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-   -   Sager boot issue-only boots in recovery mode (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-laptop-and-netbook-25/sager-boot-issue-only-boots-in-recovery-mode-4175643700/)

dougcb68 12-05-2018 11:24 AM

Sager boot issue-only boots in recovery mode
 
My hardware is a Sager Notebook Computer Model N855HJ.

A note for anybody contemplating using Linux on Sager hardware: Sager support responded to my query that they do not support Linux.

I first started with Ubuntu 16.04. The OS installed with no problem but at boot time it stalled with a blank screen of that ugly purple Ubuntu color. At this point I could force a shutdown with the power button, restart with the power button and grub2 would show up. I could then get the system to start selecting advanced options->recovery mode->resume. Clunky, but functional.

Then Ubuntu 18.04 was released and I tried to install that, thinking it might resolve the issue. First I tried to upgrade from within version 16.04, multiple times. The install routine would get to the keyboard selection screen and freeze.

Then I tried to install 18.04 from USB with the same result: freeze at keyboard selection screen.

Then I tried to run 18.04 as a live system off the USB. It would load the desktop, but nothing was functional. The cursor moved, but clicking on icons had no effect.

Next, I installed Linux Mint 19. It loaded just fine as a live system off the USB and installed without any problem. But then it behaves in a similar fashon to the Ubuntu OS. At boot time it hangs up with the screen showing the Mint logo. I force a shutdown, boot up in recovery mode and the system seems to work fine from there.

There is one additional clue, however, with Mint. When the desktop loads it displays a window with the message:

"Running in software rendering Mode. Cinnemon is currently running without video hardware acceleration, and,as a result, you may observe much higher than normal CPU usage. There could be a problem with your drivers or some other issue. For best esperience it is recommended that you only use this mode for troubleshooting purposes."

I can probably live with this issue, but it does disturb my serenity, and I would appreciate any suggestions on how to approach a solution.

ondoho 12-05-2018 01:29 PM

what can you tell us about the hardware? age, specs?
output of 'lspci' might also shed some light.

KIOPRET 12-05-2018 02:46 PM

May the type of your hardware of software conflict and not require any specifications which the OS have? It`s often turned out to be the problem when I myself had such issues )

syg00 12-05-2018 04:24 PM

Run the Mint in live mode, open a terminal and run this - post the output file /tmp/inxi.txt before you shutdown.
Code:

inxi -Fxz > /tmp/inxi.txt

dougcb68 12-06-2018 03:51 PM

The hardware is about 15 months old.

When I booted up in live mode the inxi -Fxz > /tmp/inxi.txt command just moved the cursor to the next line in the terminal and sat there blinking. No output file. Then tried just inxi -Fxz. Same result: no output on the screen.

So, I booted up in the recovery mode as described in the initial post. Running inxi -Fxz produced the following output:

System: Host: saba-sager Kernel: 4.15.0-20-generic x86_64 bits: 64 gcc: 7.3.0
Desktop: Cinnamon 3.8.8 (Gtk 3.22.30-1ubuntu1) Distro: Linux Mint 19 Tara
Machine: Device: laptop System: Notebook product: N85_N87 HJ HJ1 HK1 serial: N/A
Mobo: Notebook model: N85_N87 HJ HJ1 HK1 serial: N/A
UEFI [Legacy]: American Megatrends v: 1.05.09bRLS1 date: 03/14/2017
Battery BAT0: charge: 58.3 Wh 100.0% condition: 58.3/62.1 Wh (94%) model: Notebook BAT status: Full
CPU: Quad core Intel Core i7-7700HQ (-MT-MCP-) arch: Skylake rev.9 cache: 6144 KB
flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 22464
clock speeds: max: 3800 MHz 1: 3772 MHz 2: 3408 MHz 3: 3585 MHz 4: 3404 MHz 5: 3477 MHz 6: 3408 MHz
7: 3534 MHz 8: 3404 MHz
Graphics: Card-1: Intel Device 591b bus-ID: 00:02.0
Card-2: NVIDIA GP107M [GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile] bus-ID: 01:00.0
Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 ) drivers: vesa (unloaded: modesetting,fbdev)
Resolution: 1920x1080@0.00hz
OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 6.0, 256 bits) version: 3.3 Mesa 18.0.0-rc5 Direct Render: Yes
Audio: Card Intel CM238 HD Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-20-generic
Network: Card-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: d000 bus-ID: 03:00.1
IF: enp3s0f1 state: down mac: <filter>
Card-2: Intel Device 24fb driver: iwlwifi bus-ID: 04:00.0
IF: wlp4s0 state: up speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: <filter>
Drives: HDD Total Size: 320.1GB (2.6% used)
ID-1: /dev/sda model: Hitachi_HTS54503 size: 320.1GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 293G used: 7.9G (3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
RAID: No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 85.0C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info: Processes: 221 Uptime: 15 min Memory: 1115.6/7862.5MB Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 7.3.0
Client: Shell (bash 4.4.191) inxi: 2.3.56



I also noticed that when I booted up in live mode that the following messages appeared briefly on the screen before grub came up:

[0.000000] [Firmware Bug]: TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata: please update microcode to version: 0x52 (orlater)

[0.000000] Error: [_UPC] namespace lookup failure. AE_ALREADY_EXISTS (2
0170031/dsvload-370)

[0.000000] ACPI Exception: AE_ALREADY_EXISTS, During name lookup/catalog (20
170031/psobject-252)

[0.000000] ACPI Exception: AE_ALREADY_EXISTS, (SSDT:xh_rvp11) while loading
table (28170031/tbxfload-220)

[0.000000] ACPI ERROR: 1 table load failures, 9 successful (28170031/tbxfloa
d-246)


I searched on the first error message and found a posting at https://stackoverflow.com/questions/...-due-to-errata that advised running:

sudo apt-get install intel-microcode

which I tried without any notable success.

Thank you much for your interest in this issue.

ondoho 12-07-2018 01:36 AM

you can ignore the acpi errors for now.

what i can see from your output:
  • a pretty new device - how old exactly?
  • 2 distinct GPUs (intel and nvidia), none of them running an appropriate driver
  • UEFI
you seem to have been lucky with UEFI, but it might pose separate problems when you reinstall something else.

the device age is unclear, i still haven't been able to find it with the model number you provide. sure you got that right?
it could also be a rebranded device, i've never seen Sager anywhere.

intel processor is skylake, remember that as a keyword.

dual or hybrid graphics are a pita and i have no firsthand experience.

you have some work cut out for you.

dougcb68 12-07-2018 04:48 PM

Thanks ondoho, syg00, and KIOPRET. Although you didn't directly solve my issue, you gave me valuable clues and encouragement that got me there.

It proved to be simple (usually is when you know the answer). Browsing through the Mint Menu I stumbled upon the Device Manager Utility. Running this I was presented with two options:

nvidia-0driver-390 (recommended)
or
Xserver-xorg-video-nouveau (open source)

with the second option selected. I simply chose the nvidia option, rebooted, and all is now fine.

Now the embarrassing part: After Mint installs it pops up a "Welcome to Mint" window with helpful information about Mint. The second thing it suggests is that one should run the Device Manager utility, What? RTFM? Me? I've only been writing software documentation for some 40 years now. Talk about a red face!

Turns out I really like Mint. I find the desktop very intuitive--much more to my liking than Ubuntu. Even knowing the problem I have been unable to find how I would go about solving it using another machine with Ubuntu installed. I originally started with Ubuntu and, until now, have never tried another distro. Maybe this is a clue that I should explore even more.

As to Sager: they are a company that customizes Clevo laptops for retail. The reason I went with them is that they are one of the few companies I could find that sells laptops without an operating system already installed, avoiding the Microsoft tax. That was why I was so surprised when their customer support told me they don't support Linux. What else is there? Anyway, that is the reason I wrote that note at the top of my original post.

Thanks again for the help. I love the Linux community.

ondoho 12-09-2018 05:24 AM

glad you got it sorted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougcb68 (Post 5934605)
Although you didn't directly solve my issue, you gave me valuable clues and encouragement that got me there.

this is my prefered MO!


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