[qubes-users] qubes-os // stand-alone reactos fails

Mailing Lists qubes-users
1

Hi I am trying to install reactos 0.4.13 as stand alone with 16G system and 16g private.
I know, way too much.
Reactos fails with blue screen and red print: “Setup could not find a harddisk”
Enter = Reboot computer.

So why there is no harddisk in the vm?
Is there an editor to configure more options to the vm? So I would like
to see if the devices are there.

BTW: If someone could contribute a reactos template with common
tools like peazip and sumatrapdf it would be nice for all to play with some
old windows stuff.

Regards

Ludwig

2

This has come up a number of times on the list, both for ReactOS and
Android installs.
The issue is that ReactOS *has* to see a disk at /dev/sda or /dev/hda,
whereas Qubes presents disks at /dev/xvda etc.
Take a look at https://github.com/unman/notes/blob/master/disks_in_Qubes
If you look at https://github.com/unman/change_disk you'll see a
possible solution: how to use those files is explained at
https://github.com/unman/notes/blob/master/InstallingAndroid.md

Basically, you redefine the disks so that they are presented as disks
that ReactOS will accept. Then you can just install to /dev/sda

If you need help, just ask.

3

Dear Unman,

Please, why Qubes chooses to use /dev/xvda differently then the other softwares are expecting?
Since there is already a patch, it should be permanent to minimize problems.

Thank you

4

Qubes is based on Xen, and Xen decided many moons ago to using xvdX for
block devices, instead of sdX. You might ask why ReactOS and Android are
so hidebound in their expectations for block devices.
This is more of a hack than a patch, so I think it unlikely it will be
incorporated in to Qubes.

On the issue of a template, you can install reactos as a template HVM,
and spawn other qubes off it. I could point you to an example if that
would be helpful.

5

Thank you Unman. I do not use React-OS anymore. It worked fine on Qubes 3. But I really think it was a bad decision to support only xvda. It is not only Android, React-os, Chrome-Os and others. It is about Qubes users. I will keep using Qubes-OS 4 even with his limitations, but I hope Qubes-os chooses to be easier to his users, in the future.

6

I think there is a way to pass /dev/sdX disk device directly to a qube…

7

Thank you Unman. I do not use React-OS anymore. It worked fine on Qubes 3. But I really think it was a bad decision to support only xvda. It is not only Android, React-os, Chrome-Os and others. It is about Qubes users. I will keep using Qubes-OS 4 even with his limitations, but I hope Qubes-os chooses to be easier to his users, in the future.

Some stupid question: Isn't it the kernel that boots in the VM that assigns the name? If so, it's not Xen that assigns the name...

8

Not a stupid question - Xen instruments the block device type, and the
kernel names accordingly.
In these cases, the kernel will not name the default block devices as
/dev/sdX, but the installer will only work if such a disk is present.
One might ask why the installers are so restrictive.