Five months and 2 days later, my dual-boot Linux / Windows PC has officially kicked the bit bucket. I booted into Linux this morning and was greeted with corrupted video inside the open windows. I let it sit for a while, but it didn't go away and seemed to be getting worse. During the Linux power-down sequence, I saw several timeout and other hardware error messages. Execution of backup plan in progress.LadyGeek wrote: ↑Sun Feb 21, 2021 2:55 pm Just when you think it's safe to go back in the water... my dual-boot Linux / Windows PC graphics failed. By failure, the video was corrupted inside open windows and in the task bar.
(A few weeks ago, I switched my Linux from Fedora / Xfce desktop to Ubuntu / Cinnamon desktop.) The failure was seen in the Linux "Windows".
I have two identical hardware Lenovo desktop PCs. One is my everyday Linux / Windows PC, the other was relegated as a backup PC and put in storage (was used by my late husband). I easily installed the SSDs into the second PC.
It booted into MS Windows out of the box. Microsoft even recognized the license as activated. However, it wasn't supposed to boot into MS Windows.
For some reason, the GRUB2 bootloader was hosed. I booted from my Ubuntu live USB stick and followed How to Repair GRUB2 When Ubuntu Won’t Boot. It worked. After fixing a few more software OS things, I was back in business.
The bottom line is that both PCs were purchased at the same time - about 3 years ago and put under heavy use. If one fails, the other is not far behind.* I'm thinking to replace this PC when the supply chain gets going and parts become available at decent prices.
As a backup, I can put the SSDs into my Ryzen 7 build - there's plenty of room.
* This PC already has one failed DP (display port) connector and the audio left channel line output is dead. I'm using the front-panel headphone connector.
My Lenovo T470 laptop (Intel I5) is sitting in its place and will now be my backup / Win 10 PC. I have a USB keyboard and mouse plugged in, along with my 30" monitor. It's like a slow desktop, but works fine.
I'm using the built-in Intel graphics chip set and was pleasantly surprised to see 2560x1440p x 59 Hz resolution supported over the HDMI port. It's up to the manufacturer to support those higher resolutions. I can also support a 60 Hz refresh rate, I'll see if it makes any difference.