Switching to Linux can feel great, but sometimes things just do not work out of the box, right? When you hit a hardware issue, finding the solution requires a few to several important steps. You must find the cause of the problem, and then you need to identify the exact device or driver. Finally, you apply the recommended solution. Historically, users relied on the command line for those data-gathering steps.

However, the Linux Mint team decided to make those initial steps much easier. They developed powerful new graphical troubleshooting tools to help you identify hardware and get the details needed for quick fixes.

New Tool 1: “System Information”

The first big change involved rebranding and upgrading an existing utility. Developers took the “System Reports” tool and completely overhauled it, calling it “System Information”.

System Information Tool in Linux Mint

This upgraded tool still holds your original “System Information”, “System Reports”, and “Crash Reports”. However, it now includes four essential new pages that show you much more about your machine.

This hardware focus will be very helpful for solving tricky problems.

1.1. The USB Page

The new USB page gives you a detailed look at all plugged-in devices. First, you can see the device’s type, name, and unique ID. This unique ID helps you identify the device and its manufacturer.

Furthermore, the tool groups devices by the USB controller. Therefore, you can easily compare a device’s connection speed and power usage against the controller’s maximum limits.

This feature really simplifies troubleshooting common issues, like slow transfers or random disconnections.

1.2. The GPU and PCI Pages

You can now easily gather details about internal components.

• GPU Page: You can find information about your default graphics card and see if it supports hardware acceleration.
• PCI Page: This page shows a detailed view of your computer’s internal parts. Specifically, you see the PCI ID and the driver currently in use, which are important pieces of information when troubleshooting PCI devices.

1.3. The BIOS Page

Finally, the BIOS page shares information about your motherboard, BIOS version, boot mode, and secure-boot status.

If you need external help, the “System Information” application also makes it simple to share data. You have buttons right in the application to copy a full inxi report to your clipboard or upload the report. Plus, the information shown updates automatically as you use the tool.

New Tool 2: “System Administration”

Linux Mint also created a totally new tool called “System Administration”. Since this tool handles important system functions, it runs with admin privileges.

Currently, this tool features a “Boot menu” page.

• You can show or hide the boot menu at the top of this page.
• You can also set the duration that the menu stays visible before your default operating system boots. This feature is incredibly useful if you use multiple kernel series or if you are dual-booting.

Moreover, the second section of this tool lets you add boot parameters. Adding these parameters is sometimes necessary when you are dealing with certain hardware or driver issues.

System Administration Tool in Linux Mint

These new tools show Linux Mint’s commitment to improving the user experience, especially for managing system hardware and settings. We can expect more improvements and feature additions in the days to come.

LMDE 6 EOL

Clement Lefebvre, the lead developer and founder of Linux Mint, confirmed that LMDE 6 will reach its End of Life (EOL) on January 1st, 2026. After that date, the system will not receive security updates or bug fixes, even though the repositories continue to work.

If you use the 64-bit version of LMDE 6, you can upgrade easily to the newer LMDE 7 “Gigi”.

Clem also noted that Linux Mint team cannot continue supporting the 32-bit version because many important projects, including Debian, Ubuntu, Mozilla, and Chromium, dropped 32-bit support.

Summary

• Linux Mint added a new set of troubleshooting tools. The goal of the new tools is to make troubleshooting steps (finding the cause, identifying the device/driver, applying the solution) “a little bit easier” than relying solely on the command line.
• The “System Reports” tool was rebranded as “System Information”.
• “System Information” includes four new pages: USB, GPU, PCI, and BIOS.
• The USB page helps troubleshoot issues like slow transfers or random disconnections by comparing connection speed/power usage against controller capacity.
• The PCI page shows the PCI ID and the driver in use.
• The new “System Administration” tool runs with admin privileges and allows users to modify the boot menu display duration and add boot parameters.
• LMDE 6 will reach End of Life on January 1st, 2026

sk

Senthilkumar Palani (aka SK) is the Founder and Editor in chief of OSTechNix. He is a Linux/Unix enthusiast and FOSS supporter. He lives in Tamilnadu, India.