Can't install Qubes, Rebooting after loading initrd.img

[Daniil .Travnikov]

I can't install Qubes Release 4.0-rc4 in some reason.


I use the Rufus tool for “DD image” on 8 GB Flash Drive, after that I see in Boot Menu this 2 kind of select:
---
EFI:JetFlashTranscend 8GB 1100HD(Part1,Sig2161DF44)
JetFlashTranscend 8GB 1100
---



When I choose the 1st one with EFI:... it's showing some black screen:
---
Xen 4.8.3 (c/s) EFI loader
Using configuration file 'BOOTX64.cfg'
vmlinuz: 0x000000008a01f000-0x000000008a71adb8
initrd.img: 0x0000000088c6f000-0x000000008a01e64c
---
and after that just rebooting.


But when I choose another JetFlash... it's showing Menu where I can choose Install methods. I am choosing Install Qubes R4.0-rc4 and see black screen:
---
Loading xen.gz... ok
Loading vmlinux... ok
Loading initrd.img... ok
---
and after that flickering cursor on whole black sreen and rebooting.


How and what I must fix?

[Daniil .Travnikov]

Tried to install from DVD today, but nothing was changed. Can anybody help please?

[Yuraeitha]

Not all hardware systems (UEFI firmware etc.) can boot up Qubes (or even other Linux distro's), even if you disable the secure boot and other various settings that can cause issues, it might still not be possible. So there is a "risk" that you can't get the UEFI boot to work. Though it may also just be a rogue setting you need to change, but even so, it might still prove impossible in the end.

Did you try install with LegacyBIOS/Grub? New isn't always better, and UEFI/EFI is by no means bug free, unexploitable or more stable, so this is a scenario where new really isn't "better". For that matter, LegacyBIOS/Grub is pretty much its equal when it comes to security, stability and reliability, if not better.

Booting with Grub or similar Linux boot manaters is also more versatile, you can easier change kernel/xen versions during boot, if you one day should need to. If you use UEFI/EFI, then it's a bit annoying having to kind of "hack" your own system with a live-boot medium just to change the configuration file. Not that it's very difficult, it's just annoying, and it may also be difficult for the first time a person needs to do it.

Try LegacyBIOS/Grub boot instead, see if it gives you better results. This also has another benefit being you can also easier enable/disable graphic drivers and such in the Grub menu, which makes it easier to troubleshoot the issue by trial and error'ing.

btw, does your hardware meet Qubes 4 minimum hardware recommendations? (It's not a question of work-power here, but required features), and are these features enabled in your BIOS/UEFI? Is it new hardware? Old hardware? Have you successfully run any Linux distry on it in the past?

[Tim W]

Need more info for.people to help you. Your lqptop hardware make model processor is it one off the qubes list that shows its supported. What is the graphic card? Mnay blackscrn flicker issues are video card related i.e. nvidia amd.

[Daniil .Travnikov]

среда, 21 февраля 2018 г., 23:39:50 UTC+3 пользователь Yuraeitha написал:

Thank you for your answer.

Yes I tried to install with LegacyBIOS/Grub (in BIOS I chose 'Disabled' in 'EFI Optimized Boot':
https://prnt.sc/ii5d61
https://prnt.sc/ii5dqy
https://prnt.sc/ii5e6x

Yes I already have another installed Qubes Release 3.2 which is working only with 'Xen 4.6.6 Linux 4.4.14-11.pvops.qubes.x86_64':
https://prnt.sc/ii5iih
https://prnt.sc/ii5ioz
https://prnt.sc/ii5ith

[Daniil .Travnikov]

четверг, 22 февраля 2018 г., 4:18:15 UTC+3 пользователь Tim W написал:

> Need more info for.people to help you. Your lqptop hardware make model processor is it one off the qubes list that shows its supported. What is the graphic card? Mnay blackscrn flicker issues are video card related i.e. nvidia amd.

Thank you for your asking.

At first I want to tell, that this is a server configuration, not laptop or home PC.


My configuration is:
---
Intel® Server Board S5520HC
(https://ark.intel.com/products/36599/Intel-Server-Board-S5520HC)

System BIOS Version S5500.86B.01.00.0064
updated to the latest Build Date 05/05/2014

Total Memory 16384 MB

CPU 1 and CPU2 - Intel (R) Xeon (R) E5606 2.13GHz

Screen about Virtualization: https://prnt.sc/ii5n4y

About graphic card, actually I have not any discret card, my monitor working trhough VGA which has not high resolution.

[Daniil .Travnikov]

When I updated last time my BIOS Firmware, it was been from here:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/23908/Intel-Server-Board-S5520HC-S5500HCV-S5520HCT-and-Intel-Workstation-Board-S5520SC-Firmware-Update-Package-for-EFI?product=36599

"S5520HC S5500HCV S5520HCT S5520SC BIOS Recovery Package for EFI"

Maybe this is the problem, that my bios in some reason could working always with EFI mode even if I change it on 'Disable' in bios menu?

[awokd]

I don't think that's the problem, since in your other email you said it
was booting from GRUB, correct? Assuming that board uses Intel video, have
you seen https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/intel-igfx-troubleshooting/ ?

[Daniil .Travnikov]

пятница, 23 февраля 2018 г., 5:13:32 UTC+3 пользователь awokd написал:

Thank you very much vor your reply.

I thought that this issues in url which you provided in existing systems which already installed. How can I change for example "startup parameters for Xen"?

How could this changes has any affects on USB Boot Installer from this guide? Or maybe I must change some options in this installer, then how could I do that? Through terminal in existing system?

I am asking becuase in some reason I can't open terminal in boot process from 'installer flash disk' with Qubes Release 4.0-rc4 (when I must click 'e' button in process of installation which I showed on sreenshots before). But for installed system 3.2 which already on my main ssd disk I can do that, but it does not make any sense to change anything in already installed system or am I wrong?

[awokd]

On Fri, February 23, 2018 10:46 am, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:

> I thought that this issues in url which you provided in existing systems
> which already installed. How can I change for example "startup parameters
> for Xen"?

If you are using legacy boot for the installer, go to the Troubleshooting
menu. You might want to first try "Install Qubes R4.0-rc4 in basic
graphics mode" if you haven't already.
You can also press TAB on it to edit the startup options directly.

> How could this changes has any affects on USB Boot Installer from this
> guide? Or maybe I must change some options in this installer, then how
> could I do that? Through terminal in existing system?

EFI is a bit different, not sure you get a Troubleshooting menu there. If
not, see
https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/uefi-troubleshooting/#change-installer-kernel-parameters-in-uefi
for how to edit the configuration directly on the installer.

> I am asking becuase in some reason I can't open terminal in boot process
> from 'installer flash disk' with Qubes Release 4.0-rc4 (when I must click
> 'e' button in process of installation which I showed on sreenshots
> before). But for installed system 3.2 which already on my main ssd disk I
> can do that, but it does not make any sense to change anything in already
> installed system or am I wrong?

You're right, no point in changing the options of your currently installed
R3.2!

[Daniil .Travnikov]

пятница, 23 февраля 2018 г., 14:07:38 UTC+3 пользователь awokd написал:

> On Fri, February 23, 2018 10:46 am, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:
>

First of all, thank you very much for your time I am very appreciate that you trying to help me.

> If you are using legacy boot for the installer, go to the Troubleshooting
> menu. You might want to first try "Install Qubes R4.0-rc4 in basic
> graphics mode" if you haven't already.
> You can also press TAB on it to edit the startup options directly.

Yes, I tried this basic graphics mode, but nothing new changes. What options I have on this Tab command line?

Screenshot: https://prnt.sc/iiounx

> EFI is a bit different, not sure you get a Troubleshooting menu there. If
> not, see
> https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/uefi-troubleshooting/#change-installer-kernel-parameters-in-uefi
> for how to edit the configuration directly on the installer.

Like I understand, all this process must be on the system. But I am stuck on this process, when I must to mount my usb disk.

Usually when I attach my usb I see him on desktop or in some system folder.
In this guide I see that I must "mount the EFI partition", could you please tell me how can I do that in Qubes 3.2?

P.S. When I put 'qvm-block' in terminal I see my usb disk of course, but what next?

[awokd]

On Fri, February 23, 2018 11:41 am, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:

> Yes, I tried this basic graphics mode, but nothing new changes. What
> options I have on this Tab command line?
>
> Screenshot: https://prnt.sc/iiounx

Try replacing "quiet" with "iommu=no-igfx".

> P.S. When I put 'qvm-block' in terminal I see my usb disk of course, but
> what next?

Look in https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/usb/#how-to-attach-usb-drives to see
how to attach an individual partition.

However, I checked out that link for your board and it's pretty old, Q1
'09. In Qubes R3.2, can you run "qubes-hcl-report"?

[Unman]

Use qvm-block -a to attach the usb disk to a qube.
Open a terminal in that qube.
The disk should have appeared as /dev/xvdi, with partitions as xvdi1
xvdi2 etc. If your EFI partition is the first on the disk:
Just use 'sudo mount /dev/xvdi1 /mnt' to mount the EFI partition.
Then you can edit the files under /mnt

[Daniil .Travnikov]

пятница, 23 февраля 2018 г., 7:29:00 UTC-5 пользователь awokd написал:

> On Fri, February 23, 2018 11:41 am, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:

> Try replacing "quiet" with "iommu=no-igfx".

Replaced, and have seen some new lines in black screen until again he's got rebooted.

> However, I checked out that link for your board and it's pretty old, Q1
> '09. In Qubes R3.2, can you run "qubes-hcl-report"?

This is result:

[user@dom0 ~]$ qubes-hcl-report
Qubes release 3.2 (R3.2)

Brand: Intel Corporation
Model: S5520HC
BIOS: S5500.86B.01.00.0064.050520141428

Xen: 4.6.6
Kernel: 4.4.14-11

RAM: 16314 Mb

CPU:
Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5606 @ 2.13GHz
Chipset:
Intel Corporation 5520 I/O Hub to ESI Port [8086:3406] (rev 22)
VGA:
Matrox Electronics Systems Ltd. MGA G200e [Pilot] ServerEngines (SEP1) [102b:0522] (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])

Net:
Intel Corporation 82575EB Gigabit Network Connection (rev 02)
Intel Corporation 82575EB Gigabit Network Connection (rev 02)

SCSI:
OCZ-AGILITY3 Rev: 2.15
OCZ-AGILITY3 Rev: 2.15
ST1000DM003-9YN1 Rev: CC4C
Transcend 8GB Rev: 1100

HVM: Active
I/O MMU: Not active
HAP/SLAT: Yes
TPM: Device not found
Remapping: no

Qubes HCL Files are copied to: 'dom0'
Qubes-HCL-Intel_Corporation-S5520HC-20180223-080907.yml - HCL Info

[Daniil .Travnikov]

пятница, 23 февраля 2018 г., 15:30:16 UTC+3 пользователь Unman написал:

Thanks for your help!

> Use qvm-block -a to attach the usb disk to a qube.
> Open a terminal in that qube.
> The disk should have appeared as /dev/xvdi, with partitions as xvdi1
> xvdi2 etc. If your EFI partition is the first on the disk:
> Just use 'sudo mount /dev/xvdi1 /mnt' to mount the EFI partition.
> Then you can edit the files under /mnt

Is it possible to edit this files only in another qubes? Can I do this in Dom0?

[awokd]

On Fri, February 23, 2018 1:10 pm, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:

> I/O MMU: Not active

This might be the problem. Look through your BIOS settings and make sure
it's turned on.

P.S. You might also want to check out
https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/intel-igfx-troubleshooting/#workaround-for-existing-systems-with-vt-d-enabled-grub--legacy-mode
for your R3.2 configuration- it might be why you can't use the newer
kernel on it.

[Unman]

Of course, if your disk is attached to dom0 rather than to a sys-usb
then you can edit directly in dom0. (I just assumed it wouldnt be.)

[Daniil .Travnikov]

пятница, 23 февраля 2018 г., 16:20:13 UTC+3 пользователь awokd написал:

I enabled this feature and tried again replace "quiet" with "iommu=no-igfx" and changed in Qubes 3.2 the startup parameters for Xen:

---
Open a terminal in dom0
Edit /etc/default/grub (e.g. sudo nano /etc/default/grub)
Add to the line GRUB_CMDLINE_XEN_DEFAULT the setting iommu=no-igfx, save and quit
Commit the change withsudo grub2-mkconfig --output /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
---


But still nothing. This is screenshot in BIOS with new enable function: https://prnt.sc/iiqpdo

[Daniil .Travnikov]

пятница, 23 февраля 2018 г., 14:07:38 UTC+3 пользователь awokd написал:

> On Fri, February 23, 2018 10:46 am, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:
>
> EFI is a bit different, not sure you get a Troubleshooting menu there. If
> not, see
> https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/uefi-troubleshooting/#change-installer-kernel-parameters-in-uefi
> for how to edit the configuration directly on the installer.

Many hours spent on this situation. I already changed my BOOTX64.cfg like in guide:

---
Edit /mnt/sysimage/boot/efi/EFI/qubes/xen.cfg and add to every kernel section:

mapbs=1
noexitboot=1
---

And still nothing.

What else could it be? It is very strange, because Qubes 3.2 working fine with one of the kernels, but newer version in some reason won't work.

[awokd]

The newer R3.2 kernel still didn't work with iommu=no-igfx? That's too
bad, thought it might help there.

It might help if you were able to get the R4.0 installer boot logs to see
what is causing the crash. The problem is you might be literally the only
person in the world running Qubes 4.0 on that hardware, so there is no
magic answer guaranteed to fix it. It uses parts of the Fedora 25
installer, so the process of getting boot logs might be the same (but I
don't know for sure).

[Yuraeitha]

There is another way you can try fix this, that "might" work. I'll elaborate.

Considering it's server hardware, I wonder if it's a similar problem for some server categories in general? I have at one point tried to install Qubes on a ProLiant Microserver Gen10, which resulted in a very similar experience to yours.

From memory, I recall HVM working, while I/O MMU did not, pretty similar to yours. I may have an untested solution, but I never got around to testing it out.

Using it, I believe you can make it work if you change all your VM's to visualization mode "PV" instead of HVM or PVH.

I never got as far as to test that though, but think about it for a moment. HVM had PCI issues in early Qubes 4, it does PCI pass-through differently from PV mode and as far as I understand it, it relies on I/O MMU to work. PVH currently can't use PCI pass-through. Which leaves PV mode, which is also what Qubes 3.2. uses.

Since you have trouble getting the installer to work and install Qubes, you may not be able to do this fix on your local hardware. You may have to pull out the drive, put it in another computer and install Qubes there. Update everything, and then make sure you put sys-net and sys-usb in PV mode with the "qvm-prefs virt_mode" command in dom0.

Now because sys-net and sys-usb are in PV mode, it may be able to bypass the missing I/O MMU issue, which as far as I understand it is related to PCI pass-through. That's why you want sys-net, sys-usb and any other hardware that is pass-through to be using PV mode.

This isn't a beautiful fix, but it may just work. It's not the first time I've fixed a Qubes 4 install with this approach, however, I have not yet tried it on this server hardware, which like yours is missing I/O MMU. I believe it might work, but it might also not work. While installing on another machine has in the past worked, I never tried to use it to change sys-net and sys-usb to PV mode before putting it back.

This might also be what makes the difference between Qubes 3.2. and Qubes 4.0 for you, considering Qubes 3.2. uses PV mode, and Qubes 4.0 uses HVM for pass-through and otherwise PVH for everything else. Considering you have no I/O MMU, it might not be surprising? that Qubes 4.0 doesn't work for you when not in PV mode.

If you use this approach, then be careful you don't wipe out any other drives or EFI settings on the other machine during install, take precautions against it. Also it's far easier to use LegacyBIOS/Grub, so you don't have to mess with EFI paths when bring the drive back.

[awokd]

On Fri, February 23, 2018 11:12 pm, awokd wrote:

> The newer R3.2 kernel still didn't work with iommu=no-igfx? That's too
> bad, thought it might help there.

Had another thought on this. Whatever is causing your newer R3.2 kernel to
fail to load might also be causing your R4.0 installer to crash. It might
be easier for you to try to fix R3.2 first, because the same fix might
resolve R4.0 as well and the logs are easier to get.

Does R3.2 crash in the same place when you try to boot the newer kernel?
If so, you might need to set up something like
https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/Xen_Serial_Console in order to figure out

[Daniil .Travnikov]

суббота, 24 февраля 2018 г., 3:52:11 UTC+3 пользователь Yuraeitha написал:

> On Friday, February 23, 2018 at 8:35:00 PM UTC+1, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:
> > пятница, 23 февраля 2018 г., 14:07:38 UTC+3 пользователь awokd написал:
> > > On Fri, February 23, 2018 10:46 am, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:

Thank you for sharing your experience!

> Since you have trouble getting the installer to work and install Qubes, you may not be able to do this fix on your local hardware. You may have to pull out the drive, put it in another computer and install Qubes there. Update everything, and then make sure you put sys-net and sys-usb in PV mode with the "qvm-prefs virt_mode" command in dom0.
>
> Now because sys-net and sys-usb are in PV mode, it may be able to bypass the missing I/O MMU issue, which as far as I understand it is related to PCI pass-through. That's why you want sys-net, sys-usb and any other hardware that is pass-through to be using PV mode.
>
> This isn't a beautiful fix, but it may just work. It's not the first time I've fixed a Qubes 4 install with this approach, however, I have not yet tried it on this server hardware, which like yours is missing I/O MMU. I believe it might work, but it might also not work. While installing on another machine has in the past worked, I never tried to use it to change sys-net and sys-usb to PV mode before putting it back.

I installed one of my drives on a friend's computer today and after installation process I got this on his computer:
https://prnt.sc/ijbfjq

You can see, that I have not any NetVM, actually at the and of installation process was been some error, I can repeat tomorrow all installation process for screenshots if it helps to understand.


When I put "qvm-prefs virt_mode" command in dom0 I got this:
https://prnt.sc/ijbgmd

I think that I am missing something, could you please clarify what I must exactly put here?


One more think, even I have not NetVM, I tried to boot this disk on My computer, but all what I got was been Grub menu:
http://prntscr.com/ijbhrf

First and third gave reboot, second just show some error about "first boot must kernel" (or something like that) without reboot.

[Daniil .Travnikov]

суббота, 24 февраля 2018 г., 15:50:38 UTC+3 пользователь awokd написал:

Thanks for this direcation, I'll try this option when I buy a DB9 cable.

About video card, one person on Github said that he has the same problem:
https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/3625


For example, if I will put some discrete video card on my motherboard, will it helps? Or is there a cheap way to solve this problem?

[awokd]

On Sat, February 24, 2018 11:13 pm, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:

> About video card, one person on Github said that he has the same problem:
> https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/3625
>
>
>
> For example, if I will put some discrete video card on my motherboard,
> will it helps? Or is there a cheap way to solve this problem?

Possibly; without logs it's hard to say. Try an old AMD video card.

[Daniil .Travnikov]

воскресенье, 25 февраля 2018 г., 2:33:03 UTC+3 пользователь awokd написал:

> On Sat, February 24, 2018 11:13 pm, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:
>
> Possibly; without logs it's hard to say. Try an old AMD video card.

I tried on my old computer: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ (https://prnt.sc/ijgeed)
Motherboard: M3N78-VM (https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M3N78VM/)

But I got this message when I try to install after Grub menu:
https://prnt.sc/ijgdty

Actually on my friend's computer (https://prnt.sc/ijgf59) was been the same message, but he has definitely enable Virtualization, because he has VirtualBox and VmWare with Windows and even MacOS systems.

[Daniil .Travnikov]

воскресенье, 25 февраля 2018 г., 2:33:03 UTC+3 пользователь awokd написал:

> On Sat, February 24, 2018 11:13 pm, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:
>
>

> Let's take this off-list. We can update the list if we figure it out.
>
> Your AMD system is probably too old to support the features Qubes needs.
> My suggestion was to use a video card from AMD in your Intel system, not
> an AMD CPU (although newer AMD CPUs should work with Qubes too.)
>
> Again, let's work on getting your Qubes R3.2 working with the newer kernel
> before worrying about R4.0.
>
> In R3.2, have you tried to boot with i915.alpha_support=1 added to the
> command line per https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/intel-igfx-troubleshooting/
> ? What happened?
>
> What about iommu=no-igfx?
>
> Have you tried adding both at the same time? there a cheap way to solve
> this problem?
>


I took from my friend his Asus EN210 SILENT/DI/1GD3/V2(LP) - https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/EN210_SILENTDI1GD3V2LP/ if it's can help for test.


I tried i915.alpha_support=1 and iommu=no-igfx one by one and both at the same time, nothing was changed :(

[Daniil .Travnikov]

One more thing.

When i started again today my usual working way: Xen 4.6.6 Linux 4.4.14-11.pvops.qubes.x86_64

I could imprint one error: https://prnt.sc/ijhwya

Is there a connection between my current problem and this error?

[awokd]

On Sun, February 25, 2018 1:10 pm, Daniil .Travnikov wrote:

> I took from my friend his Asus EN210 SILENT/DI/1GD3/V2(LP) -
> https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/EN210_SILENTDI1GD3V2LP/ if it's can
> help for test.
>
>
> I tried i915.alpha_support=1 and iommu=no-igfx one by one and both at the
> same time, nothing was changed :(

I don't mind trying to help you, but it is important that you understand
what I say.

1. Let's take this off list. That means email me directly, so we don't
spam everybody.

2. That is not an AMD video card, but you can try it and see if it helps.

[Yuraeitha]

ah, yes you need to change how you write that command, it's not qvm-block, but qvm-prefs. This may be important in order to fix your missing networking, as it's evident on your screenshot. So you can write "qvm-prefs sys-net virt_mode" in dom0 terminal, and it will print out which virt mode your network VM is using. It's currently either PV, HVM or PVH (security in that order, from worst to best).

But hardware compatibility suffers as you increase security, that's why you need to lower it. PV mode is the lowest, however, it is not lower in security in comparison to Qubes 3.2. which entirely uses PV mode. Therefore it's not such a bad thing to start on, to get things working, and then later consider the HVM/PVH implications once you get it all running.

I can see you have no sys-usb, so (for now) just ignore this isolation aspect and re-visit it later when you got other issues sorted out.

For verification, do in dom0:
qvm-prefs sys-net virt_mode

To change virt mode, do in dom0:
qvm-prefs sys-net virt_mode pv

- Now try manually start up sys-net, is it starting?
- If it's not starting, try start or create and start a VM which has no networking, does this start in PVH/HVM/PV?

[patel...@gmail.com]

Uman, I saw that you help or sometimes have some time and are willing to help folks with issues setting up Qubes (4.0) on their machines. As it happens I have a purism 13. I've downloaded the latest Qubes and have put it on a stick and tried multiple times to get the Qubes installation to run but nothing on the purism seems able to read or run Qubes automatically.

I have put the Qubes in the documents folder and when I try to run anything in the boot folder of the Qubes the error messages that is returned is that the file cannot be located. Maybe I should put it in program files or something, but the problem is the OS is not windows so there is no such folder I can find. I'd use the terminal but if even one single command doesn't do the trick I am totally at a loss as to what to do, I really know nothing about how to run terminal.

I have looked around on Qubes and Purism and neither seems to have any dedicated area for installing Qubes. There is someone on Purism's forum who explained how to mount the appropriate Qubes files but that was all through the terminal and was for Qubes 3 last year.

I've also tried installing from the stick itself and that also doesn't work. The options I have are pretty simple it would seem. I can click on the Qubes icon in the stick and open it with task manager, which shows me the contents. If I follow that route, it's just guess and check but nothing works. I can go to the boot folder and try getting one of the application files to run, but none of them work. If I don't use file manager but try to run the application (Qubes the file or any of its internal files) the laptop can't locate it. If I try to mount any of said files, they merely show as open in the upper part of the screen but nothing happens.

Clearly you can see that I have no idea what I am doing, so if you do have the time, please be patient with me if I don't speak and know any computer languages. I'm just starting out really.

Thank you
Max

[awokd]

On Mon, February 26, 2018 2:47 pm, patel...@gmail.com wrote:

> Uman, I saw that you help or sometimes have some time and are willing to
> help folks with issues setting up Qubes (4.0) on their machines. As it
> happens I have a purism 13. I've downloaded the latest Qubes and have put
> it on a stick and tried multiple times to get the Qubes installation to
> run but nothing on the purism seems able to read or run Qubes
> automatically.

Hope you don't mind me butting in, Unman.

patelmax27, you might need to upgrade your BIOS first- see
https://puri.sm/posts/qubes4-fully-working-on-librem-laptops.

Next, have you seen https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/installation-guide/ ?

First of all, make sure to back up ALL DATA on your system. Installing
another OS will by default erase everything on your hard drive.

You then need to write the installer to your USB drive following the
procedure in that document, then boot your laptop from the USB drive and
follow the prompts.

(Personally, I prefer a corebooted Lenovo G505s over other laptops from an
owner rights perspective.)

[patel...@gmail.com]

Thank you very much, @awokd, I appreciate the links and the help! My machine is totally new. Nothing has been installed on it, whatsoever. I'm just trying to get the Qubes on there and to go from there. I'll indeed follow your advice.

I wanted to go with a Lenova from 2008 or prior, a freedom fighting association out of the UK puts them together and sells them and claims that they are pretty much the freest thing you can get. But with how slow they likely are I thought I'd rather get something a little more modern. The new TPM chips are pretty cool too, will see where that goes. How do you like yours? Did you do it all yourself or get it as is? Was it hard to get to its current state where you feel like you are literally in complete control of everything? Pretty sure Purism is the same but I could be wrong about something. I'm just getting into all this really.

Thanks again for your insight :)

[awokd]

On Mon, February 26, 2018 10:30 pm, patel...@gmail.com wrote:

> The new TPM chips are pretty cool too, will see where that goes. How do
> you like yours? Did you do it all yourself or get it as is? Was it hard
> to get to its current state where you feel like you are literally in
> complete control of everything? Pretty sure Purism is the same but I
> could be wrong about something. I'm just getting into all this really.

Mine doesn't have a TPM which is kind of mixed, would be nice to have the
option at least. The G505s's are a little newer than those other Lenovos
so a bit faster too, but they also require a couple more blobs to run. It
was definitely a Do It Yourself thing. Mine took about 3 months before I
could run Qubes 4 on it but I had to figure out how to get the BIOS
updated first (it involved patching Coreboot, and I had never hardware
flashed before!)

The nice thing about this older laptop is there is no ME or AMD's PSP in
it. Purism/some Dells/System76 all sell systems with a partially (but not
completely) disabled ME. Unfortunately, it's the best you can do these
days if you want new x86 hardware.

Anyways, just email the list again if you run into problems on the
install, but could you please start a new thread and subject if you do?
Makes it easier to follow!

[patel...@gmail.com]

On Monday, February 26, 2018 at 3:08:22 PM UTC, awokd wrote:

After following the links, I see that yes I had already visited those, however they do lead to other important links to be sure, so thank you. The ones you sent me explain how to install through the terminal, I believe, whereas I was hoping to simply transfer the file from my stick over to the computer and then simply hit install. Is the only option that I use the terminal, do you know?

Thanks

[patel...@gmail.com]

On Monday, February 26, 2018 at 10:54:00 PM UTC, awokd wrote:

Sorry yes I'll start a new thread in the future, sorry it's just I responded while you were responding so I didn't see that you had left your message. I thought it had been published so I was busy doing other stuff and when I came back I saw that it had detected my email and wasn't actually published, which explain the time discrepancy. Thanks, will start a new thread of course.

[awokd]

On Mon, February 26, 2018 11:01 pm, patel...@gmail.com wrote:

>
> After following the links, I see that yes I had already visited those,
> however they do lead to other important links to be sure, so thank you.
> The ones you sent me explain how to install through the terminal, I
> believe, whereas I was hoping to simply transfer the file from my stick
> over to the computer and then simply hit install. Is the only option that
> I use the terminal, do you know?

If you're doing it from another Linux machine, then the terminal is the
quickest/most reliable way to do it. You can't just copy the install file
over like you were doing.

[brenda...@gmail.com]

On Monday, February 26, 2018 at 5:30:15 PM UTC-5, patel...@gmail.com wrote:
> I wanted to go with a Lenova from 2008 or prior, a freedom fighting association
> out of the UK puts them together and sells them and claims that they are pretty
> much the freest thing you can get.

Lenovo laptops from 2008 or prior most likely have CPUs without the vt-d/IOMMU feature support, so they are not supported for production systems in Qubes R4.0 and later.

Brendan

[awokd]

Be careful to get the destination right, though. You want to make sure it
is writing to your USB drive, not the internal hard drive!

One way to check on Linux is to enter "ls /dev/sd*" without your USB drive
plugged in and see what's listed. Then, plug the USB drive in and run the
command again, and check for new entries on the list. You can repeat
multiple times to make sure which sdX entry belongs to the USB drive.

[awokd]

Sending off-list- there's another option too. There are USB Creator
utilities like Rufus available for Linux. You could use one of those
instead of the terminal if you prefer.

PS I'm helping update the Qubes documentation for R4.0 so if there's
anything that's not clear from a new user perspective, please feel free to
contact me either on or off list.

[awokd]

On Sun, March 4, 2018 9:34 pm, 'awokd' via qubes-users wrote:

>
> Sending off-list-

Helps to not hit reply all to do that... sorry for the noise.