Ciao @unklebonehead ! Happy New Year to you, and thank you sincerely for your help here!
Yes, it was a fresh install - some months ago, and I only started using it properly this month, as I am travelling...
I tried to install some apps (after the initial install), with very little success. They seem to be inside the computer, but not making any sense/ not installing/ not updating. The laptop is a Pinebook.
I tried doing the procedure you suggest above, but got:
"sudo: apt: command not found" for both commands.
:-/
My keyboard does not correspond to the actual keys, and so I must need to reset it.... This too is eluding me! (Which likely is why the screenshot is not working.)
Sorry for being such a beginner; I promise, I have been doing a fair bit of research, but it is not getting any clearer: I may need to go back to basics, or even reinstall the OS, once I am home again.
Ahh. A Pinebook. Which one? If I remember right the Pinebooks are ARM processors simlar to mobile phones. So all the software you install on them must be specifically compiled for ARM processors. Which means you cant just run anything on them. An app may install but it will not work. I'm impressed you got Mint on it because the Mint team do not produce an ARM version, lol. So I'm guessing that it is not specifically for the Pinebook is the underlying problem including the keyboard issues.
Aaaahhh: this is great to know, dear friend @unklebonehead !! I wonder then: would it make sense to reinstall a specific OS for the Pinebook... In the meantime, this is the system info;
Operating System: Manjaro ARM
KDE Plasma Version: 5.27.6
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.107.0
Qt Version: 5.15.10
Kernel Version: 6.3.9-1-MANJARO-ARM (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: X11
Processors: 4 × ARM Cortex-A53, 2 × ARM Cortex-A72
Memory: 3,7 GiB of RAM
Graphics Processor: Mali-T860
Product Name: Pine64 Pinebook Pro
OH. You dont have Mint installed. You have Manjaro with the KDE desktop and not Cinnamon. Now it makes sense why the sudo apt command doesnt work, lol. You dont have apt. Apt is the package manager for debian based distros which Mint is.
I dont have much experience with Manjaro I would have to refer you to their forums and search for Pinebook pro on there.
https://forum.manjaro.org/
Either that or to install something else such as Armbian which is Debian based with the Cinnamon desktop.
https://www.armbian.com/pinebook-pro/
Then whatever software you install from now on make sure it is specifically for ARM and not amd/intel. You want to look for things that say ARM or ARM64.
I wanted to get my hands on one of those Pinebook Pro's when they first came out and I still would love to have one to play with, lol. They look like a lot of fun.
Oh gosh - I am sorry, @unklebonehead !! This is how much of a dunce I am at computers ;-) Of course: it's my OTHER laptop which was rebooted with Linux Mint Cinnamon!!!!
Lord above.
Okay: so I will start afresh with the great links you have shared. This is hugely helpful, at least to have clarified something major. Haha!
Lol.
No worries. This is what makes Linux so freaking awesome!
You cant do this stuff with any other operating system besides BSD and a couple of other really obscure things. Lol.
If a person is patient and can dig around long enough there is nearly nothing that cant be done with Linux.
Yes! That is why I want to have Linux! 😍 It will be a steep learning curve, but at least I am making one tiny step today: I really want to be more proficient technically, because ultimately the only way forward for me is complete tech sovereignty: It can be a bit crazy starting on the very bottom rung - especially when everything is moving so quickly forward (including Manjaro, hehe!)! Exciting stuff, either way: thanks again for your camaraderie and help dear friend!
Those are the very same reasons I kicked Microsoft Vista to the curb in 2010. Main reason is I own my computer and I'm not about to pay someone to let me use it the way I want to. Lol.
Learning Linux is not hard at all. The main thing to remember is that it is not Mac or Windows. They dont work the same and once you learn the way it works it's super simple and easy to understand.
Me personally I would reinstall the Armbian. But I'm a debian kind of guy. So I may be biased, lol.
But the versioin of Manjaro (the base operating system) you have is for the Pinebook Pro. It's what you installed on top of Manjaro is the issue cause it's not for the ARM system.
I think I said that right. Lol.