C
CrazedNerd
Guest
So I'm happy today to have finally made some more insights into this problem i've had with bootup ever since I installed these distributions on the desktop computer i built almost a year ago:
-it is a linux distro or desktop environment bug, it is not a hardware problem
-the exact source of the problem (freezing around startup time) is still not known, i don't even know enough about this to make a bug report to any of the developers.
My interest in figuring this out came back because it completely went away when I installed the full KDE package on Ubuntu. I always update Ubuntu whenever there are any updates. I installed KDE full with the info in this link:
itsfoss.com
I'm going to describe my problem below in full detail, and my experiment today prompted by the fact that I noticed my issue went away after doing this.
THE BUG
Regardless of distribution, occurring around every 10-20 times i booted my computer, the screen would just freeze around the time I would log in. Moving my mouse or typing on the keyboard doesn't change anything. I always have to power off my computer with the power button. Maybe some sort of REISUB thing would work but I just can't test that because i don't have a print screen key on my current keyboard. I've found over the time i've had this computer build (i've only been using the linux distros above during this time), that when my screen freezes, it would do so in a variety of ways. Sometimes I get a solid white screen, sometimes I get splotchy colors, solid black, solid purple, but the freezing remains persistent. I currently have Ubuntu and Ubuntu Studio installed as a dual boot setup. Ubuntu Studio has KDE Plasma, but I was able to reproduce the problem I'm talking about exactly 3 times today. Interestingly on KDE Plasma, i sometimes get problems before the login screen, sometimes after. Before I changed my desktop environment on standard Ubuntu, I kept getting variants of this problem on a fairly regular basis, I estimated approximately one out of every 20 boots, and that was the basis for this experiment today.
THE EXPERIMENT
Today, i booted and rebooted each partition (Ubuntu and Ubuntu Studio) 20 times. When I rebooted Ubuntu Studio, I got the expected problem I've been experiencing on the 11th, 19th, and 20th time during the login screen: it would sit there for a couple of seconds (probably 2 seconds, because i never have time to enter my password when this happens:
Like i stated above, pressing buttons on the keyboard and mouse doesn't do anything or cause any helpful changes. I've been having this problem with 3 separate monitors over the period since i've had this build, so we can rule out the monitor being a possible issue.
However, I tested my Ubuntu partition the same number of times today (with KDE full version in installed like the link above tells you how to do) and i did not experience any freezes at the login screen. The login is interesting though, btw:
If you mess up your user password, then it takes you to a more normal looking screen with a debian logo and standard input bar for your password, and also contains a drop down menu in the corner so you can change aspects of your desktop. In my case, i'm only going to mess with that with caution, i have found that the expression "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it" to be one of the best expressions...i will talk about what those options are in this thread at some point though. I'm just happy that i actually learned something about this (what appears to be a windowing) problem. I also thought it might be systemd related given all the controversy around that.
In this video below, there's talk about the problems with systemd, but ultimately in coding the problems tend to be more specific...obviously the problem i outlined above isn't inseparable from that infamous process:
Upvote this thread if you find my dark apparition to be sexy.
During the login screen, i can choose between windowing systems (xorg, unity, wayland, etc.) This is a good thread for discussing windowing systems and talking about problems you might have had with them.
-it is a linux distro or desktop environment bug, it is not a hardware problem
-the exact source of the problem (freezing around startup time) is still not known, i don't even know enough about this to make a bug report to any of the developers.
My interest in figuring this out came back because it completely went away when I installed the full KDE package on Ubuntu. I always update Ubuntu whenever there are any updates. I installed KDE full with the info in this link:
How to Install KDE on Ubuntu [Beginner's Guide]
This screenshot tutorial demonstrates the steps to install KDE Plasma desktop environment on Ubuntu Linux.
itsfoss.com
I'm going to describe my problem below in full detail, and my experiment today prompted by the fact that I noticed my issue went away after doing this.
THE BUG
Regardless of distribution, occurring around every 10-20 times i booted my computer, the screen would just freeze around the time I would log in. Moving my mouse or typing on the keyboard doesn't change anything. I always have to power off my computer with the power button. Maybe some sort of REISUB thing would work but I just can't test that because i don't have a print screen key on my current keyboard. I've found over the time i've had this computer build (i've only been using the linux distros above during this time), that when my screen freezes, it would do so in a variety of ways. Sometimes I get a solid white screen, sometimes I get splotchy colors, solid black, solid purple, but the freezing remains persistent. I currently have Ubuntu and Ubuntu Studio installed as a dual boot setup. Ubuntu Studio has KDE Plasma, but I was able to reproduce the problem I'm talking about exactly 3 times today. Interestingly on KDE Plasma, i sometimes get problems before the login screen, sometimes after. Before I changed my desktop environment on standard Ubuntu, I kept getting variants of this problem on a fairly regular basis, I estimated approximately one out of every 20 boots, and that was the basis for this experiment today.
THE EXPERIMENT
Today, i booted and rebooted each partition (Ubuntu and Ubuntu Studio) 20 times. When I rebooted Ubuntu Studio, I got the expected problem I've been experiencing on the 11th, 19th, and 20th time during the login screen: it would sit there for a couple of seconds (probably 2 seconds, because i never have time to enter my password when this happens:
Like i stated above, pressing buttons on the keyboard and mouse doesn't do anything or cause any helpful changes. I've been having this problem with 3 separate monitors over the period since i've had this build, so we can rule out the monitor being a possible issue.
However, I tested my Ubuntu partition the same number of times today (with KDE full version in installed like the link above tells you how to do) and i did not experience any freezes at the login screen. The login is interesting though, btw:
If you mess up your user password, then it takes you to a more normal looking screen with a debian logo and standard input bar for your password, and also contains a drop down menu in the corner so you can change aspects of your desktop. In my case, i'm only going to mess with that with caution, i have found that the expression "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it" to be one of the best expressions...i will talk about what those options are in this thread at some point though. I'm just happy that i actually learned something about this (what appears to be a windowing) problem. I also thought it might be systemd related given all the controversy around that.
In this video below, there's talk about the problems with systemd, but ultimately in coding the problems tend to be more specific...obviously the problem i outlined above isn't inseparable from that infamous process:
Upvote this thread if you find my dark apparition to be sexy.
During the login screen, i can choose between windowing systems (xorg, unity, wayland, etc.) This is a good thread for discussing windowing systems and talking about problems you might have had with them.
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