Very slow startup with new installation of Linux Mint with Cinnamon

Mary Stowell

Mary Stowell

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I have an old HP laptop with an Intel(r)Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6400 @200GHz. There is 4 GB memory and a 64-bit operating system. I did a fresh install of Linux Mint 19.3 over a Windows Vista OS. The Linux operating system opened once after the install after a very long time. I haven't been able to start it up since then. I followed the instructions and I verified the IOS file. Should I try installing a different distribution or throw the computer away?
 


G'day Mary, and Welcome to linux .org

Do you have the iso on a thumb drive or a dvd ?....did you take out the dvd/pull the thumb drive or is it still in the machine ?

If you have taken it out, I would attempt to reinstall on the PC again.

Just a thought, can you put the thumb drive in and boot from it without installing ?

We just need a few clues/a bit more info here
 
Hello Mary,

Welcome to Linux.org.

Please post a model number of your computer so that we can get an idea of what specs the computer has.

Do you know what the graphics adapter is Intel or Nvidia.
 
poorguy said:
Hello Mary,

Welcome to Linux.org.

Please post a model number of your computer so that we can get an idea of what specs the computer has.

Do you know what the graphics adapter is Intel or Nvidia.
Click to expand...
It's an HP Pavillion dv7-1273cl with a Nvidia graphics adaptor. I should probably mention that this computer overheats. At one point in the process to get Linux up and running I saw a message that the core temperature had exceeded the threshold. I expect that this could be part of the problem. That message came after I had made repeated attempts to get it to start up.
 
Condobloke said:
G'day Mary, and Welcome to linux .org

Do you have the iso on a thumb drive or a dvd ?....did you take out the dvd/pull the thumb drive or is it still in the machine ?

If you have taken it out, I would attempt to reinstall on the PC again.

Just a thought, can you put the thumb drive in and boot from it without installing ?

We just need a few clues/a bit more info here
Click to expand...

I had the iso on a DVD. I tried to download the program I needed to put the iso on a thumb drive but the download failed. I have tried to start the computer without the DVD in and I have tried to reinstall from the DVD but nothing happens. I overwrote the Vista operating system so I don't know how to proceed. I can try the tumbdrive if I can get the program to download.
 
Mary Stowell said:
It's an HP Pavillion dv7-1273cl with a Nvidia graphics adaptor. I should probably mention that this computer overheats. At one point in the process to get Linux up and running I saw a message that the core temperature had exceeded the threshold. I expect that this could be part of the problem. That message came after I had made repeated attempts to get it to start up.
Click to expand...
Do you know if the machine had an overheating issue prior to installing Linux?
Installing Linux shouldn't be a cause for overheating. Notice the emphasis on "shouldn't". :)
If the machine was starting to overheat with the previous OS I would suspect a mechanical problem.
Overheating can lead to a host of issues.
Very slow startup may be the result of the CPU or graphics chips "throttling down" because they are overheating. Perhaps.
 
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Vrai said:
Do you know if the machine had an overheating issue prior to installing Linux?
Installing Linux shouldn't be a cause for overheating. Notice the emphasis on "shouldn't". :)
If the machine was starting to overheat with the previous OS I would suspect a mechanical problem.
Overheating can a host of issues.
Very slow startup may be the result of the CPU or graphics chips "throttling down" because they are overheating. Perhaps.
Click to expand...
Yes, it was overheating long before I tried to install Linux. I am ready to dump the computer. It won't boot off the DVD not. Thank you for trying to help.
 
Mary Stowell said:
I had the iso on a DVD. I tried to download the program I needed to put the iso on a thumb drive but the download failed. I have tried to start the computer without the DVD in and I have tried to reinstall from the DVD but nothing happens. I overwrote the Vista operating system so I don't know how to proceed. I can try the thumb drive if I can get the program to download.
Click to expand...

Should I try a different distribution of Linux?
 
Mary Stowell said:
Yes, it was overheating long before I tried to install Linux. I am ready to dump the computer. It won't boot off the DVD not. Thank you for trying to help.
Click to expand...

@Vrai is spot on with his analogy in post #6 .


Don't dump the computer yet.

Power on the computer and flip the computer over and look for some vents.

With a flashlight look in through the vents and see if the fan is spinning or not spinning.

It is possible that the vent is plugged up with dust and lint which would make it over heat and not operate properly.

Perhaps you know someone with an air compressor that could blow the vents out and remove any dust and lint.

There is also the possibility that the fan has failed and if that is the case then it would probably be best to purchase a new computer.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
poorguy said:
Don't dump the computer yet.

Power on the computer and flip the computer over and look for some vents.

With a flashlight look in through the vents and see if the fan is spinning or not spinning.

It is possible that the vent is plugged up with dust and lint which would make it over heat and not operate properly.

Perhaps you know someone with an air compressor that could blow the vents out and remove any dust and lint.

There is also the possibility that the fan has failed and if that is the case then it would probably be best to purchase a new computer.

@Vrai is spot on with his analogy in post #6 .
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion! I will try that. I have set the BIOS to run the fan continually.
 
There are other possibilities for the slow start. Mint should run alright on that laptop, so it may very well be that running mint Mate or an even lighter DE. That sometimes was a good working solution on the Mint forums.

Also, be very careful about blowing compressed air into a laptop vent. The air pressure could be too much for the fan and damage it. A couple of short shots from a can of air could be O.K., but an actual air compressor will be way too much.
 
Mary Stowell said:
I should probably mention that this computer overheats
Click to expand...
G'day Mary and welcome.
I too have a HP Laptop and it also overheated. I had other issues involving the software on and took it to a place to have the software issue sorted out. The first thing they did was give it a thorough clean and they told me it had quite a lot of dust in it and the fellow I saw advised me to have it cleaned out periodically, maybe every year or two.
 
jglen490 said:
Also, be very careful about blowing compressed air into a laptop vent.
Click to expand...
It is better to remove the cover totally to expose the board and clean it properly as just blowing air only removes some of the dust that builds up, as the way the air moves through the device there are pockets still of air where dust will settle out and accumulate.
 
jglen490 said:
Also, be very careful about blowing compressed air into a laptop vent. The air pressure could be too much for the fan and damage it. A couple of short shots from a can of air could be O.K., but an actual air compressor will be way too much.
Click to expand...
Most air compressors have an adjustable air output control on them to adjust the amount of air pressure being released from the air outlet.

Please give the benefit that some of us know how to use an air compressor and have some common sense.

Not everyone is a moron.

I've repaired electronics since the days of vacuum tubes and hand wired chassis and have never destroyed any electronics from blowing them out using an air hose from an air compressor.
 
Mary Stowell said:
Should I try a different distribution of Linux?
Click to expand...
Linux Mint is a very fine distribution to install. It seems that many of the more 'experienced' Linux users tend to use some of the more 'lean & mean' distros sans the 'fluff & frills' which may be easier to customize to ones liking. But just about all of the distros have the same underlying capabilities - it's just a matter of how much time and effort one wants to put into it.

I like Linux Mint because 99.8% of the time everything just works. I do my experimentation on several other spare computers. Recently I have been installing various distros to see how well I may like them and to campare to Linux Mint. Thus far I still like Mint the best.
 
Mary Stowell said:
I should probably mention that this computer overheats.
Click to expand...
I have solved overheating of laptops by taking them apart, cleaning out the dust, and replacing the 'thermal pads' on the graphics processor and/or CPU.

With an 'old' laptop it may not be worth hiring someone to do the repair but if you can do it yourself it may well be worth it. And a fun project to boot! :cool:
 
Last night I partly opened the laptop to see if it was dusty. I didn't see much of a problem, however, I was unable to get the rest of the cover off. That would be the cover over the fan. I will try again. I hope to find some instructions from HP.
I was finally able to transfer the ISO file to a thumb drive. I tried to boot it but again nothing happened. There are three UBS ports so I'm not sure which one I should use. Maybe the problem is with the boot order. This is the current BIOS setting:

I would like to thank everyone for trying to help. Thank you.
 

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  • boot order.jpg
    boot order.jpg
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Usb diskette on key/USB Hard Disk should find the thumb drive

It does not matter which usb port you use.
 
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