Lately my FW16 running Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS has been experiencing system instability - nevermind the broken suspend, but just opening various applications or doing various actions will crash the system entirely. I’ve looked at some crashes, and they’re coming from libgallium - part of the Mesa stack.
FW support mentioned that this is a known issue with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, but they haven’t provided evidence for this, and I can’t find any evidence either.
Putting out a call to the community, is anyone else running FW 16 with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS? Do you have / have not system instability related to the Mesa stack?
Edit: I find that the instability happens most often when the laptop is in a non-horizotal position - so using it on an airplane or working from a couch.
I’ve been running it on my FW16 since I received it at the end of May last year, and I have never had any instability like that. Just a problem with a crashing virtual machine that I’m pretty sure is due to the OS on that VM.
If I had the problem you’re reporting, the first thing I’d try is this, because it’s quick and easy and has fixed a lot of strange hardware glitches before. Second, I’d thoroughly test the memory, and probably re-seat the memory modules. If that doesn’t do it, I’d try reinstalling the OS – a single bit-flip in the wrong place on your storage drive could easily cause random crashes.
Not sure where I’d turn after that, but I’d know the most obvious things that it wasn’t.
Thanks, the memory has been tested - no issues there.
Re-seating the memory modules isn’t an option - the screwdriver was confiscated by airport security in Sweden, and neither Framework nor iFixit are able to provide a replacement, I’m a bit stuck that way.
Re-installing everything is an option, but a painful one. I will look into it later.
Thanks for your input in regards to stability. I’d love input from others as well just so I can get a bigger picture in this.
I have GPU freezes which sound somewhat similar to this on my FW16 (they basically manifest appearing as a full system crash from certain graphical operations, although sshd and an external display keep working completely fine) – I’m running NixOS currently, but I also saw it on Ubuntu LTS.
One FW support person recommended enabling “gaming mode” in the BIOS, which seemed to substantially reduce the crashes without completely resolving them. You might try that.
That is interesting to know, and it seems to be related to the integrated GPU then. How is your battery life with this gaming mode enabled like?
Additionally: I find that the instability happens most often when the laptop is in a non-horizotal position - so using it on an airplane or working from a couch.
Gaming mode just dedicates more RAM to the GPU at all times, I don’t think it has an impact on battery life.
That’s super interesting that it freezes more when in a non-horizontal position… for my issues, it’s so intermittent that it’s very difficult to try to track down what does vs. doesn’t have any impact on it. I have not noticed any correlation to how I’m using the machine but it is almost always on a desk for me. But yeah, if that’s accurate then it would definitely sound like hardware issues.
Re-seating the memory modules isn’t an option - the screwdriver was confiscated by airport security in Sweden, and neither Framework nor iFixit are able to provide a replacement, I’m a bit stuck that way.
The Framework-branded screwdriver/spudger part is not required to disassemble/assemble these laptops. The double-sided screwdriver head is T5 on one side (T5 is a Torx head) and PH0 (Phillips#0) on the other. These are standard parts that are normally available at hardware stores - nothing special or hard to find - and can be bought on Amazon for a few bucks.
Thanks, I bought a replacement - my local hardware store had the iFixit kit available.
In the meantime, I received updated Mesa 25.0.7 drivers as part of Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS - which FW support stressed were essential to system stability, so let’s see if that makes a difference.
Interested to hear about system instability for others on FW 16 as well!
which FW support stressed were essential to system stability
Framework support also told me “I do not use browser hardware acceleration (usually not a great experience)” while talking about how great and stable their Framework computer was working for them. My experience is that stuff they say needs to be taken with a helping of salt. I’ve been on 25.0.7 I think for a while now, and I’ve still been seeing periodic crashes.
Honestly, the issue just being flaky FW hardware would make a lot of sense. I had issues with the wireless, issues with the GPU, and now I just discovered today that my new different wireless card is also having some kind of driver issue or something. There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of issues in the AMD GPU driver, but also, I’ve tried a ton of different things at this point without really getting a 100% resolution.
