I love Linux the software but not so much of some linux users.
I'm still thinking about the one video I saw a couple of days ago about this Linux user got upset about Linus Tech Tips for having trouble with installing either PopOS! or another distro while using a software for managing drives. LTT used ChatGPT (which yeah not great but whatever) to troubleshoot what they need to do. The Linux user in the video I watched did go over what to do correctly but also insulted the intelligence of the LTT crew for choosing the wrong distro, the wrong Linux video editor, the wrong method to troubleshoot, for using reddit for asking questions, etc.
And like, not to defend the use of AI, but sometimes people entering into Linux spaces don't always have the tools or know-how to troubleshoot or know what to look for while researching.
Let's take my most recent issues as a Linux user for example:
So, about two weeks ago, my CachyOS system got a black screen. No problem, just reboot. I rebooted the computer and noticed how my browser Vivaldi looked corrupted. Not bad, just check for an update since sometimes updates can fix things. I did the update, rebooted, and I got a black screen with my keyboard and mouse stopped working at startup.
Not good. Tried to reboot, still a black screen. Tried Cachy Chroot using a live USB, followed the instructions on the CachyOS wiki exactly, still got a black screen.
At this point, I was getting concerned. I thought it was either an issue with the hardware or my install. I decided to try a reinstall, which is a little scary, but I do have my root (where the Operation System is located) separated from my /home (where my important files like my art and writing are) on separate drives.
Just in case, I took out my /home drive before reinstalling CachyOS. I tried the reinstall on my SDD drive, the reinstall was successful....and I still got a black screen with my mouse and keyboard not working.
I panicked. This seemed like one of the worst case scenarios. This is not just a Linux bad case or a former Windows bad case, but something is seriously wrong with the computer. I tried multiple reinstalls and chroots. I could not get my computer to work. Over and over again.
So, I was stuck with the following options: either send it to a computer repair place and spend over $100+ which I did not have, save for another computer which would have been over $1000+, or reinstall Windows 10 (or Win 10 LTS), but not knowing if it would work, thus bringing me back to the previous options.
At this point, at my wits end, I tried Claude. INB4, its Anthropic evil ai and so on, I know. I tried everything I thought I know or at least used tools available to me to try and solve my computer issue. To make my experience short, I tried a bunch of Chroot commands suggested by Claude which only brought me an inch closer to solving the problem.
What I discovered via using Claude is this: there is nothing wrong with the install media, nothing wrong with the install (I couldn't access), but there is something going on after the computer boots up, just after BIOS appears and the bootloader for the CachyOS system appears.
I then tried Google, which meant that I wrote a question that describes my computer issues as I described above to its AI. It suggested I try removing the CMOS battery from my computer to reset the BIOS. Reisntalling Windows or Linux will not help unless I do this.
I tried looking this up on my own, read up on how BIOS works and tried to reset it upon the next reboot. Resetting it this way caused it to go into a boot loop, which meant that there was an issue with the CMOS battery control of BIOS.
So, at my wits end, I found a video on how to reset my CMOS battery properly. Just turn off the computer, remove the plug, open it up, find the CMOS battery and remove it, wait 10-20mins, then find the CMOS jumper on my computer's motherboard, jump it with something metal for 5 seconds, then put the battery back in, close the computer, plug it in, then boot it up.
After all of that fuss, I was able to get my computer operating again!
To go back over all this, I used what I thought I knew to try and troubleshoot my computer's issue. That didn't worked, then I tried to find another way, which is using AI but I didn't know what else to do to help solve my issue. I don't have money for repairs or replacement during this time and I already left Windows 10 about seven months ago. Also, my computer is not compatible with Windows 11. So, using AI in this case was a last resort before saving up for repairs or a replacement.
So, back to that Linux user in the video criticizing LTT for not troubleshooting things the rightest way possible, like dude, there are limits to knowledge and somethings you don't know what or how to troubleshoot when you are in a new OS environment. Not knowing does not mean stupidity. Not knowing just means you need direction from anywhere you can get it.
