Apps won't start or slow to start

[brinesharks]

I am finding that all apps on my installation are very slow to start and sometimes fail to start. And when they do start, they are very slow to fully load (eg. I get a partial screen and the detail takes a while to fill in). It seems to be regardless of the app, although AppImages seem to be ok. Can anyone suggest where to start looking for the problem? QSI below:

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-26-amd64 [6.1.112-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-26-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.5 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 7 dm: SDDM Distro: MX-23.4_KDE_x64 Libretto
    September 15 2024 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: Gigabyte product: Z170X-Gaming 3 v: N/A serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Gigabyte model: Z170X-Gaming 3 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends
    v: F5g date: 12/18/2015
Battery:
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech K850 Performance Wireless Keyboard serial: <filter>
    charge: 100% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: discharging
  Device-2: hidpp_battery_1 model: Logitech M720 Triathlon Multi-Device Mouse serial: <filter>
    charge: 100% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: discharging
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i5-6600 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: 800/3900 scaling: driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave
    cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 bogomips: 26399
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Vulnerable: No microcode
  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: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed mitigation: IBRS
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  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; BHI: Not affected
  Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort mitigation: TSX disabled
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GM204 [GeForce GTX 980] vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: nvidia v: 535.183.06
    non-free: 530.xx+ status: current (as of 2023-03) arch: Maxwell code: GMxxx process: TSMC 28nm
    built: 2014-19 pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:13c0
    class-ID: 0300
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 with: Xwayland v: 22.1.9 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X:
    loaded: nvidia unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,nouveau,vesa alternate: nv gpu: nvidia display-ID: :0
    screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 3840x1080 s-dpi: 81 s-size: 1204x343mm (47.40x13.50")
    s-diag: 1252mm (49.29")
  Monitor-1: DP-2 pos: primary,left res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 82 size: 598x336mm (23.54x13.23")
    diag: 686mm (27.01") modes: N/A
  Monitor-2: DP-4 pos: right res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 82 size: 598x336mm (23.54x13.23")
    diag: 686mm (27.01") modes: N/A
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 535.183.06 renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980/PCIe/SSE2
    direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 100 Series/C230 Series Family HD Audio vendor: Gigabyte driver: snd_hda_intel
    bus-ID: 1-4:2 v: kernel chip-ID: 1532:0555 bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:a170 class-ID: 0300
    class-ID: 0403 serial: <filter>
  Device-2: NVIDIA GM204 High Definition Audio vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:0fbb class-ID: 0403
  Device-3: Razer USA BlackShark V2 Pro 2.4 type: USB driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-26-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 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: Qualcomm Atheros Killer E220x Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Gigabyte driver: alx v: kernel
    pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: d000 bus-ID: 09:00.0 chip-ID: 1969:e091
    class-ID: 0200
  IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter driver: ath9k v: kernel modules: wl
    pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 0b:00.0 chip-ID: 168c:002b class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 7.8 TiB used: 3.12 TiB (40.0%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Seagate model: ST4000DM004-2CV104 size: 3.64 TiB
    block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 5425 serial: <filter>
    rev: 0001 scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Seagate model: ST4000DM004-2CV104 size: 3.64 TiB
    block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 5425 serial: <filter>
    rev: 0001 scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdc maj-min: 8:32 vendor: Seagate model: ST3320418AS size: 298.09 GiB block-size:
    physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter> rev: CC35
    scheme: GPT
  ID-4: /dev/sdd maj-min: 8:48 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 860 EVO 250GB size: 232.89 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 1B6Q
    scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 297.84 GiB size: 292.1 GiB (98.07%) used: 152.7 GiB (52.3%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sdc2 maj-min: 8:34
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 256 MiB size: 252 MiB (98.46%) used: 274 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/sdc1 maj-min: 8:33
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 6 GiB used: 3 MiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swap/swap
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 29.0 C pch: 43.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 48 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nvidia fan: 0%
Repos:
  Packages: 2814 pm: dpkg pkgs: 2801 libs: 1535 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala pm: rpm pkgs: 0
    pm: flatpak pkgs: 13
  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 main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://mirror.datamossa.io/mxlinux/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
    2: deb http://mirror.datamossa.io/mxlinux/mx/repo/ bookworm ahs
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nordvpn.list
    1: deb https://repo.nordvpn.com//deb/nordvpn/debian stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/signal-xenial.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/signal-desktop-keyring.gpg] https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt xenial main
Info:
  Processes: 247 Uptime: 48m wakeups: 5 Memory: 31.3 GiB used: 4.98 GiB (15.9%) Init: SysVinit
  v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 12
  Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: UEFI

[j2mcgreg]

Is your MX install on sda, sdb, sdc or sdd?

[siamhie]

I am finding that all apps on my installation are very slow to start and sometimes fail to start. And when they do start, they are very slow to fully load

Code: Select all

Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 7.8 TiB used: 3.12 TiB (40.0%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Seagate model: ST4000DM004-2CV104 size: 3.64 TiB
    block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 5425 serial: <filter>
    rev: 0001 scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Seagate model: ST4000DM004-2CV104 size: 3.64 TiB
    block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 5425 serial: <filter>
    rev: 0001 scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdc maj-min: 8:32 vendor: Seagate model: ST3320418AS size: 298.09 GiB block-size:
    physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter> rev: CC35
    scheme: GPT
  ID-4: /dev/sdd maj-min: 8:48 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 860 EVO 250GB size: 232.89 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 1B6Q
    scheme: GPT
    

Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 297.84 GiB size: 292.1 GiB (98.07%) used: 152.7 GiB (52.3%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sdc2 maj-min: 8:34
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 256 MiB size: 252 MiB (98.46%) used: 274 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/sdc1 maj-min: 8:33
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 6 GiB used: 3 MiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swap/swap

From what I can see, you have MX installed on the slowest drive (/dev/sdc) from 2005.

What is on the 860 EVO? (/dev/sdd)

[j2mcgreg]

@siamhie wrote:

From what I can see, you have MX installed on the slowest drive (/dev/sdc) from 2005.

The manual I found:
https://theretroweb.com/harddrives/361
dates it to 2009. Whether it's fifteen years old or actually nineteen years old is moot. It should have been replaced long ago.

[siamhie]

The manual I found dates it to 2009.

I got the date from an Amazon listing.
The interface though shows the SATA speed of 3.0 Gb/s.
That EVO drive would be the better choice out of all three drives listed in the QSI.

[lars_the_bear]

I'm curious about whether this problem is specific to this installation, specific to MX Linux, specific to Linux, or affects other platforms. My experience is that problems with slow disks tend to settle over time (minutes), as caching comes into effect. Problems with graphics hardware/drivers tend to linger, and overheating tends to get worse over time. In any case, perhaps some benchmarking is in order, if the explanation is not obvious?

BR, Lars.

[j2mcgreg]

The manual I found dates it to 2009.

I got the date from an Amazon listing.
The interface though shows the SATA speed of 3.0 Gb/s.
That EVO drive would be the better choice out of all three drives listed in the QSI.

In any event, we have to wait for confirmation by the OP.

[brinesharks]

I'm curious about whether this problem is specific to this installation, specific to MX Linux, specific to Linux, or affects other platforms. My experience is that problems with slow disks tend to settle over time (minutes), as caching comes into effect. Problems with graphics hardware/drivers tend to linger, and overheating tends to get worse over time. In any case, perhaps some benchmarking is in order, if the explanation is not obvious?

BR, Lars.

I have tried five different Linux flavours over the last few months on the same drive before settling on MX. The others didn't have the same issue which is why I think it's an installation issue, rather than the hardware. It might have slowed down or started to fail but I have been monitoring CPU performance and when I start up Steam or FreeCAD the CPU gets to 99% very quickly and then moves up and down rapidly. I also get freezes on a regular basis. I suspect there's a problem with either graphics drivers or some other system setting. I dual boot Win10 (on a separate SSD) and don't have the same issues. I can go buy an new SSD to troubleshoot but I have invested a lot of time getting this install to run all the apps I need (including work apps that are essential) so any other suggestions before I change hardware are welcome.

[brinesharks]

The manual I found dates it to 2009.

I got the date from an Amazon listing.
The interface though shows the SATA speed of 3.0 Gb/s.
That EVO drive would be the better choice out of all three drives listed in the QSI.

In any event, we have to wait for confirmation by the OP.

My apologies for the slow response. I guess it could be from 2009 but certainly no earlier. I would have probably purchased it sometime after that. The EVO drive has another OS on it that I keep for one specific app that doesn't have a Linux equivalent and for gaming when MXLinux crashes .

[lars_the_bear]

I have tried five different Linux flavours over the last few months on the same drive before settling on MX. [...] I suspect there's a problem with either graphics drivers or some other system setting.

I like MX Linux, but I think it emphasises stability over modernity. I suspect that, depending on what video hardware you have, the MX drivers could be a bit behind other distributions. I guess people more familiar with MX than I am, will be able to tell you whether it's possible, or worthwhile, to get later versions of video software components.

NVIDIA hardware, in particular, seems fussy about which driver you use, and (in my experience) there's often a significant difference between X.org and Wayland modes of operation with this hardware. I guess these are things you could experiment with, before giving in and changing hardware. But, since you've established (IIUC) that you don't have the same issue with other Linux variants, that suggests that hardware, in itself, isn't a problem, right?

BR, Lars.