i am trying to install Qubes 4.0.4 on a Dell Inspiron 15 1515. While not in the supported list, a E14 Thinkpad with the same CPU (Ryzen 7 5700U) and the same iGPU is supported.
It boots and i can see some text. After this it goes black forever. The behavior and console output is exactly like in this post.
I have followed the troubleshooting guide for UEFI and the results match with this post. I am pretty sure that this is not the same problem as in that post, as a laptop with the same CPU/iGPU as mine is in the HCL.
The boot stick is an 8GB one that has installed other Qubes Systems fine. Also the Laptop is able to boot of a bigger stick into clonezilla without problems.
Unfortunately there is no legacy boot option in the BIOS. I tried enabling and disabling most of the options that could lead to any UEFI/boot related problems like secureboot without change of behaviour.
I will try to install the 4.1.0 alpha version and (as it helped somebody else in another post) an older version of Qubes too.
I stumbled across this post i am into linux but never attempted something like this. It should be noted, that the OP there had it running without this modifications but some features where missing.
FWIW, I experimented with installing Qubes on an slightly different Inspiron model (also had a Ryzen processor - one of the older APU models) only to kinda give up with some minor successes noted (I captured still shots & maybe even shot a short video showing it installed & usable before rebooting). That exact same laptop now has a different Linux on it with a periodic issue that still makes it a kinda hard to appreciate even now (but I will one day try Qubes on it again). I learned that booting anything but the Windows (switched out the hard drive to preserve the windows separately) would sometimes lead to a hang at start even without Qubes.
Here’s the thing that I know - I have a fully installed & testable Linux on there at the moment. If I boot up & press ESC key repeatedly near approximately the time frame where the CLI screen is displaying the initramfs statement (possible that this is less related than it appears to me, maybe I badly correlated those points of time), the cursor will either switch from large format to small format (switching of graphics modes?) & I can relent & let it continue or it will remain at the large format for the cursor & never really seems to ever continue (like something is trying to execute that is unworkable & ESC is allowing me to blindly skip but I’ve also had it boot up without intereference [every reboot is a fresh chance not to start up but once you have it up it is fine] & see that it goes right on up sometimes all on it’s own).
I’ve gotten Qubes on there in the past with difficulty proceeding due to this seeming random issue which I may have initially thought was Qubes related (absorbed a lot of my time trying on multiple occassions). At the moment, I like the installed Linux & it’s hardly worth fighting. I never published the HCL because of the continuing issue that made it unclear what was going on. My guess about the ESC may not be useful or relevant but it does seem to help with me booting consistently with the existing Linux (no BIOS options seem to alter this behavior - legacy or UEFI).
Today, I can boot it up & update it & use it by following that general formula. The Qubes install just needs to accomplish all the things that Qubes installation needs while realizing that the reboots will lead to fighting with it some more & the shutdowns/starts are also likely to lead to fighting with it some more - that is until someone can come up with a solution to why this was necessary.
I mentioned this only since for anyone insisting upon attempting installs on any proprietary BIOS/proprietary hardware system (mostly I’m pointing a finger at all commercial laptops), your mileage may greatly vary. Also, it may one day work out in the end.
This does not sound too promising. For all the laptop is, it seems perfect for me, especially for the price (paying 1/3 for top performance on paper).
I would install another free BIOS on it, if this could change things but i have never tinkered with something like this. Is there a way to go back to the stock BIOS so i can send it back in case things don’t work out?
Was there something special that you did to install Qubes on it?
At the moment i am “rocking” a 2 core 1,5 GHz 8 year old Laptop with Qubes that needs 5ish attempts (spanning 10 minutes) to open a Whonix-ws and 10 minutes of booting, that has no working touchpad, so i think i am resistant to pain.
At this stage i would be fine with something that i need to restart 5 times before running smoothly.
The earliest times that I managed to get it installed were before the 4.x series when the kernel wasn’t as prepared for the Ryzen series in use - I managed to get an updated kernel going but barely. Later when 4.x series Qubes was available I managed again without as much pain but remember - I didn’t know what was ALSO causing me trouble & I thought it was all Qubes (except my trouble continued even after giving up & trying other forms of Linux). The proprietary setup seems to either have been deliberately setup to prevent use of Linux or my laptop may have been meddled with by someone (I did end up having to fix a power plug on that device that got messed up when it was not under my supervision after having had it at my work place - never did get a satisfying answer over what happened but I didn’t damage my own laptop’s power receptacle).
I had a unique Dell that only ever was sold thru one vendor (I think that they made these just to sell thru that one vendor) that no longer exists around so it would be difficult to purchase another to compare (eBay). Your experience may not be so bad but being prepared for the curses is a big part of this exercise. Follow the advice others here have for you regarding AMD Ryzens & avoid nVidia graphics on here except if you manage to follow their advice.