Hello framework folks. Ive recently received my Framework 16 and I’m having issues getting it to start with Linux Mint. BIOS and setup works just fine, but once it boots it either hangs on the Linux Mint logo, or shows a black screen with a flashing cursor in the top left. The only way I can actually get to the desktop is launching the setup from USB in compatibility mode.
Laptop is AMD Ryzen™ AI 300 Series with a NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5070
OS is Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon 64 bit. Most recent as far as I can tell. Installed from USB.
the only part that isn’t from framework themselves is the SSD, but Ive tried multiple different ones including a fresh out-of-the-box SSD and its the exact same issue. I’m only using 1 SSD idk if that makes a difference.
Any help would be appreciated. Kind of at the end of my rope here.
Get into the BIOS and check the time is correct. It’s known that a wrong time will break Ubuntu booting, and Mint is derived from Ubuntu.
If that doesn’t work, press F2 during the Mint boot phase (i.e. later than the BIOS run) and see if you can get the on-screen boot messages. If you can, take a picture with a camera/phone and post it here.
Time and date are correct. F2 and fn+F2 wont bring up anything at all. Its just a black screen with a flashing cursor. none of the keys do anything. Not a keyboard issue because I can bring the bios just fine. If I press Continue Boot in bios it shows the message “Boot succeeded”
Try Esc on a regular boot to see if that exposes boot messages.
Does Continue Boot from the BIOS actually succeed in booting? It sounds like something is making that claim, but I assume you’d have mentioned if this actually brought up the desktop environment.
Escape during boot did something. Boot messages were all okay except for a red one that read “unknown chipset”. Then it immediately goes to command line linux login for about a second, then to the black screen with flashing cursor.
The “unknown chipset” may be enough to diagnose the issue, but I wonder if there is more detail.
Can you repeat that but take a video? Ideally if you can mount the phone/SLR on a tripod, so the text is clear, that will help a lot. A still image would work as well, but that might be trickier if you only see the red error briefly.
The other thing to try is to go for another distro or another desktop with Mint - since your install is new, I assume you can afford to overwrite the drive with a new OS. I guess that you have a backup of your files, and can copy them to the disk once the install is fully working.
I second what Squiggler is saying here. Please try another distro ( preferrably an officially supported one ) and let me know if the issue still happens ( let me know the outcome either way).
I’d like to alert the Linux team, but need more info to do so. Thanks in advance!
I thought Mint was supported? There’s a big banner saying it is under Framework 16 and Linux Mint tags? The how-to guide basically just says “Yes it’s supported, just install it and it works”
Working on the Vid of the startup. I’ll get it in here when I can.
Mint is labeled ‘Compatible community supported’ for FW16s that contain 7040 series mainboards - you’ve got an AI 300 series mainboard and Mint is not listed as officially or community supported.
That being said, I do see that some people have been running Mint successfully (or mostly successfully) on FW16s with AI 300 series boards.
I haven’t read this whole thread, nor did I look at your video, but FWIW I have been running Mint 22.3 on my FW16 for 6 months or more. I work it hard every day and it’s been super stable. The main trick was applying Clem’s fix to disable PSR (Panel Self Refresh) ref: Ryzen AI - Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon freezing after July 31st package updates - #18 by clem
Maybe you’ve already done that? Anyway I kept detailed notes of my install so ask away, if you’re still interested