Hey everyone!
I recently got a new laptop for my Qubes setup— a Dell XPS 13’ 9350. I’ve used a similar XPS model for a couple of years without any issues (no camera, but that was never something I used anyway). However, I’m having trouble installing it this time. Neither the forum search, Google, nor the documentation has helped me find a solution.
Here’s the issue: When I try to install via the regular “install qubes” option, it freezes right after “mounting tmp.mount.” I’ve gone through various fixes in the UEFI section of the documentation, but nothing has worked.
Next, I tried the “install with latest kernel” option. It progresses a bit further before hitting “X startup failed.” Yet again, I couldn’t find a workaround in this forum or the documentation (maybe I’m just not understanding how to apply them?). Looking through /tmp/X.log, I can see it’s struggling to find valid screens and has an issue with something called VESA. The log mentions “V_BIOS address out of range.”
So, what can I do to resolve this? I specifically chose this model because of my past success with Qubes on XPS devices, and I intentionally picked one with just a regular Intel processor—no separate GPU, only the onboard one. I really don’t want to end up having to buy a different laptop.
I’m an advanced user, by the way, so I’m ready to dive in and fix whatever needs fixing. I just need to get this working.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!