Newbie stumbling over Safe Graphics

Hardware Support
1

I see some posts from 2021 on about Iris Xe so please forgive if redundant: Just starting out with a live ISO USB stick, but 18 Core crashes unless I choose safe graphics on my 2024 Lenovo Yoga AIO desktop with Core i9-13900H integrated Iris Xe graphics. So I can't change resolution (4K makes screen elements too tiny for my eyes) or do fractional scaling. Will I be able to address / fix this if I get the nerve to proceed with install / dual boot? Thanks!

2

Hi and welcome.

Firstly have you tried Zorin in live mode from the installation media? (Try Zorin option at first screen).

I did find this, but it may well depend on kernel version present I suspect. The results appear iffy to me (Zorin 18 is a fork of Ubuntu 24.04):

" Yes, Ubuntu 24.04 supports Intel Iris Xe Graphics out of the box using the built-in i915 kernel driver, which is automatically installed during the operating system setup. Users have confirmed that the system correctly identifies Iris Xe GPUs (such as the 12th Gen Alder Lake and 13th Gen Raptor Lake) and renders graphics via the Mesa iris driver without requiring manual driver installation.

While the default setup functions for general use, some users report specific performance issues:

  • Lag and Freezes : Users on Ubuntu 24.04 with 12th Gen Intel i5 CPUs have reported 2-second freezes and lag when running animations in Chrome or using multiple workspaces, often attributed to the system using the i915 module instead of the newer xe module.
  • Driver Switching : To address these issues, some users force the xe kernel module by adding parameters like i915.force_probe=!XXXX xe.force_probe=XXXX to the GRUB bootloader, though this remains experimental for non-Lunar Lake hardware.
  • Docker Limitations : A known bug exists where the Iris Xe GPU is not detected inside Docker containers on Ubuntu 24.04, even when the host system functions correctly; this requires specific volume mounting of driver libraries and OpenCL/Level-Zero vendors to resolve.

AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts."

3

Thank you. The GRUB menu's "Try or install Zorin OS (safe graphics)" lets me choose "Try Zorin OS" and runs OK, except I can't change resolution or select a fractional scaling value.

The default "Try or install Zorin OS" brings up the "languages - Try Zorin OS - Install Zorin OS" box on a black background, not the mountain range wallpaper, and when I click "Try" I get a sad computer icon with "Oh no! Something has gone wrong. A problem has occurred and the system can't recover. Please log out and try again," recurring each time I hit the space bar to log out.

4

OK, I wonder if you would get any better luck with Ubuntu 26.04 in Try Mode. If it works then I suspect you might have to wait for Zorin 19.

5

OK, thanks again. I'll try Ubuntu and maybe Mint, though Zorin does seem like it'd be my pick. Appreciate your help.

6

You could also try Q4OS which has a third party Look Switcher available in the Application Installer section of the Welcome screen but it does use a much lower kernel, 6.1.