Arch Linux

rebelCoder

Member

From: Blockchain

Registered: 2026-02-08

Posts: 4

Website

Re: Crash on boot with Asus G14 (amdgpu) since Kernel to 6.18.7

Thanks for taking the time to write this up and for testing on CachyOS — I really appreciate the effort and the detailed report. It’s genuinely useful to see a configuration where sleep/wake and hybrid graphics behave correctly.

I did look at the configuration you shared using the template, and unfortunately I can’t reproduce your results on my side. That’s exactly the problem I’m trying to solve, and also why I think we need a few more reports like yours using the same template so we can actually compare them properly and see what really makes the difference (fingers crossed more people will share).

That said, what you’re proposing is essentially the same path a lot of us (including me) have already been on for weeks or even months: try this distro, try that kernel, flip this BIOS option, add/remove some boot flags, tweak asusctl, see what happens, roll back, repeat. I’ve personally gone through an absurd number of combinations and “solutions” from forums, search results, and even multiple LLMs with deep research. There are literally thousands of suggested configs out there — and I’ve tried a huge chunk of them. The end result is usually more confusion than signal, because you never really know which change mattered, or whether you just hit a lucky combination.

That’s why I’m trying to push a more systematic, reproducible approach. The idea behind the template I shared is very simple:

• Start from a minimal, known baseline

• Ask a small set of clear questions:

  • Is your system stable on AC?

  • Is it stable on battery?

  • Does sleep/suspend/hibernate work and resume cleanly?

  • Do you use an external monitor, and does that stay stable?

• If the answer is yes, then please share exactly that configuration using the template (BIOS version/settings, kernel, boot params, userspace tools, etc.).

• If there are extra tweaks (asusctl, udev rules, special services, custom patches, whatever), list them explicitly.

BIOS Version:
Kernel Version:
Boot Parameters:
External Monitor: (Port / Input / Specs)
BIOS Settings: (APM & Armoury Crate status)
supergfxctl: (Enabled / Disabled / Uninstalled)
Custom Patches: (asus-linux, udev, etc.)
Desktop Stability: (Sleep / Wake reliability)
Battery Stability: (Freezes on disconnect or cold boot?)
Additional Notes:

In theory, if someone has a genuinely stable setup and we can reproduce it from that template, we should be able to narrow this down to which specific differences actually matter. That’s a lot more actionable than another round of “try this LiveCD” or “try these flags” — not because those ideas are bad, but because we’ve already been around that loop many times.

Regarding Windows: I’m still not testing it, because I’m pretty convinced this isn’t a hardware problem. I’ve been in this exact situation before with the same kinds of freezes, hangs, sleep, and boot issues, and it turned out not to be hardware. To me this still looks like some unfortunate combination of Mesa, AMD GPU drivers, the kernel, and possibly a few kernel parameters interacting badly.

Right now, the template in my original post is the most stable setup I’ve managed to come up with — and even that still freezes sometimes. I’m still fighting what looks like CPU lockups and dGPU context switching issues, and I’m actively experimenting. As soon as I get something clearly more stable, I’ll re-share an updated template and my results.

On a more personal note: this has been pretty exhausting, because I actually need this machine for work. It was working just fine a few kernel updates ago, and now I’m back to square one. The first 6–7 months were rough, then almost a year was pretty smooth, and now the problems are back again — it’s been a real roller coaster.

---

Bioinformatician & author of rebelScience. Developing computational models for cell signaling, regeneration & bioelectricity for life extension. 100% FOSS

tomaszc

Member

Registered: 2010-09-11

Posts: 27

Re: Crash on boot with Asus G14 (amdgpu) since Kernel to 6.18.7

I don't share your approach to investigating this issue. In my opinion, it's more time-efficient and less complex to limit the number of variables rather than trying to cover all of them and all their combinations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor

I also don't know how else I can help you; it seems I've described my configuration sufficiently.

But instead, if you'll allow me, I now have a few questions:
- Have you tested what I suggested on CachyOS, and what were the results?
- If we have the same BIOS versions and both reset them to factory defaults, yet at your end it hangs in the bootloader while it doesn't at mine what do you think the kernel version, its parameters, udev, and other /etc config matter?

The only things that come to mind for me are:
- Connected additional devices - have you tested if it happens when disconnecting everything, including the external monitor?
- Armoury settings - I sent you what `asusctl` shows on my end.
- Embedded Controller settings (not sure if Armoury settings are stored here?) - question: did you do this thoroughly?
  - Power off the laptop.
  - Press and hold the Power button for 40 seconds, regardless of what appears on screen - hold for 40 seconds.
  - If it doesn't shut down, shut it down with a short press and power on; if only the keyboard lights up and nothing on screen, wait; if still nothing, keep waiting without powering off/on again - even several minutes on my end, it eventually starts. Not sure if this matters, but it might.

If after all this the laptop still isn't stable (e.g., booted from CachyOS), I wouldn't rule out a hardware issue.

Please don't take this the wrong way - I want to help, but the path you've chosen seems to complicate rather than simplify finding the cause. I also hope someone else joins the discussion with another perspective.