Qube sys-net has failed to start: Cannot connect to qrexec agent

Basic Description of the Failure

When booting Qubes OS the sys-net qube consistently fails to start. As a consequence, it is not possible to start any cube that is based on sys-net.

The relevant log (/var/log/xen/console/guest-sys-net.log) concluded with a kernel panic. The following is a paraphrase of the log’s tail:

[  OK  ] Finished systemd-update-utmp.serviecord System Boot/Shutdown in UTMP.
[  OK  ] Started systemd-timesyncd.service - Network Time Synchronization.
[  OK  ] Reached target time-set.target - System Time Set.
rtw_8821ce 0000:00:06.0: Firmware version 24.11.0, H2C version 12
Started systemd-oomd.service - Userspace Out-Of-Memory (OOM) Killer.
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: <>
A long call trace and what seems to be low-level register information?
Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception
Kernel Offset: <> from <> (relocation range: <>-<>)

My Leading Hypothesis

I suspect that there is a hardware compatibility issue.

The laptop is new and it was perfectly functional with the factory OS (Windows 11). I first tried installing Cubes OS via the “Test media and install Qubes OS RX” option. This failed during the testing phase. My computer crashed almost immediately. Unfortunately, I didn’t capture the test report.

I then installed the OS via the “Install Qubes OS RX” option. This went smoothly. I didn’t observe anything that was obviously abnormal. With the exception of the reported failure, nothing obviously abnormal occurs when the OS is booted.

Basic Hardware Information

Processor: Intel(R) N95
Memory: 16 GB DDR4 RAM
Storage: 512 GB SSD

I believe that it satisfies the reported minimum requirements.

I didn’t see a report of the same CPU in the hardware compatibility list. That’s one reason I think there might be a hardware incompatibility.

Outro

This error occurred on my first time trying to installing Qubes. As such, I wasn’t sure what information would be most helpful. I’m happy to provide additional information upon request.

Thank you for your patience and support!

If you used Windows to create the installation media then test won’t work for you:

Note: Using Rufus to create the installation medium means that you won’t be able to choose the “Test this media and install Qubes OS” option mentioned in the example below. Instead, choose the “Install Qubes OS” option.

Installation guide | Qubes OS