Absolutely devastated. The shade. 💀

Yes, with the caveat that it could overwrite the Grub menu/boot partitions of other Linux installs on the device. I’d disconnect all disks with working Linux partitions and possibly all Windows ones too while installing to USB from a Live USB.

Taken from the linked announcement, it appears not:

The GNU Linux-libre project takes a minimal-changes approach to cleaning up Linux, making no effort to substitute components that need to be removed with functionally equivalent Free ones. Nevertheless, we encourage and support efforts towards doing so.

So basically it’s the user’s or maintainer group’s job to select replacement code/libraries/drivers and how they do that is up to them.

The only workable discreet GPUs with open source drivers that work right now are on Team Red (AMD) edit: and Intel.

There are good people working on Nvidia foss drivers but they have a long way to go.

Oh and lastly, here is a link to a thread of Linux beginner advice that I think is good. I have a nice response there that is pretty detailed. https://lemmygrad.ml/post/735631

Don’t use regular Arch if you’re struggling. There are some arch-based distros that are more user friendly, though. Like EndeavourOS or ArchMan. Manjaro can be good too but there are legitimate problems with how the project is run.

I was having graphics driver problems in Ubuntu-based distros until I tried Linux Mint.

If you get crashes right before or after login, it’s often a (Nvidia) graphics issue. To get around this, you could use nomodeset in the Grub menu to get a successful first boot where you can then install the proprietary drivers.

Look at sections 4 and especially 5 on this page
Also, here is that info in a tutorial format

Also, you may want to set the Desktop Environment to Xorg or X11 (same thing) if Wayland is causing you problems. It’s older, but in some cases more efficient and less experimental. Check out the section: Switching desktop environments using a graphical user interface. It should look similar to the pictures. And notice that the “gear” icon may not appear until you select a user.

If your problem is different than this, open a support ticket in the discord or forums of the distro you’re using. Linux Mint has a great system for this on Discord.

Thank you for putting some actual student-budget options.

Yeah, Framework seems like a premium product for sure. I want one but I definitely can’t afford it anytime soon. Also worth noting that a new framework mainboard rivals the price of some entire laptops. So while it is definitely upgradable and one of the most repairable laptops in the world, it is still a pricy ecosystem to be in.

This was his first reaction, just as satisfying to read: https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2023/dear-red-hat-are-you-dumb

But that’s a live environment that doesn’t save anything you install, right? That’s not what I want.

I can’t even install Nvidia drivers permanently which means I can’t actually “try” it properly. The generic drivers/nomodeset can’t run high refresh rate so I can’t see how laggy it does or does not feel.

Based on what you’re saying, I guess the only way to not remove the old bootloader would be to physically disconnect the other Linux system drive while it installs. Because having to use the USB to load the local system is really really not ideal.

Edit: I learned you can make a live usb with persistent storage which lets you install and update programs. However, there are limitations.

1. No password or security unless it’s Tails or something
2. Still cannot install extra drivers.
3. Takes longer to boot
4. You can never do a major upgrade like updating the kernel without burning a brand new live environment.

Yeah, I booted a live usb installer for Ubuntu with budgie (I created this by writing the Ubuntu ISO to a 32 GB USB drive using Rufus). Then I booted from the Live USB and chose another USB 64 GB drive to install to. It seemed to take quite a long time (all night) but the installer was showing a prompt to restart and a completed message when i woke up.

I actually was never able to boot from the new Ubuntu install other than using the target USB drive’s bootloader to boot into my old Linux Mint on another drive.

The Linux Mint kernel was listed on the Ubuntu Grub menu along with Ubuntu and Ubuntu Recovery and I was able to select Mint and successfully boot to Mint. After installing Ubuntu, when trying to boot from my Mint drive without the Target Ubuntu USB connected, it gave an empty Grub prompt.

From there I ran timeshift to restore the old bootloader and everything else.

The reason I’m fairly certain it was a new boot loader is that it had a gray background where my old one had a black background.

I have Windows on a 1 TB NVME, Mint on a 200 GB SSD, and a 1 TB data HDD, as well as the 32 GB USB live stick and the second 64 GB which I chose as the target to install to. Because the sizes are all different, I think it was unlikely that I chose the wrong disk to target, as I double checked the name and size was correct.

Right now, I don’t need help fixing it Windows and Mint are as I want them after a Timeshift restore. I just want to know how not to ruin my old Mint Grub next time I install a second Linux on USB.

Edit: switched around to match chronological order. To clarify, when I say “target usb” I am referring to the 64 gb usb I installed to from the Live environment.

Stupid question but can you swap the cables on one end?

This is actually incredible. Not half-assed with talented players and singers. And I’m really particular about singers.

Relevant defederation thread (their reasoning is kinda dumb imo)… https://beehaw.org/post/567170

Well yes, it has been discussed a lot. But also, copyleft and other open source licenses are political in that they prevent capitalist exploitation to a degree.

Yeah that sucks. If you monkey with a user’s password you have to tell them!