Qubes Windows Tools for Qubes 4.3.0

User Support General
1

Hello everyone, I’m new to using Qubes and have some questions.

I’m using Qubes version 4.3.0 an have installed Windows11 as HVM. I would like to install the Qubes Windows Tools. I assume I should install the latest version of the Qubes Windows Tools as well.

Are there currently any security concerns?

How exactly do I install these Qubes Windows Tools?

I would really appreciate any help.

Best regards

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I looked at the linked page, but unfortunately I’m currently overwhelmed by it. Could someone give me a few tips?

I have installed Qubes 4.3.0 and would like to install Windows 11 as an HVM. Ideally, I’d like to use it in full-screen mode. Is that possible? Seamless mode is not important to me for now. With the requirements I’ve described here, should I expect display issues such as duplicated windows or similar problems? What kind of behavior should I anticipate?

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Is it just me, or is this guide extremely mixed between instructions for Windows 7 and Windows 10/11? So much of it is unclear. For example, I can’t get any further here:

As this new QWT version is only provided for Qubes R4.3, it has to be installed by downloading the .rpm file from the repository (version 4.2.2-1 ) if you want to use it in Qubes R4.2.

I want nothing bad, i only want to download the Tools für Windows11. Where can i download it?

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There are different QWT sources, depending on which Windows version you are using.

For you, with Windows 11 on Qubes R4.3, the following part is relevant:

  • Perform the steps described under the heading “Preparation”.
  • Installing QWT can be done by sudo qubes-dom0-update qubes-windows-tools, without the need for downloading the package, because it is already part of the R4.3 repositories. (I’ll amend the documentation to make this clearer.)
  • After that, start the Windows HVM using qvm-start VMNAME --install-windows-tools.
  • From the CDROM drive shown in Windows Explorer, execute the file qubes-tools-4.2.2.exe, which contains the Windows installer for QWT.
  • To have the full Windows desktop, do not select the option GUI agent (EXPERIMENTAL), as this would put you into the - still somewhat unreliable - seamless mode.
  • After QWT installation, the Windows VM may have to be rebooted a few times. This is normal and no cause to be worried.
  • If you want to have Windows in full-screen mode, you must allow this on the “Advanced” tab of the Qube manager. Switching to and from full-screen mode can be done by the Alt-F11 key.

If you should run into problems, feel free to ask again!

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Thank you very much for this very structured and comprehensible message! I will try this out! I am very grateful to you!

1 Like
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I have successfully completed the installation of the Qubes Windows Tools. I did not select the ‘GUI agent’ option.

I have two initial questions:

  1. Should these settings be reverted to their original state after installing Qubes Windows Tools, and if so, how? Specifically: bcdedit /set testsigning on and Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted.
  2. When I set a resolution of 1600x1200, the overall screen is slightly too large for the monitor; the Windows taskbar is only half visible. As soon as I press Alt+F11, I get a clean full-screen view. Is there a way to have it display smaller than the monitor before pressing Alt+F11, so that Alt+F11 expands the window to full screen instead of shrinking it?

When I set it to 1920x1200, the width is also too large. In this case, Alt+F11 only adjusts the height to full screen; in full-screen mode, the image remains too wide for the monitor.

Thanks in advance.

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I can’t answer the other stuff, but don’t turn testsigning off. It breaks the tools. If you want to try for some reason, it can be done by running bcdedit /set testsigning off. I haven’t tested on a qube with the gui agent installed, but it broke file transfer and clipboard integration.

1 Like
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As @random1 stated, turning off testsigning is likely to break the functionality of QWT and may even make the system unbootable. The PowerShell parameter may be reset after completing QWT installation; I haven’t tested that, however.

With regard to the screen resolutions, you’ll have to experiment, because this is very hardware-dependent. Setting it to a smaller value in Windows may have the effect that you want. For instance, my screen is 1920x1200, and I get a smaller screen displayed on the Qubes background if I set the Windows screen resolution to something like 1450x1024 or so.

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And I get a smaller screen on the Qubes background when I set the Windows screen resolution to around 1450x1024 or so.

That works for me as well — 1440x900 or 1400x1050. However, at those resolutions Alt+F11 no longer works. Is there a trick for that?

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I have the same behavior. Full-screen works only if the screen resolution is set to the value of the physical screen, which for me is 1920x1200.

This is somewhat plausible and applies to using the Windows menu as well., not only to Alt-F11.