Trouble booting newer Linux kernels on Asus VivoPC VM42
I recently bought an Asus VivoPC VM42 because I wanted a small and simple desktop computer to play around with different Linux distros. I was able to install Ubuntu 14.04 without problems, but when booting it for the first time it got stuck with a message from NMI Watchdog saying that CPU#1 had been stuck for 22 seconds.
I also tried booting Linux Mint and Fedora from a Live USB, but the same thing happened.
The only thing that was working was booting Ubuntu with kernel 3.19.0-25.
I tried the following:
- Booting with
nomodeset - Booting with
noacpi - Updating the BIOS from version 1008 to 1203
- Using legacy BIOS instead of UEFI
- Disabling Secure Boot and Fast Boot
- A bunch of other things
Finally, after several days of searching for a solution, I tried disabling all the on-board controllers:
- HD Audio
- WLAN
- Bluetooth
Now I could boot everything, including newer kernels, Linux Mint and Fedora. I have yet to figure out which one was causing the problem, but I will update this post whenever I do.
Update: Turned out it was the WLAN controller that caused this issue.
I should of course have tried this at an earlier stage, but since the older version of the kernel was working, I figured it couldn't be because of those BIOS settings.
I was wrong.
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2026
September
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Note
As quite evident by looking at my brand new reading page, I haven't read very much this year. Going forward I will do my very best to finish the books I'm currently reading and find some new exciting books to read. Currently only finished three, the goal is 10!
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Note
I just ordered a Fairphone 6+, Fairbuds and Fairbuds XL.
I have an iPhone 17 as my daily driver, but I couldn't help but order this phone and headsets once I became aware it was a thing.
My plan is to switch to all of these things, replacing my iPhone 17, AirPods Pro 3 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra. These will either be sold or given to someone who needs them.
The initiative is great and their values even better. We need companies trying to counter the enormous pressure laid upon all of us to keep buying stuff all the time.
I will post a thorough review of these items once I've used them for a while.
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Tømmerneset rock carvings
2025
April
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Note
I will be posting changes to my website simply as notes tagged with
changelog. This is the very first changelog of this site, and it summarizes the most important changes I've done since I started wiping the dust of this site in April this year.- I've added a Buttondown newsletter integration. Whenever I publish a new post on my blog, an email will be sent to my subscribers.
- I've added a «Reply by email» button to all content. Do not hestitate to contact me if you have comments or feedback. Getting feedback is a big part of why I blog in the first place — I enjoy hearing from readers and being part of a thoughtful exchange now and then.
- I've added a Search feature using Pagefind. It's not yet fully configured or customized, but it's working.
- Added links to previous and next post, note and link.
- Added a 404 page.
- Reduced the size of uncompressed resources being loaded on the front page to 66 kB. Submitted a PR to be added to the 512kb.club website.
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Our dog: Kento
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Note
This is the very first note on my new website. It's a GREAT note.
It doesn't say much, but still – it marks the beginning of a new note-hosting era for this website.
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Back to basics – again..