Somehow the EFI partition doesn’t mount and it’s impossible to troubleshoot via phone, she asked me to put back the old system 😞

  • krakenfury@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    How is /etc/fstab configured? Partitions should be assigned to mount points by UUID and not by their names (such as /dev/sda1). Names can easily change across boots.

    Something to look into. Understand the frustrations here, but it looks like something that can be fixed if you are able to get to the machine and troubleshoot.

  • utopiah@lemmy.ml
    1·
    2 months ago

    Great example of why a safety net is required.

    Yes hopefully the “base” setup works once you installed it, hopefully manage through some updates, some even tinkerings… but what happens when it break?

    Windows (despite all the criticism, and I’m one of the first to complain about Microsoft the corporation) usually has been fallback mechanisms. It can usually rollback an update. It usually has a hidden recovery partition. It usually has an alternative medium to recover (e.g. USB stick, CD-ROM back in the days, etc).

    So… you genuinely did try to help your mother but do not give up. Try instead to provide a better safety net so that she is genuinely safer. In fact I would recommend testing it together, make it a learning adventure. One way to do so would be to go there, help her fix it… then botcher the setup together! Delete system files, etc, then try again. Obviously the 1st step is insuring her own data (e.g. family photo, documents, etc) is safe.

    While doing so, you might also want to setup up remote control, or not. Anyway a LOT of things to genuinely discover together.

    IMHO if you do do it, she will not only appreciate the effort but assuming you do manage, she’ll have a new sense of pride, both in you but also herself and share the experience with her friends. This in turn might bring more people in!

  • Tehhund@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    Loool, all the people who are trying to help you troubleshoot are 1) probably correct and 2) completely missing the point. I have a Windows desktop, a Mac, and a Linux desktop at home and this kind of shit only happens on Linux these days.

    • InFerNo@lemmy.ml
      0·
      2 months ago

      You’re right, this never happens on windows. It’s so robust no one ever complains

      /s

      • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
        1·
        2 months ago

        People complain about all the invasive controlling bullshit Windows does. I haven’t seen any kind of failure to boot issue with windows in a long time and I work in IT. Last thing I really remember being common in our organization was bitlocker getting triggered and people having to call in to get the key to unlock it, and that was back in the windows 7 days.

        • azuth@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          01·
          2 months ago

          Windows can boot and still be fucked. User can login and still be fucked.

          Explorer crash and respawn loop. Taskbar not responding. Windows failing to update and still hogging every reboot. Networking settings get fucked up.

          Also booting and even logging in does not mean a person can actually use his computer for his purposes. OneDrive deleting your work files from your laptop can fuck up a guy on the go.

          Of course these people are not part of a bigger organization that managed their machines, just like OP’s mom. If anything I would say your experiences in IT out you out of touch with most PC and even Windows users.

          • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
            1·
            2 months ago

            I was specifically talking about boot errors. I acknowledged that people complain about other problems with window. Just saying that problems booting, especially with partition issues, is not typical and I had not seen one in a long time. That particular thing windows does fairly well.

            There was a point in my career where I was working with 30-40 windows users a day on any and all issues they had but sure I don’t have experience with them…

    • Ziglin (it/they)@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      How am I the only one who does have annoying issues like this on Windows (except that Windows only gives a useless error code at most) while Linux has failed to boot a total of once (without me explicitly changing nvidia drivers).

      • daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        1·
        2 months ago

        System breaking errors that doesn’t allow you to even login?

        Windows have lots of issues, but it’s been a while since I found those system breaking issues to be somehow common.

        For all their shit, credit myst be given when credit is due. And windows it’s become a really robust systems against layer 8 issues. Even powering off middle update is kind of easy to recover (I have to solve this issue for a user recently).