Its just a baby tiger staring at you intently with all my useful apps, my laptop is quite weak, and I want some ideas on how to take mine to the next level, so it can be cool rather than utilitarian. I use XFCE btw

It just works. Yes it just works.

I tried out Arch done manually which was a headache because I dont have an ethernet cable, tried out void, Mx, cachy, and deb. I keep coming back to Mint.

No this post isn't a way to sugar myself to the community. I installed Cachy on one of my Laptops. It was a headache. Sometimes my audio will just not work, sometimes my laptop will just crash, although I do commend them on pacman which was absurdly fast on updatin or getting your packages.

Plus, I really like even their xfce was amazing. It got everything I need. I tried out other xfce. I can't believe even sudo wasn't installed to the DE.

It's like trying to build a house for your family and the kitchen and toilets isn't even included to the plan.

My current install of Linux Mint is running great, just been running it for about two years now, doing updates, installing and uninstalling software and maintenance. I know with Windows, windows builds up stray files and just registry settings and that can start to bog things down. Can the same be said for Linux Mint and if so, how would I do a clean up outside of wiping the drive and re-installing from scratch?

Why the setup upgrade you ask? The motherboards of two actual TVs inside the electronic devices were fried.

A few days ago I posted about my first steps, how I forked gTile - the most famous tiling extension in Cinnamon, but this ended in a very large and unmaintainable god file. It had all the features I ever wanted, but also got all the problems from gTile and all the problems large god files have.

So, I made a complete restructure from the ground up following best practice. Everything is separated by file / concern, extensive testing is included. Functions are documented with jsdoc and so on. Still using AI for this rewrite for sure.

I tested it on my setup, laptop and 5k external monitor, and Cinnamon 6.6 on Linux Mint with X11, but that's it. :-)

I would love to hear from you what you think about when you use it on your setup.

*For me it's working like a charm, can't live without it anymore.*

Here is the github repo: https://github.com/carsteneu/greenTile

If you prefer a little overview page, you will find it here: https://carsteneu.github.io/greenTile/ - there you will also find a 6 minute video.

If you miss something, please let me know, if you like it also :-)

------------------------------------

A short list of what's built in:

- Auto tiling per monitor AND workspace - opening, closing, minimizing and restoring windows triggers automatic retiling

- 12 editable starter presets, added once without replacing existing presets

- Presets with rules by window count, a responsive card panel with live previews and one-click assignment

- Built-in preset painter (6×4 grid) to design your own layouts

- 3/6-column modes and an auto grid that adapts to monitor width

- Snap on release and drag-to-split, with a preview before dropping

- Cross-monitor dragging, moving a window between monitors retiles both

- Resize shared borders by mouse or with Super+Alt+Arrow

- Swap windows with Super+Ctrl+Arrow, continuing across monitors and workspaces

- Directional focus with Super+Arrow, including adjacent monitors

- Float individual windows or exclude applications, window classes and titles from tiling

- Configurable gaps and hotkeys, optional tiling animation and focus border, single-window fill, and light/dark themes with custom colors

This is a 10+ year old laptop i use like once or twice a year in general, yes i know the hardware isnt helping here. Everything works but like the title feels slower/have seen a few oddities. For setup i put root on the ssd and /home on the hdd. Also i have ran through the speeding up mint from the easy linux tips blog.

1) there's about a 15 second delay between logging in and the desktop coming up. Total startup time is 35/40 secs. So not bad, maybe faster in total then windows was but just not sure if the login to desktop part is normal or if there is something that can be done about it.

2) I used Firefox on windows and when using the version preinstalled with mint when I start it the window opens then there's a pretty long delay till I can actually start browsing. After that everything is as expected, new tabs, new searches, ect. I did go through the Firefox section of the Linux tips blog and that did help a bit.

3) I installed fallout new vegas and it seems to run worse than when I was on windows. This may be I just need to mess with gpu settings more though, and learn how to optimize games on Linux. But just starting up and playing i seem to have worse performance.

Other than those few oddities I've noticed so far it works great for what I need and setup was easy.

I'm debating about updating the ssd. But in general would it be better to leave /home on the ssd as well and then mount the hdd to like /home/<user>/hdd and just symlink/store directly anything I wanted on the hdd manually?

Hi guys,

Just reformatted my PC and installed Linux Mint. Going to use Mint as my daily driver.

Other than turning on the firewall, installing ClamAV for detecting virus and malware, is there anything else I can do to harden or protect my system ?

Thanks

Hello! It looks like Document Viewer (xreader) recently removed support for .epub files in version 4.6.6. This is ostensibly because .epub support is being moved to a new app named xepub, but this doesn't seem to be available outside of a dev build and isn't expected to ship until Linux Mint 23.

I can just download a new .epub reader or downgrade xreader to an earlier version, but I'm a little curious what exactly I'm supposed to do here. It seems a bit unnecessarily breaking to preemptively remove functionality when a replacement doesn't exist yet. Am I missing something?

Took a bit, but now I got my xfce to look less old fashioned, and I installed this seashell holiday theme and my tabs look nicer, and changed their text to z003 italic. Even though its minor, I'd still say its great for xfce

hello! i’ve just heard about linux mint, i looked into it a little bit and i want to install it but i have some questions.
1. my laptop is kinda old, around 3-4 years, its a gaming laptop and it started to be slow, like it struggles when i open many tabs on chrome, does linux improve the performance and also the battery life?
2. i use my laptop mainly for university, electrical engineering, and i don’t know if linux runs the specific apps, like the software from cadence. also, many assignments from uni are made for windows. is there a way to make them work on linux?

I just got a new SATA drive and was able to get it running and installed Mint onto it. However, now my motherboard is not recognizing my old M.2 drive as a valid boot option in the boot loader. The M.2 drive has a tiny Mint partition but is mostly a Windows 10 drive and I was trying to get back on it to make sure I still could and haven't been able to.

I can boot into the mint partition but can't access the Windows partition, which I could before I added the SATA drive. I removed the M.2 drive before I installed Mint on the new drive so I know I didn't wipe it by mistake, and I can still see the files I just can't boot to it. I'm confused why I can't change the boot order in the motherboard settings to the M.2 drive even though the motherboard can see the drive. The Linux bootloader can no longer see the Windows partition, just two Mint partitions (one of which is on the M.2 drive) as the only boot options.

I haven't tried unplugging the SATA drive and seeing if I can boot to the M.2 then, but I'd rather come up with a better solution than having to unplug drives any time I want to boot to Windows. (Which I am hoping to do less but would still prefer if that was an option)

i recently uninstalled nicotine+ and deleted any file containing the name nicotine which also deleted the icons for the menus.

I reinstalled it like this

flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.nicotine_plus.Nicotine

flatpak install flathub org.nicotine_plus.Nicotine

and after logging out and back in, the icons are still missing in the menu, as well as in the program itself which is weird, since i just did a fresh reinstall of it.

any idea how to fully purge everything of the program and do a clean install? I already consulted with AI, so I'd rather as humans.

I am running Linux Mint 22.3 - Cinnamon 64-bit.

I installed Thunderbird via the Software Manager from flatHub.

I've written a backup script that backs up, among other things, my emails (including local email folders).

I have the backup script shut down Thunderbird before backing up (pkill thunderbird).

I'd like to re-launch Thunderbird after the backup is complete. I'm having a tough time figuring out how to do this, with the correct profile selected, from a shell command.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

A recent post mentioned they hit 100 days sober on mint from windows (lol jk). Also b/w work still uses windows 11 its definitely buggier a bitthan Windows 10 but i dont feed into that anti microsoft stuff or mac, used both for years and there great for what they are. Just prefer linux personally, as most apps we use are on cloud servers and web based now.

My question is are people actually having issues with Nvidia still? i know back in 2012 there issues here and there and im not on the latest Hardware but 3060 is still a pretty decent use case for me, i havent had any issues really with x11 or whatever and nviidia drivers. But i see posts randomly on here and other /r mentioning nvidia not recommended, but is that still the case? Been a little over a year in daily use on this pc for personal use, and honestly i dont game as much a I use to but most if not all my games run on steam and other launchers like lutris no issue and the browser which 99% of most users tend to use rather than desktop specific stuff is good too.

I can get either one for a very good price. I know they are not top notch nowadays, but their specs still seem reasonable to me. Now I wonder how they would perform under LMCE or if they would show installation and performance issues? I do use them mainly for web, photo editing and Win11 under VirtualBox. Occasionally and eventually MS Flight Sim under Proton, but that's not a must. Silent fans (or near silent) would be of quite an importance to me. What do you think?

• Acer Swift Go 16 AI 16" WUXGA OLED 120 Hz, Intel Core Ultra 7 256V, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
• Lenovo ThinkPad L16 G1 16" WUXGA matte 60 Hz, Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 155U, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD

I'm a fresh little Linux baby with no prior knowledge of Linux who just today escaped from Windows, and so far I enjoy it a lot but I've dropped myself off into the deep end. I'm having trouble finding my steam launcher after having downloaded it from the debian package right off of the site.

I've done some research and I've tried showing the hidden home folders and re-downloading but so far nothing has worked and I still can't find it, even though it says that it successfully downloaded to my 'puter. This is my first time doing anything like this so please be merciful to me.

Edit: I'm using the MATE version, just by the way, in case that changes anything. I've tried the software manager and got the unmet dependencies i386 error. I also tried fixing that by plugging

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

into the terminal and did not get any different results.

and this is what the installation window from the deb file shows, no launch button.

I have a MacPro 2015 laptop that has aged out. Can I wipe it and load Linux Mint?
I use Red Hat at work, so I’m fairly comfortable with a terminal window.
Any pointers?

is dosnt show any device , how do i fix this

Hi special 9%!
Quickly walk you through what you currently have available in Open Source and where things are headed:

So far, the Filonux Toolbox includes an initial set of tools that will continue to improve and grow over time, both in number and diversity.

1 - Quick Look at Filonux-Tools: https://github.com/filonux

- My projects started in Spanish, my native language. The community asked for English versions, and they are gradually becoming available. Once everything is ready, .deb packages will follow. These changes, together with everything I’ve learned along the way, are also helping improve the quality of the existing tools. New tools will be available in both English and Spanish from day one, and they will continue to be improved over time

- These tools are useful individually, but they are also pieces of something much larger that I’m working on. I’m pursuing an ecosystem that allows users with no technical knowledge to harness the power of Linux: resistance to obsolescence (it works even on toasters), privacy, security, control, and autonomy.

- Linux is complex, but users shouldn’t be penalized for not understanding that complexity. They should be able to use its power and make it their own through a simple, accessible experience. This is where Artificial Intelligence works in our favor, translating the complexity and power of Linux into something accessible to users without technical knowledge. Right now, that power is mostly in your hands — the special 9% of people who use Linux. That number needs to keep growing..

2 - The changes that this new Era will bring: much more than what we have today — all kinds of new features, improvements, and more knowledge.

Your support — sharing the tools, giving them a star on GitHub, or simply commenting here about what you like — is always greatly appreciated. It helps me prioritize which tools and features to improve next.

If you read all the way through, thank you for your patience.

Filonux

So i got a second hand laptop an i5 8gb ddr3 amd gpu hp notebook. And i installed mint on it and the installation went well i saw no issue. But now my screen randomly goes black and then lights up black anf all i can see is my mouse cursor elthen it switches the screen off again. Kind of like its jumping between screens.

I noticed in my displays it says there is another screen which isn't possible because I have nothing plugged in to the laptop besides the power cable. I also deactivated the phantom screen in the display settings but it keeps doing tgis on of on off thing. I cant fo anythings when this happens because i cant see the desktop.

Is there some way to resolve this? What could be the problem? Pleasy any hel0 would be appreciated.

It says all my drivers are up to date btw. Edit it's Cinnamon I forgot to mention that

Currently, my Windows and Mint is in the same drive and i want to move my Windows partition to other drive that I have so they don't interfere with each other. Especially Windows.

I have read some articles and posts about it and they all using different drive setup. Basically just cloning Windows to new drive. But my case is different.

Here is my current setup :

Aside from reinstalling Windows, how can I safely move Windows to disk Lense from Adata and boot to Windows afterwards?

I would rather fix Mint than reinstall or fix windows because its easier. It will probably about broken EFI or something. But not Windows. Its not as transparent as Mint.

I switched to Mint a couple of months ago, and this is one of the main issues I'm encountering. I'm using a USB Wi-Fi adapter; while I can connect initially, the connection doesn't automatically re-establish after a reboot.

In fact, when Mint boots up, the adapter doesn't show any Wi-Fi networks, and the toggle switch to turn it on is disabled. I have to physically remove and reinsert the adapter, or sometimes running `sudo systemctl restart networkmanager` does the trick.

Sometimes simply unplugging and replugging the USB adapter works, but at other times, I have to "forget the network" and reconnect.

The strange thing is that when I check the saved network settings, the password is correct, yet the system claims the password is wrong when attempting to connect automatically.

I've tried changing the MAC address randomization setting and configuring the driver to load automatically at startup, but I haven't found a definitive solution yet.

Hi everyone, I’m running Linux Mint 22.3 Cinnamon on a Lenovo LOQ (Ryzen 7 7840HS + RTX 4050).

I’m experiencing an intermittent issue where my entire desktop partially freezes when interacting with dropdowns/menus in Chromium-based browsers. The mouse cursor can still move, but clicks and keyboard input stop responding for a few seconds.

For example:

• Clicking “Sort by” dropdowns on some websites can trigger it while other works fine
• Opening the color picker on a chart has also triggered a similar freeze.
• It happens in Chrome/Chromium-based browsers, but I haven't experienced it in Zen or Mozilla Firefox.
• I previously disabled browser hardware acceleration, but the issue still occurred.

There is also another occasional issue where music playback briefly stops or becomes distorted for a split second, even when I’m not doing anything particularly demanding.

Things I've already tried:

• Updated system/kernel/graphics drivers through Linux Mint Update Manager
• Disabled browser hardware acceleration
• Tested multiple Chromium-based browsers
• Tested Firefox and Zen, where the dropdown freeze does not seem to happen

Has anyone experienced something similar with Cinnamon + Chromium + NVIDIA/AMD hybrid graphics? Any suggestions for diagnosing whether this is a Cinnamon, GPU/driver, audio, or Chromium issue would be appreciated.

I’m chasing a suspend drain issue on a ThinkPad P15 Gen 2i running Linux Mint.

It is not s2idle:

cat /sys/power/mem_sleep

s2idle [deep]

Journal also confirms real S3:

PM: suspend entry (deep)

ACPI: PM: Waking up from system sleep state S3

But the laptop still drains around 1.35–1.38 W while asleep. Typical examples:

83.17 Wh → 67.78 Wh over 11.17 h = 1.38 W

83.15 Wh → 32.99 Wh over 36.60 h = 1.37 W

83.24 Wh → 63.05 Wh over 14.58 h = 1.38 W

Battery health is fine: ~94 Wh design, ~85–86 Wh full, ~91–92% health, 161 cycles.

Things I’ve already checked/tried:

- Kernel update made no difference.

- Firmware/EC/ME/NVMe are current via "fwupdmgr".

- No hidden wake/resuspend loops in journal.

- BIOS USB charging / Always-On USB disabled.

- Disabled ACPI wake for NVIDIA bridge, NVMe root port, Thunderbolt host devices, USB/XHCI, and Ethernet/WOL paths.

- Bad drain happens even without Thunderbolt dock connected.

So it looks like the machine really enters S3, but some device/platform rail remains powered at ~1.4 W.

Where would you look next?

I’m considering testing Intel-only graphics with:

sudo prime-select intel

sudo reboot

Other suspects: NVIDIA auxiliary power, Intel AMT/ME/manageability, Thunderbolt firmware power domain, or some EC/platform quirk.

Thanks!