On 4/22/23 22:07, mick.crane wrote:
Dell Precision T3600
I assume this is the computer for the subject thread.
On 4/23/23 15:45, mick.crane wrote:
On 2023-04-23 20:21, David Christensen wrote:
On 4/23/23 12:56, mick.crane wrote:
Please be considerate of us oldies who struggle with the
technology. I successfully booted from the CD and reinstalled
Debian. The purpose for doing this was that I was having pixel
glitches on the monitor and some freezes. Thinking anything I've
done that might be causing that will be eradicated with a fresh
install. Well the pixel glitches are still there so I'm assuming
the graphics card is defective and I should get another one.
Interestingly the Krita documentation says that they aren't
putting any time into using the graphics card memory as they
think graphics cards will the defunct in the future. I wondered
if there is some way to examine graphics card memory and mark as
bad or something.
mick
Please describe in detail what you mean by "pixel glitches". How
many? Size? Shape? Color? Static or dynamic?
Have you tried A/B testing the graphics card (e.g. video signal
transmitter) by using a second monitor? What were the results?
Have you tried A/B testing the monitor (e.g. video signal receiver)
by using a second computer? What were the results?
on the desktop there were red blocks of pixels, small like a typeface
size, maybe 3 or 4 of them always in top left corner of screen. In a
browser pale blue ones 4 or 5 around an input text window, I have
reinstalled bookworm now. Hats off to whoever does the installer
because it's great. Funnily without touching anything there are no
pixel glitches now after this install but if I open a browser and do
anything everything crashes. Out of interest I installed Devuan on
another PC and using same monitor there were no issues. It could be
anything but not having the errant pixels for now is encouraging.
On 4/23/23 18:07, mick.crane wrote:
well the story so far is that I installed with the expert type
selections and the apt suggested installing firmware-amd-graphics
and everything was crashing with anything to do with a browser. So
now I install with the graphical install and everything seems stable
as I can type this and it hasn't crashed, there are no pixel glitches
as yet so I'm thinking is a graphical driver issue. I would like to
sort this working on the bigger display as I've got things to do and
would like a stable base. I'm just grateful anything works but
perfection would be nice.
So:
1. A/B testing with another computer indicates the monitor is okay and
the pixel glitches were coming from the Dell Precision 3600 graphics card.
2. Reinstalling Debian has eliminated the pixel glitches.
3. The first reinstall of Debian was crashing, so you have reinstalled
again and the computer has not crashed (yet).
What is the make, model, and/or part number of the graphics card?
I bought a used Dell Precision 3630 in January. It had intermittent and
non-repeatable issues. So, tested the Dell 300W PSU with my Antec
ATX12V power supply tester.
https://www.newegg.com/antec-atx12v-psu-tester/p/N82E16899129001
The PSU had a bad -12 VDC rail. I ordered a matching DP/N used PSU. I
had a spare ThermalTake 430 W PSU, but the test results were ambiguous.
I installed the ThermalTake and the computer worked correctly. When the
replacement Dell PSU came in, it also had a bad -12 VDC rail. I
installed a spare ThermalTake 500W with better test results. The PSU I
currently prefer was unavailable at the time:
https://www.fractal-design.com/products/power-supplies/ion/ion-2-platinum-660w/black/
I suggest that you buy a PSU tester and test your PSU.
I suggest that you test your memory with memtest86+:
https://memtest.org/
"bookworm" is the codename for the the Debian testing distribution. If
you want stability, I suggest that you install again using the Debian
stable distribution (version 11), codename "bullseye":
https://www.debian.org/download
debian-11.6.0-amd64-netinst.iso
I used to burn d-i to USB flash drives, but I found that the contents
and checksum change after every boot. So, now I burn d-i to CD; so that
I can verify the checksum after burning and at any other time I desire.
When installing Debian, please document the Debian installer ISO file
you use and document your path through the installer -- e.g. information
displayed, questions asked, and your commands/ responses entered. This
will facilitate troubleshooting.
Here are my notes from my most recent Debian install. If your computer
has any drives other than the target for Debian, I suggest that you
disable, disconnect, or remove them prior to installing Debian:
March 16, 2023
1. Insert wiped Intel SSD 520 Series 60 GB into Dell Precision 3630.
Power up, insert debian-11.6.0-amd64-netinst CD, and press F2 to
enter Setup. Choose Settings -> General -> Boot Sequency.
Leave optical drive checked. Uncheck all other choices. Choose
"Apply". Confirm. Choose OK. Boots into Debian installer:
Debian GNU/Linux 11.6.0
Debian GNU/Linux UEFI Installer menu
Install
Language C
Continent or region North America
Country, territory or area United States
Keymap to use American English
Hostname taz
Domain name tracy.holgerdanske.com
Root password ********
Re-enter password ********
Full name for new user debian
Username for your account debian
Choose a password ********
Re-enter password ********
Select your time zone Pacific
Partitioning method Manual
-> SCSI1 (0,0,0) (sda) - 60.0 GB ATA INTEL SSDSC2CW06
Create partition table Yes
-> 60.0 GB FREE SPACE
-> Create a new partition
New partition size 1 GB
Location Beginning
Name ESP
Use as EFI System Partition
Bootable flag on
-> Done setting up the partition
-> 59.0 GB FREE SPACE
-> Create a new partition
New partition size 1 GB
Location Beginning
Name taz_boot
Use as Ext4 journaling file system
Mount point /boot
Mount options defaults
Label taz_boot
Reserved blocks 5%
Typical usage standard
Bootable flag off
-> Done setting up the partition
-> 58.0 GB FREE SPACE
-> Create a new partition
New partition size 1 GB
Location Beginning
Name taz_swap
Use as physical volume for encryption
Encryption method Device-mapper (dm-crypt)
Encryption aes
Key size 256
IV algorithm xts-plain64
Encryption key Random key
Erase data no
Bootable flag off
-> Done setting up the partition
-> 57.0 GB FREE SPACE
-> Create a new partition
New partition size 12 GB
Location Beginning
Name taz_root
Use as physical volume for encryption
Encryption method Device-mapper (dm-crypt)
Encryption aes
Key size 256
IV algorithm xts-plain64
Encryption key Passphrase
Erase data no
Bootable flag off
-> Done setting up the partition
-> Configure encrypted volumes
Write the changes to disk Yes
-> Create encrypted volumes
Devices to encrypt
[*] /dev/sda3 (1000MB; crypto)
[*] /dev/sda4 (11999MB; crypt)
-> Continue
-> Finish
Encryption passphrase ********
Re-enter passphrase ********
Encrypted volume (sda4_crypt) - 12.0 Linux device-mapper (crypt)
-> #1 12.0 GB f ext4
Use as Ext4 journaling file system
Mount point /
Mount options defaults
Label taz_root
Reserved blocks 5%
Typical usage standard
-> Done setting up the partition
-> Finish partitioning and write changes to disk
Write the changes to disks Yes
Scan extra media No
Debian archive mirror country United States
Debian archive mirror deb.debian.org
HTTP proxy information <blank>
Package usage survey No
Choose software Debian desktop environment
Xfce
SSH server
standard system utiltities
CD is ejected. Remove disc. Close drive tray.
Installation complete Continue
Push power button when DELL logo appears at post.
David
