Introduction
This is Linux Mint 18.2, codename Sonya.
Linux Mint 18.2 "Sonya" Cinnamon Edition
Important links
Tips
Moving windows which don't fit in the screen
If your screen resolution is too low, some windows might not fit in the screen.
While pressing the ALT key, you can grab any part of a window with the mouse and move it across the screen.
Installing multimedia codecs offline
To download the multimedia codecs into an installable archive:
Booting with non-PAE CPUs
To boot Linux Mint on CPUs which do not officially support PAE (Pentium M processors for instance), please use the "Start Linux Mint with PAE forced" option from the boot menu.
Watching Flash DRM content
To watch videos from a video/replay/VOD website using Flash with DRM, please follow this tutorial: You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.
Solving freezes during the boot sequence
Some graphics cards don't work well with the open-source driver present in Linux Mint.
If Linux Mint freezes during boot time, use the "nomodeset" boot option as illustrated in the video below:
If you're booting in EFI mode, the procedure is similar but the menu looks slightly different:
Thanks to "nomodeset" you should be able to boot Linux Mint and install it on your computer.
After the installation, reboot the computer and hold SHIFT to force the boot menu to appear.
Add the "nomodeset" option as illustrated below:
If your graphics card is from NVIDIA, once in Linux Mint, perform the following steps to install the NVIDIA drivers:
Note: If you're using an Optimus card, you've nothing more to do. Upon reboot, a system tray icon should show up indicating which GPU is currently active. Click on it to switch GPUs.
Note: If you still cannot boot try one of the following solutions:
Each new version comes with a new kernel and a newer set of drivers. Most of the time, this means newer versions are compatible with a larger variety of hardware components, but sometimes it might also introduce regressions. If you are facing hardware issues with the latest version of Linux Mint and you are unable to solve them, you can always try an earlier release. If that one works better for you, you can stick to it, or you can use it to install Linux Mint and then upgrade to the newer release.
Note that during a "point upgrade" (for instance between Linux Mint 17.2 and 17.3), the kernel and hardware drivers are not impacted, so you get all the new features without risking regressions on hardware support.
Known issues
Cinnamon freezes when changing resolution (Intel GPU)
If your Intel GPU is recent enough (2007 or newer) it is recommended to remove the legacy Intel driver "xserver-xorg-video-intel" and to use the built-in modesetting driver instead:
The legacy driver is no longer maintained and only useful for the old i800x and i900x family of chipsets.
If you are using one of these old chipsets or if you do not want to use the modesetting driver, an alternative is to continue to use the "xserver-xorg-video-intel" driver, but to disable VSync:
Sound and microphone issues
If you're facing issues with your microphone or your sound output, please install "pavucontrol".
This will add "PulseAudio Volume Control" to your menu. This application has more configuration options than the default volume control.
Freezes/Crashes with ASRock Skylake motherboards
A known issue is affecting ASRock Skylake motherboards. The kernel floods /var/log/syslog with messages until the disk runs out of space.
If you are suffering from this issue add "echo 'disable' > /sys/firmware/acpi/interrupts/gpe6F" into your /etc/rc.local (to edit this file with admin privileges, you can type "gksu xed /etc/rc.local").
For more information on this issue, please visit You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
DVD Playback with VLC
If VLC does not find your DVD player, click on Media->Open Disc, and specify '/dev/sr0' as the disc device.
Issues with KDE apps
If you're experiencing issues with KDE apps (Okular, Gwenview, KStars..etc) run the following command:
Linux Mint 18.2 is based on Ubuntu 16.04. Make sure to read the You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
This is Linux Mint 18.2, codename Sonya.
Linux Mint 18.2 "Sonya" Cinnamon Edition
Important links
- You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.
- You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.
- You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.
- You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.
Tips
Moving windows which don't fit in the screen
If your screen resolution is too low, some windows might not fit in the screen.
While pressing the ALT key, you can grab any part of a window with the mouse and move it across the screen.
Installing multimedia codecs offline
To download the multimedia codecs into an installable archive:
- Boot from the Linux Mint ISO on a computer which is connected to the Internet
- Open a terminal and type "apt download mint-meta-codecs" (without the quotes)
- This creates a "mint-meta-codecs.tgz" archive
Booting with non-PAE CPUs
To boot Linux Mint on CPUs which do not officially support PAE (Pentium M processors for instance), please use the "Start Linux Mint with PAE forced" option from the boot menu.
Watching Flash DRM content
To watch videos from a video/replay/VOD website using Flash with DRM, please follow this tutorial: You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.
Solving freezes during the boot sequence
Some graphics cards don't work well with the open-source driver present in Linux Mint.
If Linux Mint freezes during boot time, use the "nomodeset" boot option as illustrated in the video below:
If you're booting in EFI mode, the procedure is similar but the menu looks slightly different:
Thanks to "nomodeset" you should be able to boot Linux Mint and install it on your computer.
After the installation, reboot the computer and hold SHIFT to force the boot menu to appear.
Add the "nomodeset" option as illustrated below:
If your graphics card is from NVIDIA, once in Linux Mint, perform the following steps to install the NVIDIA drivers:
- Run the Driver Manager
- Choose the NVIDIA drivers and wait for them to be installed
- Reboot the computer
Note: If you're using an Optimus card, you've nothing more to do. Upon reboot, a system tray icon should show up indicating which GPU is currently active. Click on it to switch GPUs.
Note: If you still cannot boot try one of the following solutions:
- Try with "nouveau.noaccel=1" instead of "nomodeset".
- Use the "Compatibility mode" to boot and install Linux Mint.
- After the installation, use "Advanced Options" -> "Recovery mode" from the boot menu and choose "resume".
Each new version comes with a new kernel and a newer set of drivers. Most of the time, this means newer versions are compatible with a larger variety of hardware components, but sometimes it might also introduce regressions. If you are facing hardware issues with the latest version of Linux Mint and you are unable to solve them, you can always try an earlier release. If that one works better for you, you can stick to it, or you can use it to install Linux Mint and then upgrade to the newer release.
Note that during a "point upgrade" (for instance between Linux Mint 17.2 and 17.3), the kernel and hardware drivers are not impacted, so you get all the new features without risking regressions on hardware support.
Known issues
Cinnamon freezes when changing resolution (Intel GPU)
If your Intel GPU is recent enough (2007 or newer) it is recommended to remove the legacy Intel driver "xserver-xorg-video-intel" and to use the built-in modesetting driver instead:
- apt remove xserver-xorg-video-intel
- sudo reboot
The legacy driver is no longer maintained and only useful for the old i800x and i900x family of chipsets.
If you are using one of these old chipsets or if you do not want to use the modesetting driver, an alternative is to continue to use the "xserver-xorg-video-intel" driver, but to disable VSync:
- echo CLUTTER_VBLANK=none >> ~/.profile
Sound and microphone issues
If you're facing issues with your microphone or your sound output, please install "pavucontrol".
This will add "PulseAudio Volume Control" to your menu. This application has more configuration options than the default volume control.
Freezes/Crashes with ASRock Skylake motherboards
A known issue is affecting ASRock Skylake motherboards. The kernel floods /var/log/syslog with messages until the disk runs out of space.
If you are suffering from this issue add "echo 'disable' > /sys/firmware/acpi/interrupts/gpe6F" into your /etc/rc.local (to edit this file with admin privileges, you can type "gksu xed /etc/rc.local").
For more information on this issue, please visit You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
DVD Playback with VLC
If VLC does not find your DVD player, click on Media->Open Disc, and specify '/dev/sr0' as the disc device.
Issues with KDE apps
If you're experiencing issues with KDE apps (Okular, Gwenview, KStars..etc) run the following command:
- apt install kdelibs-bin kdelibs5-data kdelibs5-plugins
Linux Mint 18.2 is based on Ubuntu 16.04. Make sure to read the You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now..
