I’m having an issue in linux mint 22.3 cinnamon where the GUI locks up but audio still plays and the mouse cursor still moves. The solution is to press ctrl+alt+f1 to take me to a terminal and then press ctrl+alt+f7 to go back to the GUI. Then everything works fine. Forgive me, I do not know what to call the terminal when accessing ctrl+alt+f1 other than tty1.

I also have an issue where when using a browser (librewolf / waterfox / zen) and using the pop out video window, sometimes over time it will lock in the main browser window and the solution is to minimise and restore the window. Sounds related.

I am new to linux and not sure where to start. I think there is something up with the cinnamon desktop environment but I do not know what. Hardware has been stress tested, multiple components, multiple days. I think it is a software issue but could be wrong, that is why I am asking for help.

Any help / thoughts much appreciated.

Thank you.

  • nootux@lemmy.mlOP
    0·
    2 days ago

    Could you please explain a little more on what X11 and wayland are? My current level of understanding is just that I am running the cinnamon desktop environment. How can I find out the information you are looking for? Also, why is it that going into ctrl+alt+f1 and then ctrl+alt+f7 to go back, resolve the issue? Thanks for your reply.

    • thanksforallthefish@literature.cafe
      1·
      1 day ago

      why is it that going into ctrl+alt+f1 and then ctrl+alt+f7 to go back, resolve the issue?

      I suspect when you swap between the terminal screens you force a resolution input to the screen and/or force the GPU to define what it is expecting to the screen.

      If it’s not wayland / x11 then try changing your display cable and also which of hdmi/dvi/display port you are using (ie if using hdmi swap to a display port out of GPU and into monitor for example) if you can.

      I’d also check what video drivers you’re using and see if there are any known issues - I vaguely recall early NVidia GPUs (umm 10x0 series I think ? I run AMD and so dont pay a lot of attention) have been deprecated from the latest kernel (don’t think that has flowed down to Mint as it runs older/stable kernels but worth checking).

      • nootux@lemmy.mlOP
        1·
        16 hours ago

        I run an AMD GPU as I saw that NVIDIA GPU’s can be a pain due to NVIDIA’s closed approach to linux. I have determined I am running x11 so I will look into methods of trying a wayland session. I am just nervous of switching as I do not want to find myself booting to a terminal instead of a GUI. It is something I will have to research more and make sure I can roll back. I plan to backup and image the system before going down this route.

        Question, would timeshift be able to roll back a switch from x11 to wayland in case of an issue? And am I right in thinking I would have to boot from a live usb to perform the appropriate timeshift restore?

        Thank you for your help.

        • thanksforallthefish@literature.cafe
          1·
          15 hours ago

          Dude you’re not changing any configs by trying it, it’s already installed. You’re just selecting an existing option.

          Far be it from me to discourage good backups though.

          To answer the question no timeshift won’t roll it back because there is no change to rollback.

          Think of it as grabbing your tv remote and switching the input on your tv from hdmi1 to hdmi2 to swap to the ps5/xbox from the cable box. You’re not changing the config you’re choosing an alternate input that was already there.

          Now if it goes badly (I’ll be shocked if it does) then there is a simple way to revert, use your ctrl-alt-f4 (or f3 or f5) keys to swap to a fresh terminal login, login, then type

          shutdown -r now

          And hit enter

          You’ll be back after the reboot at the login screen, click on the little mountain icon and choose x11 again (it remembers your last choice) and you’re sorted back into x11

          Now just to close the loop for when you do need to restore a timeshift backup. Yes it is best practise to boot from a live mint usb & run timeshift from there to restore your last snapshot however in an emergency it will work to initiate the restore from the boot itself (it will initiate a reboot and do it on reboot).

          Lastly if it’s an AMD gpu I’m betting on hardware, changing that cable and swapping physical connection ports would be top of my list.

    • thanksforallthefish@literature.cafe
      1·
      1 day ago

      In addition to the info throwaway403 provided, the practical step you need to know is - at the login screen you can choose between wayland and x11 (although most people never notice the option),

      • reboot your machine, or just logout

      • on the standard version 22 cinnamon login screen you should see a little picture of a mountain in a circle click on that and it will give you a couple of options (cinnamon default, cinnamon software rendering, cinnamon on wayland)

      • choose one of the three you’re not currently using and then login

      Try the other options if that doesn’t fix it. If none of them fix it then it prob isnt an X11/wayland issue

      Note where you choose the x11 vs wayland changes depending on which display manager you’re using and whether you’ve installed any themes - so if it doesn’t look as described then click on stuff on the login screen until you find it - the only other things will be accessibility options and virtual keyboards unless you’ve installed something really left field

      • nootux@lemmy.mlOP
        1·
        16 hours ago

        I have kept customisations to a minimum, I shall look into performing what you describe once I have confirmed I have appropriate backups, images and timeshift backups in place. I am nervous of changing anything related to the GUI as I do not want to end up in a situation where I am just booting into a terminal.

        Thank you for you help, it has been most illuminating.

    • throwaway403@programming.dev
      0·
      2 days ago

      Could you please explain a little more on what X11 and wayland are?

      Not the one you asked*.

      But, to put it simply, there’s a piece/suite of software that’s actually responsible for displaying stuff. Even your Desktop Environment is contingent upon it. X11 and Wayland are the two most popular ‘options’ for that and (to be frank) the ones that are ‘actually’ in use. The former is the OG and was for the longest time pretty much your only option. But the latter has come a long way and is a superior option for most.

      In the context of Cinnamon, its Wayland implementation is still relatively immature. Heck, only with its next release will it become non-experimental. But, even then, it is possible that switching will make a difference here.

      How can I find out the information you are looking for?

      Invoke echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE within a terminal. It will return whichever you’re on.

      • nootux@lemmy.mlOP
        2·
        16 hours ago

        Thank you, I have done this and confirmed I am running on x11. When I have taken the necessary backups / images and timeshift backup I will test it out as from the sounds of it wayland is still in its experimental phase for cinnamon.

        Thank you for all your advice though, now I am beginning to understand the picture I see why my next step is to test wayland.