I'm trying to move away from Windows on an HP ENVY Desktop PC TE01-2000i with an Intel Core i7-11700 and NVIDIA RTX 3060. I've tested Linux Mint, Zorin OS, MX Linux, Fedora Workstation, Fedora KDE, and Bazzite, but every system has shown serious instability. I've seen pink kernel-panic screens, hangs during reboot, and occasional failures while booting from a cold start.
Secure Boot is enabled, and I installed the appropriate NVIDIA drivers each time. I'm not interested in disabling Secure Boot as a workaround. I've also tried several kernel versions, including 6.8, 6.14, and 7.0, with similar results.
I'm wondering whether the RTX 3060's LHR firmware, driver, or VBIOS behavior could be involved. The HP firmware is also extremely limited, with the advanced BIOS settings unavailable. The system works normally under Windows 11, so I'm unsure whether this is a Linux compatibility problem, a GPU issue, or a hardware fault. What would be the best way to diagnose it?
3 Answers
It may be worth checking the kernel log for clues. Running `sudo dmesg` after a boot or failed session could reveal whether the problem is related to the GPU, firmware, memory, or another device.
Try isolating the NVIDIA card as a test. The i7-11700 has integrated Intel UHD 750 graphics, so enabling the onboard graphics and temporarily removing or bypassing the RTX 3060 could show whether the NVIDIA hardware or driver is involved. The limited HP BIOS may make this more difficult, since it doesn’t expose controls for memory timings or CPU settings.
The cold-boot hangs and random reboot failures could point to a hardware or firmware problem rather than a particular distribution or kernel. The fact that Windows works doesn’t completely rule that out, since different drivers and power-management behavior can exercise the hardware differently. Testing with the NVIDIA card removed and checking the logs would help narrow it down.
I can try enabling the integrated UHD 750 and testing without the NVIDIA card. The BIOS currently has the onboard graphics disabled, and HP has removed most of the advanced settings, possibly through a firmware update.