Random crashing in Ubuntu.

UpBored

I have many of these boards and need to upgrade them from 16.04 to 20.04. I assumed I would just install an Ubuntu flavor, add the PPA and be on my way. I was incredibly wrong. What should be a simple OpenBuildService ( https://build.opensuse.org/project/show/Ubuntu:20.04 ) template or similar is somehow a web of small fixes just to get a basic system to boot. I am currently sacrificing speed just to get it to boot(BIOS issue).

Every fix I could find has been implemented. The PPA packages are installed. I'm not even sure why sane defaults aren't the stock behavior on BIOS releases, which require archaic update mechanisms instead of selecting a file within the BIOS, or using fwupd.

I still get random and non-random crashing on all boards. Firefox was the included browser. Crashes. Sometimes the Application menu crashes. Sometimes the units reboot multiple times before successfully "catching" and actually booting. This is considered progress from having a non-working reboot or shutdown mechanism, requiring additional BIOS settings.

I wouldn't know if later kernels fix any of this, as I am told I have to use a kernel from over a year ago in order to boot with GPIO and I2C intact because apparently this is a better idea than breaking it out into userspace.

Does anyone maintain a functional ISO, free of these issues that wouldn't be acceptable on a consumer tier tablet of equal cost? Has anyone actually fixed all of these issues?