Desktop mode has disappeared?

[Jex Alundri]

So I was gifted an Alienware Alpha a while back that wouldn't boot. I figured out it was a dead CMOS battery, and after replacing it it booted up just fine. I added my account to it, updated the software, downloaded some of my games, customized the lighting options, all that fun stuff. Then I tucked it away for several months while I focused on other projects. Recently, I decided to fire it up again, and it updated the software right away, and it was after this that I noticed my customized lighting had reset to default blue. Okay, probably got reset during the update. Well, I tried to switch to Desktop mode, only to find that it's gone. It doesn't show up as an option in the power menu. I read that it needs to be enabled in Settings>Interface, but I have no Interface section in my Settings menu, either. Is Desktop mode just gone now? I'm so confused.

System is running SteamOS 2.0, kernel version 4.19.0-0.steamos2.3-amd64 (is this right? It's running an Intel Core i7 with NVIDIA graphics).

I'm tearing my hair out over this, so if anyone has any light to shed, I'd really appreciate the help.

[lsdninja]

From what I remember, enabling desktop mode on old SteamOS was such a hassle that I never bothered. Whatever the case, you probably want to replace that old SteamOS with something a little more modern since it's based on Debian Jessie which has been out of support since 2020.

Valve haven't officially released the current version of SteamOS for general use, but the HoloISO project has created a version you can try. I saw in passing that it doesn't like nVidia though. Another option might be Bazzite, which is an attempt to create an alternative OS for the Steam Deck based on Fedora, but they have images for general PCs too. It even apparently has nVidia support, but now that I think about it, the Alpha had something like a 950 or 960 in it iirc, which might not be supported in the current nvidia drivers.

[Jex Alundri]

I appreciate the suggestions. I'm probably going to end up doing just that in the end, but I want to try and get this situation licked first, if only out of stubbornness. It's annoying the hell out of me because I HAD the desktop mode before, it *was* already working as it was supposed to, I want to know what happened, if the mode was taken away for some reason, if something has gone terminally wrong, if I'm overlooking something really simple, if I'm missing something really complicated. I don't like walking away from a problem without an answer, because I never know when that answer will help me down the road.

Also, I'm not finding conclusive information on my specific model (which is also frustrating me) but I think the GPU might even be an 800 series, which might hamper my choices at alternate operating systems even more.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

The only thing you can do to those Alienware Alpha is wipe it clean and install WinOS on it such as Win10 64bit. Or install a Linux distro.

[lsdninja]

Are you still seeing the old Big Picture Mode or the newer one from the Steam Deck? If the latter then it's possible it's just upgraded you to the most recent Steam client without taking in to account any customisations needed for the old Steam Machine hardware. Valve haven't cared about brewmaster in so long that it could be anything, though.

Another reason for simply blowing it all away and moving to a more recent OS is it potentially opens you up to using Proton. Not having a means to run Windows games on these old Steam Machines was a significant oversight on Valve's part and one of many reasons why they failed to gain any traction.

Regarding drivers, if it does in fact have an 800-series GPU then you might be out of luck. It looks like nVidia dropped driver support for those last year, the final version being in the 390 series. From what I could tell from the nVidia website, the 900 series in both desktop and notebook form are supported with current drivers.

[Jex Alundri]

It's the old Big Picture mode, definitely not the newer Steam Deck anything. I'm pretty certain the Deck is running SteamOS 3.0, and this is still a version of 2.0. And yes, I know it's outdated. I still want to understand what happened to my desktop mode.

Also, one of the pieces of software that updated tonight was Proton, why would I have Proton on here if it isn't supported? That just seems weird to me.

[lsdninja]

Oh, you definitely wouldn't have upgraded away from SteamOS 2.0, but I'm not entirely convinced you haven't wound up on a version of the Steam client significantly newer than anything that was around when 2.0 was current (though if you aren't seeing the Steam Deck version of Big Picture that indicates it's not new enough for the old one to have been removed yet).

Are you able to access the about information in the settings section? That should tell you what build of Steam you're running and what date it was built.

[Jex Alundri]

Here's all that it says in the About section:

Hostname: steamos
OS Name: SteamOS 2.0
OS Codename: [blank]
OS Variant: [blank]
OS Version: 2
OS Build: [blank]
Kernel Version: 4.19.0-0.steamos2.3-amd64
BIOS Version: A02

[Bad 💀 Motha]

The latest build date is Sep 11 2023
However I'm not sure if Steam OS 2.0 would have updated that however it would be something with a totally new GUI as the older GUI from before 2023 no longer exists on any system that has had a Steam update. Even Win7/8 systems have the newer GUI which is all Steam Deck oriented and more touch compatible then ever before. Giving regular Steam Client settings that are more in-tune with the GUI of BPM.

I'm not sure about updating Steam OS 2.0 or 3.0 though. Can't seem to find any real answers for this but you should be able to do a complete fresh install of Steam OS 3.0 after making a Steam OS 3.0 USB Flash Drive using the image available from Steam website as they no longer provide Steam OS 2.0 related downloads, updates or support.

Steam OS 2.0 also used Debian while 3.0 is using Arch

Alternatives would be a fresh install of Win10, Win11, or ChimeraOS

I would remove the Steam OS 2.0 drive though if you do any of this and clean install a different OS onto a new drive. Allowing you to swap if needed.

[Jex Alundri]

That's a damn fine idea, actually. Didn't even occur to me to simply swap out the drive if I went another route to make switching back easier. Thanks!

I don't think SteamOS 3.0 is even an option though, I think it would see the GPU in this and simply laugh. But that's okay, I really don't need the latest and greatest on this. I have a baller PC if I want to play current titles, I want to employ this for older titles that would have been contemporary for it. But right now all I want is my freaking desktop mode back, lol.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

What are the full hardware specs of your ALPHA and what model revision; R1, R2, R3 ?

The R1 ones were quite bad I must say.

I can't see Steam OS 3.0 being much of an issue since we know those Alpha can run Win10 and 11 without issues.

[Jex Alundri]

Preeeeeetty sure it's an ASM100, so R1? The label underneath says it's model D07U, and it has a Core i7-4765T, that's all I can say for certain. I'm not expecting it to be the greatest thing in the world, it's old and I basically got it for the cost of a CMOS battery. If it performs better than an OUYA I'm happy with it.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

It's not really going to play much through Steam as far as Games but it'll make a decent web browser and media PC

[PopinFRESH]

At least until Valve launches the full general availability for SteamOS3, id recommend installing Pop! OS. I’m pretty sure you’re going to lose the original RGB control, however, there are some resource ones for Linux that would probably work for that. Pop! OS is really easy to get up and running for Steam as well as other game platforms through Lutris or Heroic launchers. They provide built-in NVIDIA driver support so it would work well for the Alpha

Here is the RGB control software I was referring to

https://openrgb.org/

Here is the Pop! OS page
https://pop.system76.com/

And here is their basic “gaming on Pop!OS” help page.
https://support.system76.com/articles/linux-gaming/

[Jex Alundri]

Not to sound ungrateful for all the suggestions, because I really am. My next step was to see what I could do to expand the capability of the machine, and I'm getting really interesting suggestions on that front. But I /really/ want to try and figure out this situation before I move on to a new situation, even if it seems pointless to others. Having random yet fundamental features up and disappear from my system without explanation or seemingly any reason doesn't sit well with me, I want to understand what happened and/or how to fix it or it will bother me indefinitely.

[lsdninja]

Jex Alundri eredeti hozzászólása:

Here's all that it says in the About section:

Hostname: steamos
OS Name: SteamOS 2.0
OS Codename: [blank]
OS Variant: [blank]
OS Version: 2
OS Build: [blank]
Kernel Version: 4.19.0-0.steamos2.3-amd64
BIOS Version: A02

It has been a while since I last used old Big Picture, but is there a screen that looks a little like this anywhere in the version you get on SteamOS 2:

https://linuxgamingcentral.com/images/retrospectives/old_bpm/system.webp