Hey folks! I have an older Legion 7i laptop equipped with an Intel i7-10750H CPU and a 2070 mobile NVIDIA GPU. Lately, my laptop has been crashing randomly, and the frequency of these crashes is increasing. I've already put it through some tests: I checked the hardware, wiped and reinstalled Windows, installed a brand new NVMe drive, and kept my drivers updated, but nothing seems to work. Now I'm considering switching to Linux to see if that helps. I mainly use my laptop for gaming on Steam, media consumption, and light productivity tasks. I've been advised to try Pop!_OS with the NVIDIA version, but I'm open to other suggestions. The only other experience I have with Linux is on my Steam Deck. Any thoughts?
3 Answers
Just a heads up—switching to a new OS won't magically fix hardware issues. Given that it's an older machine, thermal problems with the GPU could be a concern. I suggest booting from a live USB rescue tool like RescueZilla or SystemRescue to see if those crashes continue. A Linux install might help you examine crash logs more easily, but it's important to verify your hardware too.
Pop!_OS is a great starting point! Make sure you test your hardware during the installer—check your audio, Wi-Fi, and any printers you have. The installer gives you a live Linux environment to work with, so you can troubleshoot before fully committing.
Pop!_OS is a solid choice! If you still encounter issues after switching, you might need to look at hardware problems. Plus, with Linux, you can dig into the terminal for debugging when things go wrong.
Thank you! I’m excited to switch to Linux regardless of the issues. There are just so many options that I wasn’t sure which to choose. I’ve heard NVIDIA can be tricky on Linux, but I still want to give it a try.