Acer Swift X SFX14-41G Left side USB stopped working after update

Hardware Support
1

First post. Landed on Zorin after distro-hopping for a while. Currently running 18.1 Core.

Typical day. Web surfing. Multiple downloads. Oh! There's a kernel update? No problem. Remove the old Kernel sections? Fine. Restart? Sure thing...

Everything seems to be working fine. Wait... Where's my USB-C-Ethernet? Why does my laptop NOT see my integrated webcam? Why aren't USB devices plugged in on the left not recognized?

installed "System Profiler" from the Zorin Software Center and when I select "USB Devices" on the menu, the app freezes.

ANYONE else having similar issues? Some perusing the web says I may have a USB controller failure which explains why the USB on the right still works, and why the System Profiler app freezes when USB Devices is selected.

Is this a kernel/software issue or a hardware issue?

2

Hello and welcome,
you can try to boot to older kernel to see if it's the update

  • Restart the PC and hold Escape during boot to access the GRUB menu (may also be accessed with Shift)
  • Select "Advanced options for Zorin OS"
  • Here, you can see the available kernels to boot into. Choose the older one (without recovery option)
2 Likes
3

Can't enter GRUB menu with SHIFT key, but can with ESC key
But not presented with any menu options, only a "grub>" prompt
everything is locked down by secure boot policy
What's my next step?

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Used ZorinOS Core 18.0 live installer and can confirm the USB-C and USB3 ports on the left as well as the internal camera are NOT working. Seems like a hardware failure?

Can reboot and still use without all my USB accessories.
Good thing this isn't my only machine!

4

If you fall to this screen it's because you type 2 times esc.
When you are on TTY (kind of terminal) just type normal to boot zorin.

5

Give me the output of

sudo grep -E "submenu '|menuentry '" /boot/grub/grub.cfg | cut -d"'" -f2
6

I misunderstood "hold esc while booting"
Pressed ESC only once while booting
entered "Advanced options for Zorin OS"
selected the previous kernel without recovery
all my USB stuff is working now!

I guess the next logical question is: How to tell if the next kernel update fixes the thing that was broken in this kernel?

7

You can't but for now it's working with your actual kernel follow this guide to stay with it