BombOmOm

Yeah, it’s very unlikely it survived.

If you have your encryption key backed up, you have a chance to decrypt it still. It’s also possible, but unlikely, the key somehow survived the ISO write and it was written elsewhere on the drive, allowing the key to be recovered. I would only trust such with a professional. (There is basically a smaller encrypted section that your typed-in password decrypts, that section contains the encryption key the rest of the drive uses.)

Honestly though, if you have your stuff backed up (you do have your stuff backed up elsewhere?!?), just restore from your backup and call this a loss.

If you don’t have a backup, this was your wakeup call. Always have a backup going forward.

I’m confused, OBS works well. What is missing you are desiring?

Those are both solid pieces of hardware. However, I would suggest getting a Ryzen 5600 for a notable per-core CPU buff over the 3600x, which should help quite a bit with games like Civ’s AI turn time. And since that CPU, Motherboard socket isn’t latest-gen either, you can buy used for cheap still.

Ryzen 3600x vs Ryzen 5600.

On a slightly different note: The 7k series Ryzen CPUs get you on the latest slot, AM5. This will get you future upgradability if you want it, but it will also come with higher costs as AM5 is the newest socket, so people aren’t unloading them onto the used market in quantity. Such cost considerations are best determined by you. Both are a solid choice though.

For the GPU, I think the Radeon 6600 is a good choice. Radeon stuff works better in linux and that particular one is plenty strong for what you listed.

I highly, highly recommend PassMark’s benchmarks for comparing hardware. They are the first place I look to get relative numbers. And from there I determine what I need/want.

Single-thread CPU chart

GPU Chart

Reseat the button cell for the bios?

This is a good one too! And if you have a volt-meter, see if it’s low (or just replace it if you have a spare).

Since it is something with the computer itself and not the OS, some things to try:

• Check for any motherboard status lights.
• Reseat your RAM.
• Run a memtest. Let it do a full pass, takes ~3 hours. If you see anything more than a single error, it’s the RAM.
• Reset your BIOS to factory settings.
• Update your BIOS.
• Reset your CMOS.
• As redxef said, unplug from the wall, hit the power button a few times to fully drain the system, then plug back in.
• Unplug everything you possibly can. Leave just a single monitor, a single stick of RAM, the cpu, and the power cable plugged in. Literally nothing else, not even a keyboard. (You will need to keep your graphics card plugged in as the 2700x doesn’t have onboard graphics)
• Swap to a different single stick of RAM and put it in a different slot.
• Visually inspect for any exploded or bulging capacitors.
• If you have gotten to here, swap in any spare parts you have from the prior list. Different graphics card, different ram stick, different monitor, different cpu or mobo if you have one.
• Unplug/replug your internal power cables, and unplug any unnecessary internal cables (fans, rgb, etc) (Is it this? Probably not, but we are getting to the desperate part of the list.)
• Reseat your CPU (don’t forget to clean off and re-apply thermal paste)
• Cry a little

The goal is to narrow down which piece of hardware is failing.

The Framework 12 has a touchscreen, which the OP wants. I have the 13 and can vouch for it’s quality and upgradibility.

Though, OP also only wants to spend 300€ max used, so, both of our posts are out of the running.

no distro is best

And the nice thing is this isn’t like MacOS vs Windows. Knowledge gained in one distro is transferable to other distros. Just pick one and get started, you can always change later if you wish.

Ok, he actually did a good job with the sponsor slot, writing a script for it complete with ascii art.

• This has been my yearly allotment of saying nice things about an ad.

Run it via the terminal, this will usually give you some more detailed error messages to work with. After doing that, post them here and we can help better.

Absolutely!

Here is a feature comparison between the two.

tl;dr: It’s a great piece of software that does everything the vast majority of people will ever want it for. For the other percent, it does some things MS Office can’t do and vice versa.

Seconding Framework, they make great laptops.

Highly recommend getting one with an AMD processor, as AMD drivers are built into the Linux kernel updates. Driver updates will just work without you having to think about them.

Honestly, Mint works well for games too. Been running it for the last year. :)

Depending on what VPN software you use, they may already have a linux version. All of the big-name ones do, as well as a good chunk of the smaller ones.

For anti-virus, you don’t need one in Linux. Even for Windows I would recommend using the built-in AV, rather than Norton.

Edit: I see you use Norton VPN. That one doesn’t have a linux version. Check out Mullvlad or Nord VPN.

Yep! In steam, Add Game > Add Non-Steam Game > Select the Game. Then in the game’s properties, go to the compatibility section and choose “Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool”, which will then run the game under Proton.

That said, I actually run a number of games under Wine. The Heroic Launcher covers GOG, Epic, and Prime games, and will install them with Wine enabled for them by default.

Things to try:

• Update your BIOS, this will likely solve the issue since things are working fine with your prior CPU.
• If you are running an XMP/EXPO profile, turn it off, as it might be making your system unstable.
• Memtest. Run it for at least a full cycle (which takes about an hour). If you see more than a single error, then there is something wrong with your RAM.

What errors do you get on boot? Also, are Windows and Linux on the same drive, or separate?

I’m fresh out of uni and I’m trying to learn new stuff, but idk what to do with my life anymore.

I’m assuming you are actively looking for a job in a field relevant to your degree? If not, that is your life until you find one; some branching out may be required if your particular field isn’t in demand.

I’m being offered to take a sysadmin certification for this particular distribution I know absolutely nothing about…The exam is free, but I must pass it, or else I must pay for it and then take it again.

Unless this certification is specifically listed as a requirement for a job your are applying to, don’t do the certification. They are normally expensive and not that helpful.

You don’t really need one that is specifically Linux based, as you can format a windows box to Linux at will. Really any 10" laptop you find on cragslist or ebay should do.

Honestly, the only difficult requirement will be the 10" part. 12"-13" are much more common for small laptops.