I run Arch Linux; I wiped Windows off the machine as soon as I got it. Apart from the hardware troubles it runs well. I run similar Arch setups on my other computers, too. If I didn't have to look at a GUI ever I would be happy.
I run X because, well, I always have. I'd be happy to switch to something else if someone gave me a reason to. For nvidia I run the open-source drivers. I am not a gamer (despite the setup); I work with highly complex and large graphics files, mostly high-resolution of medieval manuscripts, and so I don't need high framerates etc.
There seems to be a CLI tool called something like fwupdate that works at least on some ThinkPads. It might work on the Legion tower, too, but then again it might not. I bought this machine hoping for a long-lasting workhorse and it has given me far more trouble than my off-the-shelf computers where I matched the components by myself. Such is life.
For repair/replacement, I need someone who can give me an official invoice, because I hope to be able to get the cost reimbursed, and the University of Toronto is, understandably, rather persnickety about the sorts of receipts it gets.
This being a "research tool" I *could* just throw it away and get a new one. I think that's what lots of academics would do. That offends me: the components are mostly good, and recycle/reuse is friendlier to the planet. But having had it once not-really-fixed by Lenovo, at some effort, I don't know that I want to go down that road again rather than cutting out (what might be) the problem at its roots...
On 9/13/23 15:46, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
| From: Peter King via talk<talk@gtalug.org> | I have a Lenovo Legion T5 desktop (tower configuration) with Ryzen 9 cpu, Which processor? That gives me an idea of its age. Which model of T5? Lenovo type or model number or whatever they call it is fairly precise. | which has given me all sorts of trouble over the past year and a half; it's | already been sent back to Lenovo once after the power supply / motherboard | went completely dead, and in the months since it intermittently locks up when | I fire up X. Is it still under warranty? Is this a model that officially supports Linux? Nevermind, I was thinking ThinkCentre. I don't imagine Lenovo supports Linux on Legion. Lenovo usually makes available a "Hardware Maintenance Manual" that explains a lot of things. But then if you are reading Reddit, you are probably a few steps ahead. | Well, just a few days ago with no warning it froze at boot with | the message 000135 that *all* of its internal fans had failed (!); a reboot | got that down to only the CPU fan failed; when I told it to ignore that the | computer finally booted up and runs sort of okay. If the CPU cooler fails, I imagine that the CPU will shut down. I don't think modern desktop processors can run without a fan. | By "sort of" I mean that | the CMOS memory seems wonky: it won't keep track of the date or time. That might be a matter of replacing the CMOS battery (normally a coin cell). But they usually last longer than a warranty. | Plus it | still sometimes locks up when I start X. Are you still using X? What distro are you using? Perhaps you have an NVidia GPU and are running the proprietary driver. I'm the unhappy state of using X on my desktop for that reason. | Google -- mostly Reddit -- tells me | that the fan problem is probably a BIOS/motherboard issue, apparently common | in this model after about a year. Some people claim a BIOS update fixes it, | most people say it doesn't, My superstition is to update firmware. | and BIOS update for Lenovo products under Linux | are a pain. I don't know about Legion. You probably have a Windows license. Did you wipe it to install Linux? (I always make my systems dual-boot.) It is often easier to get hardware support if you can run Windows for the duration of the support call. | I could send it back to Lenovo. Again. That's what I would do if it is still under warranty. | But I am inclined to just replace the | motherboard instead, to swap out the proprietary Lenovo 3716 MB for something | else. According to Reddit again, the Gigabyte B550M is pretty much a drop-in | replacement, though you need to add a CPU fan. I don't know how to verify | that it will work, though. I'm pretty sure that it is simpler to buy a complete new box, with a warranty. Skilled human time is fairly expensive (yours or a technician's). There are a lot of ways that this could go wrong. For example: a proprietary Lenovo power supply might not power a different board. A new power supply might not fit in the case. Those are true of Lenovos that I have (I don't have Legions). | But more importantly: I am way too busy right now to do the replacement | myself. So, does anyone have any recommendations for good reliable computer | repair work, someone or some company I can just take this to and tell them to | do it? I am located in the Junction. I used to use A2Z Computers, which was | great, but that business didn't make it through the pandemic. I suppose I | could take it to Canada Computers or someplace like that, but I though their | work was only just adequate and priced high at that. | | Any common wisdom about who might be good for this job? Thanks! Random people on the list might be. People with store-fronts should be too expensive but they might not be. --- Post to this mailing listt...@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing listhttps://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
--
Peter King peter.k...@utoronto.ca
Department of Philosophy
170 St. George Street #521
The University of Toronto (416)-946-3170 ofc
Toronto, ON M5R 2M8
CANADA
http://individual.utoronto.ca/pking/
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