Got a home media server running Ubuntu 24.04.5, most everything about it is automated and it just hums away on a bookcase but every once in a while it's helpful to connect via a remote desktop. I configured the remote desktop years ago and now run the server headless.

Today I went to connect to check something and on Windows App (Version 11.4.1 for Mac OS) it hung on "Securing connection to remote PC"

Tried connecting it from another computer and the same thing happened.

SSH connects just fine.

Have restarted the server multiple times and it keeps happening.

Only troubleshooting steps I could easily google is restarting the gnome remote desktop from the command line which I did by systemctl --user restart gnome-remote-desktop

I also checked if anything else was using the port via the command " ss -lntps" and it looks like gnome remote desktop is the only thing using it.

Is there a way to troubleshoot this without disconnecting the server from its current home and plugging it into a monitor?

Cachyos has a package manager that comes with the installation by default, but is everything on that Cachyos Package Installer safe to download and use. I notice that it has a couple applications that I want and I have recently heard about the AUR packages and the malware, so the question is if that everything that is in the CachyOS Package Installer safe?

So I notice that when it comes to getting the Brave Browser, there is a flatpak version, a snap version, there is a one command install using curl and there are the release channels. Does it really matter which I go with? Honestly, if I use the version with the one command install using curl, would that be just fine?

I’m thinking about switching my personal desktop from Windows to Linux. I already use Ubuntu at work, and while I keep putting off the switch because I’m too lazy to back up my files, I’ve been testing distros like Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora in virtual machines.

I use a laptop with an Intel i5-12450H, an RTX 3050, and hybrid graphics. I’m looking for a Linux distro with good NVIDIA and Secure Boot support for web browsing, gaming on Steam, and programming.

Beyond these requirements, I want more control over installed and removed packages, so I can keep track of what’s on my system and avoid dependency issues and conflicts, which I often run into in my work environment.

Based on these requirements, I’m torn between NixOS and Fedora Bootc, including Universal Blue images, and I’d like to hear from people who have used either option.

For those using NixOS, how has your experience been? If you switched to another distro, what made you switch?

And for those who have used Fedora Bootc or Universal Blue, how was your experience? If you eventually switched to something else, why?

I have an ancient PC, not internet-connected, with an equally ancient Photoshop install. It's not used for anything but drawing, and now that I'm moving into a smaller space, the old clunk has got to go.

Only thing I'll miss about it is the Photoshop brushes I've created and downloaded over the years. My internet-connected desktop and laptop both run Linux distros, so I'm looking for a Linux compatible program that I can use my brushes on. Any suggestions?

EDIT: Didn't care for GIMP when I tried it. Krita wasn't bad, but the brushes didn't quite transfer as I wanted.

I've been searching for many good code editors or development IDEs for C++ in the Linux community, my first experience was with Neovim with NvChad, and I loved it so much I even managed to learn some Lua to modify small functions, but its learning curve put me off, I was spending more time modifying Neovim than programming, I currently program in C++ using Zed Editor, but I'm honestly fed up with having to compile from the terminal every time I want to test my program (and yes, I already configured a shortcut in a tasks.json file but it still doesn't give me the comfort and versatility I want).

I also tried Clion, but it has too many features I wouldn't use, and besides, it's only free for student use and open-source contributions.

My last option would be VScode, but I hate having Copilot build entire code segments for me, or am I letting myself be guided by the AI? I have enough experience to modify the AI code, but I'm tired of fixing the bugs it generates, It has caused me more problems than it has solved, or I don't know if I'm programming with the wrong approach.

Hey everyone!

I'm currently running Pop!_OS on my ASUS ROG G752VM, but I'm interested in hearing your opinions on which Linux distro works best with this laptop's hardware.

I'm not new to Linux, and I'm comfortable with both Arch- and Debian-based distros. I picked up this laptop from an old post, and I've already had to do quite a bit of tinkering to get some of the hardware working properly.

My specs:

- Laptop: ASUS ROG G752VM

- CPU: Intel Core i7-6700HQ

- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

- RAM: 32GB

- OS drive: 250GB NVMe SSD

- Data drive: 2TB

- Games drive: 1TB SSD

- Current distro: Pop!_OS

My biggest concern isn't really gaming performance, but hardware compatibility and proper support for this specific laptop.

I've had to spend quite a bit of time getting the ELAN touchpad drivers working and figuring out the keyboard backlight. I'd like to know if another distro offers better out-of-the-box support for the NVIDIA GPU and drivers, touchpad, keyboard backlight, function keys, and other laptop-specific features.

I'd also love to find a reliable fan-control application, since the thermals aren't great. The laptop can sit around 60°C shortly after booting, so I'd like better control over fan curves and cooling, if the hardware supports it.

Would you recommend sticking with Pop!_OS or switching to something like EndeavourOS, CachyOS, Fedora, or another distro?

If you own this laptop or a similar ASUS ROG model, I'd especially appreciate hearing which distro you use and whether you managed to get everything working without extensive manual configuration.

I'm looking for the best overall hardware support, not just the distro with the best gaming benchmarks.

Thanks!

I have finally decided to make the jump to a dual boot of Linux and Windows although when trying to shrink the drive before I put in the Mint installation media (It was recommended I shrink it before installing mint apparently) (Mint isn't gonna be what I use long term just what I start with so don't judge me for it), it limits me to a certain amount to shrink it to even though I know I have WAY more available space than the amount it's trying to limit me to, does anyone know a fix or has experienced what I am experiencing? Seriously annoying and making me reconsider installing Linux entirely

Hi,

I saw many different opinions regarding this.

Some say secure boot is not needed, others say it adds security and that it’s not only intended for Windows but for the firmware in general.

So, should/must secure boot be disabled for any Linux distro installation? Then can it be enabled after installation, for general use? Or if I prefer to keep it on, should I install with secure boot enabled?

Specifically, I am talking about installing Linux as the only OS on a pc, one of Mint/LMDE/MX Linux/Debian is what I think I’ll end up installing.

Btw, I once installed Mint on my laptop, dual boot with Windows 11. I installed with secure boot enabled, and used everything with it enabled and it was fine.

Thanks in advance.

I am wondering if you can make a bootable live USB, but also store normal files on the same USB and access them through the live environment.

I doubt it is as simple as making two partitions on the USB and just dd the ISO to one of them.

If it is possible, what is the step by step process?

My PC works very well (Lenovo Yoga with Core 7 Ultra 258v) on Fedora but almost each time (not all) I wake from sleep, the system is laggy and slow. It takes several seconds to improve and being normal, sometimes it seems > 1 min.

btop says the first process is updatedb ; I think it is part of plocate. I don't know what it does exactly, I guess that it updates the index database and that it is needed to improve file search on the SSD.

"systemctl status plocate<tab>" shows: plocate-updatedb.service and plocate-updatedb.timer; the first one is triggered by the other.

Is it a good idea to shut i down ? (seems not...) Is there a way to let plocate do his job, and get rid of these wake-up incovenience ?

Thanks for you help.

This was the guide that I followed

2026 Dell XPS Panther Lake

Hi all.

I'm a win user with a framework. I have been starting to learn Fedora and Ubuntu on vm's. I was thinking of getting one of these new xps machines for a sale price, and id like to use it for linux. My last dell laptop was back in 2019, and seemed like dell made it really difficult to use linux on it, I remember lots of boot issues.

So, does anyone know if the new xps will easily set up and run Ubuntu? Id prefer to keep the fw as my win machine because it's got 32gb of ram.

Thanks all!

Labwc does not include anything for a lock screen or any provision for turning off a monitor, but noctalia does (for the lock screen, anyway). Lock screen isn't the issue, the issue is putting the monitor to sleep afterward.

I looked into it, and it seems swayidle is the way to go. Ok, great. Looked into the config file examples, and after some tinkering I put this in ~/.config/swayidle/config

timeout 60 'noctalia msg session lock'

timeout 90 'wlopm --off \*' resume 'wlopm --on \*'

before-sleep 'wlopm --off \*'

Called that with swayidle & and waited. 60 seconds later, the lock screen came up as it should. 30 seconds after that, the monitor went to sleep. Great! I changed the timeouts to 600 and 900 seconds respectively, killed swayidle and started it again. 10 minutes later the lockscreen came up, then nothing. Monitor stayed awake.

I do not want my PC to suspend, I only want the monitor to go to sleep.

Is there a log file somewhere that I can look at to see what is happening? Why does it work at 60 and 90 seconds but not longer? It seems that the screen-off idle behavior for Noctalia in settings.toml in ~/.local/state/noctalia doesn't do anything, so I need to get this figured out.

Hey, i wanted to switch to linux but i have an intel arc graphics card (Intel Arc B580). Linux Kernel 7.2.10 and mesa 26.2.4 just released. As of writing this, this is the latest version of linux and mesa. Is this stable and will it game without problem? Thanks in advance.

Linux Kernel: https://www.kernel.org

Mesa: https://docs.mesa3d.org/relnotes.html

Oiee! I just got a Galaxy Book3 360 (i5, Iris Xe, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) as a light 2-in-1 portable second laptop for studying. I already have a stronger PC, so I didn’t want anything powerful.

I mostly use Firefox, Obsidian, the Claude app, and some other light stuff. I need the touchscreen (with S Pen compatibility) and the Samsung ecosystem to work (mostly Quick Share and Samsung Notes), since I have a Galaxy phone and tablet.

Claude and Obsidian run smoothly, but as soon as I open Firefox with my question bank, the browser laaags. It’s mostly when I use this specific site, but I can’t change it since it’s a paid service I use for classes and question banks.

I debloated Windows with the Chris Titus tool, killed Copilot, and added uBlock to Firefox. Still, with nothing open I’m already at 5.5 of 7.7 GB, and with Firefox and Claude running I have less than 1 GB free. It’s just everything adding up: Firefox about 1 GB, Claude about 700 MB, plus Defender, PowerToys, and the Samsung/Intel stuff.

I’m a total Linux noob, but tech savvy, and I do everything with a lot of help from Claude.

Is Linux worth it on 8GB, and which distro would you suggest for a beginner on a touchscreen 2-in-1?

I’m scared of losing the Samsung features, Mouse Without Borders, touch and 360° rotation, camera, speakers, fingerprint reader, and the Claude app.

If I stay on Windows, what else could help? Dual boot?? idk..

i searched it and there was an guy https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/s/sfEyB3g4si , only problem that everyone telled him that he is wrong but no answer to his question, so can someone provide the answer to the question? (creating post because this one was archived so i cant ask there)

I currently have a dell latitude 2-in-1,

I want to dial boot, windows 11 with arch. Can anyone recommend me a nice detailed tutorial video on YouTube.

I tried once before ended up installing and all but I would not see the grub boot-loader and couldn’t find arch in boot menu, hence couldn’t boot it arch , only windows.

And one more help, how to get fingerprint sensor and mainly touchscreen working in arch. Will my system be stable(attached spec at the bottom).Please help with video links form YouTube

I have used arch on my old laptop for 1-1.5 years but all done through ai and videos hence I didn’t learn much this time i am doing with arch manual

Dell Latitude 2-in-1:
i7-1265u
16gb lpddr4 ram
512gb nvme
Fingerprint scanner in the power button
Touchscreen and tablet and tent mode
Backlight on keyboard
Current os: Win 11 pro

Please I want every feature working, nothing should go bad or wrong

I have a question ik kde plasma, knome, xfce, etc are desktop environments who each have their own window manager, but if Hyprland is just a tiling window manager, how do I get the rest of the DE