New Manjaro users having graphics and wi-fi problems

Operating Systems & Open Source Linux
1

A lot of new users seem to like Manjaro a lot. It is a really good choice.

However, some posts suggest that some users have problems with graphics performance and wi-fi support.

That's because you're running the LTS kernel.

Manjaro by default uses the 3.10 LTS kernel, which is a very good kernel for performing a new installation, which is why this is the default kernel, but newer kernels include features that kernel 3.10 doesn't have yet, especially with regards to graphics performance (especially when it comes to gameability of open source drivers for Intel and AMD) and latest wi-fi firmware support.

So the first thing you do after installing Manjaro, is to switch to a bleeding edge kernel. This is completely safe and stable, and it will immediately solve the aforementioned graphics performance and wi-fi compatibility problems.

So how do you do that?

You open up a terminal window, and type

sudo mhwd-kernel -l

And that will give you a list of installed kernels. Look for kernel 3.13 (3.13.5 right now) in that list. If it's in the list, type uname -a, and see which kernel your system is on. If it isn't on kernel 3.13, restart your system, and it will be.

If 3.13 is not in the list, type

sudo mhwd-kernel -i linux313

and agree to the download and installation of the linux kernel 3.13

then restart your system, and you'll be on kernel 3.13.5, and your install will be bleeding edge... simple!

You can go into the Manjaro settings through the GUI, and switch to open source graphics drivers there without problems. It will take care of all the settings automatically for you. Do give those open source drivers a try, maybe they offer enough performance for your gaming needs, and they do have serious benefits. If it doesn't work out for you, you can always switch back to proprietary drivers in the same Manjaro hardware GUI settings.

If you haven't checked "install with non-free drivers" when you've installed your system, you can also use the Manjaro settings GUI to install and autoconfigure proprietary drivers (which is needed for gaming with nVidia hardware).

2

Another way to install the proprietary or open-source drivers for the graphics card right from the installation process is to select free or non-free when booting the manjaro iso, at least that's how i do it when i'm installing manjaro, do what suits you best. :D

3

Sometimes the new drivers get messed up with Manjaro, at least I would never have been able to install it on my hybrid graphics system if i didn't know how to tinker with the boot loader to load what I needed, and if i didn't override whatever the manjaro hardware tools were trying to do. I would recommend going with the AUR catalyst drivers or at least Vi0L0's repos as soon as you hit a problem

4

Thanks Zoltan.

I didn't have any these graphical/wi-fi issues, but this did fix one issue I had on my (Toshiba) laptop where there was no battery indicator.