So, I figure, maybe it was just not the best distro. So, I try downloading a whole other one. It has its own program to download an image and write it to a USB stick. Great. I wait and that finishes and I try to boot it and... it fails disk validation.

People, this is why #Linux will never overtake Apple & Microsoft. I want to believe and I'm super tech oriented and I can't even install the damn thing.

Continued misadventures with trying and failing to install #Linux:

I re-downloaded the Fedora image and it still failed to validate before installation.

I tried the latest bleeding edge version of LinuxMint and it only shows up on one monitor (even though the desktop covers the others). Once I update the graphics driver, it stops showing up at all, and all I get after login is a black screen with a frozen mouse.

PopOS installed easily enough, but whenever I tried to adjust the display settings, I'd lose all displays and have to reboot. Also, running apt-get upgrade caused the whole OS to crash.

Anyone got any other suggestions for distros that might actually work for a dev machine with a 3080?

Final log:

I tried downloading #Fedora straight from the website and even that failed validation during installation, so I guess Fedora is just screwed atm.

Then, I tried #Ubuntu finally, which I was trying to avoid. It installed okay, but as soon as I log in, it goes straight to an "Uh oh something went wrong" crash screen.

For all the shit it takes, I haven't had any such problem with #Windows on this same hardware (at least not since the 95/98 days).

I don't know how #Linux can ever truly take off while such fundamental issues persist. But I also don't know how I can remain with Windows as they push ads and spyware into their OS.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, I guess I'll just procrastinate on this issue until I build out my next rig.

@LouisIngenthron

@LouisIngenthron I have installed four(?) different distros in the last week, and they all went in fine except vanilla #Debian, which I don't know how I screwed it up, but I did. #Ubuntu, #LinuxMint, and #PopOS were all just as easy as #Windows was once upon a time: click "ok" a bunch until you hit a welcome screen. Notably absent was the requirement that I sign into their exclusive service to even use the software.

Just saying. Your mileage has clearly varied.

@OrionKidder LinuxMint was the first one I tried. Got it installed okay, but I just could not get it to run with non-software graphics, even after using their built-in driver manager.

@LouisIngenthron did you try Pop OS?

@crft No; might give that one a shot tomorrow.

@LouisIngenthron Well, I should say that I'm very new at this, but if you've got a laptop with a known set of components, there's usually a post on the Linux Mint discussion/support boards that covers it. Sorry to hear it's not working for you.

@LouisIngenthron what distro are u trying? What kind of machine do you have?

@carloshr I tried LinuxMint Cinnamon first; couldn't get it to run with hardware graphics.

Then I tried Fedora and had the bad image issue.

@LouisIngenthron what's your graphic card?

@carloshr RTX 3080.

@LouisIngenthron @carloshr Try the Edge ISO of Cinnamon from Linux Mint.

Mint is based on the Ubuntu 22.04 Long Term Support release, first available 2 years ago. I.e., old kernel and old drivers.

The Edge ISO includes a newer kernel, etc., that supports newer hardware,

Kernel upgrades are available in Mint's Update Manager but not offered by default.

The bad Fedora image is almost certainly the result of download glitches.

@LouisIngenthron just flash like #LinuxMint or #PopOS. Install it onto a flash drive using Rufus.

the barrier to adoption here involves a bunch of conflicting or incomplete information that tends to mislead the uninitiated.

@LouisIngenthron or alternatively if you want to use The Superior Desktop (tm) you'll install KDE Plasma via EndeavorOS - but I digress. Mint and Pop are the best for beginners by a *mile*. They're very well known for this fact.

I'm not suggesting Ubuntu bc fck Canonical and their stupid Snap shit. but it's technically a good choice too.

@scien LinuxMint was the first one I tried. Couldn't get it to run with hardware graphics, even after installing the mfr drivers through the linuxmint driver installer.

@LouisIngenthron you using Nvidia or smth?

mint's default install can be uber ancient. afaik the Edge ISO option might fix something in that regard.

@LouisIngenthron drivers are indeed a bitch when they dont work automatically tho I will say.

if your computer is more on the old side you might want to look into MX Linux.

Or if it's something like Nvidia you might look into trying to get the latest Nouveau via Arch.

@scien Yeah, that was what scared me away from Linux all those years ago. I had heard it was better now, but apparently not better enough.

@scien Yeah, RTX 3080. Plenty of power, but nothing bleeding edge. Should be well within mainstream by this point.

@LouisIngenthron the problem is Nvidia is a lil bitch who has been a pain in the ass IRT linux driver support for a looooooooong time.

it's been systemic issues all the way down for a hell of a long time. only recently has this situation improved on linux so you may very well need something more modern.

afaik KDE has better support for some kind of syncing part too so you might want to try KDE Plasma via EndeavorOS.

@scien That's too bad... not having the support of one of the only two major hardware developers is a pretty big showstopping detraction for the platform.

@LouisIngenthron it's changing recently. we've even gotten some commits from contributers whose email is hosted at Nvidia.

Additionally Nouveau - an open source impl of Nvidia drivers - is really taking off.

if I had to guess why the change of heart, I'd say it's probably bc of the A.I. pivot Nvidia is doing. linux runs most the servers everywhere so it seems like a natural conclusion that they'll want it now that they're less consumer-orientated.

@LouisIngenthron Here's a very funny clip of Linus quite literally giving Nvidia the middle-finger about this problem especially:

https://yewtu.be/watch?v=BcxKINWMD8M

@LouisIngenthron Sucks you've had so much trouble. I haven't ran into issues like that for years/decades (which is not to say your issues are bs or invalid). I wonder what the hiccups are from.

@idropyou Yeah, this was pretty much what I ran into the last time I made a serious foray into Linux (about ten years ago). Although, I am glad to say, I had to do a *lot* less console work this time around to get the basics done.

My guess about the hitch is that I've got a custom-built PC (which isn't too crazy; Intel/Nvidia) but I've also got 5 monitors (2 of which are 4K; 2 of which are portrait orientation). Windows handles that fine, but it's not exactly standard.

@LouisIngenthron I install Linux Mint time after time on different computers with no problems.

@tedherman It just gives me a black screen with a blinking cursor. 🤷‍♂️

@LouisIngenthron Before Linux Mint, I was a Slackware user (since 1995). Using an old-style distro like Slackware, you see the command shell in each step, which lets you diagnose. Unless the problem is the boot image, which is another kind of more mysterious debugging where you have to get into verbose messages.

@tedherman Yeah, I remember that! Somewhere around here I still have an old slackware distro spread across 7 CD-ROMs, lol.

In my case now, though, it installs just fine, but starts failing after I log into the installation.

@LouisIngenthron @tedherman "7 cd-roms" 🤪!!! So many memories. I remember loading Windows 95 with 20 something 3.5" disks. Disk 18 read error 😭