On 3/29/22 22:55, 'awokd' via qubes-users wrote:
> haaber:
>> I need help to modify the Q4.1 installer ISO file. I did learn how to
>> pack & unpack isos. That is fine. The idea is a new install on a larger
>> SSD of Q4.1 instead of risky "upgarde" tentatives that finish less
>> clean. (benefit: if it fails I can go back to running Q4.0)
>>
>> 1) I naïvely placed a new kernel in /extrakernels but that does not seem
>> to impress the boot-loader. I find no way to select which kernel to boot.
>
> Not entirely sure what you are trying to accomplish here. A Qubes 4.1
> install ISO with a newer kernel? Can't you install 4.1 with a recent
> prebuilt ISO and update the kernel after? If it's due to hardware
> incompatibilities, I've seen some install and update on one system, then
> move the hard drive to the one with newer hardware.
Thanks for your reply! Badly enough, I rather need a "kernel downgrade":
any xen kernel 5.x will freeze my Q4.0 system between seconds and some
minutes (a curse on Intel and Dell at this point for selling shit at
high prices). So my qubes runs for one year now in a "disaster mode"
with a 4.19 kernel for xen, and normal 5.x kernels in guest VM's (mainly
debian). The same happens when I try a fresh install with Q4.1: install
attempts with the std ISO fail 100% by system freeze before finishing
installand leave an unbootable SSD behind.
So, since Q4.0 works with this workaround, I'd like to do the same with
Q4.1 in an -otherwise- fresh install. It should it possible to replace
the kernel (which, after all, are just some executable files) by a
working one, right? Of course, the problem is that few people seem to
understand how exactly the boot-process works -- that has been
outsourced to 'savant scripts' long ago. At least I tried several dozens
of webpages on the subject, and I still don't see clear. Precise
documentation would be appreciable ...
> If you're sure you need a custom ISO, I think you may need to build that
> yourself. The 4.0 documentation is here
> (
https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/qubes-iso-building/), but 4.1 should be
> similar. If you go this route, you'd have to figure out how the builder
> determines which kernel to use and change it before completing the build.
I am afraid of that step. That would be the first time in my life that a
long build process actually finishes as planned ...
best, Bernhard