[GTALUG] Repair & Replace

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

| From: Peter King via talk <talk at gtalug.org>
| 
| I will try using the iGPU when I get in to my office next, likely over the
| weekend.

First check whether the iGPU is connected to any ports on the case.

There are models of your computer that are sold without a dGPU, so that is 
promising.

My current desktop (10 years old, HP) does NOT have any ports for the 
iGPU.

|  The fan failure message comes from the BIOS after a complete
| shutdown (to a cold boot).  It looks to me like the fans are spinning.  If I
| tell it to ignore the fan message, everything runs ... fine.  Except for the
| date/time, which I have to reset.  Otherwise it works great until the next
| reboot.  Maybe it just is the CMOS after all.

That sure sounds like something that happens before the OS is booted.  
That means you should be able to get phone support without having to load 
Windows.

If they want you to update the firmware, you are still stuck with needing 
a Windows installation (I think).

| I have two Lenovo thinkpads which are complete workhorses, both run Arch
| linux, they are as solid as concrete.

Brands matter.  ThinkPad != Legend.  See my previous post to the list.

| Next time I'll keep a small Windows partition as a hedge against problems. I
| have one on my X1 Carbon, and it works just fine, leaving Arch Linux alone.

Lore: I have found 64G is a bit small for Windows.  Some updates fail due 
to insufficient space.  So I now give Windows 100G.  Alternatively, you 
could spend time to "de-bloat" it, but time is a precious commodity.

| I think I'll try switching the CMOS battery to see what happens.  Then if
| necessary try fwupdate.  Then if necessary try booting some version of Windows
| to update the firmware.  Then if necessary calling Lenovo to see what's what. 

Booting Windows is a bit daunting.  It hasn't been portable between 
systems (unlike Linux).  It hasn't been happy installed on a USB device 
(although it now can be done).

The best temporary approach is William's: add a second disk drive for 
Windows. Install Windows there.  You can even remove the drive once you 
think that your need has passed.

It is possible to use gparted to shrink most Linux file systems (not XFS; 
I don't know about LVM-managed space).  I like gparted for this.

(gparted can resize NTFS partitions, but it leaves behind some kind of 
damage.  If you immediately boot Windows, it should automatically repair 
that damage.)

You can install Windows on a disk that already has Linux.  The only 
problem is that it will tend to leave only Windows bootable.  Think* (and 
perhaps Lenovo) firmware setup screen tends to not be able to help with 
this unless you've installed to a different drive.  But the F12 on boot 
can boot Linux in this situation.  Odd.  Don't fix this until you've done 
any Windows or firmware updates you need.  Windows reboots during these 
processes and you don't want a surprise boot of Linux in the middle of 
this.

To fix this UEFI boot problem, I use the Linux efibootmgr(8) command.  
I've documented this arcane process in previous list mail.

| After all that I may try to salvage it by swapping out the MB, in which case
| hardware repair recommendations are still welcome!
| 
| 
| And if /everything/ fails, I'll ask Lennart what he recommends for new
| hardware.  (I did that for one of my computers years ago, did what he
| suggested, and it still runs beautifully!)

My current recommendation: consider a mini-PC.  The main advantages of 
conventional desktops (ability to accept PCIe cards) doesn't seem to 
matter as much these days.

If you like Think*, consider ThinkCentre M75s (small form factor) or M75q 
("tiny").  I think that M75n ("nano") may have too many compromises for 
size.  Being an anti-salesman, I will lead with the problems:

- expensive, even after the 50% discount from good sales

- the processors are currently older

If you are willing to gamble, there are a lot of emerging Chinese brands 
that are producing mini-PCs.  I prefer the AMD processors (more 
computation per Watt, and heat dissipation matters in this format).  Here's 
one that looks like a reasonable deal (but then next AMD generation should 
be coming):

<https://www.amazon.ca/Beelink-8-Core-Display-Bluetooth-Computer/dp/B0C4GVBCRQ/ref=sr_1_8>

Right now, I see a price of $589.00 - $100 coupon.  This changes 
regularly.

This has 32G of RAM.  If you want more, buy one with 16G of RAM and then 
replace it.

The Ryzen 7 5800H is powerful but newer AMD processors have better iGPUs.
The next generation 6800h is actually old hat and has disappeared.
The current/coming Ryzen processors are 7xxx.  But beware, a lot of them 
are older models with a new label.  You need a map to tell which 
processors are of the latest processor or GPU technology.
<https://community.amd.com/t5/corporate/announcing-new-model-numbers-for-2023-mobile-processors/ba-p/543985>

This one has a newer processor but is considerably more expensive:
($799.90 - $130):
<https://www.amazon.ca/MINISFORUM-UM773-Lite-Outputs-Graphics/dp/B0BYDGMFGQ/ref=sr_1_17>

There are lots of reviews of these mini PCs on the net.  I like those of 
<serverthehome.com>