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I cannot access settings. When I do, my laptop freezes. The mouse still moves, but it is a spinner that doesn't stop spinning.

This is the latest issue I've encountered as I try to install Linux on a machine with Windows preinstalled.

I installed Ubuntu 20.10 on 2 days ago. After having to perform software updates, everything seemed good and stable. The only problem I encountered was that the machine would not shut down. Ubuntu would shut down and close, but then a system screen showed with a bunch of text. As far as I could understand, the system was having trouble ending all the processes.

Last night, I went to shut down my machine, and did not force a shut down just to see what would happen. I went home for the night (this is a work machine), and this morning, the machine was still on, seemingly stuck in some infinite loop of trying to shut down processes and failing, then trying again.

I forced another shutdown then started the machine again. I continued by trying to get work done. I then noticed my second display (HDMI) would start freezing. The display would freeze, turn off, then come back, but be unresponsive. In other words, the display showed all my windows open like normal, but everything was unresponsive. Everything in my main display continued behaving normally. If I checked display settings, it would recognize the second display. I decided to set the screen to a single display, then flip it back to dual. When I did that, everything froze.

Now, after restart, if I attempt to access any Settings, the system just spins and spins. I've diconnected my hdmi port. I can use the machine like normally, but I cannot access Settings, or use dual displays.

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot? Should I just give up on having Linux on this machine? Seems there are lots of bugs related to AMD graphics and Linux.

Jeff Wilkerson
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  • Check for any BIOS/firmware updates for you machine, then since it's a work machine, ask your IT dept. before doing any updates yourself. – ubfan1 Dec 04 '20 at 21:54
  • Thanks, i will check BIOS... But for clarification, this is a personal machine that i use for work. I am suspecting having a machine with both Windows and Linux is too much of a hassle, so I'm trying to make that decision. – Jeff Wilkerson Dec 04 '20 at 21:57
  • OK, then check this site for Ryzen answers, there are some iommu or acpi kernel switches which may help, but the firmware update is the first thing. 20.10 is good, but even a later kernel from the daily build may be better if stilll problems. Dual boot has never seemed difficult, but others I respect are dead set against it (use a vm instead). – ubfan1 Dec 04 '20 at 22:16
  • I appreciate your attention. Can you resend that link? I did find a BIOS update which I installed successfully, but I'm still not able to access settings. – Jeff Wilkerson Dec 04 '20 at 22:42
  • This link? https://askubuntu.com/search?q=Ryzen+iommu What machine model do you have, and what version firmware (sudo dmidecode for that info). Then check the vendor site for any firmware downloads which are later (they may be frequent for new hardware). – ubfan1 Dec 04 '20 at 22:53
  • everything seems to be updated. nothing has helped. I even tried iommu=off in my kernel with no luck. I am dumbfounded. Other than shutting down, everything worked great yesterday. What changed is beyond my understanding – Jeff Wilkerson Dec 04 '20 at 23:51
  • See https://askubuntu.com/questions/1285960/should-i-stick-with-ubuntu-20-04-lts-and-upgrade-kernel-to-5-8-or-install-ubuntu/1297133#1297133 for a comment saying the 5.8 kernel worked for a Ryzen 4700. Maybe try top in a terminal to see if a process is getting all the cpu. Any disk activity (try iotop). – ubfan1 Dec 05 '20 at 00:13
  • my original kernal was 5.8.31. I tried updating the kernel to 5.9.12. I was able to adjust Settings afterwards, and my 2nd monitor was recognized. The option to change to dual screens was available, but when I tried to change it, no signal made it to the screen. At least Ubuntu was aware that it couldn't connect. I will try a lower kernel, like 5.9. I guess it was irresponsible of me to try the latest and greatest kernel first, lol – Jeff Wilkerson Dec 05 '20 at 00:40
  • kernel 5.8.18 did not work, nor did 5.9.1 or 5.9.2. 5.9.10 works like 5.9.12 in that I can access settings and have my hdmi port connected and not have everything freeze. However, I still can't extend the desktop – Jeff Wilkerson Dec 05 '20 at 01:28
  • @ubfan1 say again? I can all all the information? – Jeff Wilkerson Dec 05 '20 at 02:30
  • You can move/copy all all the information in your comments to your original posting -- easier to format and comments may get deleted. – ubfan1 Dec 05 '20 at 04:03

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