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Re: Sick HTPC

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On Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:43:46 -0400
Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote:

> On Tue, 4/14/2026 4:08 PM, pinnerite wrote:
> > (Sorry if you find this vverbose).
> > 
> > I have an HTPC running on  Linux Mint 21.3
> > 
> > It shares a Widescreen TV (as a monitor) with broadcast and streamed TV.
> > 
> > Whenever I switch back from TV to HDMI1 (that the HTPC uses), the sound
> > icon on the panel will have disappeared usually fixed with a reboot.
> > 
> > Yesterday on a reboot it hung. Nothing would overcome this.
> > 
> > I have two kernels installed: 5.15.0_173 generic and 174.
> > 
> > From the grub menu I can get into repair mode with either kernel.
> > From there I can continue to "normal boot" but the resultant display is
> > both wider and deeper than the screen and hides the panel.
> > 
> > By opening Nemo I can "open as root" and then open a root terminal.
> > Nemo however doesn't show either "File" nor can I see "Start", nor the
> > use [X] at top right for closing any application I might be able to
> > open.
> > 
> > It would be nice to able to boot up normally if only to create a
> > back up Mythtv's database and recordings before deconstructing this
> > machine and rebuilding it with modern components, originally planned
> > for later this year. 
> > 
> > I would welcome some ideas.
> > 
> > Kind regards,
> > 
> > Alan
> > 
> 
>    "resume   resume normal boot"  <=== presumably what you selected, as seen here as an option
> 
> https://unblog.ch/en/how-to-get-linux-mint-recovery-mode/
> 
> It sounds like a display manager is not running, so the nemo windows
> is not "decorated". Nemo may be using the XYWH of a previous session,
> while the desktop is running at 640x480 or 800x600 sort of thing.
> 
> When you don't have a display manager, you cannot bring a terminal
> to the front if it is behind the other window (nemo).
> 
> It's possible the DKMS for your video card has expired (kernel version
> too new). This is just a wild guess on my part. It's the only
> thing I can think of, when it is likely the HTPC is running Xorg X11
> server.
> 
> If the dialog boxes are too big, you can hold down the "alt" key and use
> the mouse to move the item as desired. One of my VMs was also busted when
> I went to use it, and to escape from the box I was in, required using
> the "alt" key trick.
> 
> Depending on your video card, a newer video card may work. My 1080
> still has drivers, but they won't last forever. And the newer video cards
> aren't exactly "cheap". It's probably $400 here for a piece of crap.
> The iGPU can be used, and it might be a bit newer than the
> plugin video card. Only newer equipment has made iGPUs more
> plentiful. My 11 year old Test Machine, doesn't have an iGPU,
> but it does have 42 PCIe lanes.
> 
>    Paul

Thanks Paul but I am using the onboard Intel graphics.
I decided to disconnect the HDMI lead andplug a spare monitor that I
bought for doing rebuilds. Altough I can only get into Cinnamon from
Repair Mode, I do now get a full screen. Tomorrow I plan to take a
backup of Mythconverg and will try and copy the resultant file and the
recordings to a 1TB plug-in NVme ready for the rebuild I will bring
forward. 

I have the processor but I will probably have to nick my wife's
running-away money to finance the rest. 

Regards,
Alan

-- 
Linux Mint 22.1 kernel version 6.8.0-84-generic Cinnamon 6.4.8
AMD Ryzen 7 7700, Radeon RX 6600, 32GB DDR5, 2TB SSD, 2TB Barracuda

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Sick HTPC pinnerite <pinnerite@gmail.com> - 2026-04-14 21:08 +0100
  Re: Sick HTPC Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-04-15 06:43 -0400
    Re: Sick HTPC pinnerite <pinnerite@gmail.com> - 2026-04-16 20:14 +0100
      Re: Sick HTPC Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-04-16 17:08 -0400
        Re: Sick HTPC pinnerite <pinnerite@gmail.com> - 2026-04-18 22:02 +0100
          Re: Sick HTPC pinnerite <pinnerite@gmail.com> - 2026-04-19 21:44 +0100
            Re: Sick HTPC Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-04-19 17:03 -0400
      Re: Sick HTPC Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-04-16 22:58 -0700

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