Intro
I recently received a new Darter Pro laptop from System76. I wasn't able to boot it up from a USB stick. I got only as far as an empty, black screen containing a prompt that said "GNU Grub >". I could find no information on how to proceed. I contacted System76 support. That was weeks ago. I think it's over, but I just got another email.
The Question
Request #112766: How would you rate the support you received?
Hello [ Customer-Name ]
We'd love to hear what you think of our customer service. Please take a moment to answer one simple question by clicking either link below:
How would you rate the support you received?
Good, I'm satisfied [link]
Bad, I'm unsatisfied [link]
Here's a reminder of what this request was about: [ Tedious parts follow...]
The Reply
It seems that the adage "Things work best with new software and old hardware" applies here, since my problem apparently came from new hardware and old software, at least as far as the OS kernel is concerned.
I most wanted to try Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE5), which is based on Debian Stable, and has an older OS kernel, but it looks like the kernel is too old to work with my new Darter Pro (darp8).
Combined with a lack of time (maybe 2 to 3 hours a week to devote to this) and my lack of experience (around once every five years or so trying to install an OS), I got lost in a hunt for the solution to this one problem rather than just trying another distribution. The others I eventually tried to live boot all worked. (Fedora MATE, Linux Mint Xfce, Linux Mint MATE, MX Xfce, Manjaro MATE).
Maybe I'm being dense again, but it seems that the dead end I arrived at with LMDE5 should be obvious to those involved in customer support. "Oh, that -- outdated kernel. Try a distribution with kernel X or newer. You should be OK." But I didn't see that. Instead this took weeks. Isn't there a cheatsheet hanging on the wall? Isn't there a quickie decision tree? ("If situation A, resolution is this, else goto B...")
I can say that I am deeply annoyed at something, what I'm going to call the poor online documentation at System76. It's scattered, sloppy, hard to search, and incomplete. Take this: "Secure Boot. Secure boot must be disabled before installing Pop!_OS. Secure boot can be disabled in the BIOS of most computers; however, the process to disable secure boot will vary by laptop and motherboard model." At https://support.system76.com/articles/install-pop
As far as I can tell, this is the only mention of "Secure Boot" in all of System76 documentation. All I could find anyway. Doesn't this hardware company have instructions on how to do this, if needed, for its own products?
But I guess it's not relevant, because I didn't and couldn't do anything about it, and got the laptop to boot a live image, but who can say? Not me. Doing this once every five years or so isn't often enough to be familiar enough with all the mental balls that have to be juggled. But relevant or not, there is a mention of Secure Boot but no definition of it, and no explanation of it, and no set of instructions on how to deal with it, so I would have been stuck in the mud at the Wild Turtle Farm. At least I'm happy that it wasn't relevant. (I think.)
We'll see if I can actually do a full install of a distribution that matches my needs. If not, maybe I can use the laptop for parts. That new Starfighter looks interesting too.
Coda
A binary thumb-pointing toward the sky or toward the dirt didn't seem relevant. This is why I can't take surveys. "No, no — you can only answer 'A' or 'B' or 'C'. Those are your only choices. Our process can handle only multiple choice, pre-adjudicated responses." [Wild Turtle Farm]
Have anything worth adding? Then try sosayseff@gmail.com
Me? Recently frustrated.
Etc...
so says eff: sporadic spurts of grade eff distraction
definitions: outdoor terms
fiyh: dave's little guide to ultralight backpacking stoves
boyb: dave's little guide to backpacks
snorpy bits: nibbling away at your sanity
last seen receding: missives from a certain mobile homer
noseyjoe: purposefully poking my proboscis into technicals