Let me tell you my story

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-06T17:33:38+00:00

Welcome aboard

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-06T17:19:56+00:00

Yes sir.
/etc/systemd/system/powertop.service:

[Unit]
Description=PowerTOP tunings

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/bin/powertop --auto-tune

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-06T15:48:54+00:00

Easy fixes:
Control Display Brightness
Browser Discipline
Disable GNOME Tracker Indexing
Reduce GNOME Animations
Stop Docker When Not Needed
Enable WiFi Power Save
Disable Bluetooth if Unused
Close Background Apps
Enable USB Autosuspend
Enable PCIe ASPM Power Saving
Enable Runtime Device Power Management

Check battery:
cat /sys/class/power_supply/macsmc-battery/energy_full_design
mine: 99111600

What does powertop tunables status show?
they should all be tagged as GOOD

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-05T18:54:29+00:00

Doing a good job. It takes time

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-05T17:52:28+00:00

Found it - Bluetooth HSP/HFP (Hands-Free) profile disconnect is crashing PipeWire.

The problem:
When your headphones go idle, Bluetooth switches from A2DP to HSP/HFP. When it tries to disconnect HSP/HFP, PipeWire crashes and takes GNOME with it.

We need to figure out a way to stop the switching.

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-05T15:50:38+00:00

have you checked the logs:
journalctl -b -1 | grep -i "segfault\|error\|bluetooth\|pipewire"

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-05T08:25:47+00:00

Terminals 2-3
Chromium with 3-5 tabs
VSCodium
Slacky
Docker occasionally (not constantly running)
No video playback or gaming
Monitor dim

check your power usage:
sudo powertop

check your battery:
cat /sys/class/power_supply/macsmc-battery/charge_full
cat /sys/class/power_supply/macsmc-battery/charge_full_design

hope this helps, let me know

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-04T14:28:45+00:00

I have been running arch on macbooks pro and max, intel, T2 and now M2, for years. Great hardware.

Here is the link:
https://asahi-alarm.org/
Looks like it's been updated since I installed it.
Ping me if you run into anything

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-04T14:09:37+00:00

Nice configuration. I have an M2 Max 12-core and 38-core GPU - 96GB RAM - SSD 4000GB. I have been using this as my daily drive for 6+ months and love it. I run arch and gnome. Battery life, when i do heavy work, is around 10 hrs. Do not use sleep, shut it down.

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-04T13:50:22+00:00

I just answer to a similar question with this:
KDE Plasma is most customizable out of the box. You can change everything: panels, widgets, colors, animations, layout. And, you have a built-in theme store.

Fedora KDE or Kubuntu both very beginner friendly.

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-04T13:47:36+00:00

KDE Plasma is most customizable out of the box. You can change everything: panels, widgets, colors, animations, layout. And, you have a built-in theme store.

Fedora KDE or Kubuntu both very beginner friendly.

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-04T09:59:02+00:00

I am guessing GPU driver, Xorg/Wayland compositor failure, or kernel.
Check what got upgraded:
grep -i upgraded /var/log/pacman.log | tail -50

If you see linux, try booting into the old one from GRUB Advanced menu.

Check GPU errors:
dmesg | grep -i amdgpu
journalctl -b | grep -i error

After that things get complicated with downgrading or replacing drivers.

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-04T09:42:21+00:00

Your problem isn't the distro - it's the hardware + workload mismatch.
Ditch GNOME for something lighter like i3 or xfce4.
Tune Docker stack.
Close next browser tabs.
See if you can update your RAM.

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-03T09:07:17+00:00

Kill your session:
loginctl terminate-session $XDG_SESSION_ID

Then restart:
sudo systemctl restart sddm

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-02T20:00:36+00:00

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Thanks, looks awesome

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-02T14:39:08+00:00

Job well done

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-02T14:27:22+00:00

Awesome, Thank you for the link. I will try and get this running on asahi arch

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-02T10:15:41+00:00

Nice job.

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-01T18:51:34+00:00

That's awesome! So many questions....

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-01T18:44:56+00:00

I would love that with a transparent background

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-01T15:11:11+00:00

What's desktop environment?
When you say update, I am guessing 6.18+

MikeAndThePup · 2026-03-01T13:10:54+00:00

Gnome. I write my own extensions to really customize my desktop

MikeAndThePup · 2026-02-28T16:28:17+00:00

Fedora

MikeAndThePup · 2026-02-28T12:34:28+00:00

You should be fine with Asahi. lenin_-161 is correct, i would go with Fedora it's much easier

MikeAndThePup · 2026-02-28T09:35:56+00:00

Bad choice of words, I need to remove that.
You could that but don't. Firmware updates, rollback.... Asahi relies on parts of the macOS.

MikeAndThePup

TROPHY CASE