Hey guys. No serious issues here as I have already 'fixed' my problem. But I am looking for some info. Just wondered if there has been any mention of a fix for the issue (I have seen others online with similar problems on later kernels) between 6.16.0 and 6.16.4 (latest as of this writing) that may have addressed Steam games not launching? I have to run newer kernels, otherwise my wifi doesn't work.
I made it as far as 6.15.2. Any kernel after that, up to and including 6.16.0 which at the time of my testing, was the latest available, resulted in none of my steam games being able to launch. I tried everything. Reinstalling steam, rolling back my linux install using timeshift, reinstalling games.... nothing. As soon as I went back to my 6.15.2 kernel, everything suddenly worked. I guess what I am really wondering, since I am sure, at some point there will be a fix, is what happened in the first place? What changed between 6.15.2 and 6.15.4 where my issue started?
I would urge against pushing for the latest kernels, unless you need said kernel, to make your system work. I also agree, that newer non-tested kernels, often kill the ability for an Nvidia driver to load, which can translate to your games not loading. If kernel 6.15 works for you, stay on that, don't push for latest experimental builds, its more headache then sense.
Heh, yeah I was waiting for this reply. Part of what I like about Linux is the ability to tinker and try the new cutting edge stuff. It's also part of how I learn. The only headache was figuring out that it wasn't actually my configuration, but the kernel I was on. That took a few hours of trial and error to figure out. But otherwise, I like being on newer kernels. And had I not been one to try the latest and greatest, I would still be on kernel 6.8.X and wondering why I had no wifi.
Also, somethig DID happen because I just switched to kernel 6.16.4 and the problem is no longer there (though, now kodi keeps crashing lol). Going back to 16.0.0... the Steam problem comes back.
Anyway, my question was more curiosity than anything else. Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate everyone taking the time to answer.
Worry not, you are part of a club where many of us, have black screened our OS's, because we have the tinker finger, all in the name of !!!SCIENCE!!!
Thats the way I am as well! Back when I was a little twig, I had higher tests scores on projects, that had a physical element to learning, vs just reading a text book, hoping my ADD could retain the data.
Yep, thats one of the things you learn overtime, when you experience Linux, can make IT more difficult, but can yield more educational reward. But if all else fails......
Ahhh, the fix one problem, creating a new problem trick! Many of us know that one well, it was fine one minute, not fine the next, completely bonkers lol.
Careful of curiosity, it can lead you down many black holes. Once you reach the event horizon, there's no going back lol.
lol These were comical to read. I've done all of that over the years. Even in Windows back in the day, when you could customise things and get yourself into trouble if you weren't careful! That lack of customisation these days, paired with M$ and their h0rsesh!t are what ultimately pushed me over to Linux in the first place. Very uncommon reasons, I know. lol
GNOME, the desktop environment Zorin uses, has been locking things down, reducing customizability. Between that and dependencies that either aren't legitimate or may actually be, but are of questionable necessity (for example, in Zorin 17, the zorin-os-desktop package depends on pulseaudio, making switching to pipewire* a serious hassle), the ability of the end user to alter their own system has been on the decline for some time. You can find a number of posts by Aravisian lamenting it and discussing the more technical elements of what's changed in GTK 4 to restrict things.
*Full disclosure, Zorin 18 is dropping pulseaudio for pipewire. I'm not sure whether or not there's still a dependency there as I've not tried the beta.
Why would they want to do that? It goes against the very essence of Linux as a whole.
Guess I'll stick with 17 till I find a better upgrade choice. I had tried Garuda Dr460nized Gaming Edition but I was even less experienced then than I am now and I found it more complicated. Things like the context/shell (r/click) menu. I had to click too many things to get to where I could go with a single menu click in zorin. So I switched back after only a couple days. lol
Open to suggestions if you have any favourite distros to try
Well, that is a good Question. I mean, they have a Vision how a Desktop and Desktop Experience should be. That alone isn't a Problem because You have that on other DE's, too. The Thing is: There are Users that should use it.
And it seems that the Gnome Dev's ... how can I say that ... are ''surprised'' when Users come with Stuff they want where they think ''That is not the Way''. You can see it on Theming or Gnome Extensions in an obvious Way.
I'm personally in an awkward spot on other distros. What I want just doesn't exist all in one distro, and of what's out there, Zorin continues to get the job done for me aside from having to update its kernel myself and manually update Nvidia drivers.
How is plasma from a usability perspective? I know it's very popular, but there is a simplicity to Gnome which I do like. As I said, i had tried Garuda DGE which uses Plasma but I found it tedious compared to what I was used to. What would be great is Gnome's simple menus with kde's customization
KDE offers indeed a high amount of built-in Customization Options. That is good but can be overwhelming when using the first Time. So, it is neccessary to take a Dive into it. Of Course, You have to like the common Plasma Look, too.
I would go so far and say that Plasma is when it comes to Settings and Customization the complete Opposite of Gnome.
It would be a Progress for Gnome when they would add the gnome-tweaks Settings in the built-in Settings of the DE. When Youlook to Linux Mint what has forked LibAdwaita to LibAdapta what is at the End a LibAdwaita with Theming Options. Gnome Extensions are the next Construction Area.
I think this is something you must discover for yourself.
I hear nothing but good things about Plasma. So, I have tried it. Many headaches later, I have determined that I must have some kind of mental block against Plasma.
I suspect this is because GTK is logically laid out and follows a direct path, whereas Plasma is all over the place.
GTK follows a linear flow - Plasma (Qt) hops around like a herd of hyperactive rabbits.
I go into it with these things... called expecatations.
I expect to do what I want, how I want and I find myself fighting with it tooth and nail while it decides to do what it wants, won't tell me how to override its wants and it makes decisions for me while I am trying to focus on a different decision.
If I could just lasso Plasma and hogtie it so it would just hold still, I might be able to get it sorted out.
But until Dr. Octavius loans me his mechanical octopus arms, I think I am out of luck.
This is exactly how it was when I used Garuda (which uses plasma afaik). I'm glad you said that. That actually helps me a lot. Thank you!
Sooo pretty much what I'm looking for, I guess, is exactly what I've been getting with Zorin! Just not looking forward to the headaches that will go along with gtk4.
!!!SCIENCE!!! 
