinnamon Version 4.4.8
Linux Kernel 5.6.14-AMD
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 2700 Eight-Core Processor x 8
Memory 15.6 GiB
Graphics Card Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Ellesmere [Radeon RX 580X 8GB]
Monitor Asus VG248
Various mice keyboards
 
Old 05-25-2020, 03:42 PM   #14
rnturn
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Quote:
Originally Posted by taylorkh View Post
<good tips snipped>

Dell's support of Linux leaves something to be desired.
Dell still seems to have something of a love/hate relationship with Linux. They flirted with supporting Linux back in the late '90s and there were rumors of carefully hidden links on their web site where you could order PCs pre-loaded with Linux. Heck I still remember receiving one of their catalogs in the mail displaying PC with penguins on the monitors and thinking "Finally. They're being upfront about Linux support" only to find not a single word about it inside. That said, I have been using an old "Vista-ready" Inspiron laptop for years (only changing out the HD for something larger and doubling the RAM) with nary a problem other than the battery eventually dying and the whole Broadcom wireless hoop you have to jump through.

I think the OP should try re-seating the memory cards and running MemCheck86 (sp?) for a day to see if it finds any RAM problems.
 
Old 05-25-2020, 03:54 PM   #15
Geist
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yeah Memtest86 it.
If that goes through fine and it still mucks up, check the cooling, especially the thermal paste.
If that's all good and it still fails, look at voltages and memory speed in the bios.

My current computer kept crashing in weird ways because the cpu in it couldn't handle 4 sticks of RAM at the speed it advertised, only two of them at that speed.
Turns out its memory controller is simply not that good and once I set the memory frequency to a lower value, it all went smoothly.
 
  


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