MX-23 RC3 (Fluxbox) Feedback thread

[siamhie]

open up a text editor and add it to the end of the deb security repo definition.

and thanks. I'm adding these to the build system. can't believe we missed that one!

Thanks @dolphin_oracle

update.jpg

[Jerry3904]

Excellent follow through, @siamhie!

[siamhie]

Excellent follow through, @siamhie!

You're welcome

[Wallon]

Thank you @siamhie

[Wallon]

I try to run MXFB with SystemD but I always get a message from the Grub saying;

Code: Select all

Error : sparse file not allowed.
Loading Linux 6.1.0-10-amd64 ...
Loading initial ramdisk ...

Press a key to continue ...

I have never had this.

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-10-amd64 [6.1.38-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-10-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
    init=/lib/systemd/systemd
  Desktop: Fluxbox v: 1.3.7 info: tint2 vt: 7 dm: LightDM v: 1.26.0 Distro: MX-23_fluxbox_RC3_x64
    Libretto July 24 2023 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: MSI model: H170M PRO-VDH (MS-7982) v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required>
    UEFI-[Legacy]: American Megatrends v: 2.F0 date: 06/27/2018
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i5-6400 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Skylake-S gen: core 6 level: v3
    note: check built: 2015 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x5E (94) stepping: 3
    microcode: 0xF0
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 4 smt: <unsupported> cache: L1: 256 KiB desc: d-4x32 KiB; i-4x32 KiB
    L2: 1024 KiB desc: 4x256 KiB L3: 6 MiB desc: 1x6 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 800 min/max: 800/3300 scaling: driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave
    cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 bogomips: 21599
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT disabled
  Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT disabled
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT disabled
  Type: retbleed mitigation: IBRS
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: IBRS, IBPB: conditional, STIBP: disabled, RSB filling,
    PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
  Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GM206 [GeForce GTX 960] vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: nouveau v: kernel
    non-free: 530.xx+ status: current (as of 2023-03) arch: Maxwell code: GMxxx process: TSMC 28nm
    built: 2014-19 pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s ports:
    active: DP-1,HDMI-A-1 empty: DP-2,DP-3,DVI-I-1 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:1401
    class-ID: 0300 temp: 42.0 C
  Device-2: Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo bus-ID: 1-6:3
    chip-ID: 046d:082d class-ID: 0102 serial: <filter>
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 driver: X: loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa
    dri: nouveau gpu: nouveau display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 3840x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 1016x285mm (40.00x11.22")
    s-diag: 1055mm (41.54")
  Monitor-1: DP-1 pos: primary,left model: AOC 2590G5 serial: <filter> built: 2021 res: 1920x1080
    hz: 60 dpi: 90 gamma: 1.2 size: 544x303mm (21.42x11.93") diag: 623mm (24.5") ratio: 16:9 modes:
    max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
  Monitor-2: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-1 pos: right model: MD20830 serial: <filter> built: 2016
    res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 93 gamma: 1.2 size: 527x296mm (20.75x11.65") diag: 604mm (23.8")
    ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
  API: OpenGL v: 4.3 Mesa 22.3.6 renderer: NV126 direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 100 Series/C230 Series Family HD Audio vendor: Micro-Star MSI
    driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 1-6:3 v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 046d:082d
    chip-ID: 8086:a170 class-ID: 0102 serial: <filter> class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: NVIDIA GM206 High Definition Audio vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s bus-ID: 01:00.1
    chip-ID: 10de:0fba class-ID: 0403
  Device-3: Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-10-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 0.3.65 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Micro-Star MSI
    driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: d000 bus-ID: 02:00.0
    chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
  IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.24 TiB used: 12.39 GiB (1.0%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Seagate model: ST1000DM003-1SB102 size: 931.51 GiB
    block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter>
    rev: CC43 scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Kingston model: SUV400S37240G size: 223.57 GiB block-size:
    physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: D6SD scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdc maj-min: 8:32 type: USB vendor: Samsung model: Flash Drive size: 119.51 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 1100 scheme: MBR
  SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 59 GiB size: 59 GiB (100.00%) used: 12.39 GiB (21.0%) fs: f2fs dev: /dev/sdc1
    maj-min: 8:33
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 4 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swap/swap
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 29.0 C pch: 46.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 42.0 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nouveau fan: 0
Repos:
  Packages: pm: dpkg pkgs: 1982 libs: 1019 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala,synaptic pm: rpm
    pkgs: 0 pm: flatpak pkgs: 0
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm-updates non-free contrib main non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm non-free-firmware non-free contrib main
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security/ bookworm-security non-free contrib main non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://mirror.tiguinet.net/mx/packages/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
Info:
  Processes: 207 Uptime: 2m wakeups: 0 Memory: 15.57 GiB used: 1.35 GiB (8.6%) Init: systemd v: 252
  target: graphical (5) default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12 Client: shell wrapper
  v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: BIOS (legacy, CSM, MBR)

[fehlix]

I try to run MXFB with SystemD but I always get a message from the Grub saying;

Code: Select all

Error : sparse file not allowed.

I have never had this.

Code: Select all

System:
Drives:
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 59 GiB size: 59 GiB (100.00%) used: 12.39 GiB (21.0%) fs: f2fs dev: /dev/sdc1
    maj-min: 8:33

Maybe grub has some issues with writing into f2fs file system, when it tries to save last boot choice
into it special file at: /boot/grub/grubenv
Some workaraounds;
* Perhabs try to disable remember last boot-choice (save last select) within MX Boot Options
or
* use a dedicated /boot partition with ext4

HTH

[Wallon]

Dear @fehlix,

I have deactivated the saving (remember) of the last boot choice.
I no longer get the "sparse..." message.

When I do a sudo update-grub, everything works fine with an f2fs partition.

Code: Select all

wallon@msi:~
$ sudo update-grub
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found theme: /boot/grub/themes/mx_linux/theme.txt
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-10-amd64
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-6.1.0-10-amd64
done

I know that MX boot-repair doesn't work with f2fs.
Does this come from Debian or MX Linux?
It's hard to check because with Debian, installation on an f2fs partition is not possible.

For your information, I've done a lot of speed tests on this very good Samsung 400MB/s USB 3.1 stick with Gnome-disk.
With Windows exfat average for reading 400 MB/s
With linux f2fs formatting average for reading 390 MB/s
With linux ext4 formatting average for reading 280 MB/s

When writing, I also found the same differences between the 3 formats. But ext4 formatting is bad because there are peaks at zero due to journaling.
There's an option missing in the MX Installer; it should be possible to remove journaling from an ext4 partition during installation.
Wouldn't it be possible at the end of the installation to deactivate journaling and remove the journal from the ext4 partition?

Kind regards,
Wallon

[Wallon]

Dear @fehlix,

Suggestion for developers: simply put these 2 command lines at the end of the installation in MX Installer to remove the journaling from an ext4 partition;

Code: Select all

sudo tune2fs -O^has_journal /dev/( name of the disk for example sda3...)

sudo e2fsck -f -v -C0 /dev/(name of the disk for example sda3...)

Kind regards,
Wallon

[dolphin_oracle]

Dear @fehlix,

Suggestion for developers: simply put these 2 command lines at the end of the installation in MX Installer to remove the journaling from an ext4 partition;

Code: Select all

sudo tune2fs -O^has_journal /dev/( name of the disk for example sda3...)

sudo e2fsck -f -v -C0 /dev/(name of the disk for example sda3...)

Kind regards,
Wallon

no, journalling is a feature of ext4. user's are free to turn it off of course, but we will leave it as designed by default. thanks for the suggestion.

[fehlix]

Dear @fehlix,

I have deactivated the saving (remember) of the last boot choice.
I no longer get the "sparse..." message.
When I do a sudo update-grub, everything works fine with an f2fs partition.

Good. GRUB boot loader does provide read access through it's f2fs.mod(ule) but can't write at this early boot stage onto special made 1K sized /boot/grub/grubenv.

I know that MX boot-repair doesn't work with f2fs.
Does this come from Debian or MX Linux?
It's hard to check because with Debian, installation on an f2fs partition is not possible.

Where did you got the knowledge from that MX Boot Repair won't work on f2fs-installed system?
Any error message?
Just checked it and prepared a f2fs-install, which shows MX Boot Repair works for both main options:
* Reinstall GRUB with grub-loaded onto ESP (EFI System Partion)

mxbr-on-root-with-f2fs-1.jpg

and also with grub-bootloader onto MBR

mxbr-on-root-with-f2fs-2.jpg

and also
* Regenerate GRUB's configuration file (which is /boot/grub/grub.cfg)

mxbr-f2fs-3.jpg

For your information, I've done a lot of speed tests on this very good Samsung 400MB/s USB 3.1 stick with Gnome-disk.
With Windows exfat average for reading 400 MB/s
With linux f2fs formatting average for reading 390 MB/s
With linux ext4 formatting average for reading 280 MB/s

When writing, I also found the same differences between the 3 formats. But ext4 formatting is bad because there are peaks at zero due to journaling.
There's an option missing in the MX Installer; it should be possible to remove journaling from an ext4 partition during installation.
Wouldn't it be possible at the end of the installation to deactivate journaling and remove the journal from the ext4 partition?

Installing onto a non-journaling file system increases the likelihood the file system would not be recoverable anymore after a something like power loss or hard-reboot.
So that's nothing I would recommend to turn of journaling on ext4 for "/"-root of the installed system.
I think there may have been one major reason to introduce journaling into ext3/4 .
You may use f2fs, but not sure about it's recovery feature compared to ext4. At least, f2fs is indeed fast.