Complaining about computers

[classicdrogn]

Yesterday, I had a working Manjaro Linux installation. I'm far from being a guru, barely more than a luser, but I've been getting by for a few years.

Yesterday evening I tried to rnu a .bat file with mkvmerge through WINE to strip the other audio tracks out of a set of multi-language fansubs, and the screen went black. Rebooted, still black. hit CTL-ALT-F2 to get a terminal, nothing. Tried a live USB stick, still black. Found that I can hit the xase power button, then right arrow and Enter to reboot, so it thinks it's got a GUI, but is not actually displaying anything. Faffed about doing internet searches to at least find a way to get a terminal and identify the problem.

That, at least, was successful. For a bit. Found how to edit the GRUB boot settings to boot at runlevel 3, which nasically means networking on, GUI off. Did a system update as reccommended, no change. Tried uninstalling the nvidia drivers to use the generic fallback, the only change is that now I can no longer hit the case button, right arrow, and enter to reboot from the black screen. Did a system restore from last year-ish. No change but the lower kernel version number, and GRUB being harder to access since it had zero delay at that point and just flashes past unless you're mashing ESC/Del or (I later found mentioned in yet aanother forum post) holding down Shift.

Speaking of forums, the Manjaro.org forums insist they've sent me a conformation email so I can get on there and ask for help, but none has showed up even close to 24 hours later.

Tried the Live UB for a different Arch-based distro. Same problem. Tried an Ubuntu stick, and that at last would boot. Installed it on my second "play around with other distros/installs" SSD, same problem back again unless I go into Grub and boot in safe-graphics mode, using the fallback driver that I had originally hoiped to get into my Manjaro install with to further troubleshoot. It's what I've got up right now, but it's bastardly slow even aside from only using the GPU like integrated graphics on a business PC, and I hate the Cinnamon UI. Also, it can't open the NVME with my Manjaro install or the external HDD with my 3d models (and most other creative output since 2006 or so, where it wasn't already lost somehow,) music files and browser bookmark backups.

At least I haven't given in to the "auto-generate and fill in random jumble passwords when I use a local master password" fad, so I actually know and can enter them myself for the sites I actually use. Less secure, sure, but so is having a door in your wall, and for the same reason.

Spent most of this afternoon poking at various information-reporting commands after looking up how to get the results to be shown in pages instead of dumping everything to the terminal window at once, when there is no scrollback without a working GUI. So far the best result is Xorg reporting that the Nvidia kernel module failed to initialize, which at least confirms what I thought the problem was, but still gives me no useful leads on why it broke, what specifically is wrong, or how to fix it, and without another working computer to keep the various forum pasts open on to refer to I've been having to memorize a command line, reboot, try it, and then reboot back to Ubuntu each time, which is maddeningly slowly as well as being a colossal pain in the first place due to the "memorize each command line" part.

I am just super done for the day. Arrrgh.

[Vulpis]

Yesterday, I had a working Manjaro Linux installation. I'm far from being a guru, barely more than a luser, but I've been getting by for a few years.

Yesterday evening I tried to rnu a .bat file with mkvmerge through WINE to strip the other audio tracks out of a set of multi-language fansubs, and the screen went black. Rebooted, still black. hit CTL-ALT-F2 to get a terminal, nothing. Tried a live USB stick, still black. Found that I can hit the xase power button, then right arrow and Enter to reboot, so it thinks it's got a GUI, but is not actually displaying anything. Faffed about doing internet searches to at least find a way to get a terminal and identify the problem.

That, at least, was successful. For a bit. Found how to edit the GRUB boot settings to boot at runlevel 3, which nasically means networking on, GUI off. Did a system update as reccommended, no change. Tried uninstalling the nvidia drivers to use the generic fallback, the only change is that now I can no longer hit the case button, right arrow, and enter to reboot from the black screen. Did a system restore from last year-ish. No change but the lower kernel version number, and GRUB being harder to access since it had zero delay at that point and just flashes past unless you're mashing ESC/Del or (I later found mentioned in yet aanother forum post) holding down Shift.

Speaking of forums, the Manjaro.org forums insist they've sent me a conformation email so I can get on there and ask for help, but none has showed up even close to 24 hours later.

Tried the Live UB for a different Arch-based distro. Same problem. Tried an Ubuntu stick, and that at last would boot. Installed it on my second "play around with other distros/installs" SSD, same problem back again unless I go into Grub and boot in safe-graphics mode, using the fallback driver that I had originally hoiped to get into my Manjaro install with to further troubleshoot. It's what I've got up right now, but it's bastardly slow even aside from only using the GPU like integrated graphics on a business PC, and I hate the Cinnamon UI. Also, it can't open the NVME with my Manjaro install or the external HDD with my 3d models (and most other creative output since 2006 or so, where it wasn't already lost somehow,) music files and browser bookmark backups.

At least I haven't given in to the "auto-generate and fill in random jumble passwords when I use a local master password" fad, so I actually know and can enter them myself for the sites I actually use. Less secure, sure, but so is having a door in your wall, and for the same reason.

Spent most of this afternoon poking at various information-reporting commands after looking up how to get the results to be shown in pages instead of dumping everything to the terminal window at once, when there is no scrollback without a working GUI. So far the best result is Xorg reporting that the Nvidia kernel module failed to initialize, which at least confirms what I thought the problem was, but still gives me no useful leads on why it broke, what specifically is wrong, or how to fix it, and without another working computer to keep the various forum pasts open on to refer to I've been having to memorize a command line, reboot, try it, and then reboot back to Ubuntu each time, which is maddeningly slowly as well as being a colossal pain in the first place due to the "memorize each command line" part.

I am just super done for the day. Arrrgh.

...I can't think of anything specific to help, but frankly, the sudden failure in combination with the Live-stick and older versions not working sounds like a hardware problem someplace, not a software one. Can you get into BIOS/UEFI, at least? I'd almost want to suggest your video card has died on you...

[Dartz]

I would've said the monitor has shit the bed but if you're able to see terminal then it might be however your system is Muxxing between your integrated GPU and your dedicated GPU.

Have you tried an external monitor?

[classicdrogn]

It's a desktop, so I'm always using an external monitor. There is no integrated graphics either; the motherboard has an HDMI port to support it with a processor that included them but I've got a Ryzen 3600 which does not include any so that port does nothing.

It's definitely something to do with NVIDIA's drivers being sticky-wicket on Linux; the Ubuntu recovery mode works because it's using the generic nouveau driver instead of NVIDIA's, but that means I get no sound-out through HDMI, no high resolution (it's a 43" 4k TV, but 1080p or below are all that's available) no actual hardware rendering, etc. I'm fairly sure it's also running the CPU and RAM clock speeds at the lowest settings, too, but the dock widget I'd usually use to track that is for the XFCE desktop environment and as I said I'm currently stuck in Cinnamon. Not that that can't be changed of course, but changing DE's is such a pain in the ass people usually just do a whole new install instead, and that' s effort I'd rather spend on fixing my original system. If I could figure out how to switch to nouveau from the command line I'd probably at least be able to get this level of semi-functionality back on that, but that is proving to be a very obscure ask.

I actually had the same problem with only the nouveau driver working when I first got the GeForce RTX3060 to replace my original Radeon RX580, but I can't remember what I did to sort it out then, only that it took days to find something that worked, and that I never actually figured out why it worked.

[Vulpis]

Hmmm. I hate to ask, but do you have a backup GPU sitting around that you could put in and see if that works properly?

[classicdrogn]

No, but considering I'm getting video out with the generic driver through the same card there's not a lot that could have gone wrong there, logically speaking... But then, WINE shouldn't have been able to bork it to begin with, logically speaking. I'm completely baffled -- and still haven't been able to get posting privleges on the Manjaro community forum, either.

[classicdrogn]

... and now the SSD seems to have failed, or be in the process of. Seriously, what the fuck? Did it get cursed or something?

[robkelk]

If all the peripherals are failing at the same time, I have to wonder whether there's a fault somewhere on the motherboard that's causing all of the other failures.

[classicdrogn]

I'd have expected it to cause problems before now if that was the case, though? I'm still pretty sure there's nothing phtsically wrong with the GPU, and where I hardly ever used the second SSD I suppose it could just have been a bad roll of the QC dice. I'm kind of teetering on the edge of despair, though; I definitely can't afford to replace any more expensive parts right now, and even though the SSD is only like $30 it still leaves me using the one bootable USB I've gotten to work until a replacement arrives, which is emphatically no way to run a railroad.

Even that still won't fix the original problem of my normal system on the m.2 SSD being borked, this is just what I need working to keep trying to find a solution to that. If I wasn't already dead inside I'd have broken down completely earlier.

And my dump-rescue Kindle 3 is also acting erratic, to the point I'd ordered a Pocketbook Era in anticipation of needing to replace it, which is WHY I can't afford any computer parts right now, but that has not yet arrived either so there['s the constant "will it work when I try to turn it on?" there as well. It's just not a good week for gadgets around here.

[classicdrogn]

.. now the cordless phone handset. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...

[robkelk]

By any chance are power fluctuations frying your hardware? You might want to get a UPS with power filtering (which, IIRC, all modern UPS have).

EDIT: And even if that isn't the core issue, having your router on UPS means you don't have to re-program it after a power outage.

[classicdrogn]

I don't believe so, the Brigewater Triangle is still close enough to Boston to be in its shadow on the powere grid and benefit from how extensive that is. The house is old (for the Americas, 1828 IIRC) but the wiring was redone not too long ago, and the computer actually has a circuit to itself so it shouldn't be getting sruges from appliances or whatever save in the most minor of ways. I have looked at getting set up with a UPS before, but in light of the above and a habit of saving frequently from previous experiences in locations not so blessed haven['t been able to justify the expense.

The phone handset was due to getting an ounce or so of rubbing alcohol spilled over it, rather than any electrical shenanigans, it's just happening at an unfortunately coincidental time. Pulling the battery and letting it dry out should hopefully set it to rights, as long as whatever was shorted to make it act weird (screen light not shutting off after a few seconds, not responding to button presses) didn't cause permanent damage.

[ECSNorway]

I get brownouts a lot in severe weather, so I keep a small UPS to protect my PC and keep it from rebooting every time the power flickers. And another one for my modem/router.

More annoying right now, my iPad has apparently decided that it doesn't like to charge. Today while I was working it gave an overheat warning and shut itself down, and it was not in a warm environment. So I unplugged it for a bit and found that it was quite warm around the USB-C port...

And when I plugged it in again an hour later, it refused to acknowledge that it was connected to anything.

I restarted it, no change.