u/Zars

Container on a bare hardware? Why? It's a dedicated old box.

It's really weird though. I don't have this issue on distro that's not bleeding edge. Supposedly, everything should have been already fixed on Arch.

Maybe it's the power management they're using?

Worst case, unless you're really bound to Arch, worth trying booting the Fedora from the stick and see if the issue is there, just for the kicks of it - I literally lived on live stick for three days before comitting - deep sleep and everything - surprisingly, no issues. Battery drain over 8-10h sleep was about 3-4%.

No, works fine, leave it overnight and start with login screen - everything is fine, cores at maximum frequency. I'm on Fedora 45 beta with .309 bios, which is latest.

Tried pressing X on Steam on Linux or Windows?

Slay The Spire - you will be excited, thrilled and it has tons of replay options that will take hours and hours.

I've used all of them - Mint LMDE, Mint, Fedora, Debian - you pick one that your hardware suits best. DE is optional because there are alwats options. I'm currently running Fedora because I need new kernel, wayland, fractional scaling, etc - so, hardware bound. Battery efficiency is awesome though. You might like Fedora 😂

Duno, I'm on Fedora and Gnome 51.1 eats total 496Mb of RAM - thats with shell and all - everything *gnome.

I posted your problem to Opus 5.5, here are the suggestions you might try:

/// start Claude thinking:

After a long PC10 sleep, the EC/firmware asserts PROCHOT or clamps clocks, and only releases it a few minutes later. max_cstate=2 “fixes” it because the package never enters PC10. That’s also why your suspend drain goes up, since s2idle uses the same C-state limit.

To confirm, right after the next long sleep:

sudo turbostat --quiet --show Busy%,Bzy_MHz,PkgTmp,PkgWatt -i 2
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/thermal_throttle/*

If Bzy_MHz sits around 400 on a cold package and the throttle counters went up, that’s the clamp.

Untested workaround idea: only restrict C-states for a few minutes after resume, so suspend itself still gets to PC10. First check which states are which:

grep . /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpuidle/state*/name

On Lunar Lake, state3+ should be C6S/C10, which is roughly what max_cstate=2 cuts off. Then create /usr/lib/systemd/system-sleep/lnl-cstate-kick and chmod +x it:

#!/bin/sh
[ "$1" = "post" ] || exit 0
for s in /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpuidle/state[3-9]/disable; do echo 1 > "$s"; done
systemd-run --on-active=300 --unit=lnl-cstate-restore \
  sh -c 'for s in /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpuidle/state[3-9]/disable; do echo 0 > "$s"; done'

No idea yet whether this actually shortens the clamp or just shifts it. Turbostat will tell you. The real fix is probably an ASUS BIOS/EC update, so check that you’re on the latest BIOS.

Side note: it’s not the old Lunar Lake lost-MONITOR-wakeup stutter bug. That was fixed in late 2024, and its symptom was periodic stutter during normal use, not lag after resume.

I used systemd-run instead of a backgrounded sleep & because systemd kills leftover processes from the suspend service, so the re-enable step would never run.

/// end Claude thinking

PS, I'm on .309 bios version - that might be the difference as well.

PPS - I'm surprised this is happening on Arch - should be way ahead of me, but, no issues on my Fedora 45 beta Gnome setup and my current battery draw is below 5W. I even made a gnome extension to track it in my taskbar...4.55W as of editing this comment.

Are you running sudo powertop by any chance?

If yes, then there is a bug for this particular setup which I reported yesterday because my CPU cores were dropping to 400Mhz on same laptop. https://github.com/fenrus75/powertop/issues/230

PS I'm on Fedora 45 beta and no issues so far, kernel 7.2.12-300.fc45.x86_64 - no issues whatsoever with sleep, resume. Same laptop as you have. Power draw when browsing around 4-5W.

PPS - 4th day in, long sleep while I'm sleeping - no issues.

I'm running three extensions you can download and install and very happy with them:

Desktop Icons NG - can create desktop icons and folders on your desktop and have apps win style.

Simple Taskbar - very nice and very customizeable taskbar - you can make it look like MacOS or win11 or have Gnome defaults + your pinned apps.

Simple Weather - just shows weather in my location in the taskbar.

You should look into Gnome keyboard shortcuts - they are much faster way to launch something. Like Super+start typing = will list everything related, super good!

Upgrade to 12 if money is not the issue - two days battery life, improved sensors, faster charging. I upgraded from 10, zero regrets.

First thing is the hardware compatibility, then usability. For your particular hardware I'd say Bazzite, Mint, Fedora KDE plasma and even PopOS which comes with Nvidia drivers baked into the live ISO and you can make a ramdrive and install a game and test it - try all on the live USB, see what quirks you get and which DE speaks to you.

If you're really paranoid - point AI to the files and ask for a security audit. I was building a custom Claude cli harness and evaluated it - AI found 37 ways Claude could escape or elevate privileges - point being, it's another security layer worth exploring.

On that machine Windows will never run, best case scenario is minimal Linux with Xfce. I'd still go with Mint.

You're not convinced of what exactly? It will eat 100% of CPU to play YT video regardless - it's just old hardware.

It will never look very pretty, but, you can get some work done on it on Linux.

Alright, never worked with your system, pasted your data to Claude Opus 5.5., here is the output. Helped me a lot debugging stuff on my system (CPU dropping max frequency to 400Mhz at seemingly random), it's actually a smart cookie, maybe you find something helpful here:

/var/lib/systemd/backlight/ not existing means the brightness value has never been saved. Work through these in order, and stop at the first one that finds the problem.

Step 1: Confirm the device and driver

ls /sys/class/backlight/
cat /sys/class/backlight/radeon_bl0/type
lspci -k | grep -A3 -E "VGA|Display"

• Note the Kernel driver in use: line. If it’s radeon, keep that in mind for step 6.

Step 2: Check that the backlight unit exists and its state

systemctl list-units 'systemd-backlight@*' --all
systemctl status systemd-backlight@backlight:radeon_bl0.service

• Unit listed as masked**:** sudo systemctl unmask systemd-backlight@backlight:radeon_bl0.service, then reboot twice and retest.
• Unit failed**:** check why with journalctl -b -1 -u systemd-backlight@backlight:radeon_bl0.service and post the output.
• Unit not listed at all: go to step 3.
• Unit active (exited)**:** go to step 4.

Step 3: Check whether udev triggers the unit

udevadm info /sys/class/backlight/radeon_bl0 | grep -E "TAGS|SYSTEMD_WANTS"

Expected: TAGS contains systemd, and SYSTEMD_WANTS contains systemd-backlight@backlight:radeon_bl0.service.

• Missing: look for a custom rule overriding the default with ls /etc/udev/rules.d/ and grep -ri backlight /etc/udev/rules.d/. Remove or fix anything that touches backlight, then restore the stock rules with sudo dnf reinstall systemd-udev and reboot.
• Present but the unit still doesn’t run: go to step 4 and test it manually.

Step 4: Test save/restore manually (no reboot needed)

Set the brightness to something obvious, like 40%, then:

sudo systemctl start systemd-backlight@backlight:radeon_bl0.service
sudo systemctl stop systemd-backlight@backlight:radeon_bl0.service
ls -l /var/lib/systemd/backlight/
cat /var/lib/systemd/backlight/*

Stopping the unit is what saves the value.

• No file created: check the error with journalctl -u systemd-backlight@backlight:radeon_bl0.service -n 20. Also check the kernel cmdline in step 5.
• File created with a sensible value: saving works. Reboot, then go to step 5.

Step 5: After a reboot, check restore vs. overwrite

cat /proc/cmdline
cat /var/lib/systemd/backlight/*
cat /sys/class/backlight/radeon_bl0/brightness
cat /sys/class/backlight/radeon_bl0/max_brightness
journalctl -b -u systemd-backlight@backlight:radeon_bl0.service

• systemd.restore_state=0 is in cmdline: remove it with sudo grubby --update-kernel=ALL --remove-args="systemd.restore_state=0".

• Saved file has a value and the journal shows the unit ran, but brightness is max: something overwrites it after restore. To pinpoint when, compare the brightness at the GDM login screen with the brightness after you log in.

  • Already at 100% at the GDM screen: the driver or modeset resets it. Try step 6 first. If that doesn’t help, re-run the restore later in boot. Create /etc/systemd/system/backlight-late-restore.service:

    [Unit] Description=Re-apply saved backlight after display manager After=display-manager.service systemd-backlight@backlight:radeon_bl0.service

    [Service] Type=oneshot ExecStartPre=/bin/sleep 3 ExecStart=/usr/lib/systemd/systemd-backlight load backlight:radeon_bl0

    [Install] WantedBy=graphical.target

  Then enable it: sudo systemctl daemon-reload && sudo systemctl enable backlight-late-restore.service

• Correct at GDM, 100% only after login: GNOME is setting it. Check that the value persists across logout/login, and say so in the thread, because that points at gnome-settings-daemon/mutter rather than systemd.

Step 6: Try amdgpu instead of radeon (only if step 1 showed radeon**)**

Your GPU is probably the R9 M290 (Southern Islands), which defaults to the legacy radeon driver. To test amdgpu for one boot only, press e at the GRUB menu, add this to the end of the linux line, then press Ctrl+X:

radeon.si_support=0 amdgpu.si_support=1

Verify with:

lspci -k | grep -A3 -E "VGA|Display"
ls /sys/class/backlight/

Expected: the driver is amdgpu and the backlight is amdgpu_bl0. Then set the brightness, reboot with the same params, and check whether it persists.

• Works, and display/sleep/video are fine: make it permanent with sudo grubby --update-kernel=ALL --args="radeon.si_support=0 amdgpu.si_support=1".
• Problems: revert with sudo grubby --update-kernel=ALL --remove-args="radeon.si_support=0 amdgpu.si_support=1".

Last resort: if nothing above works, brightnessctl in a GNOME autostart does work, but only after login. The step 5 service is the better workaround because it also applies before the login screen.

If you get stuck, post the output from steps 2, 3 and 5.

P.S. Hope this helps and gives you directions.

I hit the 50% weekly plan on Monday 3pm just by creating 2 agents.... Either it's some sort of a/b test or it's a bug. I ran promp on new chat with sonnet (asking stupid linux question, no coding) and it ate 12% of my weekly limit!!!!! WTF!

Install Rufus on your windows, download the ISO, burn it on the 4-16Gb USB stick, reboot your system, interrupt the boot and tell it to boot from the stick - try it out and check if everything works - BT, wifi, sound, special keys, etc. Play with it, look up if programs you use are supported or have decent alternatives on Linux, if all checks - make the win backup and just go with it.

Go with Mint - it has super user friendly welcome setup routine. Slay the spire will run fine on it, not familiar with the other game, sorry.

Mint also just works - you install it and it does it's job. Enable time machine backup and you're safe from most user or occasional update breaking stuff (happens super rarely, but thats all linux).

It is, IMHO, the most user friendly distro that just works. You're not missing out on anything *arch unless you have latest hardware and require the newest kernel to support it. Then I'd say CachyOS if you have top 2026 laptop.

I went from 109kg (178cm) to 95 and only then one day it clicked that I actually lost shit ton of fat and look much thinner - for me it was the zip up hoodie that I could not get into last winter and now it's lose.

The progress is there, look at yourself - how your clothes fit (I'm actuallly out of belt knotches on my jeans belt, when I started it was at first notch).

Try something clothing related that did not fit you and you were pissed about it.

Anyway, besides everything else - congrats on your progress - it's massive and takes dedication!

Damn, I have my lamp stack on 24 and still scared to update. I guess, I will give it a go 😂

Congrats that nothing broke, that would have been pain to fix!

Intermittent fasting does nothing for weight loss, calorie deficit does.

The biggest question - after losing that much weight, have you adjusted your TDEE? You might be eating at maintainance now.

Another explanation, if above is not true - have you picked up any exercise activities lately? They can cause water weight gain or retaining for about 3-6 weeks.

As a beginner, I highly recommend trying either Mint or Ubuntu or ZorinOS - you won't be missing out on anything by not choosing Arch-based distros such as CachyOS unless you have super new laptop or super new computer - then it is different.

To test it before comitting installing, download on your Windows program called Rufus, download desired Linux distro ISO, have at least 8Gb USB stick ready, and write the ISO image.

Restart, interrupt the boot sequence (esc or F1 or F2, depending on bios), choose USB as booting device and boot from it.

Test every aspect of the distro - are all your hardware and buttons, mic, camera, etc actually working? Check documentation (or ask AI) if a particular program you use on Windows can be run or has an alternative on Linux.

Play with them and if you're happy, install. Keep in mind, that system booted from USB will run considerably slower compared to the installed version, however, if you see wierd tearing on the screen or insane graphics lag - worth investigating what's the possible cause - i.e. it could be free Nvidia driver compared to proprietary.

Good luck!

On Fedora - just checked, Gnome 51.1 with it's extensions, eats on my system 496Mb of RAM - that's quite light. If you need lighter setup, consider Xfce

Linux - Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint - MacOS - Windows10

Welcome, I'd recommend going through the Mint welcome screen and suggestions - that's an easy and good start. Update your system! Start installing the stuff you need.

I'm more of a command line guy - I just find it convenient - worth learning basic commands - terminal is actually super useful thing for checking all kinds of interesting system states.

Oh, install fastfetch ( run in terminal sudo apt install fastfetch ) asked post your system screenshot! 😎