Hey! Hope this is a good place for these types questions!

I’ve been on Linux for the last couple of years. Tested a few distros before landing on Mint. Its perfect for a half-techie like me.

Towards the end of last year I had to replace my laptop due to a hardware failure. I landed on a Lenovo which was sold without an OS. Unfortunately I’ve been having some audio issues, and support hasn’t been super helpful. Ive been doing tons of troubleshooting to solve ir, but to no avail. To make it more frustrating, I briefly installed windows just to check, and there everything works as intendes. So it doesn’t seem like a hardware issue…

Before actually returning the device I figured it would be worth a shot to see if the issue persisted in the latest kernel. The problem is that I dont really know the best way to do that, and searching isn’t really helping since I dont really fully understand what I’m asking.

So Im turning to you for help in the hope that some kind soul can point me in the right direction. What is the easiest way for me to get the latest kernel running on my machine? I don’t mind wiping the computer, or if its unstable, or installing another distro to get there. I just want to see if it can get the audio working and I don’t know where to start. Everything I find seems to be a bit behind.

Thanks!

  • torgeir@lemmy.ml
    1·
    5 hours ago

    If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty and trying something completely different, changing kernels on NixOS almost feels like cheating; Flip a number in your config, rebuild, reboot.

    Changed your mind? Pick the previous boot-entry after another reboot, and you’re back. Might wanna rebuild with the previous kernel chosen again, or else the new one boots next time around.

  • felsiq@piefed.zipEnglish
    9·
    2 days ago

    You can do it in mint but the easiest way to test it is probably just to try a live usb of a distro that runs a more recent kernel. Arch-based distros come to mind for that, so maybe try endeavourOS on a usb?

      • SavvyWolf@pawb.socialEnglish
        5·
        2 days ago

        Consider using Ventoy if you want to try out multiple distros. It just lets you put the isos into a folder on the flash drive rather than going through the whole imaging process each time.

  • SteveTech@aussie.zone
    2·
    2 days ago

    If you can’t find an easier way, compiling your own kernel isn’t too hard. After you’ve git cloned the new kernel, you can just copy your distro’s kernel config (they’re usually in /boot), and then use make deb-pkg -j$(nproc) to compile to a .deb file, so it’s easier to uninstall.

    At the start of compilation it will ask about a few new options, you can just press enter to use the default option, or decide for yourself. Probably don’t worry about make menuconfig unless you want to.

    There’s proper tutorials online if you wish to do this.

    • WhereAreMySocks@lemmy.worldOP
      2·
      1 day ago

      Could be worth a shot just to try it, but it feels a bit overkill for this. Could be good to know how to do it for the future though.

  • MagnificentSteiner@lemmy.zipEnglish
    4·
    2 days ago

    You can install newer kernels from the update manager in the system tray. Then it’s View > Linux Kernels iirc.

    Your issue is possibly something to do with configuration of Pulse Audio / PipeWire. Probably the best place to ask would be on the Linux Mint Forums.

    • WhereAreMySocks@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      2 days ago

      Thanks! The update manager is a few versions behind. Up to 6.17, I believe. And I’ve been following several threads on that forum made by users with similar issues. Unfortunately i haven’t had much success there either, trying many of the tips and suggestions they had. Trying 6.19 is a bit of a last shot before considering returning the machine.

      • entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org
        1·
        2 days ago

        I used to run the Liquorix kernel with Mint. Should work fine. It’s based on the latest upstream with some extra tuning for desktop specific performance. Usually only a day or two behind upstream latest.

  • HiddenLayer555@lemmy.mlEnglish
    3·
    2 days ago

    The easiest way would be to boot a live USB of a distro that uses the latest kernel (like Arch or Arch-based distros, OpenSuse Tumbleweed, etc). That way it’s temporary and won’t modify your current install. If you find that the latest kernel does solve your issue you can always install the distro you were testing with.

    • WhereAreMySocks@lemmy.worldOP
      4·
      2 days ago

      Thanks! I’ve tried EndeavorOS based on another recommendation here, and it was on 6.18. It didn’t fix the issue, but it changed the behavior somewhat. I can see more accurate information about the speakers, which feels like a step in the right direction. I’ll look into your recommendations too to see if they use the lateat 6.19.