my annual Linux failure

[JodyH]

Just finished up my annual attempt to switch to Linux failure.
This year it was Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on a Lenovo "all in one".
Did a dual boot install and was up and running with zero issues and liking it for about a week.
Then I restarted the computer to use Windows for some specialized software, no problem.
Restarted again to use Ubuntu and my wired ethernet is no longer working and for some reason there's no wireless option.
Both the wired and wireless work perfectly in Windows.
Literally nothing changed on the machine except a restart.

WTF?
It's 2021 and it's still a royal pain in the ass to get on (and stay on) the Internet with Linux.
I also love the "just Google your issue"... so you're saying I need a second non-Linux machine so I can troubleshoot and fix my Linux machine? Ya... No.
I guess I'll go back to spyware Windows and try again next year.
The one thing about having software that data mines you... the company has a vested interest in making sure the data mining pipeline actually works.

[LittleLebowski]

Just load Linux as a VM using VirtualBox on Windows.

[JodyH]

Just load Linux as a VM using VirtualBox on Windows.

No

The VM route (and WINE) have always been almost as bad stability wise, but with moar resources hogged.

It's 2021... it's a standard hardware machine. Shit that worked yesterday should still work today.

[RJ]

Been running Linux Mint for at least three years now.

What is ‘wired’ internet?


Sorry could not resist. That seems pretty odd. Basic transport layer / eth0 stuff should work pretty well. I’m very surprised to hear. Not up on all the latest releases. How long has that particular Ubuntu rev been out? It’s not a beta or anything? Can you migrate back to a more stable release? Do an upgrade to get latest packages? Just spit ballin’, I are not a real Tux expert.

[LittleLebowski]

No

The VM route (and WINE) have always been almost as bad stability wise, but with moar resources hogged.

It's 2021... it's a standard hardware machine. Shit that worked yesterday should still work today.

OK. That's not my experience, but I can't do it for you. WINE has always been shit, but VMs are stable tech.

[SecondsCount]

The issue with Linux has always been with proprietary drivers. On my Mint Linux machine, which is a Dell and used some kind of Broadcom wifi driver, I had to tell it to go ahead and download the drivers even though they weren't open source.

All is fine now.

My experience last year with a couple of Lenovo machines running Windows 10 was interesting. The first one that my company issued me worked great for 3 months and then the wifi started slowing down so they sent another. This one has been fine so far.

[RJ]

Did a wee bit of digging, clipped some info from wiki is below. FWIW the version of Mint (Tara) I have is based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS; this the version of Mint I loaded on my cast-off Dell work surplus e6530 box. I've since also put Mint on an even older, hand-crank steam driven Acer Inspire. It runs kinda, ah, slow, but it does run.

"On January 3, 2018, the Linux Mint Team released news of Linux Mint 19 'Tara'. The team stated that the 19.x releases would use GTK 3.22 and be based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, with support provided until 2023. On June 29, 2018, Linux Mint 19 'Tara' Cinnamon was released.[37] Then, on December 24, 2019, Linux Mint 19.3, 'Tricia' was released, with security updates available until 2023

[LittleLebowski]

The issue with Linux has always been with proprietary drivers. On my Mint Linux machine, which is a Dell and used some kind of Broadcom wifi driver, I had to tell it to go ahead and download the drivers even though they weren't open source.

All is fine now.

My experience last year with a couple of Lenovo machines running Windows 10 was interesting. The first one that my company issued me worked great for 3 months and then the wifi started slowing down so they sent another. This one has been fine so far.

If you're having an issue with drivers, that can often be solved with a third party card/adapter that is supported.

[Whirlwind06]

Linux and Windows are like 1911s and Glock in my mind.
If you want it to just work and not have to mess with stuff use Windows/Glock if you are okay tinkering with things Linux/1911.

[Eugene]

Linux and Windows are like 1911s and Glock in my mind.
If you want it to just work and not have to mess with stuff use Windows/Glock if you are okay tinkering with things Linux/1911.

Always been the opposite for me. Wife and kids laptops and my work provided windows system are always breaking and needing messed with. My Linux systems always work fine.