cannot find if my hardware will meet the min requirements for the latest qubes os' install - need some help!

[rickey]

Good evening Everyone,

I have red about the minimum, and recommended system requirements for Qubes OS latest installation but still cannot define if my Intell NUC8i7HVK will meet them.

Could you, please give me a help how to find if the Intel VT-x, VT-d and TPM are present in my hardware?

I have attached the pdf with the tech spec of the unit too.

Thank you, and Best Regards,

Rickey

[Claudia]

According to the spec sheet it has the i7-8809G, which does support VT-x and VT-d. https://en.wikichip.org/wiki/intel/core_i7/i7-8809g

If you want to check for yourself (including TPM):

Important: make sure these features are enabled in your bios setup, or they will appear not present to the OS. See: https://www.intel.in/content/www/in/en/support/articles/000007139/server-products.html

If you're on Linux now, you can check /proc/cpuinfo for VT-d
grep vmx /proc/cpuinfo

if it shows the cpu flag for it, it means you have VT-d. You don't really have to check for VT-x.

The qubes-hcl-report tool checks for a TPM using:
find /sys/devices/ -name pcrs

(https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-core-admin/blob/master/qvm-tools/qubes-hcl-report)

TPM is required only if you want to use AEM, but it's not required for a basic Qubes installation.

Those requirements are just the very first step. You should boot the Qubes installer and make sure you get to the graphical installation screen - this is a good sign Qubes will work on that machine. If you want, you can also try installing Qubes on a USB flash drive without touching your existing OS. https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/installation-guide/#installation-destination

[agroz...@cegepgim.ca]

Thank you very much Claudia!

The link you have sent is showing how to install from a usb- drive.

If there is a way of installing the OS on a usb- drive, or what you meant is just to test if all is ok with the second, "test"- option there?

Thanks, and Best,

Rick

[unman]

On Tue, Feb 04, 2020 at 08:26:44AM -0800, agroz...@cegepgim.ca wrote:
> On Sunday, 2 February 2020 18:49:30 UTC-5, Claudia wrote:
> >

> > February 2, 2020 11:19 PM, "rickey" <welcome...@gmail.com <javascript:>>

> > Those requirements are just the very first step. You should boot the Qubes
> > installer and make sure you get to the graphical installation screen - this
> > is a good sign Qubes will work on that machine. If you want, you can also
> > try installing Qubes on a USB flash drive without touching your existing
> > OS.
> > https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/installation-guide/#installation-destination
> >
>
>
>
> Thank you very much Claudia!
>
> The link you have sent is showing how to install from a usb- drive.
> If there is a way of installing the OS on a usb- drive, or what you meant
> is just to test if all is ok with the second, "test"- option there?
>
> Thanks, and Best,
>
> Rick

You can just run the installer and choose a USB drive as the
destination.
When installation has finished and you boot from the USB it will be
somewhat slow, but workable.
At first setup do NOT choose to create a sys-sub - I've done it and it
is an unfortunate mistake to make.
Otherwise you should be able to get a feel for Qubes just fine.

unman

[rickey]

Thank you unman,

I will test it, and will let you know back tomorrow.

Best,

rick 

[Claudia]

February 4, 2020 4:40 PM, "unman" <un...@thirdeyesecurity.org> wrote:

> At first setup do NOT choose to create a sys-sub - I've done it and it
> is an unfortunate mistake to make.

Last time I did a USB install (R4.1), the option was greyed out and "Unavailable because the root filesystem is on a USB device" or something like that :)

Honestly I don't recommend using the sys-usb init config option at all unless you're sure it's going to work, i.e. you've used sys-usb on that machine before. You should do the installation without sys-usb and get everything else working, then enable it later using the instructions, because if it causes problems it's *much* easier to attribute to sys-usb. If you have it enabled from the start, it's not easy to see the cause-effect relationship. Just my opinion.