Recover from bootloop after failed kernel install

[River~~]

Hi all,

I did something stupid and now don't know how to recover gracefully.

I intended to install a new kernel for use in a vm, but actually
installed the one for dom0 because I installed the wrong packagename.
The result is that Qubes does not boot but sends the machine into an
endless boot -> panic -> reboot ... loop.

The error message that flashes past says "tried to kill init" followed
by a dump of some kind that flicks past too fast to read

The docs tell me how to edit what file in order to correct the failure
to boot, at

https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/software-update-dom0/#changing-default-kernel

but they do not tell me how to boot in order to issue the nano
command. I have also discovered that until Qubes 5 there is no plan to
bring in a boot menu with recovery options, as is provided for systems
still booting with grub2.

Am I right in assuming that until Qubes 5 there is no solution within
the Qubes system? Meaning that I will need to boot with Knoppix or
some other live distro ??

Or is there a more elegant route back to a working Qubes system?

If it is in the docs somewhere else, then please post a link to it
because I couldn't find it despite searching.

I think there should be slightly more in the docs than I could find
and am prepared to do the edit, but before I do that I want to know I
am making the most elegant suggestion.

I intend to update the docs in the section linked above sometime after
0500 UTC on 30th November and would welcome a heads-up by then if your
idea is more elegant that using Knoppix.

In the meantime, I am going to use Knoppix right now because a
solution I know beats an elegant one I didn't think of...

Warmly
River~~

[awokd]

River~~:

> Am I right in assuming that until Qubes 5 there is no solution within
> the Qubes system? Meaning that I will need to boot with Knoppix or
> some other live distro ??

There is/was a rescue option while booting from the Qubes installer. I
think it is on the boot menu, so I'm not quite sure how to access if
booting EFI.

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