Windows 10 laptop does not recognise Qubes USB

My installation USB is recognised by a PureOS / Librem 15v3 laptop, but not by a Windows / Lenovo laptop.

I have copied the Qubes ISO to a flash drive. On my Librem machine I can mount the flash drive in PureOS, and access the USB at boot.

On my Lenovo machine (where I want to install Qubes OS), I cannot even mount the drive. It gives a Windows ding when I plug the device in, but it does not appear under “My Computer”. Trying to restart from USB fails.

The only odd thing I’ve noticed is that the USB is partitioned as ISO 9660 and FAT. I assume others have got this working on Windows 10 / UEFI? Any suggestions?

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You have to delete Windows first or waste some media and back it up. With some hardware manufacturers you have to do it before the first boot and Internet connection (that bad).

What I do is remove the SDD before the first power up and connect it to another machine (special interface) for complete erasure.

Most likely you don’t have to go to the length I go to so just erase it with whatever… if you can.

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Oh yes if you have a brain fart and want to go back to Windows erase sda first before a reinstall from “genuine crap”.

I’ll remember this for next time. Or buy a machine that doesn’t need jailbreaking :slight_smile:

You are not in the clear just yet. They still have a few hardware back-doors and partial fingerprints.

If you get your machine from “untraceable sources” and change your BIOS and other modifications you will get a “support” call from their office in Washington DC that deals with fingerprint compliance. I usually deny everything or ask for explanations on the latest security bulletin. Disclaimer: It is your life so don’t take my advice if your situation is not standard.

The correct approach (for my laptop) was actually to keep UEFI and disable Secure Boot. This skipped the boot screen and took me straight to the installer (correct behavior for Qubes OS 4.0). See X startup failed on Lenovo ThinkBook 15 IIL

Although the steps did get me to the boot screen, the installer didn’t work. These steps may still help someone who does need the boot screen.

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