Score:0

Why won't my Asus laptop (Ubuntu 20.04) shut down properly?

cn flag

I have an Asus laptop that has been fine for ages but recently it has taken to not shutting down properly. The left little light on the front edge of the laptop stays on and it is still on but the screen is blank and I can't do anything. I have to turn it off at the power button. If I leave the laptop and it's screen goes off it goes into this state and I have to power it off again. I looked for an answer here and the closest to my problem seems to be this but I'm not sure it is that.

I used Timeshift to go back and did updates but still no dice. I don't know what's wrong and would be grateful for any help.

Pilot6 avatar
cn flag
I have many Asus laptops and I can't confirm it. It is impossible to suggest anything. Try to boot from a LiveUSB and check if shutdown works there.
Barra avatar
cn flag
@Pilot6. Thanks for the suggestion; I booted from a live USB and shutdown worked as normal so I know now it's a software problem. Still no idea how to fix it though.
Pilot6 avatar
cn flag
You could change something in the system that broke shutdown.
Barra avatar
cn flag
@Pilot6 Maybe. I have since installed Ubuntu [onto a SSD](https://itsfoss.com/intsall-ubuntu-on-usb/) to see if it did the same. It was fine up to a point and then it started behaving the same way as the laptop so I will have to go over what I installed on that and see if I can figure it out.
Pilot6 avatar
cn flag
It seems to be a kernel bug. You can roll back kernel, or switch to the 5.4.
Barra avatar
cn flag
Thank you everyone for the helpful answers and yes, it does seem to be a bug but unfortunately for me I have had so many issues with Ubuntu I installed Linux Mint over it. Seems like a win as it's been so easy to work with. Thanks for the help anyway and I hope I learn to have some patience.
Score:1
ar flag

Long story short: don't know exactly what the problem is but kernel 5.16 fixed it:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tuxinvader/lts-mainline
sudo apt update
sudo apt-get install linux-generic-5.16

Obviously after the installation at the first reboot you will still have to hold down the power key, but once the 5.16 has been started the subsequent reboots will be fine.

Now if you want to if you want to deepen:

The problem started in January, don't know the exact date.

I reinstalled 20.04.3 and no problem at all before a dist-upgrade.

After the dist-upgrade the problem is back.

Installing kernel 5.16 fixed the problem for me and interestingly after the update, while everything is working, an error is seen during startup:

[    1.041499] ACPI BIOS Error (bug): Could not resolve symbol [^^^PB2.VGA.AFN7], AE_NOT_FOUND (20210930/psargs-330)

Can't go deep into this now, but it's a starting point.

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