Boot issue after moving internal nvme to external usb

User Support General
1

I have installed Qubes OS in the internal NVMe, but I feel like I am not yet ready to use it has main system, so I tried moving the internal disk and use it as an external disk using an USB enclosure, but it is not working, basically grub on the USB is found and boots, I can select the Qubes OS entry, it look likes Linux is booting, but in the next graphical screen the disk encryption password input box is never shown and I need to force stop the laptop

Any idea why and how to fix it?

2

when you hit ESC can you are present with text disk encryption screen?

3

No there is not prompt for the encryption passphrase, just 3 lines of what seems the starting of Linux boot process, and if I wait after many seconds it reports a timeout, probably because the root is not found

4

Did you chosen during installation to have sys-usb? If yes then it won’t work.

5

Yes it is installed and works.
To clarify, I installed everything while the disk was internal, and everything is working, then I decided to move the disk as external USB, and only then it does not boot

6

If you chosen to install sys-usb then how Xen/dom0 could use usb disk and start sys-usb when sys-usb is not working jet?
For that to work usb must be working inside dom0 so big no to making sys-usb.

7

My understanding is that Qubes OS can be installed and work on an external USB disk.

So why moving from internal to external should not work?

8

Because you opted for external usb service. So every usb service is in separate qube which is started after dom0 start. But dom0 is on usb, but here is no usb unless sys-usb starts, but sys-usb wont start because dom0 won’t start.

You could attach permanently usb controller to dom0 but then… nothing connected to usb will work since sys-usb will have no access to usb. And in the end it might not start at all…

There was few threads about system on usb - all of them with user question and no answers. It say someting.

There is one thread that works but that’s for /boot only - whole system is on internal. That’s easier because it’s done before whole system starts.

9

Thanks, now I get it, what do you suggest to enable USB in dom0 or to reinstall and migrated the VMs?

10

Dunno, just flying idea… might kill your system.