Available Disk Space not being recognised on installation

User Support
1

I have two 1TB SSD’s - one of which I want to allocate to Qubes entirely (the empty one), and the other is being used for Windows.

Butwhen I get to select the disk, it is showing that one of the SSD’s has only 1.6MiB available and the other 3.03MiB - both of which are not enough to install, as the installer tells me. However, one of the SSD’s has about 750GB free (windows one), and the empty one about 930GB.

The PC is setup running Windows Enterprise 2019 LTSC 32 GB Ram. i9 processor, the above drives formatted to the only aparent available option NTFS in windows Disk Management.

Any thoughts on why the true space is not being detected for installation? Suggestions on how to make it detect space?

Thanks JR.

2

I’m not sure about what kind of installation configuration you have. Are you dualbooting? (something that is discouraged for security reasons). Are you running Qubes inside a virtual machine in Windows? (something that is not well supported – nested virtualization).

3

Hi JR
The problem is that you have formatted both drives with NTFS - the
installer therefore sees that allocation, and reports the space on the
drive not formatted.
You can either delete the partitioning under Windows, and then boot with
the installer, or use the option in the installer to make space
available. You will then be able to delete the offending NTFS partition
scheme and start allocating space for Qubes as you will.
Personally,for safety’s sake, I would boot in to Windows (a phrase I
rarely use), and then it will be clear which disk you should be working on.
Delete the NTFS partition so you have a clean disk.
Reboot in to the Qubes installer.

Read the docs where there is some guidance on the risks of dual booting
and how to proceed,although that guide is not written for UEFI boot:

You should be able to install Qubes in UEFI mode (should),and then
switch between the disks once Qubes is installed.
If you hit any problems, just ask.

4

Thanks for the comments and suggestions - really appreciated.

A bit of background - I use two computers - I use a Mac for work, email, word processing, website work etc - what ever - just prefer the workflow available via mac natively, and currently consider Apple “less” evil than Microsoft - perhaps a wolf in sheeps clothing - who knows.

The PC (where I want to install Qubes) is currently running Windows 10 ioT Enterprise 2019 LTSC - a Windows build that we use for a digital signage product we manufacture - have it installed on the PC to muck with, and deploy images and generally remind myself that I really don’t like Windows at all - lest we forget the tune that XP used to play on start up - still gives me the shivers.

Have tried playing with several virtual systems on top of Windows - long story short - it is still on top of Windows.

I know little about Linux and the various distributions (never used), but do want to learn. Most importantly the security focus is paramount - the tracking does my head in. We are living in a world run by evil voyeuristic nutbars hell bent on destruction and enslavement - but I firmly believe that this horrendous phase of humanity being dictated by a infinitesimally small group of parasites, who create nothing but misery, will end - and it will be glorious.

Only yesterday, I came across Qubes and really liked the concept, so decided to install it with a view of deleting the native install of Windows 10 and sticking with Qubes only. I just need to make sure it is not too far out of my knowledge base - but only one way to learn and that is to just do it. It is great to see such a thoughtful forum response so quickly - again much appreciated.

So as was guessed above, my plan is to set it up under a dual boot scenario to start, learn Qubes, then delete windows, as will install Windows as a virtual machine option in Qubes to see how works - just need to make sure that can do the minimal things I do need to sometimes.

Clearly I have really fallen behind on security risks - right down to the BIOS firmware. You guys obviously see the threat reality and know it well, and how bad it has become - as an aside, the PC I built (and Mac as it is a Mini) along with monitor (LG Ultra Wide thing) all have no cameras and no mic as far as I am aware - and purposefully selected for such.

I have deleted the NTFS section on my spare SSD and will let you guys know how things go if interested.

Looking forward to learning this! One day, I would like to think that I will be able to contribute in some way, but I am not an IT guy at all (sales & marketing is my background)

Anyway, a great concept - will done to whoever thought of it, but an ideas is nothing without the hard slog of all those that have made it a reality - so well done to all - and the user community that helps others - love it.

Cheers

JR

2 Likes
5

Running Qubes on topic of windows is not advised as I stated earlier. So it’s probably better to go for the other approach.

Yes, the one I would recommend is installing Qubes on an external SSD first to try and make it your primary system. Once you feel comfortable, you can make the switch and install it on your computer’s primary storage.

Some advice:

  • Qubes sometimes doesn’t like particular hardware configurations (it’s much more picky than other linux distributions)
  • Read a lot of the documentation. Even if you don’t understand some parts, it will help you navigate the system better.