g505s BIOS settings for installing 4.0.1

[cyber....@tutanota.com]

Hello everyone,

I'd like to install Qubes 4.0.1 on a g505s, but the installation routine is telling me that IOMMU/Vt-d/AMD-Vi, and Interrupt Remapping are not available. I've tried every possible combination of BIOS settings I can imagine (such as enabling SVM support and toggling between Legacy boot and UEFI boot), but nothing is working. I've seen a lot of posts on this discussion forum saying that the g505s is compatable with Qubes 4.0, so I'm confused. Might someone toss me a clue?

Thank you.

[awokd]

cyber....@tutanota.com:

> Hello everyone,
>
> I'd like to install Qubes 4.0.1 on a g505s, but the installation routine is telling me that IOMMU/Vt-d/AMD-Vi, and Interrupt Remapping are not available. I've tried every possible combination of BIOS settings I can imagine (such as enabling SVM support and toggling between Legacy boot and UEFI boot), but nothing is working. I've seen a lot of posts on this discussion forum saying that the g505s is compatable with Qubes 4.0, so I'm confused. Might someone toss me a clue?
>
> Thank you.
>

I run Coreboot on mine but had installed Qubes 4.0 on stock BIOS too.
You want SVM enabled. Think I used legacy mode. Is it the most recent
available BIOS version?

[cyber....@tutanota.com]

I found a more recent BIOS version. I'll try updating and report back.

[cyber....@tutanota.com]

On Friday, January 11, 2019 at 9:53:55 PM UTC-5, cyber....@tutanota.com wrote:
> I found a more recent BIOS version. I'll try updating and report back.

Alas, updating to the newest BIOS (v3.0) made no difference. Virtualization support is enabled, and all other settings are legacy.

Might someone have another idea for me to try?

If not, I guess I'll have to figure out how to install Coreboot.

[cyber....@tutanota.com]

Just FYI: After installing the latest Lenovo BIOS (v3.0), the g505s will no longer boot to Fedora or Debian. Those operating systems install just fine, but the computer will not load them. I even have all of the security checks turned off in the BIOS settings. Someday, I'll learn how to flash Coreboot. Until then, it looks like I've been vendor locked into Windows on this machine.

[qma ster]

Proprietary UEFI on this G505S laptop is a real piece of sheet and I really encourage you to "upgrade" it to coreboot opensource BIOS as soon as possible! There is a great "Flashing a BIOS chip" detailed step-by-step article at DangerousPrototypes site which uses this G505S laptop as an example, and if you'd have any questions regarding the coreboot build/configuration - we will be happy to help you. Although I could just send you my own coreboot build, it is discouraged because to become a productive member of our small community you'd have to be able to build coreboot on your own. So please try following this way, and if you'd have any questions we will happily answer

[Tai...@gmx.com]

You need to install coreboot and MAKE SURE that you have included the
microcode updates otherwise it won't work and you will have no security.

The issue is a lack of microcode updates without them IOMMU won't work,
this has been posted many times before FYI.

[Ivan Ivanov]

Yes, indeed. For convenience, the instructions about how to easily
patch the coreboot with the latest microcodes before building it for
G505S - are available at "G505S hacking" page from DangerousPrototypes
wiki - http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Lenovo_G505S_hacking . By
the way Mike updated it recently so I encourage you to take a look and
maybe contribute if you have something to add.