(superseeded) Linuxcnc on Linux Mint 19.3 quick and easy installation

Either use my remastered ISO for the simplest install with MATE desktop or use the packages from my repos.
Everything in my repos are built on Mint and you will not have any issues with packages or having to install packages manually.
I suspected there would be an issue with gcc once users tried to install the headers package.
My kernel and headers package are built on a fresh install of Mint. Then the Linuxcnc packages are built on the same machine. Updates for the Linuxcnc packages will show up through the Mint updater. Provided of course your repos are setup and the appropriate key added.
There is also a package in my repos for installing all the required dependencies to build Linuxcnc packages from source if you want a version other than 2.8. The 4 series kernel in the repo will give good latency and from all reports is quite stable.

tommylight wrote: Did you check the original post, as it has some big changes.
Xfce should also work, just make sure the other repositories are enabled in the software sources.
In any case, if any step does not go to plan, stop and post here, do not try to get the dependencies as that might mess up the installation and might require a fresh install of Mint.

I hadn't seen that yet, but looking at it, I don't know if it's appropriate for me? It seems it's been previously established that our hardware is too old, so I have to be on RTAI. The couple latency tests I've been able to get to along the way do show a big difference when I'm on RTAI. As far as I could tell too, it seemed like 2.8 only can do preempt, so no RTAI? Unless it's still a matter of "Get Mint, then install the image and headers" that you've mentioned.

In the meantime, I installed the Wheezy ISO that's on the site here again. Runs like garbage again. Even if I'm on XFCE, everything takes so long to load, so long to click anything. I don't know if I need to do a bunch of software tweaking to trim it down, but it's just been the headache I found when I was trying it before. All of the versions of Mint XFCE I've used have been way more actually usable. My latency right now on Wheezy is Servo 8315/Base 12748, but using the desktop itself is soooo slow. But those latencies are way better than the 123440/108471 I've gotten on the other kernel even on Mint.

I've gone through so many installations and so much tweaking and trying, I'm running out of ideas or seemingly final solutions without having to tell my boss to upgrade the hardware, which I doubt is going to happen. I really appreciate the help though. I just don't know what to do anymore..

Hmmm, Beagle, did you check the original post? It is at the top of everything to use your ISO as the first option.
just wondering :whistle:

BeagleBrainz wrote: Either use my remastered ISO for the simplest install with MATE desktop or use the packages from my repos.
Everything in my repos are built on Mint and you will not have any issues with packages or having to install packages manually.
I suspected there would be an issue with gcc once users tried to install the headers package.
My kernel and headers package are built on a fresh install of Mint. Then the Linuxcnc packages are built on the same machine. Updates for the Linuxcnc packages will show up through the Mint updater. Provided of course your repos are setup and the appropriate key added.
There is also a package in my repos for installing all the required dependencies to build Linuxcnc packages from source if you want a version other than 2.8. The 4 series kernel in the repo will give good latency and from all reports is quite stable.

I will dig around these ideas as well and see what I can do. Thank you so much.

edit: Looking again, I see it's all still indeed preempt/uspace and specifically "no RTAI". I can still try anyways, but it's appeared so far that our hardware just doesn't handle latency well unless it's on RTAI, so I don't know..

ajklotz wrote: edit: Looking again, I see it's all still indeed preempt/uspace and specifically "no RTAI". I can still try anyways, but it's appeared so far that our hardware just doesn't handle latency well unless it's on RTAI, so I don't know..

I did not notice that you are trying to install RTAI, although i do remember someone asked for that. Light bulb gone dim.
For RTAI you will need to chase some dependencies, but i do not recall exactly what.

tommylight wrote:

ajklotz wrote: edit: Looking again, I see it's all still indeed preempt/uspace and specifically "no RTAI". I can still try anyways, but it's appeared so far that our hardware just doesn't handle latency well unless it's on RTAI, so I don't know..

I did not notice that you are trying to install RTAI, although i do remember someone asked for that. Light bulb gone dim.
For RTAI you will need to chase some dependencies, but i do not recall exactly what.

I made that list on my other thread of the stuff I ended up needing to get, which was kind of fine after I got the hang of it. This needed this and then that needed that, but first this needed that, etc. But I still ended up stuck on actually installing LinuxCNC because it kept telling me libusb wasn't there, when all my evidence showed that it was..

I just added the reference to the ISO for completeness.
And wanted to pint out that my repos can be used to install Linuxcnc on a pre existing installation of Mint 19.x.

Well, I need some help... that is getting to be a theme...
I have a new used i7 4gen desktop and I'm trying to get a real time os installed to run Linuxcnc. i have done a lot of different things(linux installs of various flavors and kernel source compile) and now I'm trying the procedure described in the first post of this thread. I've installed linux mint xfce 19.3.
I followed the steps and I can still reboot and run which is further than I've been before but I'm getting max jitter of 6160975ns on the servo thread and 6914234ns on the base thread. No kidding. My older celeron laptop was much better than that. And apps seem like they are very slow starting up and running. I must have buggered something up.
When the latency test starts:
eddie@shop-cnc:~$ latency-test
Note: Using POSIX non-realtime
Waiting for component 'lat' to become ready................................................................................
Note: Using POSIX non-realtime
eddie@shop-cnc:~$ uname -a
Linux shop-cnc 5.3.0-53-generic #47~18.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Thu May 7 13:10:50 UTC 2020 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
It doesn't say anything about rtPreempt or rtai or real time so I thought maybe i did something wrong so i ran through the installation procedure again and got to
eddie@shop-cnc:~$ sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keys.gnupg.net:80 --recv-key EF1B07FEE0EE663E
Executing: /tmp/apt-key-gpghome.jUqZoBdORi/gpg.1.sh --keyserver hkp://keys.gnupg.net:80 --recv-key EF1B07FEE0EE663E
gpg: connecting dirmngr at '/tmp/apt-key-gpghome.jUqZoBdORi/S.dirmngr' failed: IPC connect call failed
gpg: keyserver receive failed: No dirmngr

I don't have a clue what that is saying.This is the second time I've run through the commands so maybe I can't do that but once. I have no Idea.
Any suggestions from anyone?
Eddie

sudo apt install dirmngr
and hold down shift and ctrl when booting to show the GRUB menu, choose a kernel with RT in the name.
The one you are using is not RT.
After installing RT kernel do not use
sudo apt upgrade
use
sudo apt dist-upgrade

many thanks!
The dirmngr was already installed.
I rebooted with the shift and ctrl and it booted without going thru a grub menu but I got this:
eddie@shop-cnc:~$ uname -a
Linux shop-cnc 5.4.0-0.bpo.4-rt-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_RT Debian 5.4.19-1~bpo10+1 (2020-03-09) x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
eddie@shop-cnc:~$ latency-test
Waiting for component 'threads' to become ready....Waited 3 seconds for master. giving up.
Note: Using POSIX realtime

^CNote: Using POSIX realtime
eddie@shop-cnc:~$ latency-test
Note: Using POSIX realtime
Unexpected realtime delay on task 0 with period 25000
This Message will only display once per session.
Run the Latency Test and resolve before continuing.
Note: Using POSIX realtime
eddie@shop-cnc:~$ latency-test
Note: Using POSIX realtime
^CNote: Using POSIX realtime
eddie@shop-cnc:~$ latency-test
Note: Using POSIX realtime
Note: Using POSIX realtime

and latency numbers are 4611/13907 (unstressed). Plenty good to start with.
note the message on the first and second runs of the latency test. Is this something I need to investigate?
I have a new used graphics card and a wifi card to install then I can start integrating to my cnc. I have a mesa 7i96 for it.
Thanks again.
Eddie