Experimenting with leaving my Mac in favour of a Linux machine
After many years (nearly 9) of using a MacBook and fancy Apple stuff I found myself in thinking about leaving the golden cage.
I already dropped my iPhone in favour of an Android phone (currently Samsung Galaxy S23, mainly because of the great camera, the small form factor and the long update period) - and I don't really use iPhoto and others anymore. Also tethering doesn't work between an Android phone and a Mac (really! in 2023).
Since I had a hard accident this year with a long recovery period I started to build a gaming PC just for fun - after maybe 10 years! At first I thought it was because I really wanted to play the new Diablo version (I loved the old v2 back when I was a teenager), but I experienced the fun building your own rig the way YOU want it. From the parts YOU choose from the MARKET or used market prices (and NOT from Apple prices).
And I remembered my old values of free standards, free software, free choice... wow - why did I opt for Apple devices in the first place?
So as time went by the thought of switching my main machine from Mac to a Linux box got bigger and bigger. Finally I cought myself in reading through laptop tests at https://www.notebookcheck.com :)
That one is hard. Because if you ask, everybody yells at you :D
So beeing a software architect I know the only way to get around the discussions is to define your requirements.
I tried to come up with some:
- Rolling releases: I hate big releases! So I don't want to reinstall my system every year like most of the people are used to from MacOS, Ubuntu, Fedora etc. I want a rolling release distro.
There are some popular options with rolling releases like https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=endeavour
tbd: more info on distro choosing
Finally I opted for Manjaro Linux https://manjaro.org/, which is based on Arch Linux.
https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php?title=Main_Page
Disable Secure Boot in your UEFI setup. If you have concerns, see this thread and especially this answer: https://forum.manjaro.org/t/is-it-possible-to-enable-secure-boot/16156/12
Since everything is installed by a package manager from a trusted source (packages are signed and have checksums like secure boot does), malicious code is not a problem, but Windows has potentially such a problem. The drivers are not builtin the kernel, but have to be installed from other sources etc etc… I don’t see a real benefit from using secure boot on a linux system, but more or less having a good feeling to be secure from users point of view.
Although you could implement Secure Boot with Linux, it isn't
If you're working for a company chances are that you have will have to use encryption with your harddrive.
You can either use a self-encrypting SSD or encryt the whole file system (or folders). The Arch docs have direct us into the first solution if possible, since the latter can become quite complex (although supported by Manjaro installer).
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Data-at-rest_encryption
A very strong disk encryption setup (e.g. full system encryption with authenticity checking and no plaintext boot partition) is required to stand a chance against professional attackers who are able to tamper with your system before you use it. [...] The best remedy might be hardware-based full-disk encryption and Trusted Computing. (aka Self-encrypting SSDs)
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Self-encrypting_drives
Thinkpad with Fingerprint reader and OPAL protection: It is possible to enable a BIOS supervisor and nvme password, that you will be able to additionally secure with your fingerprints.
The drive is always encrypted by default. But there is no password, and as such the data is available to everyone that has physical access to the drive. Once a password is set in the bios (hd password) you will need to type it every time you do a clean boot (not at restart). You cannot access the data now unless the password is used. Even if you take the drive to another computer unless you have the password you cannot access the data. [...] I find it quite convenient, all you need is a swipe of your finger at boot.
To register your fingerprints, you sadly need to have a Windows install before the Linux installation in order to be able to use your fingerprint to unlock you device:
Because the password is required before the OS boots it is completely OS independent. Saves any configuration required to boot from encrypted drives in Linux etc. And yes you get fingerprint to unlock it. Just remember fingerprint registration requires windows so before you format and install linux, use windows to register your fingerprints, the format.
If you want to register your fingerprints, install Windows first - before Manjaro. It will make your life much easier!
Remember to have somebody with a Windows PC available who can create a Windows 11 bootable USB stick for you using Microsoft's Media Creation Toolkit - every other solution (starting with downloading the Windows ISO) to create a Windows USB stick failed for me! Safe yourself some hours wasted in live!
If you installed Windows, then you can configure the fingerprints simply in the Windows security settings - and they will be written to the UEFI / Embedded Controller (EC) firmware and will now be available to unlock your SSD. Cool eh!
The Lenovo Vantage Software for Windows is also the only way to update your UEFI: It's the best to do that right now! :)
Now you need to install Manjaro in a dual boot fashion. Which is easy because, the installer will do everything for you:
WARNING: If you have a Thinkpad & want to use Fingerprint Reader to unlock your Self-Encrypting SSD, you need to install Windows first! See
Dual Boot with Windows for Thinkpad Fingerprint Reader
Mostly nowadays that should be the UEFI guide that's interesting for you https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/UEFI_-_Install_Guide
Download the matching ISO here https://manjaro.org/download/
Format the .iso file into a USB stick. If you're on a Mac e.g. use https://etcher.balena.io.
If you're on Linux or Windows have a look at https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/Burn_an_ISO_File#Writing_to_a_USB_Stick_in_Linux
There's also an easy to use gui tool from Suse: https://github.com/openSUSE/imagewriter
If you already have a Linux with Gnome running, you can use the Disks utility: Start Disks, select your USB stick, click on the two gears icons and select Restore Partition Image. Now find your downloaded e.g. manjaro-gnome-23.1.3-240113-linux66.iso from your file system and hit Restore Image:
If you went the dual boot way with Windows, you will find that the GRUB boot menu will now pop up every time you boot the laptop. This might be not what you wanted, because you want Manjaro to start fast. Sadly with dual-boot you can't completely eliminate the GRUB menu shows up:
If you have multiple OS in GRUB it will not be hidden, it will not accept 0 second timeout. [...] If Manjaro is the first boot option in your BIOS then it will load GRUB, and as you have multiple OS and GRUB is configured to detect other OS, it WILL show the menu.
But, we can reduce the 5 sec standard time the menu shows up:
To make 2s timeout, find GRUB_TIMEOUT in your
/etc/default/gruband change its value to 2
This would be what you want:
$ cat /etc/default/grub
# GRUB boot loader configuration
GRUB_DEFAULT=saved
GRUB_TIMEOUT=2
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR="Manjaro"
...Now reload your GRUB config via
sudo update-grubhttps://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dm-crypt/Encrypting_an_entire_system
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Data-at-rest_encryption
Manjaro supports full disk encryption right from the OS setup based on LUKS (the defacto Linux standard for hdd encryption). The best way seems to be a fresh install with HDD encryption, since many parts need to be altered. Here's also a good discussion about it:
https://forum.manjaro.org/t/manjaro-with-full-disk-encryption-how-fast-how-stable/136855/17
verdict:
- Use Manjaro over Arch (since the installer has the encryption process baked in)
- Use a SSD with Manjaro/Arch to have nearly no performance issues due to encryption
In the Manjaro installer, the LUKS encryption is easily setup. Simply check Encrypt system and set a password:
This leverages dm-crypt's LUKS on a partition scenario https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dm-crypt/Encrypting_an_entire_system#LUKS_on_a_partition.
# Show which partitions are available (here nvme0n1p6 and nvme0n1p4(efi partition))
lsblk -f
# change LUKS password
sudo cryptsetup luksChangeKey /dev/nvme0n1p2
# add LUKS password
sudo cryptsetup luksAddKey /dev/nvme0n1p2Bootup will be quite a bit delayed (few seconds, depending on CPU speed), because GRUB doesn't use multiple processors and needs to decrypt the partition container. If you want to speed this up, you can either manually encrypt things and leave out the boot partition (long process, not recommended). Or lower the LUKS iteration cycles for the boot partion: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/497746/how-to-change-luks-encryption-difficulty-on-manjaro-full-disk-encrypt
If you're a bit frustrated for waiting to long at boot time, this can be due to a high cost parameters of the key derivation function. Dump all current LUKS keys first:
cryptsetup luksDump /dev/nvme0n1p2Now choose the key slot you want to change. We need to provide it as -S x parameter, where x is your key's slot.
If your password provides enough entropy to counter common attacks by itself, you can lower the parameters:
cryptsetup luksChangeKey --iter-time 1000 /dev/nvme0n1p2 -S 0If you use luksDeleteKey or luksKillSlot for whatever reason (I wanted to delete my not that high entropy password after creating a new key), there might be a nasty window popping up - only after a restart of your machine stating:
"The password you use to log in to your computer no longer matches that of your login keyring."
This is due to an outdated Gnome keyring, which is no big deal but may scare you a bit (like me - since non of the current passwords work, but the old luksKillSlot deleted does!). Luckily it's easy to solve:
rm ~/.local/share/keyrings/login.keyringThen logout and re-login again. Done :)
Simply activate in Add/Remove Programs, since it's already installed - as the docs state https://flatpak.org/setup/Manjaro
Flatpak & AUR/pacman are installed by default on Manjaro 20 or higher.
To enable their support, navigate to the Software Manager (Add/Remove Programs)
Click on the triple line menu [or dots depending on the Desktop Environment] on the right, in the drop down menu select "Preferences"
Navigate to the "AUR" and "Flatpak" tabs and slide the support toggle (it is also possible to enable checking for updates, which is recommended).
Flatpack is super useful to install many Desktop applications like MS Teams, Zoom, Slack etc, but also has it's drawback.
The whole internet tells us: fingerprint readers don't work in Linux. But that's not true anymore. At least I had luck with my Thinkpad P1 Gen 6:
Theres a thorough guide here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/fprint
In my case with the Thinkpad P1 Gen 6 running Manjaro with GNOME, everything went super easy. I just stumbled upon the setting for fingerprints in the normal system settings at Settings/Users:
There's an option Fingerprint Login, where you can register all of your fingers (you have to choose the precise finger in the dropdown):
Now you should be able to login to your desktop using your finger! Really nice :)
If that doesn't work OOTB, maybe have a look at https://blog.rubenwardy.com/2022/11/16/thinkpad-x1-fingerprint-auth/
List packages explicitely installed: https://forum.manjaro.org/t/how-to-list-explicitly-installed-packages-using-pamac/56172/13 using list -e and also -q to omit everything except the package names:
pamac list -e -qNow pipe that into a file like this:
pamac list -e -q > ~/pkglist.txtBut be aware of other OS or hardware dependant packages that are contained in this list also. It is a good idea to go over it and delete packages that are not wanted to be explicitely installed by yourself (e.g. starting with
manjaroorgnomeormesa&amd, if you have a nvidia card running)
Finally feed package list to pamac on other machine: https://forum.manjaro.org/t/installing-packages-from-saved-lists/125072:
pamac install $(cat ~/pkglist.txt)If you're interested, here's my pkglist.txt
It's also a good idea to start with the goary details like backups right before you use your rig productively. I had some recommendations for https://github.com/restic/restic, but wanted to give the GNOME backup called Deja Dup https://apps.gnome.org/DejaDup/ a chance. Since I also want to explore the merrits of Linux not only for me, but also for other users, that might not be that used to a command line.
The first thing in Backups is to configure the exclusions, which files you don't want to backup - folders like ~/.cache, ~/.vagrant, ~/VirtualBox VMs etc.
I also have some .iso files in my Downloads dir, which I opted to exclude, since they really take long to encrypt and just grab a whole lot of time!
/home/jonashackt/Downloads/iso
/home/jonashackt/.config/Code/Cache
/home/jonashackt/.config/Code/CachedData/
/home/jonashackt/.config/Code/logs/
/home/jonashackt/.cache
/home/jonashackt/.config/Code - OSS/CachedData/
/home/jonashackt/.config/libreoffice/4/cache/
/home/jonashackt/.npm/
/home/jonashackt/.pyenv/
/home/jonashackt/.local/share/virtualenv/
/home/jonashackt/.ansible/test/venv/
/home/jonashackt/go/pkg/mod/
/home/jonashackt/.var/app/io.freetubeapp.FreeTube/
/home/jonashackt/.var/app/com.google.Chrome/config/google-chrome/Default/Service Worker/CacheStorage/
/home/jonashackt/.var/app/com.microsoft.Edge/config/microsoft-edge/Default/Service Worker/CacheStorage
/home/jonashackt/.var/app/com.github.IsmaelMartinez.teams_for_linux/config/teams-for-linux/Partitions/teams-4-linux/Cache/
/home/jonashackt/.config/Slack/Service Worker/CacheStorage/
/home/jonashackt/.var/app/com.slack.Slack/config/Slack/Cache/
/home/jonashackt/.var/app/com.slack.Slack/config/Slack/Service Worker/CacheStorage/
/home/jonashackt/.config/Slack/Cache/
/home/jonashackt/.kube/cache/
/home/jonashackt/.local/pipx/venvs/
/home/jonashackt/snap/miro/3/.config/miro/Cache
/home/jonashackt/.vagrant.d
/home/jonashackt/VirtualBox VMsBut in Deja Dups UI one cannot configure file patterns to exclude (see https://askubuntu.com/questions/690990/can-i-ignore-files-by-pattern-in-deja-dup-backup), only full paths.
Or in dconf-editor (pamac install dconf-editor), locate org -> gnome -> deja-dup -> exclude-list and edit:
['$TRASH', '/home/jonashackt/Downloads/iso', '/home/jonashackt/.config/Code - OSS/CachedData/', '/home/jonashackt/.config/libreoffice/4/cache/', '/home/jonashackt/.vagrant.d', '/home/jonashackt/.cache', '/home/jonashackt/VirtualBox VMs', '/home/jonashackt/.npm/', '/home/jonashackt/.pyenv/', '/home/jonashackt/.local/share/virtualenv/', '/home/jonashackt/.ansible/test/venv/', '/home/jonashackt/go/pkg/mod/', '/home/jonashackt/.var/app/io.freetubeapp.FreeTube/', '/home/jonashackt/.var/app/com.google.Chrome/config/google-chrome/Default/Service Worker/CacheStorage/', '/home/jonashackt/.var/app/com.github.IsmaelMartinez.teams_for_linux/config/teams-for-linux/Partitions/teams-4-linux/Cache/', '/home/jonashackt/.var/app/com.microsoft.Edge/config/microsoft-edge/Default/Service Worker/CacheStorage', '/home/jonashackt/.config/Slack/Service Worker/CacheStorage/', '/home/jonashackt/.var/app/com.slack.Slack/config/Slack/Service Worker/CacheStorage/', '/home/jonashackt/.var/app/com.slack.Slack/config/Slack/Cache/', '/home/jonashackt/.config/Slack/Cache/', '/home/jonashackt/.kube/cache/', '/home/jonashackt/.local/pipx/venvs/', '/home/jonashackt/snap/miro/3/.config/miro/Cache']Also worth a try: https://medium.com/@shimo164/ignore-node-modules-directories-in-deja-dup-433997fd2461 But that means creating .deja-dup-ignore files everywhere.
Ok, Deja Dup just can't finish the scanning on my system in any way - don't know why, it simply hangs.
---> IT WAS THE SANDISK SUPPLIED USB-C to USB-A ADAPTER! DAMN... restic also froze!
Restic might be a faster and more robust solution than other backup tools: https://www.datamate.org/linux-server-backup-mit-restic-und-duplicity/
It handles backups more like git repositories and doesn't hold changed files multiple times. Every object is divided into small blocks and just occurs once in the backup. If something changes, only those differences will be transfered. Thus filechanges do not result in duplication and massively reduces the needed disk space for backups.
restic eliminates nearly all fallacies of duplicity (and thus Gnome Backup / Deja Dup). A restore is extremely fast, since there's no need to put together files from different difftars. Additionally it has no effect on the overall backup status, if single data blocks are currupt.
In my experiences restict also needs far less CPU resources then duplicity/Deja Dup: And that's kind a killer criteria also, since 2 hours of backup is a lot of CPU time...
- restic: https://github.com/restic/restic docs: https://restic.readthedocs.io/en/stable/010_introduction.html
- resticprofile: https://github.com/creativeprojects/resticprofile docs: https://creativeprojects.github.io/resticprofile/index.html
Getting started: https://creativeprojects.github.io/resticprofile/configuration/getting_started/index.html
pamac install restic resticprofile-binWith resticprofile we get a nice YAML config file, where we can configure restic to do our backups!
Be sure to have a YAML extension installed in your VSCode https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=redhat.vscode-yaml
Let's create our restic(profile) configuration. Start by creating a folder in your home directory:
mkdir /home/jonashackt/restic
cd /home/jonashackt/resticFirst we want to define, which files we don't want to backup. Thus let's create a excludes.txt:
# general
.cache
.config/libreoffice/4/cache
# IDEs
.config/Code/Cache
.config/Code/CachedData
.config/Code/logs
.config/Code - OSS/CachedData
# dev packages
.npm
.pyenv
.local/share/virtualenv
.local/pipx/venvs
.ansible/test/venv
go/pkg/mod
node_modules
# Apps
.var/app/io.freetubeapp.FreeTube
snap/miro/3/.config/miro/Cache
.var/app/com.github.IsmaelMartinez.teams_for_linux/config/teams-for-linux/Partitions/teams-4-linux/Cache
### Browsers
.var/app/**/Cache*
.var/app/com.google.Chrome/config/google-chrome/Default/Service Worker/CacheStorage
.var/app/com.microsoft.Edge/config/microsoft-edge/Default/Service Worker/CacheStorage
.mozilla/firefox/**/cache/
### Slack
.config/Slack/Cache
.config/Slack/Service Worker/CacheStorage
.var/app/com.slack.Slack/config/Slack/Cache
.var/app/com.slack.Slack/config/Slack/Service Worker/CacheStorage
# VMs
.kube/cache
#.vagrant.d
#VirtualBox VMsYou can check your filepatterns here: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tools/glob
Now create a file named profiles.yaml inside your new folder (you can also use different configuration formats like toml, hcl, json):
# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://creativeprojects.github.io/resticprofile/jsonschema/config-1.json
version: "1"
default:
repository: "local:/run/media/jonashackt/Extreme SSD/linuxbackup"
password-file: "password.txt"
backup:
exclude-file: "excludes.txt"
exclude-caches: true
verbose: true
source:
- "/home/jonashackt"The restic repository is the place, where your backups are saved).
"The repository can be stored locally, or on some remote server or service."
default:repository configures the repository kind and path
So in my case, where I want to use a locally attached external SSD drive mounted at /run/media/jonashackt/Extreme SSD/linuxbackup, this is "local:/run/media/jonashackt/Extreme SSD/linuxbackup".
Also create a password.txt. resticprofile can do that for you, if you want:
resticprofile generate --random-key > password.txtNow we need to initialize a new restic repository vis resticprofile init:
$ resticprofile init
2024/02/04 14:15:07 using configuration file: profiles.yaml
2024/02/04 14:15:07 profile 'default': starting 'init'
created restic repository b1a22de480 at local:/run/media/jonashackt/Extreme SSD/linuxbackup
Please note that knowledge of your password is required to access
the repository. Losing your password means that your data is
irrecoverably lost.
2024/02/04 14:16:05 profile 'default': finished 'init'Before really running the backup we can testdrive it:
resticprofile backup --dry-runAnd finally let the backup run:
$ resticprofile backup
2024/02/04 14:58:30 using configuration file: profiles.yaml
2024/02/04 14:58:30 profile 'default': starting 'backup'
open repository
repository b1a22de4 opened (version 2, compression level auto)
lock repository
no parent snapshot found, will read all files
load index files
start scan on [/home/jonashackt]
start backup on [/home/jonashackt]
scan finished in 1.522s: 102434 files, 354.759 GiB
Files: 102435 new, 0 changed, 0 unmodified
Dirs: 13654 new, 0 changed, 0 unmodified
Data Blobs: 385365 new
Tree Blobs: 12494 new
Added to the repository: 324.617 GiB (284.612 GiB stored)
processed 102435 files, 354.759 GiB in 2:12:27
snapshot 3122d6d5 saved
2024/02/04 17:10:58 profile 'default': finished 'backup'After the command has finished, you can have a look at the snapshots created:
$ restic -r "/run/media/jonashackt/Extreme SSD/linuxbackup" snapshots
enter password for repository:
repository b1a22de4 opened (version 2, compression level auto)
ID Time Host Tags Paths
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
3122d6d5 2024-02-04 14:58:30 pikelinux /home/jonashackt
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 snapshotsNow how does a restore work? https://restic.readthedocs.io/en/stable/050_restore.html
If you want to restore it to another machine, detach your SSD and attach it to the other machine. Now head to the root / and run the following:
restic -r "/run/media/jonashackt/Extreme SSD/linuxbackup" restore latest --target .Don't insert the --target path with /home/jonashackt again, since that would create the restored backup in /home/jonashackt/home/jonashackt.
https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/Firewalls
The firewall package ufw should already be installed. If not: pamac install ufw
To check it's status run:
ufw statusIf that's looking like ufw isn't enabled, you should activate the service (it was on my Manjaro install) and enable ufw (it wasn't on my Manjaro install):
sudo systemctl enable ufw.service
sudo ufw enable https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/HiDPI
As per default you only have 100% steps to scale your display. But there's an experimental feature called fractional scaling in Gnome, which you can activate:
https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/gnome-hd-scaling.html
I didn't really like it, since it kind of "blurrs" the screen. My solution: In-program zoom and Font scaling:
With my 2560 x 1600 I use a combination of Browser scaling (Firefox default zoom), IDE scaling (VS Code Strg +) and higher Font scaling factor (1.25) in the GNOME Tweaks menu (you can reach that via Manjaro Hello).
I tried https://github.com/cerebroapp/cerebro, which is quite nice - but didn't work all the time for me (it sometimes simply didn't pop up).
So I switched over to the GNOME Activities using the Windows key and then typing what I was searching for. Works flawlessly!
Microsoft announced to discontinue the Linux client in favour of a Progressive Web App (PWA), which is integrated in Microsoft Edge for Linux:
But installing Microsoft Edge on Linux (although available) doesn't feel right to me. Alternativeley one can use the (also flatpack managed) unofficial Teams for Linux client (which is hosted on GitHub https://github.com/IsmaelMartinez/teams-for-linux and powered by Electron).
Both solutions (Microsoft Edge + PWA and unofficial Teams for Linux) didn't work for me the way I thought they would. The unofficial client didn't startup when clicking on the Teams links. And joining a meeting using the ID and password from the app itself also started my default Browser Firefox, which is said to be not a good basis for Teams.
In the end I settled just with using Chrome (installed via Flatpack) and using the url copied from my Google calender in Firefox.
But there was one thing that didn't work: Screensharing!
Flatpack isolates apps from the main OS. I simply forgot that, as I tried to use screen sharing with Microsoft Teams from within Chrome.
But the problem is well known - and there's a solution: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/XDG_Desktop_Portal:
"Portals were designed for use with applications sandboxed through Flatpak, but any application can use portals to provide uniform access to features independent of desktops and toolkits. This is commonly used, for example, to allow screen sharing on Wayland via PipeWire"
So let's install xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gnome via pamac! On my Manjaro machine they were already installed :)
Interestingly the xdg-desktop-portal-gnome also needs additional xdg-desktop-portal-gtk, which Manjaro also had installed already.
Also I needed to configure two Chrome flags:
--> chrome://flags/#ozone-platform-hint = Auto
--> chrome://flags/#enable-webrtc-pipewire-capturer = Enabled
Sadly my screensharing still didn't work! Looking into the service xdg-desktop-portal-gnome, I found lot's of Failed to associate portal window with parent window errors:
$ systemctl --user status xdg-desktop-portal-gnome
● xdg-desktop-portal-gnome.service - Portal service (GNOME implementation)
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/xdg-desktop-portal-gnome.service; static)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2023-11-15 10:10:53 CET; 1h 21min ago
Main PID: 3064 (xdg-desktop-por)
Tasks: 18 (limit: 38392)
Memory: 78.5M
CPU: 1.517s
CGroup: /user.slice/user-1000.slice/user@1000.service/app.slice/xdg-desktop-portal-gnome.service
└─3064 /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal-gnome
Nov 15 10:10:53 pikelinux systemd[2077]: Starting Portal service (GNOME implementation)...
Nov 15 10:10:53 pikelinux systemd[2077]: Started Portal service (GNOME implementation).
Nov 15 10:32:10 pikelinux xdg-desktop-por[3064]: Failed to associate portal window with parent window
Nov 15 10:32:15 pikelinux xdg-desktop-por[3064]: Failed to associate portal window with parent window
Nov 15 11:18:35 pikelinux xdg-desktop-por[3064]: Failed to associate portal window with parent window
Nov 15 11:18:41 pikelinux xdg-desktop-por[3064]: Failed to associate portal window with parent window
Nov 15 11:32:00 pikelinux xdg-desktop-por[3064]: Failed to associate portal window with parent window
Nov 15 11:32:10 pikelinux xdg-desktop-por[3064]: Failed to associate portal window with parent window But luckily there's a great post here https://askubuntu.com/a/1398720/451114
And what was missing on my machine was pipewire-media-session! And yes, searching for and installing the package states that it's deprecated.
>>> pipewire-media-session is deprecated and will soon be removed from the
repositories. Please use 'wireplumber' instead.But the community doesn't really seem to be quite fixed on that wireplumber is always the best option: https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/pipewire-pipewire-media-session-vs-wireplumber/20705 Also the replacement of pipewire-media-session has been undone already. So I gave it a try:
pamac install pipewire-media-session
systemctl --user enable pipewire-media-session
systemctl --user start pipewire-media-sessionNow systemctl --user status pipewire-media-session and systemctl --user status xdg-desktop-portal-gnome should be green and running without fault:
$ systemctl --user status pipewire-media-session
● pipewire-media-session.service - PipeWire Media Session Manager
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/pipewire-media-session.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2023-11-15 11:48:50 CET; 2s ago
Main PID: 14990 (pipewire-media-)
Tasks: 3 (limit: 38392)
Memory: 1.8M
CPU: 9ms
CGroup: /user.slice/user-1000.slice/user@1000.service/session.slice/pipewire-media-session.service
└─14990 /usr/bin/pipewire-media-session
Nov 15 11:48:50 pikelinux systemd[2077]: Started PipeWire Media Session Manager.
$ systemctl --user status xdg-desktop-portal-gnome
● xdg-desktop-portal-gnome.service - Portal service (GNOME implementation)
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/xdg-desktop-portal-gnome.service; static)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2023-11-15 11:49:04 CET; 20s ago
Main PID: 15030 (xdg-desktop-por)
Tasks: 5 (limit: 38392)
Memory: 28.5M
CPU: 348ms
CGroup: /user.slice/user-1000.slice/user@1000.service/app.slice/xdg-desktop-portal-gnome.service
└─15030 /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal-gnome
Nov 15 11:49:04 pikelinux systemd[2077]: Starting Portal service (GNOME implementation)...
Nov 15 11:49:04 pikelinux systemd[2077]: Started Portal service (GNOME implementation).Now in Microsoft Teams again I granted the screensharing access to my whole screen:
Finally Screensharing in Teams worked:
If you want Screensharing to work, don't use the Flatpack package, use the Arch one https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/zoom
Install it via Manjaros package manager (gui or command line).
There are great tips at https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zoom_Meetings
It's annoying to have to login into SSO every time I use Zoom or restarted my system.
The simple solution is to delete/rename the ~/.zoom directory (see https://www.reddit.com/r/Zoom/comments/10vfbtk/comment/j8gxunn/)!
Now the settings will be successfully saved in /home/jonashackt/.config/zoomus.conf (which doesn't work, when the ~/.zoom directory persists)
Flatpack is here to help again: https://flathub.org/apps/com.slack.Slack
But if you want working drag and drop, you might want to use the Arch package https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/slack-desktop
There's a snap available here https://snapcraft.io/install/miro/manjaro
To be able to use Snapcraft on Manjaro we need to install it first - again either via gui or command line:
sudo pacman -S snapd
Also enable the systemd unit that manages the main snap communication socket:
sudo systemctl enable --now snapd.socket
Restart your system to ensure snap’s paths are updated correctly.
Now install Miro via snap:
sudo snap install miro
If you're like me you want to be callable even when you're mobile phone is on airplane mode. The easiest solution is a SIP phone client software, where you just configure your SIP credentials and can use your laptop or desktop machine to have phone calls.
There's huge list of SIP clients around, but already on my Android phone there are only a few that really work.
While writing this docs I found out about linphone https://www.linphone.org/technical-corner/linphone, which has clients for nearly every OS. And it's also OpenSource, developed on GitLab.com https://gitlab.linphone.org/BC/public/linphone-desktop
I installed the AUR AppImage package https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/linphone-desktop-appimage (the other https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/linphone-desktop didn't work on my machine).
My first tests worked like a charm!
On my Mac I had a Desktop App to sync my Drive files into my file manager. Sadly there's no Google Drive Desktop for Linux https://support.google.com/drive/answer/10838124
There's a great post on baeldung about this topic: https://www.baeldung.com/linux/google-drive-guide (see also https://askubuntu.com/questions/1390151/google-drive-in-ubuntu-with-full-local-copy)
But we have some alternatives. First thing I checked was gnome-online-accounts (see the docs). This package is already pre-installed on Manjaro. Simply head over to preference / online accounts and log in to your Google account. Now the Gnome file manager should have a new entry, where you can access your Google Drive files:
But they aren't stored locally sadly, so they will be downloaded every time you access them. And as the baeldung post states, the file names are completely obscured on the command line. E.g. if you have a file called bla in the file manager, it's named like 11lfzX-8dH_eWtf2JWa3caRtodOnlXDbN on the command line and you even need to access it in a weird way like cd '/run/user/1000/gvfs/google-drive:host=gmail.com,user=myemail'.
If you need locally stored files with Google Drive, IMHO there's no perfect solution. Maybe https://www.insynchq.com is worth a try, but also costs some 30 bucks...
There's a official Dropbox Linux client https://help.dropbox.com/de-de/installs/linux-commands and also a AUR package https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/dropbox
Compared to Drive the integration is superb. Start the app via the application menu and after the login you will find a Dropbox icon right at the top of your Gnome Desktop - just as you are used to on a Mac:
Also you can drag the folder Dropbox in your profile directory into the left menu bar of the Gnome file manager. And voila: you have the same integration as on a Mac!
https://github.com/reHackable/awesome-reMarkable
I use the eBook-Reader like notepad Remarkable and on a Mac and on iPhone/Android there are quite good clients to use the cloud sync. There's no current AUR package sadly, but snap is here to help:
https://snapcraft.io/remarkable-desktop and specifically for Manjaro https://snapcraft.io/install/remarkable-desktop/manjaro
But sadly, this Windows app packaged as a wine app didn't work on my machine. It started once, but after an update didn't start anymore.
Other strategies to get to your documents using Linux:
If you only want to get single documents and download them to your desktop, there's a simple web interface you can enable inside your Remarkable tablet's settings. Just head over to Settings / Storage and enable USB web interface. My remarkable is now accessible via http://10.11.99.1/ and I can download single documents easily.
We can even create a Gnome Dock Icon to link to the Remarkable web interface: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1045723/how-to-add-website-url-shortcut-to-ubuntu-dock-on-ubuntu-18-04 (here's an icon if you'd like). This is my Remarkable.desktop file:
[Desktop Entry]
Comment=Open Remarkable web interface
Terminal=false
Name=Remarkable web interface
Exec=firefox http://10.11.99.1
Type=Application
Icon=/home/jonashackt/Downloads/remarkable-logo.png
NoDisplay=falseNow look for the App in your Activities view (Windows key) and pin the Remarkable App to your Dock:
I had the issue, that the kids were playing on the Wii in the basement where my Manjaro PC is located (waiting for my new Laptop ever since). So I grabbed a Laptop from my Mother's husband (also on Manjaro) and wanted to connect via Remote Desktop to my machine.
According to https://www.howtogeek.com/429190/how-to-set-up-remote-desktop-on-ubuntu VNC isn't a secure protocol anymore (see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Network_Computing#Security) and VNC is interfering with Wayland, which is the default on modern Linux desktops right now:
In fact, the VNC back end for the GNOME remote desktop functionality has been turned off by default in GNOME, and Ubuntu have followed suit. Restoring it requires building various components from source with the appropriate build flags reinstated.
And
The preferred method, and one natively supported by GNOME and Ubuntu, is to use the remote desktop protocol instead of VNC.
But nevertheless don't use plain RDP over the internet without VPN etc.!
This is super cool: So just enter the system settings menu, click on Sharing and activate Remote Desktop and Remote Control on the machine you want to connect to.
Now on the client machine you need an RDP client. There are many around, like remmina https://software.manjaro.org/package/remmina#! or Thincast https://thincast.com/en . I tried Thincast and used my basement machines local network IP and the credentials from the Gnome Sharing menu. And it worked like a charm:
In Thincast the option View / Smart Sizing comes in very helpful, if the screens of Client and Server do have different resolutions.
There are plenty of ways to install VSCode to Linux / Manjaro. First I tried the flathub package, but then I realised that a Flatpack packaged app is really separated from the rest of the system. Since it runs in a container. So no other development tools or frameworks will work inside the VSCode container, we would have to install it all into it...
Although I love the idea of container packaged software, I don't really wanted to live it that kind of hard fashioned with my development setup. Sure, development containers would also work. But I wanted kind of a more traditional installation. And luckily there's the AUR package https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/visual-studio-code-bin . Beware of the -bin in the name of the package, the other one installs the Code - OSS app instead. See the differences here.
https://forum.manjaro.org/t/bash-with-autocomplete-and-fancy-flags/112108
https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k
- Unable to cancel a command on Gnome terminal? Have a look at https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/33017/140406 and delete every
Strg+Ckeyboard shortcut in the Gnome terminal settings!
If you want a more advanced Tiling Terminal, have a look at Tilix:
https://gnunn1.github.io/tilix-web/
sudo pamac install tilixIf everytime you open your shell the following pops up: zsh: corrupt history file /home/jonashackt/.zhistory then do:
cd ~
mv .zhistory .zhistory_old
strings .zhistory_old > .zhistory
fc -R .zhistory -
Switching back to last tab on Firefox: https://superuser.com/questions/290704/switching-back-to-last-tab-on-firefox
-
Night mode: https://www.reddit.com/r/ManjaroLinux/comments/ogf1iy/turn_on_night_mode/
-
Show Hidden
.files in home dir:Strg - H
https://askubuntu.com/questions/108967/how-to-zoom-in-and-out-of-text-in-gedit
sudo pamac install gedit-pluginsNow there's a new gedit plugin available called Text size:
The easy "Vorschau" app on MacOS had this feature, but I can't find it in gthumb. But it's there somehow https://gnulinux.ch/bilder-drucken with the great ImageMagick.
Execute the following on your console:
convert *.jpg multiples.pdfNow you can even print all sites on one pdf.
According to https://askubuntu.com/questions/1330708/fill-sign-pdf-on-ubuntu the best seems to be Xournal++ (there is also an older Xournal)
The correct Arch/Manjaro package is named xournalpp:
sudo pamac install xournalppI also often read about LibreOffice Draw (like in here https://askubuntu.com/a/786795/451114), where you can
- open the pdf
- then "export as pdf"
- set "jpeg compression quality" to 50% and "image resolution" to 150 dpi
Install LibreOffice (see https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/LibreOffice) via the Arch package libreoffice-fresh:
pamac install libreoffice-freshLibreOffice looks way better than OpenOffice. But if you want to have it even slicker with the Tabbed User Interface style, then have a look here: https://itsfoss.com/libreoffice-ribbon-interface/:
Go to View/User Interface... and select Tabbed.
Choose another Icon theme, if the dark (black and white) icons aren't what you're looking for https://askubuntu.com/questions/979032/libreoffice-icons-hard-to-see-with-dark-themes
Here I learned to ALWAYS search for an AUR package first!
I have an old Canon MX870 printer, which has ultra low cost and separate printer cartridges. So I went to the Canon Driver page and it was simply empty. No Linux drivers at all. A google search got me to driverscollection.com, but there were only .deb (Ubuntu, Debian) and .rpm (Fedora, SUSE) packages. The build from source also didn't work, since file were missing... (I already searched for "How to Install .DEB files in Arch Based Distros" - don't do that!).
But than I simply searched for canon mx870 linux driver arch - and there really was an AUR package for my printer! Horay!
Now installing canon-pixma-mx870-complete gave me some errors - but I managed to solve them. The first error indicated, that I didn't have autoconf installed. So I installed it with pamac. The second error got me to the missing automake, which I also installed. Then I had a strange error with the lib32-libusb-compat package, which is needed by the canon-pixma-mx870-complete package:
syntax error near unexpected token `LIBUSB,'
Luckily this thread and also the lib32-libusb-compat AUR package site got me to the problem: I needed to install base-devel AUR package first!
Now running pamac install lib32-libusb-compat canon-pixma-mx870-complete ran like a charm!
The scanner now worked using the app Document Scanner.
But there was no printer configured out-of-the-box. Although the driver (PPD files) seem to be present correctly.
In the normal settings dialog had a add printer button, but my Canon network printer wasn't found there and I couldn't add it though:
So I went over to the console and started the CUPS gui directly just executing system-config-printer. Now adding a new printer in the CUPS gui also shows network printers - and there my Canon MX870 showed up!
Really nice. I clicked forward and the Driver was automatically set to Canon MX870 series - CUPS+Gutenprint v5.3.4 Simplified, which may also work - but we installed the original Canon MX870 series Ver.3.30 right?! Therefore I changed the created printer after the wizard is finished and clicked on brand and model and change... and then selected the correct driver from the database:
I hoped my printer would work now, but trying to print a example page didn't work. A final piece was missing.
But finally I found it: In the printer's settings under guidelines the condition was not activated. I activated the printer here and everything worked fine!
As a side note: If you want to use the open source drivers and need to configure ldp protocol instead, here's maybe help: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=143349
Also the CUPS system itself is a very good source of information http://localhost:631/help/network.html
There's no official Balsamiq version for Linux https://balsamiq.com/wireframes/desktop/docs/linux/
But you can use Bottles https://usebottles.com (https://github.com/bottlesdevs/Bottles) to install the Windows version of Balsamiq.
See also https://ostechnix.com/run-windows-software-on-linux-with-bottles/ for more info
Therefore install Bottles via the Package Manager pamac or via Flatpack:
pamac install bottlesThereafter finish the UI's Wizard:
Now we need to download the Balsamiq Windows installer file like Balsamiq_Wireframes_4.7.4_x64_Setup.exe from https://balsamiq.com/wireframes/desktop/.
Back in Bottles you need to create a new bottle. I choose Application, named it Balsamiq and just went with the defaults.
Then let Bottles setup the bottle. This may take a while. If the bottle is ready, hit the Run Executable... button and select the downloaded Balsamiq_Wireframes_4.7.4_x64_Setup.exe. The balasamic setup wizard should appear:
Now click on Install for all users and hit Next on dir selection, desktop shortcut and then Install. Finally click on launch Balsamiq and Balsamiq should appear:
If your Balsamiq is hardly readable (e.g. because you have set Manjaro's screen scaling to 200%), you may need to adjust the Bottle's display settings. Therefore head over to Options section and click on Settings. Now scroll down to Display section and select the Advanced Display Settings. Finally tweak the Screen Scaling settings. For me the default was 96 DPI. I doubled it according to my Manjaro screen scaling of 200% to 192 DPI:
Now Balsamiq looked wonderful:
See also https://forum.usebottles.com/t/how-to-scale-the-bottles-application-for-hidpi/862
If you're asking yourself where to find file that you're saving in Balsamiq, just have a look into your profile. All bottles reside in .var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles. If you save the file New Project 1.bmpr directly to the My Computer / (C:), you'll find it there:
$ ls ~/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles
$ cd Balsamiq/drive_c
$ ls -la
total 112
drwxr-xr-x 7 jonashackt jonashackt 4096 4. Jan 20:38 .
drwxr-xr-x 7 jonashackt jonashackt 4096 4. Jan 20:38 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 jonashackt jonashackt 86016 4. Jan 20:38 'New Project 1.bmpr'
drwxr-xr-x 4 jonashackt jonashackt 4096 4. Jan 19:57 ProgramData
drwxr-xr-x 7 jonashackt jonashackt 4096 4. Jan 19:57 'Program Files'
drwxr-xr-x 6 jonashackt jonashackt 4096 4. Jan 19:47 'Program Files (x86)'
drwxr-xr-x 4 jonashackt jonashackt 4096 4. Jan 19:47 users
drwxr-xr-x 21 jonashackt jonashackt 4096 4. Jan 19:49 windowsAs already said I dropped my iPhone in favour of Android. As Samsung has a great overall package of 5 years of updates, I went for a S23.
On my Mac I used Samsung Smart Switch for the backups, which was quite easy to use. So why not use it on Manjaro too? Well, there's no Linux version sadly :( https://www.samsung.com/de/apps/smart-switch/
Now we have a few alternatives left: https://xdaforums.com/t/samsung-smart-swith-for-ubuntu.3335276/ & https://superuser.com/questions/1314720/how-to-backup-a-samsung-mobile-to-linux
We could use Wine as a Windows app emulator on Linux, but there doesn't seem to be good experiences with Smart Switch sadly. In the Wine database this is rated as garbage.
I opted for the VirtualBox / Windows path. I already had a project in place here, where I could simply follow the guide and have a running Windows box in minutes: https://github.com/jonashackt/windows-vagrant-ansible (well at least I thought so, because the base Vagrant box Edge dev was discontinued by Microsoft).
But luckily we only need to get a Windows VirtualBox VM here, no automation with Ansible or Vagrant for now.
So just do the following:
But maybe there's help & there is a way to add an already existant VirtualBox .ova as a VagrantBox: https://gist.github.com/aondio/66a79be10982f051116bc18f1a5d07dc. So let's try it.
Download a pre-packaged VirtualBox .ova here https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/virtual-machines/ which already includes an evaluation version of Windows 11. The link should download the VirtualBox .zip file (22gigs will take their time depending on your Internet speed).
Unpack the WinDev2309Eval.ova.
Then add it to the local VirtualBox installation via VBoxManage import:
VBoxManage import ~/Downloads/WinDev2309Eval.VirtualBox/WinDev2309Eval.ova
This may take some time:
$ VBoxManage import ~/Downloads/WinDev2309Eval.VirtualBox/WinDev2309Eval.ova 1 ✘
0%...10%...20%...30%...40%...50%...60%...70%...80%...90%...100%
Interpreting /home/jonashackt/Downloads/WinDev2309Eval.VirtualBox/WinDev2309Eval.ova...
OK.
Disks:
vmdisk1 134217728000 -1 http://www.vmware.com/interfaces/specifications/vmdk.html#streamOptimized WinDev2309Eval-disk001.vmdk -1 -1
Virtual system 0:
0: Suggested OS type: "Windows11_64"
(change with "--vsys 0 --ostype <type>"; use "list ostypes" to list all possible values)
1: Suggested VM name "WinDev2309Eval"
(change with "--vsys 0 --vmname <name>")
2: Suggested VM group "/"
(change with "--vsys 0 --group <group>")
3: Suggested VM settings file name "/home/jonashackt/VirtualBox VMs/WinDev2309Eval/WinDev2309Eval.vbox"
(change with "--vsys 0 --settingsfile <filename>")
4: Suggested VM base folder "/home/jonashackt/VirtualBox VMs"
(change with "--vsys 0 --basefolder <path>")
5: Number of CPUs: 4
(change with "--vsys 0 --cpus <n>")
6: Guest memory: 8192 MB
(change with "--vsys 0 --memory <MB>")
7: USB controller
(disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 7 --ignore")
8: Network adapter: orig NAT, config 3, extra slot=0;type=NAT
9: SATA controller, type AHCI
(disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 9 --ignore")
10: Hard disk image: source image=WinDev2309Eval-disk001.vmdk, target path=WinDev2309Eval-disk001.vmdk, controller=9;port=0
(change target path with "--vsys 0 --unit 10 --disk path";
change controller with "--vsys 0 --unit 10 --controller <index>";
change controller port with "--vsys 0 --unit 10 --port <n>";
disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 10 --ignore")
0%...10%...20%...30%...40%...50%...60%...70%...80%...90%...100%
Successfully imported the appliance.
Now the box is already available inside your VirtualBox gui.
Be sure to configure the following tweaks manually (until we get the automation working again):
- Video: Scalingfactor to 200% (in order to see something)
- USB: Activate the USB controller and choose
USB 3.0-Controller (xHCI)
Finally VirtualBox needs access to the USB devices, that are connected to the host. This doesn't work out-of-the-box and produces the following error, if we run a VBoxManage list usbhost:
$ VBoxManage list usbhost
Failed to access the USB subsystem.
VirtualBox is not currently allowed to access USB devices.
You can change this by adding your user to the 'vboxusers' group.
Please see the user manual for a more detailed explanation
...
But there's help: We need to add our user to the vboxusers group via:
sudo usermod -a -G vboxusers $USER
Log off or even restart your machine - and then check via groups $USER, if your user is part of the group vboxusers.
Now the command VBoxManage list usbhost should work as expected.
Finally go to your VirtualBoxed Windows and click on Devices / USB and select your phone (which will exclusively bind your phone to the guest Windows for now). With that SmartSwitch should be able to access the phone:
In order to create a shared folder to be able to have a directory, where Samsung Smart Switch can store our backup on the Manjaro host, we need to install the Guest Additions into our Windows guest https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch04.html#additions-windows
In order to do that, we need to configure a optical drive to our VM:
Therefor head over to our VM's settings in VirtualBox and add a optical drive in the storage settings. Now VirtualBox will create a virtual optical drive with the guest additions iso inside.
Now inside the VM go to Devices / insert guest additions and they should show up inside the Windows Explorer.
Double click on the drive and the installation should start:
)
Follow through the Wizard and finally do the reboot required.
Finally create a shared folder in the VirtualBox settings of the VM. Be sure to check bind automatically and permanently create!
Now the folder should be available as a new networking location inside the Windows guest.
Fire up Samsung SmartSwitch and try to do a backup to your Manjaro host: Use somthing like Z:\Samsung\SmartSwitch as a path, since SmartSwitch will complain that it hasn't enough space available.
Is there a way to install and use Docker on Linux? Yes I know: Linux containers were invented ON Linux. So why do we need Docker at all?
But having the ease of use of my beloved command line tooling would be great to make the switch as easy as possible.
There seems to be kind of an semi official Docker release from the creators (see https://docs.docker.com/desktop/install/archlinux/). But the problem is, the installation is based on a binary you need to update manually - wow, in 2023?!
But luckily we can simply use the power of the Arch User Repository (AUR) - and install Docker via the following commands:
pamac install docker
systemctl start docker.service
To permantently start the docker service on every restart, run the following:
sudo systemctl enable myserviceThat should be everything to fire up our first Docker container on Linux:
sudo docker run -it --rm archlinux bash -c "echo hello world"
Since we also want to be able to run our docker command without sudo (and we NEED to run it without sudo for the MacOs on Linux part), we need to do the following steps according to the Arch package wiki:
If you want to be able to run the docker CLI command as a non-root user, add your user to the docker user group, re-login, and restart docker.service.
(but there's also a warning: Warning: Anyone added to the docker group is root equivalent because they can use the docker run --privileged command to start containers with root privileges.)
So here we go:
sudo usermod -aG docker "${USER}"
Log out and log back in so that your group membership is re-evaluated - or even restart your machine to make the changes take effect. Maybe also newgrp docker should be enough.
Restart the Docker service via:
systemctl restart docker
Now we should be able to run docker without sudo:
docker run -it --rm archlinux bash -c "echo hello world"
You may already guessed it: I will need MacOS for some time to follow - just to be able migrate some workflows I created over all those years. And also to use Samsung Smart Switch, my tax software and others. So is there a problem to run MacOS virtualized on Linux?
First I thought about using VirtualBox to do the job - but then I read statements like: "It could work (after many crazy configuration steps) - but then you shouldn't do an upgrade ever, since it may stop working right after the update". What...?! OMG.
See https://najigram.com/2022/01/run-macos-in-virtualbox-on-linux-os/, https://github.com/hkdb/VBoxMacSetup, https://www.macwelt.de/article/1506511/macos-ventura-mit-virtualbox-als-vm-betreiben.html
But then I had an idea: Why not use containers to do the job? And a quick google search got me to https://github.com/sickcodes/Docker-OSX
Let's try this out! First we need to get some prerequisites ready:
Before you do anything else, you will need to turn on hardware virtualization in your BIOS.
Now if you have hardware virtualization activated, we need to install some packages:
sudo pamac install qemu libvirt qemu-desktop dnsmasq virt-manager bridge-utils flex bison iptables-nft edk2-ovmf
Since pamac will prompt you for optional dependencies, I choosed none and used 2: qemu-desktop 8.1.0-2 extra as the QEMU provider.
Now we also need to enable libvirt and load the KVM kernel module:
sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd
sudo systemctl enable --now virtlogd
echo 1 | sudo tee /sys/module/kvm/parameters/ignore_msrs
sudo modprobe kvm
Finally we should be able to run a MacOS Docker container like Monterey:
docker run -it \
--device /dev/kvm \
-p 50922:10022 \
-v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
-e "DISPLAY=${DISPLAY:-:0.0}" \
-e GENERATE_UNIQUE=true \
-e MASTER_PLIST_URL='https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sickcodes/osx-serial-generator/master/config-custom.plist' \
sickcodes/docker-osx:monterey
or Ventura:
docker run -it \
--device /dev/kvm \
-p 50922:10022 \
-v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
-e "DISPLAY=${DISPLAY:-:0.0}" \
-e GENERATE_UNIQUE=true \
-e MASTER_PLIST_URL='https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sickcodes/osx-serial-generator/master/config-custom.plist' \
sickcodes/docker-osx:ventura
It's important to run the docker command without sudo (see sickcodes/Docker-OSX#91 (comment)):
Run without sudo (GTK can't run in roots desktop because root isn't running a display server.)
Now we should see a QEMU firing up running MacOS in recovery mode:
see also https://github.com/sickcodes/Docker-OSX#troubleshooting
I had some issues getting the container to run.
iptables: No chain/target/match by that name
See https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31667160/running-docker-container-iptables-no-chain-target-match-by-that-name - clearing all the chaings fixed it for me:
sudo iptables -t filter -F
sudo iptables -t filter -X
systemctl restart docker
alsa: Could not initialize ADC
alsa: Failed to open `default':
alsa: Reason: No such file or directory
ALSA lib confmisc.c:855:(parse_card) cannot find card '0'
ALSA lib conf.c:5181:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_card_inum returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib confmisc.c:422:(snd_func_concat) error evaluating strings
ALSA lib conf.c:5181:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_concat returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1334:(snd_func_refer) error evaluating name
ALSA lib conf.c:5181:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5704:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2666:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM default
alsa: Could not initialize ADC
alsa: Failed to open `default':
alsa: Reason: No such file or directory
audio: Could not create a backend for voice `adc'
gtk initialization failed
As described here sickcodes/Docker-OSX#91 (comment) execute the following:
xhost +
qemu Gdk-WARNING 'BadAccess (attempt to access private resource denied)'. (Details: serial 220 error_code 10 request_code 130 (MIT-SHM) minor_code 1)
I got a:
(qemu:972): Gdk-WARNING **: 09:10:53.652: The program 'qemu' received an X Window System error.
This probably reflects a bug in the program.
The error was 'BadAccess (attempt to access private resource denied)'.
(Details: serial 220 error_code 10 request_code 130 (MIT-SHM) minor_code 1)
(Note to programmers: normally, X errors are reported asynchronously;
that is, you will receive the error a while after causing it.
To debug your program, run it with the GDK_SYNCHRONIZE environment
variable to change this behavior. You can then get a meaningful
backtrace from your debugger if you break on the gdk_x_error() function.)
Check what status the services libvirtd and virtlogd have - and restart them, if they have inactive (dead):
$ systemctl status libvirtd ✔
○ libvirtd.service - Virtualization daemon
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/libvirtd.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
Active: inactive (dead) since Fri 2023-09-22 10:36:17 CEST; 47min ago
Duration: 2min 2ms
TriggeredBy: ● libvirtd-ro.socket
● libvirtd.socket
● libvirtd-admin.socket
Docs: man:libvirtd(8)
https://libvirt.org
Process: 742 ExecStart=/usr/bin/libvirtd $LIBVIRTD_ARGS (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 742 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
CPU: 222ms
Sep 22 10:34:17 pikelinux systemd[1]: Starting Virtualization daemon...
Sep 22 10:34:17 pikelinux systemd[1]: Started Virtualization daemon.
Sep 22 10:36:17 pikelinux systemd[1]: libvirtd.service: Deactivated successfully.
$ systemctl status virtlogd 3 ✘
○ virtlogd.service - Virtual machine log manager
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/virtlogd.service; indirect; preset: disabled)
Active: inactive (dead)
TriggeredBy: ● virtlogd.socket
○ virtlogd-admin.socket
Docs: man:virtlogd(8)
https://libvirt.org
$ sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd
$ sudo systemctl enable --now virtlogd
As we saw the container is starting a bare Mac system in the recovery mode. Without manually reinstalling MacOS, we aren't able to use any software.
But reinstalling MacOS doesn't work out-of-the box inside the container using the wizard, because no disk is available for installation.
Therefore head over to the disk utilities and erase the biggest QEMU harddrive with around 200gb and name it e.g. MyDockyOSX.
Then the MacOS install wizard should show the MyDockyOSX disk as a possible installation harddrive:
No worries: it's a virtual drive and only grows as needed :)
This actually may take a while!
After 2 hours or so the setup process should be ready and the MacOS configuration wizard will ask you about iCloud login etc.
If you managed to get past these screens, you should have a running MacOS:
Steps taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLezYl77Ll8
Run docker ps -a to find your MacOS container's id:
$ docker ps -a
e4e227957bb9 sickcodes/docker-osx:monterey "/bin/bash -c 'sudo …" 48 minutes ago Up 48 minutes 0.0.0.0:50922->10022/tcp, :::50922->10022/tcp sad_ganguly
Now inspect the container and search for Upper:
$ docker inspect e4 | grep Upper
"UpperDir": "/var/lib/docker/overlay2/fe1f1d8e462caa79fc89aa9bfe9892382ccda1d954a975f53c3f88875de36291/diff",
Visit the folder (which is our containers base file system) and go to home/arch/OSX-KVM:
$ su root
$ cd /var/lib/docker/overlay2/fe1f1d8e462caa79fc89aa9bfe9892382ccda1d954a975f53c3f88875de36291/diff/home/arch/OSX-KVM
$ ls -lha
[pikelinux OSX-KVM]# ls -lha
insgesamt 31G
drwxr-xr-x 8 jonashackt jonashackt 4,0K 21. Sep 13:58 .
drwxr-xr-x 3 jonashackt jonashackt 4,0K 19. Nov 2022 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 jonashackt jonashackt 711M 21. Sep 16:58 BaseSystem.img
drwxr-xr-x 2 jonashackt jonashackt 4,0K 21. Sep 13:58 bootdisks
-rw-r--r-- 1 jonashackt jonashackt 39K 21. Sep 13:58 config-custom.plist
drwxr-xr-x 4 jonashackt jonashackt 4,0K 19. Nov 2022 EFI
drwxr-xr-x 2 jonashackt jonashackt 4,0K 21. Sep 13:58 envs
-rw-r--r-- 1 jonashackt jonashackt 31G 21. Sep 16:59 mac_hdd_ng.img
-rwxr-xr-x 1 jonashackt jonashackt 1021K 21. Sep 13:58 macserial
-rw------- 1 jonashackt jonashackt 0 21. Sep 13:58 nohup.out
drwxr-xr-x 2 jonashackt jonashackt 4,0K 19. Nov 2022 OpenCore
drwxr-xr-x 20 jonashackt jonashackt 4,0K 21. Sep 13:58 OpenCorePkg
-rw-r--r-- 1 jonashackt jonashackt 128K 21. Sep 16:54 OVMF_VARS-1024x768.fd
drwxr-xr-x 2 jonashackt jonashackt 4,0K 21. Sep 13:58 plists
-rw-r--r-- 1 jonashackt jonashackt 116 21. Sep 13:58 serial_sets-2023-09-21-11:58:27.csv
-rw-r--r-- 1 jonashackt jonashackt 100 21. Sep 13:58 serial.tsv
-rw-r--r-- 1 jonashackt jonashackt 26 21. Sep 13:58 startup.nsh
-rw-r--r-- 1 jonashackt jonashackt 56K 21. Sep 13:58 vendor_macs.tsv
The file mac_hdd_ng.img is our (big, after installation) hdd, where the installed MacOS resides.
Now we can copy that over and use it with other MacOS containers (leveraging the nacked image):
$ cp mac_hdd_ng.img /home/jonashackt/mac_hdd_ventura.img
$ su jonashackt
$ cd $HOME
$ sudo chown jonashackt mac_hdd_ventura.img
Now we should be able to use the naked image like that, defining our own hdd image:
docker run -it \
--device /dev/kvm \
-p 50922:10022 \
-v "${PWD}/mac_hdd_ventura.img:/image" \
-v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
-e "DISPLAY=${DISPLAY:-:0.0}" \
-e GENERATE_UNIQUE=true \
-e MASTER_PLIST_URL='https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sickcodes/osx-serial-generator/master/config-custom.plist' \
sickcodes/docker-osx:naked
And voilà our container should start with MacOS fully installed!
See https://github.com/sickcodes/osx-optimizer
Inside the MacOS instance, open a terminal and execute:
sudo mdutil -i off -a
In the docs https://github.com/sickcodes/Docker-OSX?tab=readme-ov-file#share-directories-sharing-files-shared-folder-mount-folder there's a solution described for sharing files using sshfs. Before using it, we need to have a working ssh connection to the Dockerized MacOS VM.
Add -e "USERNAME=xyz" and -e "PASSWORD=a" to the docker run command like this:
We also need to use the naked-auto image instead of naked, since only with this we have -e USERNAME & -e PASSWORD support https://github.com/sickcodes/Docker-OSX?tab=readme-ov-file#technical-details
docker run -it \
--device /dev/kvm \
-p 50922:10022 \
-v "${PWD}/mac_hdd_ventura.img:/image" \
-v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
-e "DISPLAY=${DISPLAY:-:0.0}" \
-e "USERNAME=user" \
-e "PASSWORD=alpine" \
-e GENERATE_UNIQUE=true \
-e MASTER_PLIST_URL='https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sickcodes/osx-serial-generator/master/config-custom.plist' \
sickcodes/docker-osx:naked-auto
Inside the started Dockerized MacOS we need to enable SSH in network sharing! Therefore head over to Apple menu > System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Sharing on the right. Now turn on Remote Login https://support.apple.com/lt-lt/guide/mac-help/mchlp1066/mac
Now we should be ready to go with SSH. Our Linux host console should ask to add the host permanently to known hosts. Give it a yes:
Warning: Permanently added '[127.0.0.1]:10022' (ED25519) to the list of known hosts.
Host 127.0.0.1
User user
Port 10022
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_docker_osx
StrictHostKeyChecking no
UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null
Warning: Permanently added '[127.0.0.1]:10022' (ED25519) to the list of known hosts.
Last login: Sun Mar 3 19:05:09 2024
user@Jonass-iMac-Pro ~ %Now install sshfs via pamac:
pamac install sshfsNow finally use sshfs to mount for example the MacOS User dir to your Linux host:
sshfs user@localhost:/Users/jonashecht/ -p 50922 ~/osxfileshareDouble click onto ~/osxfileshare inside the home dir of the Linux host and the MacOS home dir should be accessible via the GNOME filemanager:
That's the documentation of an encounter I had with the GRUB bootloader using an LUKS encrypted
/bootpartition, which the Manjaro installer automatically creates, when usingEncrypt diskin it. Using some "special" characters from the German keymap, the US keymap in GRUB stage 1 doesn't work as expected... Please think of this paragraph of not complete and just use it as inspiration :) It took me hours and hours...
I experienced an issue using the simple Manjaro installer option to enable disk encryption:
I changed the keyboard layout from us to german de in the Manjaro installer. Both my passwords for Manjaro login and for the disk encryption contain special characters like €, @ and the like. Now booting up and trying to enter the system just installed, I faced an error while trying to decrypt the disk. I couldn't pass the HDD encryption login :(
After several attempts it came to my mind that there might be a mismatch of the keyboard layout provided in the Manjaro installer and used in the encryption login. And yes, that's the issue here (also in other distros):
https://forum.manjaro.org/t/keyboard-layout-for-boot-encryption-password/115990
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/342353/problem-keyboard-layout-in-boot-with-luks
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1500505/change-keyboard-layout-for-full-disk-encryption-login
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=240739
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dm-crypt/System_configuration#mkinitcpio
Provides support for non-US keymaps for typing encryption passwords; it must come before the encrypt hook, otherwise you will need to enter your encryption password using the default US keymap. Set your keymap in /etc/vconsole.conf, see Keyboard configuration in console#Persistent configuration.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Linux_console/Keyboard_configuration#Persistent_configuration
A persistent keymap can be set in /etc/vconsole.conf, which is read by systemd on start-up. The KEYMAP variable is used for specifying the keymap. If the variable is empty or not set, the us keymap is used as default value
There might be a problem with Grub in Stage 1! Yes, GRUB has multiple stages: 1 & 2. Only in 2 the above hints seem to work. But there's help:
The issue might be that we're looking for a solution in the wrong GRUB stage (2).
Wow, this was a deep dive I didn't thought I would have needed. I dig into the stages of booting a computer again, which I hadn't visited in a while! So roughly the firmware ((U)EFI, formerly "BIOS") looks for a boot manager located in the Master Boot Record (MBR) on the first disk. On a Linux system featuring the GRUB bootloader it also looks for the startup file grubx64.efi on the EFI partition (the small 300MB partition using FAT32). The EFI partition is mounted to /boot/efi.
GRUB then loads boot.img, core.img, /boot/grub/grub.cfg and needed mod files (drivers). With that a UI can be displayed, a keyboard beeing evaluated and an OS started.
Nowing that, we can have a look into the dm-crypt docs:
The
/bootpartition and the Master Boot Record are the two areas of the disk that are not encrypted
But there's a special feature in GRUB, where the bootloader GRUB has the ability to unlock a LUKS encrypted /boot partition.
Thus we can have a encrypted /boot partition and the Manjaro installer uses exactly that feature!
And here we have our issue mentioned in the Note in https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/GRUB#Encrypted_/boot:
If you use a special keymap, a default GRUB installation will not know it. This is relevant for how to enter the passphrase to unlock the LUKS blockdevice. See /Tips and tricks#Manual configuration of core image for early boot.
There's also a hint: See /Tips and tricks#Manual configuration of core image for early boot:
If you require a special keymap or other complex steps that GRUB is not able to configure automatically in order to make /boot available to the GRUB environment, you can generate a core image yourself. On UEFI systems, the core image is the grubx64.efi file that is loaded by the firmware on boot. Building your own core image will allow you to embed any modules required for very early boot, as well as a configuration script to bootstrap GRUB.
There we are!
Following the docs let's generate our own core image (aka core.img mentioned above in the boot steps)!
Start by having a look into /boot/grub/grub.cfg:
$ sudo cat /boot/grub/grub.cfg
menuentry 'Manjaro Linux' --class manjaro --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'agnulinux-simple-bdcf1234-abcd-ef12-34ab-cdef1234abcdef' {
savedefault
load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_gpt
insmod cryptodisk
insmod luks
insmod gcry_rijndael
insmod gcry_rijndael
insmod gcry_sha256
insmod ext2
cryptomount -u 1234abcdef1234abcdef1234abcdef
set root='cryptouuid/1234abcdef1234abcdef1234abcdef'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint='cryptouuid/1234abcdef1234abcdef1234abcdef' bdcf1234-abcd-ef12-34ab-cdef1234abcdef
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root bdcf1234-abcd-ef12-34ab-cdef1234abcdef
fi
linux /boot/vmlinuz-6.6-x86_64 root=UUID=bdcf1234-abcd-ef12-34ab-cdef1234abcdef rw quiet cryptdevice=UUID=bdcf1234-abcd-ef12-34ab-cdef1234abcdef:luks-bdcf1234-abcd-ef12-34ab-cdef1234abcdef root=/dev/mapper/luks-bdcf1234-abcd-ef12-34ab-cdef1234abcdef splash apparmor=1 security=apparmor udev.log_priority=3
initrd /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.6-x86_64.img
}Look out for every insmod usage like part_gpt, part_msdos, efi_gop etc.
Also search for the first menuentry 'Manjaro Linux' entry. Copy the whole menuentry into an editor (incl. insmod gzio, insmod luks etc). They all will need to be included in the core image, otherwise the system won't be able to decrypt your LUKS partition and thus render stuck in the GRUB boot.
Now we need to create a tarball memdisk.tar containing our keymap:
sudo grub-kbdcomp -o de.gkb de
sudo tar cf memdisk.tar de.gkbWith this we can create a configuration early-grub.cfg file to be used in the GRUB core image. It leverages the same format as the regular /boot/grub/grub.cfg, but needs only a few lines to find the main config file on the boot partition. Create the early-grub.cfg in an editor:
set root=(memdisk)
set prefix=($root)/
terminal_input at_keyboard
keymap /de.gkb
cryptomount -u 1234abcdef1234abcdef1234abcdef
set root='cryptouuid/1234abcdef1234abcdef1234abcdef'
set prefix=($root)/grub
configfile grub.cfgChange the line keymap /de.gkb to match your specific keymap. Also exchange the lines cryptomount -u 1234abcde... and set root='cryptouuid/1234a... with the values copied into the editor from the Manjaro menuentry.
Finally we can generate the core.img listing all of the modules from our Manjaro menuentry, along with any modules used in the early-grub.cfg. So from the latter we need memdisk, tar, at_keyboard, keylayout and configfile. From the debian docs:
Don’t use grub-install here, as we need to pass an early configuration and a ramdisk. Instead, use grub-mkimage(1) with suitable image file name, format, and module list.
Let's craft the grub-mkimage command:
sudo grub-mkimage -c early-grub.cfg -o "/boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi" -O x86_64-efi -d /usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi/ -m memdisk.tar part_gpt part_msdos efi_gop efi_uga crypto cryptodisk luks gcry_rijndael gcry_sha256 diskfilter gzio ext2 fat memdisk tar at_keyboard usb_keyboard uhci ehci ahci keylayouts configfileHere https://cryptsetup-team.pages.debian.net/cryptsetup/encrypted-boot.html#using-a-custom-keyboard-layout they have a hint
(Replace with ahci with a suitable module if the drive holding /boot isn’t a SATA drive supporting AHCI. Also, replace ext2 with a file system driver suitable for /boot if the file system isn’t ext2, ext3 or ext4.)
and they are using uhci ehci ahci and since our efi mounted at /boot/efi is using FAT32, we should add fat also (according to this so answer).
I accidentilly hit the UEFI OS instead of the manjaro partition in the boot menu - and WOOOW: my machine started again!
So why not simply change boot order using efibootmgr:
# Show boot order
efibootmgr
# Change boot order
efibootmgr -o 0001,0000,0002But this would only be the fallback bootloader, see https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/565615/efi-boot-bootx64-efi-vs-efi-ubuntu-grubx64-efi-vs-boot-grub-x86-64-efi-gru/571173#571173
Finally our new keymap is working as expected and it is possible to decrypt the encrypted LUKS partition.
sudo grub-mkstandalone -d /usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi/ -O x86_64-efi --compress="xz" --modules="part_gpt part_msdos crypto cryptodisk luks disk diskfilter lvm" --fonts="unicode" -o "/boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi" "boot/grub/grub.cfg=/tmp/grub.cfg" "boot/grub/de.gkb=/tmp/de.gkb"Now a strange grub> command prompt pops up.
https://forum.manjaro.org/t/a-strange-grub-prompt-at-boot/126330
I managed to repair this by re-installing grub using a Linux live distro (Manjaro USB) and manjaro-chroot -a, decrypting and mounting the LUKS partitions beforehand:
# Show which partitions are available (here nvme0n1p6 and nvme0n1p4(efi partition))
lsblk -f
# decrypt and mount LUKS encrypted partitions
su
cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/nvme0n1p2 nvme0n1p6_crypt
mount /dev/mapper/nvme0n1p2_crypt /mnt
mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot/efi
manjaro-chroot /mnt
# Ignore cannot find a GRUB drive for /dev/sda1 errors, this is only your USB live distro
sudo manjaro-chroot -a
grub-probe: error: cannot find a GRUB drive for /dev/sda1. Check your device.map.
# Reinstall grub
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=manjaro --recheck
# Update grub configuration
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg efibootmgr -c -L "Manjaro" -d /dev/nvme0n1p1 -l '\EFI\manjaro\grubx64.efi'The following DIDN'T work for me and rendered my system hanging in GRUB command line on bootup:
grub> ...
https://superuser.com/questions/974833/change-the-keyboard-layout-of-grub-in-stage-1
Here we will create a german layout for GRUB:
Change line GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT=console in /etc/default/grub to:
# to
GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT=at_keyboardAdd the following lines to /etc/grub.d/40_custom:
insmod keylayouts
keymap /boot/grub/de.gkbRun the following to add a german GRUB layout
sudo grub-kbdcomp -o /tmp/de.gkb deFinally we need to add the german GRUB layout to grub-mkstandalone. Beware to tailor the -o "/boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi" to your distribution (instead of Manjaro it might be linux or others):
sudo grub-mkstandalone -d /usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi/ -O x86_64-efi --compress="xz" --modules="part_gpt part_msdos crypto cryptodisk luks disk diskfilter lvm" --fonts="unicode" -o "/boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi" "boot/grub/grub.cfg=/tmp/grub.cfg" "boot/grub/de.gkb=/tmp/de.gkb"Now bootup and try to use your new GRUB key layout :)
Finding a good enough laptop, that is suitable for Linux is really the hard part of the whole story! Especially, if you're coming from a Mac Book Pro. These are so incredibly good, that you need to dig deep into the hardware landscape.
I already ordered and returned the Schenker Vision Pro 16 for various reasons (see TBD). But I really like the company! They are so incredibly open to the community, just look at their Reddit subgroup. Or the sister company Tuxedo, which crafts Linux-ready Laptops based on the Schenker hardware... wow. I'm utterly impressed!
So I didn't really give up on them - and that might come to a good end: https://www.reddit.com/r/XMG_gg/comments/18wrz0c/news_xmg_roadmap_2024_new_laptops_from_xmg_and/ Because at CES a great Laptpop has been announced: the XMG Focus 15 2024. Currently unavailable, this thing is undergoing a complete makeover and I'm so exited!
News from reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/XMG_gg/comments/1ax7uty/news_xmg_roadmap_2024_xmg_neo_16_xmg_fusion_15/
Here is also some new info: https://bestware.com/en/news/xmg-fusion-15-e24-and-core-15-m24
"XMG CORE 15 has the same connectivity options: the Thunderbolt 4 port is substituted with a USB-C 3.2 Gen2 port, which is also capable of PowerDelivery and DisplayPort, but linked to the integrated AMD graphics unit. However, the laptop also offers an additional Mini DisplayPort 1.4 with dGPU connection."
Luckily the XMG Core will have a Thunderbold port wired to the internal GPU, thus you can run the system fully in iGPU only mode - even if you connect external screens!
Since I currently run a Lenovo Thinkpad P1 Gen 6, I searched for it - and there are lots of suggestions:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Lenovo_ThinkPad_P1
Especially for the graphics, there is a crucial point:
There are two difficulties with configuring graphics on ThinkPad P1: there is no "integrated graphics only" option in the BIOS, and the external display ports (HDMI, etc.) are wired into the NVIDIA chip.
I already encountered that I can't use my HDMI or Thunderbold 4 ports for display outputs, when on integrated only mode.
Maybe we can change that using Reverse PRIME? https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PRIME#Reverse_PRIME
https://kofler.info/erfahrungsbericht-lenovo-thinkpad-p1-unter-linux/
No need to do anything here, since the Mesa drivers are already installed - they are developed as OpenSource drivers by AMD and should work OOTB.
https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/Configure_Graphics_Cards
For me the command foo didn't work as expected:
sudo mhwd -a pci nonfree 0300
> Using config 'video-nvidia' for device: 0000:2d:00.0 (0300:10de:2504) Display controller nVidia Corporation GA106 [GeForce RTX 3060 Lite Hash Rate]
> Installing video-nvidia...
Sourcing /etc/mhwd-x86_64.conf
Has lib32 support: true
Sourcing /var/lib/mhwd/db/pci/graphic_drivers/nvidia/MHWDCONFIG
Processing classid: 0300
Sourcing /var/lib/mhwd/scripts/include/0300
Processing classid: 0302
:: Synchronizing package databases...
core downloading...
extra downloading...
multilib downloading...
error: target not found: linux65-nvidia
Error: pacman failed!
Error: script failed!So I used the package manager to install the matching nvidia driver for my kernel version.
List your kernel version using mhwd-kernel -li:
Currently running: 6.6.19-1-MANJARO (linux66)
The following kernels are installed in your system:
* linux65
* linux66Now install the linux66-nvidia package using pamac. Also nvidia-settings comes in handy as a GUI for your Nvidia card's settings, temperature etc.
Check before you buy! If you can disable the dGPU for longer battery life and still be able to use external displays.
Sadly it seems that my Thinkpad P1 has hard-wired USB-C/Thunderbold and HDMI ports to the NVIDIA dGPU :(
https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/yv9viy/thinkpad_p1_gen_5_with_nvidia_disabled_external
https://forum.manjaro.org/t/more-tools-for-optimus-laptops-are-now-available/148609 (https://gitlab.com/asus-linux/supergfxctl)
There are multiple options like PRIME etc. But what I heard the best about is envycontrol: https://github.com/bayasdev/envycontrol
Install envycontrol via AUR and then run:
sudo envycontrol -s integratedYou need to reboot afterwards.
There are a multitude of options available: https://github.com/bayasdev/envycontrol?tab=readme-ov-file#some-examples
Especially, there are options like:
--coolbits XY: Coolbits support for GPU overclocking (not relevant for me :) )--rtd3: PCI-Express Runtime D3 (RTD3) Power Management support for Turing and later--force-comp(force composition pipeline): which can be used to prevent tearing on external screens https://github.com/Askannz/nvidia-force-comp-pipeline
For more info check out the envycontrol FAQ https://github.com/bayasdev/envycontrol/wiki/Frequently-Asked-Questions
If you want to revert anything envycontrol configured, run:
sudo envycontrol --resetBUT the best: envycontrol works together with the GNOME profile selector https://github.com/LorenzoMorelli/GPU_profile_selector and we get a cool GUI switcher integrated into the GNOME settings bar.
For this to work, you need to install the extension (when not already selected as a optional dependency of envycontrol):
pamac install gnome-shell-extension-gpu-profile-selectorFinally we also need to activate the extension. According to https://itsfoss.com/gnome-shell-extensions/ there are two ways: Use the website or use the GNOME Extensions Manager App (which is installed on Manjaro by default):
pamac install extension-managerNow fire up the GNOME Extension Manager, search for gpu-profile-selector and install it:
With this your first User-Installed Extension should show up activated in the Extension Manager. Also bar now has the a new entry!!
I had the problem that after clicking on Hybrid in the gnome-shell-extension-gpu-profile-selector UI or running envycontrol -s hybrid and restarting, my system only boots and ends up with a blinking cursor. I had to Ctrl + Alt + F2 or F3 and change the tty to have a working console again. But it seems that the XServer just crashed at boot!
I researched a bit but didn't really find a solution (only uninstalling gnome-shell-extension-gpu-profile-selector & envycontrol, which wasn't what I wanted).
But there's a simple fix: Just reset envycontrol to it's defaults and the laptop will be in Hybrid mode again. Therefore simply run:
sudo envycontrol --resetNow restart and the laptop is in Hybrid mode :)
If you bought one of the following laptops, you have great chances to be able to configure your fans in detail (sometimes including fan curves):
- Lenovo Legion (https://github.com/johnfanv2/LenovoLegionLinux)
- Tuxedo (NOT Schenker! These do have a different Firmware in their Embedded Controller (EC), which differentiates them from Tuxedo Laptops although hardware equivalent https://github.com/tuxedocomputers/tuxedo-control-center)
- Asus Notebook (https://asus-linux.org/)
- Slimbook (https://github.com/Slimbook-Team/slimbookbattery & https://github.com/Slimbook-Team/slimbookintelcontroller)
The cool thing about the latter is, that you can use both fully on other Laptops. Like for me I didn't found anything like these tools for Lenovo Thinkpads (only Vantage for Windows), although they are fully certified for Linux since 2020.
But there are also tools that are vendor agnostic:
- TLP https://github.com/linrunner/TLP - uses
powertop --autotunefor example, see https://linrunner.de/tlp/introduction.html - https://itsfoss.com/cpufreq-ubuntu/
- https://github.com/konkor/cpufreq
The UI tool https://github.com/zocker-160/thinkfan-ui (not dependant nor related to the thinkfan package!) makes monitoring CPU temps and fan speed levels a breeze:
pamac install thinkfan-uiAlso you can override the fan speed levels yourself and get your machine silent for some time (but be aware, that it might overheat without further tooling and configuration!)-
In some deep subreddit thread I found: https://github.com/AdnanHodzic/auto-cpufreq
Which might be the tool I was searching for! It even hit 2.x not long ago: https://foolcontrol.org/?p=4603 and now features a GUI too. (there's also an intro post to the original tool release on 2020: https://foolcontrol.org/?p=3124)
There's also a great introductory video on Youtube by the creator: https://youtu.be/SPGpkZ0AZVU?feature=shared
One of the problems with Linux today on laptops is that the CPU will run in an unoptimized manner which will negatively impact battery life. For example, the CPU may run using the "performance" governor with turbo boost enabled regardless of whether it's plugged into a power outlet or not.
Install via
sudo pamac install auto-cpufreqAs stated in the docs https://github.com/AdnanHodzic/auto-cpufreq?tab=readme-ov-file#aur-package-archmanjaro-linux we should also disable the Gnome Power Profiles daemon:
The GNOME Power Profiles daemon is automatically disabled by auto-cpufreq-installer due to it's conflict with auto-cpufreq.service. However, this doesn't happen with AUR installs, which can lead to problems (e.g., #463) if not masked manually.
So we should mask the power-profiles-daemon via:
sudo systemctl mask power-profiles-daemon.serviceTestdrive it via sudo auto-cpufreq --monitor
$ sudo auto-cpufreq --monitor
Note: You can quit monitor mode by pressing "ctrl+c"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linux distro: Manjaro Linux 23.1.4 Vulcan
Linux kernel: 6.6.19-1-MANJARO
Processor: 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-13800H
Cores: 20
Architecture: x86_64
Driver: intel_pstate
------------------------------ Current CPU stats ------------------------------
CPU max frequency: 5000 MHz
CPU min frequency: 400 MHz
Core Usage Temperature Frequency
CPU0 9.9% 58 °C 4911 MHz
CPU1 13.0% 58 °C 4616 MHz
CPU2 8.1% 59 °C 2452 MHz
CPU3 0.0% 59 °C 3478 MHz
CPU4 4.0% 58 °C 3908 MHz
CPU5 3.0% 58 °C 1440 MHz
CPU6 6.9% 62 °C 3395 MHz
CPU7 3.0% 62 °C 3739 MHz
CPU8 5.0% 60 °C 3213 MHz
CPU9 1.0% 60 °C 400 MHz
CPU10 3.0% 58 °C 587 MHz
CPU11 3.0% 58 °C 2576 MHz
CPU12 5.0% 62 °C 3393 MHz
CPU13 3.9% 62 °C 2461 MHz
CPU14 3.0% 62 °C 3602 MHz
CPU15 2.0% 62 °C 3668 MHz
CPU16 2.0% 59 °C 3673 MHz
CPU17 1.0% 59 °C 400 MHz
CPU18 1.0% 59 °C 2800 MHz
CPU19 2.0% 59 °C 1402 MHz
CPU fan speed: 2335 RPM
---------------------------- CPU frequency scaling ----------------------------
Battery is: charging
Currently using: performance governor
Suggesting use of "performance" governor
Total CPU usage: 2.3 %
Total system load: 2.40
Average temp. of all cores: 59.70 °C
Load optimal (load average: 2.40, 2.62, 2.90)
suggesting to set turbo boost: on
Currently turbo boost is: on
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you already installed slimbookbattery, you will be warned that TLP https://github.com/linrunner/TLP. You can remove both via sudo pamac remove --orphans slimbookbattery
...
----------------------------------- Warning -----------------------------------
Detected you are running a TLP service!
This daemon might interfere with auto-cpufreq which can lead to unexpected results.
We strongly encourage you to remove TLP unless you really know what you are doing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...
$ sudo pamac remove --orphans slimbookbattery--orphans should also delete tlp and tlp-rdw, which is installed by slimbookbattery.
We should also enable the daemon for autostart:
Important notice: the daemon installer provided does not work, instead run the following command:
systemctl enable --now auto-cpufreq
To view live log, run:
auto-cpufreq --statsThere's also a new UI in 2.x. Find it in the Gnome activities menu:
Now starting it, you have some options - but the UI is mostly useful to monitor the temps & clock speeds of your CPU(s).
There is a button to do a CPU Governor Override, but this did not work on my Thinkpad P1 Gen 6. Because I wanted my laptop to be silent also when the powercord was plugged in. But there's a solution: run sudo auto-cpufreq --force powersave on the command line:
sudo auto-cpufreq --force powersave
Set governor override to powersaveNow my laptop seems to be finally silent (running in the lowest RPM level 1 according to thinkfan UI):
I like to tinker and play with the tools once I got to know them, so I wanted to test, what the Thinkpad would do, if I switched to the Hybrid mode in envycontrol (on my machine, only this option doesn't work through the Gnome UI extension or even using envycontrol -s hybrid. But what works for me is to simply reset envycontrol, which also means Hybrid via envycontrol --reset`).
What happend now really amazed me!! After restarting my Thinkpad, fans got a little louder and I opted for sudo auto-cpufreq --force powersave for auto-cpufreq. AND THIS was the GAMECHANGER: The system went 10 degrees DOWN! From average around 52 Celsius to 42! WITH the Nvidia card prepared to step in. Also the Nvidia Card itself got much cooler, only 37 Celsius instead of 40something with Integrated!
fans also STOPPED from time to time now!
The temporarily installed mission-center shows (you have to be careful, since it has a relatively high CPU load itself and thus changes the gauged temps!), that the integrated graphics are used in Hybrid mode with powersave Governor:
After also pluggin in my external screen (which is hard-wired to the discrete NVidia graphics card), I get a silent setup running smootly under 50 Celcius and thus in fan level 1!
This means an external monitor (or presentation beamer) only uses 6-7 Celcius more of our thermal budget - which is now not a problem anymore, since we're starting from 42 Celsius!
I'm really satisfied now finally. This was what I was searching for! Support for external screens without a much to loudly fan!
There are a multitude of options to change your fan control speeds, if your laptop goes crazy: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/fan_speed_control
https://www.baeldung.com/linux/control-fan-speed
https://www.libe.net/lueftersteuerung-debian
Install lm_sensors
sudo pamac install lm_sensorsSee https://wiki.ubuntuusers.de/Lm_sensors/
Show your Systems fan and thermal configuration via sensors command:
$ sensors
ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:002-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
in0: 0.00 V (min = +0.00 V, max = +0.00 V)
curr1: 0.00 A (max = +0.00 A)
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Package id 0: +61.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 0: +50.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 4: +52.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 8: +53.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 12: +53.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 16: +53.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 20: +53.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 24: +55.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 25: +55.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 26: +55.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 27: +55.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 28: +54.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 29: +54.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 30: +54.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 31: +54.0°C (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
thinkpad-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
fan1: 2329 RPM
fan2: 2036 RPM
CPU: +56.0°C
GPU: +49.0°C
temp3: +52.0°C
temp4: +40.0°C
temp5: +49.0°C
temp6: +49.0°C
temp7: +50.0°C
temp8: N/A
BAT0-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
in0: 17.52 V
ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:001-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
in0: 0.00 V (min = +0.00 V, max = +0.00 V)
curr1: 3.00 A (max = +0.00 A)
iwlwifi_1-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1: N/A
nvme-pci-0600
Adapter: PCI adapter
Composite: +41.9°C (low = -20.1°C, high = +77.8°C)
(crit = +81.8°C)
Sensor 1: +41.9°C (low = -273.1°C, high = +65261.8°C)
acpitz-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
temp1: +56.0°C https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/fan_speed_control#ThinkPad_laptops
There is a special tool for Thinkpads: https://github.com/vmatare/thinkfan
https://blog.monosoul.dev/2021/10/17/how-to-control-thinkpad-p14s-fan-speed-in-linux/
Thinkpad related: vmatare/thinkfan#58
Note that the thinkfan package installs /usr/lib/modprobe.d/thinkpad_acpi.conf, which contains the following kernel module parameter (so fan control is enabled by default):
options thinkpad_acpi fan_control=1Install thinkfan:
# Install thinkfan
pamac install thinkfan
# Now, load the module
modprobe thinkpad_acpi
# Show config
cat /proc/acpi/ibm/fan
status: enabled
speed: 2341
level: auto
commands: level <level> (<level> is 0-7, auto, disengaged, full-speed)
commands: enable, disable
commands: watchdog <timeout> (<timeout> is 0 (off), 1-120 (seconds))In order to configure thinkfan, use this file as the starting point: /usr/share/doc/thinkfan/examples/thinkfan.yaml
To configure the temperature thresholds, you will need to copy the example configuration file (/usr/share/doc/thinkfan/examples/thinkfan.yaml) to /etc/thinkfan.conf, and modify to taste. This file specifies which sensors to read, and which interface to use to control the fan.
I found this gist of great help:
To specify your system's sensors for thinkfan, run find /sys/devices -type f -name 'temp*_input'.
On my Thinkpad P1 Gen 6 I have the following sensors:
$ find /sys/devices -type f -name 'temp*_input'
/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon6/temp6_input
/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon6/temp3_input
/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon6/temp7_input
/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon6/temp4_input
/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon6/temp8_input
/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon6/temp1_input
/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon6/temp5_input
/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon6/temp2_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp26_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp6_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp33_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp27_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp10_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp30_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp14_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp18_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp28_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp31_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp1_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp29_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp22_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp32_input
/sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon4/temp2_input
/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:06.0/0000:06:00.0/nvme/nvme0/hwmon3/temp1_input
/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:06.0/0000:06:00.0/nvme/nvme0/hwmon3/temp2_input
/sys/devices/virtual/thermal/thermal_zone0/hwmon1/temp1_input
/sys/devices/virtual/thermal/thermal_zone9/hwmon5/temp1_inputBe aware that the path
/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon6/will change - only it's last number, but that will be enough to currupt your thinkfan configuration!
Therefore to prepare the sensors for our thinkfan.conf, we should use the Base path with name-based search configuration method - which should work with all hwmon drivers and is robust against driver load order!
With this configuration method thinkfan will search for the sensors itself. Be sure to only use coretemp instead of coretemp.0 or thinkpad instead of thinkpad_hwmon for example. Otherwise you will end up with error like Could not find a hwmon with this name!
sensors:
# CPU Cores
- hwmon: /sys/devices/platform
name: coretemp # use coretemp instead of actual coretemp.0, which will lead to error: Could not find a hwmon with this name
indices: [1, 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33]
# Chassis
- hwmon: /sys/devices/platform
name: thinkpad # use thinkpad instead of actual thinkpad_hwmon, which will lead to error: Could not find a hwmon with this name
indices: [1, 3, 4, 6, 7] # leave out 2, 5 & 8, since this sensor is always broken and gives: Failed to read temperature(s) from /sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon5/temp8_input: No such device or address
# The SSDs have a stable path with their pci address
# SSD
- hwmon: /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:06.0/0000:06:00.0/nvme/nvme0/hwmon3/temp1_input
- hwmon: /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:06.0/0000:06:00.0/nvme/nvme0/hwmon3/temp2_input
...As you see my SSD also supports using the direct pci address - so we can simply use that!
I left out all the /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/thermal_zone0/hwmon1/ lines - they gave an error like ERROR: /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/thermal_zone9/hwmon5/temp1_input: No such file or directory.
Avoid using nvml option (temperatures read from proprietary nVidia GPU driver). Using nvml prevents the GPU from switching to suspend power state, causing battery drain and high temperatures. (see https://blog.monosoul.dev/2021/10/17/how-to-control-thinkpad-p14s-fan-speed-in-linux/)
For me, these are 10 sensors. If you want to use the advanced fan configuration, you need to keep that in mind for the last configuration step.
If you can live with the 0-7 levels the Thinkpad offers, you can use this method. My fans: & levels: sections look like this:
fans:
- tpacpi: /proc/acpi/ibm/fan
levels:
- [0, 0, 75]
- [1, 74, 80]
- [2, 79, 87]
- [3, 86, 90]
- [7, 89, 255]This is my current configuration for Spring and not so hot temperatures - it works well right now, with the Thinkpad hovering around 62°C with lot's of apps open / Firefox with 200 tabs / kind cluster etc. And only in combination with the auto-cpufreq powersave Governor, NO external screen and envycontrol Hybrid mode! Might change in summer though :)
For the best CPU temp levels, see https://www.avast.com/c-how-to-check-cpu-temperature & What CPU temperature is normal? paragraph
Generally, anything between 40–65°C (or 104–149°F) is considered a safe heat range for a normal workload. While running more intensive apps or games, the normal CPU temp range can increase to between 70–80°C (158–176°F). The rule of thumb is, a bad CPU temp is 80-85°C (176–185°F) or above. There could be a serious problem if you’re reaching this temperature without gaming or running any resource-intensive programs.
This repo has also my fully working thinkfan.yaml ready, if you're interested.
Copy the configuration you just crafted to:
sudo cp ~/thinkfan.yaml /etc/thinkfan.yamlAnd testdrive thinkfan:
sudo thinkfan -nIf you get an error like this, remove the sensor from your thinkfan.conf (e.g. the indices section) and start again (you also need to adjust your sensor counts):
sudo thinkfan -n
ERROR: Lost sensor read_temps_: Failed to read temperature(s) from /sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon6/temp8_input: No such device or addressIf everything runs fine, you can watch thinkfan at work:
Alternatively we can also configure multiple fans in thinkfan: vmatare/thinkfan#153
If you're satisfied with your thinkfan configuration, you can enable the thinkfan service to be there right after restarts:
# without the -n thinkfan will start as a daemon
sudo thinkfan
# enable the thinkfan service
sudo systemctl enable thinkfan.serviceNow thinkfan should work all the time as we configured it!
Look at the service status from time to time:
$ sudo systemctl status thinkfan.service
Place your right index finger on the fingerprint reader
× thinkfan.service - simple and lightweight fan control program
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/thinkfan.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
Drop-In: /etc/systemd/system/thinkfan.service.d
└─override.conf
Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Fri 2024-04-05 10:26:11 CEST; 36s ago
Duration: 27.015s
Process: 996 ExecStart=/usr/bin/thinkfan $THINKFAN_ARGS (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 1035 (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
CPU: 45ms
Apr 05 10:25:44 pikepad systemd[1]: Starting simple and lightweight fan control program...
Apr 05 10:25:44 pikepad thinkfan[996]: Daemon PID: 1035
Apr 05 10:25:44 pikepad thinkfan[1035]: Temperatures(bias): 71(0), 62(0), 66(0), 71(0), 62(0), 67(0), 67(0), 67(0), 67(0), 65(0), 65(0), 65(0), 65(0), 65(0), 60(0), 64(0), 56(0), 57(0), 43(0), 56(0), 53(0), 54(0), 43(0), 43(0) -> >
Apr 05 10:25:44 pikepad systemd[1]: Started simple and lightweight fan control program.
Apr 05 10:26:11 pikepad thinkfan[1035]: ERROR: Lost sensor read_temps_: Failed to read temperature(s) from /sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_hwmon/hwmon/hwmon6/temp2_input: No such device or address
Apr 05 10:26:11 pikepad systemd[1]: thinkfan.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Apr 05 10:26:11 pikepad systemd[1]: thinkfan.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.Maybe there is a sensor not readable and you need to revamp your thinkfan.yaml. Then restart the service:
sudo cp ~/thinkfan.yaml /etc/thinkfan.yaml
sudo systemctl start thinkfan.service Now the thinkfan service should work like a charme:
● thinkfan.service - simple and lightweight fan control program
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/thinkfan.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
Drop-In: /etc/systemd/system/thinkfan.service.d
└─override.conf
Active: active (running) since Fri 2024-04-05 11:08:36 CEST; 50s ago
Process: 1138 ExecStart=/usr/bin/thinkfan $THINKFAN_ARGS (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 1149 (thinkfan)
Tasks: 1 (limit: 115413)
Memory: 1.7M (peak: 4.1M)
CPU: 48ms
CGroup: /system.slice/thinkfan.service
└─1149 /usr/bin/thinkfan -b0
Apr 05 11:08:36 pikepad systemd[1]: Starting simple and lightweight fan control program...
Apr 05 11:08:36 pikepad thinkfan[1138]: Daemon PID: 1149
Apr 05 11:08:36 pikepad systemd[1]: Started simple and lightweight fan control program.
Apr 05 11:08:36 pikepad thinkfan[1149]: Temperatures(bias): 66(0), 73(0), 61(0), 73(0), 59(0), 63(0), 63(0), 63(0), 63(0), 62(0), 61(0), 61(0), 61(0), 61(0), 63(0), 59(0), 54(0), 50(0), 51(0), 53(0), 48(0), 48(0) -> Fans: level 0And stay at level 0 for most of the time (which was my goal in the first place)!
You don't necessarily need this paragraph - only if you want to configure thinkfan even more finegrained
My problem was, that the often mentioned - tpacpi: /proc/acpi/ibm/fan doesn't work for the more advanced configuration, where we want to change the fan speed from 0 - 255:
sudo thinkfan -n
ERROR: /etc/thinkfan.conf:
Your highest fan level is 255, but fan levels greater than 7 are not supported by thinkpad_acpiBut there's help. First let's see an overview of our laptop's PWM sensors via pwmconfig list:
$ sudo pwmconfig list
# pwmconfig version 3.6.0+git
This program will search your sensors for pulse width modulation (pwm)
controls, and test each one to see if it controls a fan on
your motherboard. Note that many motherboards do not have pwm
circuitry installed, even if your sensor chip supports pwm.
We will attempt to briefly stop each fan using the pwm controls.
The program will attempt to restore each fan to full speed
after testing. However, it is ** very important ** that you
physically verify that the fans have been to full speed
after the program has completed.
Found the following devices:
hwmon0 is AC
hwmon1 is acpitz
hwmon2 is BAT0
hwmon3 is nvme
hwmon4 is iwlwifi_1
hwmon5 is coretemp
hwmon6 is thinkpad
hwmon7 is ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:001
hwmon8 is ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:002
Found the following PWM controls:
hwmon6/pwm1 current value: 255
hwmon6/pwm1 is currently setup for automatic speed control.The crucial lines here are: Found the following PWM controls: hwmon6/pwm1 current value: 255. From this we can derive the full path to the pwm1 file needed: /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon6/pwm1.
Now we need to configure this PWM device as the fans section in thinkfan.conf:
fans:
# hwmon: Full path to a PWM file
# ==============================
# Also subject to the potential problem with driver load order (see above)
- hwmon: /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon6/pwm1Remember that we have 10 sensors? Well we therefore need 10 temperature entries (altough we only want to configure the speed levels more granularly):
levels:
- speed: 0
upper_limit: [50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50]
- speed: 30
lower_limit: [50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50]
upper_limit: [56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56]
- speed: 70
lower_limit: [56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56]
upper_limit: [65, 65, 65, 65, 65, 65, 65, 65, 65, 65]
- speed: 160
lower_limit: [65, 65, 65, 65, 65, 65, 65, 65, 65, 65]
upper_limit: [75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75]
- speed: 255
lower_limit: [75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75]But sadly on my Thinkpad P1 Gen 6 I could change the lowest fan speed RPM to around 1000 - which would have been pretty nice!
Maybe these guys have something for me: vmatare/thinkfan#58 - time will tell :D
Getting your laptop silent No.3: Combining Hybrid Mode, auto-cpufreq & Fancontrol with thinkfan service for ultimate silence
After some more testing I observed that I maybe was wrong in analysing modern thermal throttling and energy saving tactics of CPUs.
I thought that eliminating the graphics card, must lead to a colder laptop: I was wrong! Hybrid mode is much cooler (see above)
The temperatures are really low right now in completely fanless setup - around 55 Degrees:
55 Degrees seems to be related no non-battery-charging situations, whereas the 62 Degress occur, when the battery is charging.
https://forum.manjaro.org/t/how-to-enable-wayland-touch-gestures-on-x11/141723
https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/4033/x11-gestures/
https://github.com/JoseExposito/gnome-shell-extension-x11gestures
Also for more finegrained settings, search for Touche settings in your Activities:
This is one of the best articles I know if you want to dive into hardware considerations: https://www.reddit.com/r/XMG_gg/comments/18uf17w/psa_local_ai_acceleration_in_xmg_schenker_laptops/
Up until I found it I really thought, my whole Mac-to-Linux project might fail since LLMs just only run great on a Mac with it's unified architecture.
But... :)
Now what I really really love about Schenker / XMG / Tuxedo: they started a list for brand-agnostic performance comparison of CPU NPUs:
We would like to maintain a brand-agnostic performance comparison between the AI-acceleration capabilities of current CPU platforms. As a starter, we use the metric “TOPS” (TeraOPS, understood as “trillion operations per second”) as a performance indicator. Later, we may also add industry-standard benchmark scores.
The list can be found here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vTYc3HUjlRoUr96ilnb1YxWC2r4OSeyUltiNLzgWTGI3Bnrq-NzQwA7ZHAPKfiCVF1RdPywM5F_h4bl/pubhtml?utm_source=pocket_saves
AMD released a driver just in January 2024, which sadly is not part of the official Kernel (yet):
https://www.phoronix.com/news/AMD-XDNA-Linux-Driver-Ryzen-AI
https://www.reddit.com/r/XMG_gg/comments/18h093b/schenker_vision_pro_16_m23_fan_noise/
There's control center under Windows, that writes fan configuration to the EC-Firmware (Embedded Controller Firmware):
There you can configure the fan profiles.
BIOS Updates Schenker Vision Pro: https://download.schenker-tech.de/package/schenker-vision-14-16-16-pro-m23-svs14m23-svs16m23-svs16pm23/
This seems to be the exact difference to the TUXEDO computers - see https://www.sagrland.de/2021/08/21/schenker-vision-14-tuxedo-infinitybook-pro-14-gen6-erster-eindruck/
Graphical UIs for CPU temperature monitoring are hard to find for Linux interestingly. I used the old psensor, installed via pamac install psensor:
https://www.tecmint.com/psensor-monitors-hardware-temperature-in-linux/
Here's a thread where Schenker/XMG states, that if the laptop only runs for 2,5 hours on battery and is the Nvidia card is on all the time.
There's also a paragraph & GUIDE in the official FAQ:
https://www.xmg.gg/faq/troubleshooting/#power-consumption-guide
So we should maybe try to deactivate the Nvidia card?
https://www.baeldung.com/linux/nvidia-gpu-enable-disable & https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/654075/how-can-i-disable-and-later-re-enable-one-of-my-nvidia-gpus
Show your available graphic cards via lspci -k | grep -A 2 -E '(3D|VGA)':
$ lspci -k | grep -A 2 -E '(3D|VGA)'
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Raptor Lake-P [Iris Xe Graphics] (rev 04)
DeviceName: Onboard - Video
Subsystem: Tongfang Hongkong Limited Raptor Lake-P [Iris Xe Graphics]
--
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation AD107M [GeForce RTX 4060 Max-Q / Mobile] (rev a1)
Subsystem: Tongfang Hongkong Limited AD107M [GeForce RTX 4060 Max-Q / Mobile]
Kernel driver in use: nvidiaNow disable the NVidia card on the second slot:
$ sudo nvidia-smi --id 0000:01:00.0 --persistence-mode 0
$ sudo nvidia-smi drain --pciid 0000:01:00.0 --modify 1
``
Activate it again:
```shell
$ sudo nvidia-smi drain --pciid 0000:01:00.0 --modify 0https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-install-and-remove-packages-arch-linux/
Optional dependencies in Manjaro's pamac:
https://forum.manjaro.org/t/pamac-how-to-install-all-optional-dependencies/59041/3
https://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/1z9y3l/install_optional_dependencies/
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/docker
https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/linux-postinstall/#manage-docker-as-a-non-root-user
- Restoring (migrating) iOS Photos library