I have a Lenovo Legion T5 desktop (tower configuration) with Ryzen 9 cpu, 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. 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. By "sort of" I mean that the CMOS memory seems wonky: it won't keep track of the date or time. Plus it still sometimes locks up when I start X. 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, and BIOS update for Lenovo products under Linux are a pain. I could send it back to Lenovo. Again. 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. 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! -- Peter King peter.king@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/ ========================================================================= GPG keyID 0x7587EC42 (2B14 A355 46BC 2A16 D0BC 36F5 1FE6 D32A 7587 EC42) gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 7587EC42
| 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.
It's a Lenovo Legion T5-26AMRS, about a year and a half old; the CPU is an AMD Ryzen 7 5700G (8 cores) running around 3GHz, with 32GB of RAM. The graphics card is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 with 12GB onboard RAM. I bought a three-year warranty when I got it, so it's still eligible for repair. Ignoring the CPU Fan Failure message so far hasn't caused any hiccups, which makes me distrust the message. The fact that the CMOS started acting up exactly when the fans failed make me suspect an electrical problem on the motherboard. 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.
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-- Peter King peter.king@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/ ========================================================================= GPG keyID 0x7587EC42 (2B14 A355 46BC 2A16 D0BC 36F5 1FE6 D32A 7587 EC42) gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 7587EC42
I didn't know Lenovo does warranty repair without the original Windows on it. This warranty issue is one reason that I don't do "dual-boot" from the original disk. I always add another Linux disk. On 2023-09-13 17:39, Peter King via talk wrote:
It's a Lenovo Legion T5-26AMRS, about a year and a half old; the CPU is an AMD Ryzen 7 5700G (8 cores) running around 3GHz, with 32GB of RAM. The graphics card is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 with 12GB onboard RAM. I bought a three-year warranty when I got it, so it's still eligible for repair. Ignoring the CPU Fan Failure message so far hasn't caused any hiccups, which makes me distrust the message. The fact that the CMOS started acting up exactly when the fans failed make me suspect an electrical problem on the motherboard.
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.
On 2023-09-13 19:01, William Park via talk wrote:
I didn't know Lenovo does warranty repair without the original Windows on it. This warranty issue is one reason that I don't do "dual-boot" from the original disk. I always add another Linux disk.
Don't they sell some models with Linux on them? https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/d/linux-laptops-desktops/?orgRef=https%253A%252...
| From: James Knott via talk <talk@gtalug.org> | Don't they sell some models with Linux on them? | | https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/d/linux-laptops-desktops/?orgRef=https%253A%252... Sure. But that's not what Peter has. His is Window-only. My impression: - computers sold with Linux are more expensive than the same model with Windows, mostly because the Windows models go on sale. (Never pay list price to Lenovo. For Think* models, you can eventually find them for perhaps 50% off. For other Lenovos the discounts are a little less.) - I don't even want to use the preloaded Linux so coming with Linux is not much of an advantage. - do buy a model that supports Linux (look at the PSREF to see if Linux is listed as an OS). Otherwise, Linux will probably work, but not for support.
On 2023-09-14 10:08, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
- do buy a model that supports Linux (look at the PSREF to see if Linux is listed as an OS). Otherwise, Linux will probably work, but not for support.
FWIW, I bought my ThinkPad E520, about 12 years ago and it works fine with Linux. I also bought one (R31 IIRC) over 20 years ago, when IBM was still making them. It also worked fine. Back in the late 90s, I worked at IBM Canada, as an OS/2 product specialist, where most of my work was on ThinkPads. They actually encouraged us to work with Linux on company time. I would periodically receive packs of various Linux distros in my mail slot and we'd try them on various models. The only issue I came across was I had to edit a file, to get the computer to work with token ring. In my experience, ThinkPads in general work well with Linux. Of course, there may be exceptions I don't know about. However, if you're worried about having Linux on a computer for warranty purposes, then just save an image of the disk and put it back on before such service.
| From: Peter King via talk <talk@gtalug.org> | | It's a Lenovo Legion T5-26AMRS, about a year and a half old; the CPU is an AMD | Ryzen 7 5700G (8 cores) running around 3GHz, with 32GB of RAM. The graphics | card is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 with 12GB onboard RAM. Quick partial response: Does you machine expose ports for the iGPU of the 5700G? If so, you could use the iGPU and remove the NVidia card. Why? - the iGPU is decent and should work for the things you do - the AMD iGPU is supported by open-source drivers (The nouveau drivers are not very good for modern NVidia cards. For one thing, they cannot control the power levels (this may have changed.)) This will reduce the complexity of your system. There is a slight chance that it will fix your problem. Bonus: power usage will go down | I bought a | three-year warranty when I got it, so it's still eligible for repair. | Ignoring the CPU Fan Failure message so far hasn't caused any hiccups, which | makes me distrust the message. The fact that the CMOS started acting up | exactly when the fans failed make me suspect an electrical problem on the | motherboard. Lenovo phone support *might* be useful. It sure is easier than shipping your box to them. Where is the Fan Failure message coming from? Firmware or Linux? If it is coming from the firmware, they don't have to know you have Linux. Where is the CMOS message coming from? Firmware or Linux? If it is coming from the firmware, they don't have to know you have Linux. There area also official lenovo fora. Mostly for users but some Lenovo support people lurk there and sometimes post. On balance, not wonderful but sometimes helpful. | I run Arch Linux; I wiped Windows off the machine as soon as I got it. Now you know: lack of Windows makes support more difficult. In your case, we think that it is a hardware/firmware problem so it should not matter. But support folks may be hard to convince. If you actually return a box to Lenovo, they sometimes allow you to keep the disk drive (for security/privacy reasons). They may charge a fee for this. That's why I sometimes buy boxes with the smallest drive, and then swap it out to sit on a shelf as my insurance policy. That's why William puts Linux on an added disk. | 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. fwupdmgr will know if it understands your computer. It should be safe to run it but I think that it is unlikely to work. It depends on the manufacturer supplying fwupd.org with suitable binaries. Lenovo probably doesn't do that for model that don't support Linux (my guess). This appears to be the update. The readme confuses me. It doesn't seem to say what the improvements are. It does say that there are some challenges updating from a version older than O4MKT1CA. What firmware are you running ("sudo dmidecode | grep 'BIOS Rev'" might tell you). Note: there may be other kinds of firmware distributed by Lenovo via Windows Update or Lenovo Vantage (running only on Windows). For example, disk drive firmware. Such updates might improve behaviour under Linux. | 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. Normally, this Lenovo box is called "off the shelf". Boxes were you select the parts had have them assembled are called custom builds, but the components themselves are "off the shelf". I'm not sure that buying a gaming computer is the best route to stability. It should be OK. | 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... The more you touch of the problem, the more you own of it. My suggestion is to get Lenovo to fix it, or write it off. Anything else is a rabbit hole of unknown depth. First step down the rabbit hole (I would do this, but I don't really recommend it because of the work involved): install Windows (probably on a different disk). See if the problem goes away. Do the firmware update. See if the problem goes away. At this point, you are in a position where Lenovo support will not be distracted by Linux and use it as an excuse.
I will try using the iGPU when I get in to my office next, likely over the weekend. 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. I have two Lenovo thinkpads which are complete workhorses, both run Arch linux, they are as solid as concrete. One is at least eleven years old (still with the classic keyboard!), and once I upgraded the internal RAM and hard drive to an SSD it just runs like a top. I've been a moderate fan of their products over the years, at least until I tried this one. 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. 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. 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!) On 9/14/23 11:00, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
| From: Peter King via talk<talk@gtalug.org> | | It's a Lenovo Legion T5-26AMRS, about a year and a half old; the CPU is an AMD | Ryzen 7 5700G (8 cores) running around 3GHz, with 32GB of RAM. The graphics | card is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 with 12GB onboard RAM.
Quick partial response:
Does you machine expose ports for the iGPU of the 5700G? If so, you could use the iGPU and remove the NVidia card.
Why?
- the iGPU is decent and should work for the things you do
- the AMD iGPU is supported by open-source drivers (The nouveau drivers are not very good for modern NVidia cards. For one thing, they cannot control the power levels (this may have changed.))
This will reduce the complexity of your system. There is a slight chance that it will fix your problem. Bonus: power usage will go down
| I bought a | three-year warranty when I got it, so it's still eligible for repair. | Ignoring the CPU Fan Failure message so far hasn't caused any hiccups, which | makes me distrust the message. The fact that the CMOS started acting up | exactly when the fans failed make me suspect an electrical problem on the | motherboard.
Lenovo phone support *might* be useful. It sure is easier than shipping your box to them.
Where is the Fan Failure message coming from? Firmware or Linux? If it is coming from the firmware, they don't have to know you have Linux.
Where is the CMOS message coming from? Firmware or Linux? If it is coming from the firmware, they don't have to know you have Linux.
There area also official lenovo fora. Mostly for users but some Lenovo support people lurk there and sometimes post. On balance, not wonderful but sometimes helpful.
| I run Arch Linux; I wiped Windows off the machine as soon as I got it.
Now you know: lack of Windows makes support more difficult. In your case, we think that it is a hardware/firmware problem so it should not matter. But support folks may be hard to convince.
If you actually return a box to Lenovo, they sometimes allow you to keep the disk drive (for security/privacy reasons). They may charge a fee for this.
That's why I sometimes buy boxes with the smallest drive, and then swap it out to sit on a shelf as my insurance policy. That's why William puts Linux on an added disk.
| 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.
fwupdmgr will know if it understands your computer. It should be safe to run it but I think that it is unlikely to work. It depends on the manufacturer supplying fwupd.org with suitable binaries. Lenovo probably doesn't do that for model that don't support Linux (my guess).
This appears to be the update. The readme confuses me. It doesn't seem to say what the improvements are. It does say that there are some challenges updating from a version older than O4MKT1CA. What firmware are you running ("sudo dmidecode | grep 'BIOS Rev'" might tell you).
Note: there may be other kinds of firmware distributed by Lenovo via Windows Update or Lenovo Vantage (running only on Windows). For example, disk drive firmware. Such updates might improve behaviour under Linux.
| 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.
Normally, this Lenovo box is called "off the shelf". Boxes were you select the parts had have them assembled are called custom builds, but the components themselves are "off the shelf".
I'm not sure that buying a gaming computer is the best route to stability. It should be OK.
| 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...
The more you touch of the problem, the more you own of it.
My suggestion is to get Lenovo to fix it, or write it off. Anything else is a rabbit hole of unknown depth.
First step down the rabbit hole (I would do this, but I don't really recommend it because of the work involved): install Windows (probably on a different disk). See if the problem goes away. Do the firmware update. See if the problem goes away. At this point, you are in a position where Lenovo support will not be distracted by Linux and use it as an excuse.
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-- Peter King peter.king@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/ ========================================================================= GPG keyID 0x7587EC42 (2B14 A355 46BC 2A16 D0BC 36F5 1FE6 D32A 7587 EC42) gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 7587EC42
| From: Peter King via talk <talk@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>
I have now (Monday morning) replaced the CMOS battery in the ailing Lenovo Legion T5. After replacing it, I cold-booted up and reset the date -- it seems stuck on Sept 9 -- and ran it for a few minutes. Then I warm-rebooted, and the computer came up quickly. But the date is still stuck on Sept 9. I'll try another cold boot and look into BIOS settings, but I'm afraid that's an indication that the problems go beyond the battery. (Unless of course the battery I put in was also dead, but that seems a wishful stretch.) Nothing is easy. -- Peter King peter.king@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/ ========================================================================= GPG keyID 0x7587EC42 (2B14 A355 46BC 2A16 D0BC 36F5 1FE6 D32A 7587 EC42) gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 7587EC42
Another cold boot, same problem. I am still getting a message saying that the CPU fan has failed. But I can see it spinning in the case. Also, the report from sensors shows everything running at perfectly normal temperatures. Guess the next thing is to try a firmware/BIOS update. That won't happen for a while, since it will take more time than I have for the next two weeks, involving as it likely does getting some version of Windows running on the Lenovo first. Drat. On 9/18/23 11:22, Peter King via talk wrote:
I have now (Monday morning) replaced the CMOS battery in the ailing Lenovo Legion T5. After replacing it, I cold-booted up and reset the date -- it seems stuck on Sept 9 -- and ran it for a few minutes. Then I warm-rebooted, and the computer came up quickly. But the date is still stuck on Sept 9. I'll try another cold boot and look into BIOS settings, but I'm afraid that's an indication that the problems go beyond the battery. (Unless of course the battery I put in was also dead, but that seems a wishful stretch.) Nothing is easy.
-- Peter King peter.king@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/
========================================================================= GPG keyID 0x7587EC42 (2B14 A355 46BC 2A16 D0BC 36F5 1FE6 D32A 7587 EC42) gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 7587EC42
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-- Peter King peter.king@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/ ========================================================================= GPG keyID 0x7587EC42 (2B14 A355 46BC 2A16 D0BC 36F5 1FE6 D32A 7587 EC42) gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 7587EC42
Try re-seating the cpu fan. Maybe it's thermal grease that's dried up? On 2023-09-18 11:33, Peter King via talk wrote:
Another cold boot, same problem.
I am still getting a message saying that the CPU fan has failed. But I can see it spinning in the case. Also, the report from sensors shows everything running at perfectly normal temperatures.
Guess the next thing is to try a firmware/BIOS update. That won't happen for a while, since it will take more time than I have for the next two weeks, involving as it likely does getting some version of Windows running on the Lenovo first. Drat.
I am still getting a message saying that the CPU fan has failed. But I can see it spinning in the case. Also, the report from sensors shows everything running at perfectly normal temperatures.
Kind of a shot in the dark here. Is the fan one that has a sensor lead? That is usually a 3 or 4 wire fan control. If that is the case and the fan bearing is shot or gummed up it may not be able to spin fast enough for the bios. Try replacing the fan if you can. -- Alvin Starr || land: (647)478-6285 Netvel Inc. || Cell: (416)806-0133 alvin@netvel.net ||
On 2023-09-18 13:14, Alvin Starr via talk wrote:
I am still getting a message saying that the CPU fan has failed. But I can see it spinning in the case. Also, the report from sensors shows everything running at perfectly normal temperatures.
Kind of a shot in the dark here. Is the fan one that has a sensor lead? That is usually a 3 or 4 wire fan control.
If that is the case and the fan bearing is shot or gummed up it may not be able to spin fast enough for the bios. Try replacing the fan if you can.
Thinking more about it. If you have a couple of fans in the case with the same connector type you could try swapping the fans plugs into the motherboard and see if you get a different result with another fan. -- Alvin Starr || land: (647)478-6285 Netvel Inc. || Cell: (416)806-0133 alvin@netvel.net ||
On 2023-09-14 20:54, Peter King via talk wrote:
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.
I don't know about now, but you could get recovery disks while the ThinkPad was still under warranty. There would have also been a recovery partition that you could have just left there, until you needed it.
On Wed, 13 Sep 2023 15:08:02 -0400 Peter King via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
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!\
Peter, I try very hard to fix my computers myself. I especially do not like leaving my unencrypted hard drives in strange places. Located very near Canada Computers in Etobicoke is Memory Express (https://www.memoryexpress.com). The technician routed and clamped down the cables in my desktop, and did not charge me for it. He did talk me into buying a solid state drive for my M.2 socket. So far, I am very happy with it. -- Howard Gibson hgibson@eol.ca http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson
participants (6)
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Alvin Starr -
D. Hugh Redelmeier -
Howard Gibson -
James Knott -
Peter King -
William Park