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Re: Sick HTPC

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On Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:08:00 -0400
Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote:

> On Thu, 4/16/2026 3:14 PM, pinnerite wrote:
> > 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
> > 
> 
> Do you have any "similar" hardware you could use for test ?
> To test that the storage devices are OK. I just figured that
> some update session, pushed it over the edge.
> 
> You could try one of the older kernels in Recovery Mode in
> the GRUB menu and see if that works.
> 
>    Paul
> 
I got it going and it is stable right now.
I have taken a backup to an external plugpin SSD!
I have another question arising (seperate thread).

By chance a new kernel was downloaded yesterday.
That seems to have fixed it. 5.15.0-176 generic.
ChatGPT turned its nose up at 174.

Thanks for the suggestions.
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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