frustrated

[Martin Ku, Enrique]

hi,

so, apparently my clevo Intel Core i7-7500U 16 GiB RAM and 256GB SSD is having an UEFI issue that I cannot pinpoint.

Somebody in the freenode channel "qubes" (not qubes-os) suggested me to read https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/uefi-troubleshooting/#f1 which I did. But the instructions are written for people with skills, which I lack. I tried cases 1 and 4:

case 4: /mnt/sysimage/boot/efi/EFI/qubes has not 4 but 6 files. I tried to examine /boot/efi/EFI/qubes but I have no idea how to do it: Is that directory in the usb stick Im installing qubes from or in the nuked notebook? And how should I access it?

After seeing this I assumed case 4 does not apply to me, so I looked for another of the 4 cases.

Case 1: In GRUB menu¹, select “Troubleshoot”, then “Boot from device”, then press e.

I tried to access grub pressing shift (grub should be in the usb stick, as the notebook has been nuked, correct?), but I only got the qubes loader with 4 options (check media and install, install, troubleshoot and another option I forgot). Is this grub? If this is grub, there is no "boot from device" option in "troubleshoot"...

So somebody with very limited command knowledge is trying to get qubes 3.2 working.

Help appreciated

[yura...@gmail.com]

It will most likely help to disable secure boot in the BIOS/UEFI settings, as far as I'm aware, Qubes has no UEFI secure boot keys. For this reason, you will likely not not be able to boot while secure boot is enabled. If you already disabled secure boot, and the problem still prevails, then it is likely another issue.

There are a few ways to disable it, but frankly vendors have made a really messy system. For example it isn't always disabled if you select disable secure boot, sometimes you also need to completely remove the secure boot keys as well (Try simply just disable before you use more drastic measures).
It's a good idea to back the the secure keys up before you delete them, especially if you have working dual-boot systems, such as Windows, that might stop working if you clear the secure boot keys. Be very mindful of this action.

An alternative is to use Legacy boot, if your motherboard supports it. However it remains the same, current or future installations like dual-booting Windows might not work while legacy boot is enabled. Although it doesn't require to delete keys if you use legacy mode, which you may or may not prefer.

Also dual-boot with Windows tends to correct or change BIOS/UEFI settings without your knowledge, and it's super annoying. Be mindful if it ever happens after you dual-boot windows or made secure boot changes in UEFI. Even the action of installing a second Qubes system might mess up the previous Qubes system's boot entry.



To fix missing EFI boot entires (For future needs if the boot entry of an existing Qubes installation is missing, information good to know. Don't do this now, just save this latter part of the post for the future). The use of this command below can save your system if the boot entry has disappeared. If you run the Qubes installer and pick "Rescue Qubes system" (one of the same commands found in your link you mention in your post). After it boots into Qubes rescue system, then pick option nr. 1, then press enter as suggested on the screen to enter shell (it will likely ask for your password), and write this command below in the shell. Be sure you use the right drive "/dev/sdX" and the right partition "-p x" matching your system, and only use this command if your UEFI can't find your Qubes's EFI boot entry.

efibootmgr -v -c -u -L Qubes -l /EFI/qubes/xen.efi -d /dev/sda -p 1 "placeholder /mapbs /noexitboot"

Either way, this command is only to be used if your BIOS/UEFI no longer see's your current already installed Qubes system.

Basically, boiling it down, knowing how to disable secure boot, and how to restore your EFI boot entry in UEFI, will save you a lot of future headache.


There are others more knowledgeable than me, if I'm wrong anywhere, please feel free to correct it.

[yura...@gmail.com]

On Monday, August 7, 2017 at 10:17:13 AM UTC, Martin Ku, Enrique wrote:

Also be sure to enable VT-X and VT-D if possible. As far as I know, Qubes 3,2 will install without, but it won't work properly without these technologies. They are often not enabled by default in the BIOS/UEFI.
As my memory serves, i7 7th generation should have VT-X and VT-D, so just need to be sure its enabled.

Also try avoid booting with external graphic cards, especially if it's nvidia card. Qubes has no nvidia proprietary drivers, so it often won't work without installing those manually yourself, which is often tricky business.

Qubes however runs quite smoothly on intel integrated graphics, if I'm not mistaken, your i7 7th generation processor should have internal graphics.

Make sure VT-D (which includes VT-X) is enabled.
Make sure to use Intel internal integrated graphics for Qubes.
There might be other BIOS/UEFI settings depending on your system.