Editing Openai/695158d7-1b68-800b-a02f-4817bf1f6d25 (section)

=== Assistant: Nice — you’re deep in the weeds now, good stuff. ===
Nice — you’re deep in the weeds now, good stuff. I’ll answer each of your numbered points clearly and in practical order, with exact actions you can take right now (no fluff).

If anything below looks unfamiliar, follow the “Recommended quick fixes” at the end of each section.

==== ### ====
* Ventoy: a multiboot USB loader that runs ISOs directly from the USB. It sometimes interacts oddly with hybrid ISOs or with the installer’s expectations (loopback, squashfs), so some distros or installers don’t behave perfectly on Ventoy.
* Rufus — DD mode: writes the ISO bit-for-bit as a raw image. This is the most reliable way to make a bootable USB for Linux ISOs.
* “Test and install” in the Qubes (Anaconda) installer runs media checks / sanity checks (checksum, integrity of live image, maybe firmware checks). If these tests fail it will either stop or print warnings. A failure can be: - real (corrupt ISO / bad write) - caused by the way USB was written (Ventoy can trigger false failures) - caused by a quirk of your hardware or boot mode

===== 1. Verify the ISO first on your host machine: ``<code>bash sha256sum Qubes-R4.1-x86_64.iso </code>`<code> Compare with the SHA256 on the Qubes website. If the checksum matches, the ISO is OK. =====
# Create the USB with a different, very reliable tool: - Preferred: balenaEtcher (GUI, cross-platform) — writes correctly for almost all distros. - Or: use dd (Linux/macOS) or Rufus in DD/“dd” mode (Windows). - Avoid Ventoy for the initial install attempt if you’re seeing test failures.
# Boot the installer in the same mode you’ll install (UEFI vs legacy). Check you booted in UEFI by opening the live environment terminal and running: </code>`<code>bash [ -d /sys/firmware/efi ] && echo "UEFI boot" || echo "Legacy/BIOS boot" </code>`` Qubes expects UEFI for most modern installations.
# If a write-method still causes the “test” to fail but the ISO checksum was OK, try another USB stick or another writer (balenaEtcher or dd). If the test still fails after a proper write and checksum match, post the exact test output (copy-paste) — that gives a clue. But typically: use dd/balenaEtcher and proceed.

Quick fix: Verify ISO SHA256 → write ISO with balenaEtcher or dd → boot in UEFI → try install. Don’t use Ventoy for first attempt.

==== You listed: btrfs, EFI System Partition, ext2, ext3, ext4, f2fs, physical volume (LVM), ntfs, swap, vfat, xfs, unformatted. ====

===== - EFI System Partition → Use vfat (FAT32), size ~512 MiB, flagged as EFI System Partition. This must be unencrypted. =====
* Qubes system (inside LUKS+LVM) → LUKS container → LVM → ext4 volumes will be created automatically by the installer (you do not need to pick ext4).
* Large unencrypted media partition (Linux-only) → ext4 (fast, reliable).
* Small exchange partition for Windows/macOS → exFAT (supports large files and cross-OS). If the installer GUI does not offer exFAT, make it unformatted now and format it later from a Linux environment or in your media VM.
* NTFS → only if you must share with Windows and need Windows ACLs. Otherwise avoid.
* btrfs → advanced features (snapshots, checksums), but not recommended for dom0 / Qubes system. You can use btrfs for a media partition if you want snapshots, but ZFS/btrfs add complexity and more potential for tricky recovery.
* ZFS → not listed in the installer (often not available); ZFS is excellent for servers (data integrity, snapshots), but it is RAM-hungry and unusual on a laptop — not recommended for Qubes dom0 or for your media partition on a laptop.

===== - ext4: mature, reliable, fast, low memory — default choice for Linux-only media and what Qubes expects for system volumes. =====
* vfat (FAT32): required for EFI boot. Also used for very small cross-platform partitions. No permissions, no journaling.
* exFAT: cross-platform, large file support, no POSIX permissions. Good for sharing movies with Windows/macOS.
* ntfs: Windows-native; use if you need Windows features. Linux support is solid but heavier.
* btrfs: snapshots, checksums; more complex, riskier recovery, not recommended for dom0.
* f2fs: filesystem optimized for flash; specialty use.
* xfs: good for big-file servers; not necessary for laptop media, and less flexible for shrinking.
* ext2/ext3: legacy (ext2 no journaling; ext3 is older journaling); not recommended over ext4.
* swap: swap partition (pagefile). Qubes installer will create swap inside LVM usually.

===== The installer GUI may not list exFAT. Do this: create the partition as unformatted or as ext4 temporarily and reformat later inside a media-vm with mkfs.exfat (install exfatprogs) or on another machine. =====

Quick fix: Use EFI (vfat) 512 MiB for ESP, physical volume (LVM) for the Qubes LUKS container, and unformatted or ext4 for your media partition if you plan to reformat later to exFAT.

==== ### ====
* Disk = physical device (your M.2).
* Partition = a region on the disk (e.g., /dev/nvme0n1p1).
* Physical Volume (PV) = partition or whole disk that LVM uses.
* Volume Group (VG) = collection of PVs (a pool).
* Logical Volume (LV) = “virtual partition” carved out of a VG (you create file systems on LVs).

In the BLIVET GUI you’re seeing a VG named Notebook (that’s fine). You do not create partitions inside the VG — instead you create logical volumes inside the VG, or let the installer do it automatically.

===== - Create a partition on the disk to be used as the LUKS container or PV (e.g., /dev/nvme0n1p2), mark it for LUKS encryption. =====
* After LUKS is set on that partition, inside it create an LVM PV, then a VG, and then LVs: the installer normally does this for you automatically (root, swap, vm-pool).
* Do not try to create classic MBR-style partitions inside the LVM — that’s not how LVM works.

If BLIVET is showing an LVM and letting you create LVs, you can:
* Let it create the LVs automatically (recommended)
* Or create LVs manually: root, swap, qubes pool etc. But be careful and copy a recommended layout.

Quick fix: Let the installer auto-create the LVs inside your LUKS→LVM PV. If you must do it manually, create LVs, not partitions, inside the VG.

==== No — keep root disabled (default). Qubes expects dom0 root to be locked and you to use sudo from your normal dom0 user when necessary. Enabling root is an unnecessary increase in attack surface / risk. ====

If you really want to enable it later:

<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">sudo passwd root

</syntaxhighlight>

But don’t unless you know why.

Quick fix: leave root disabled.

==== - Qubes UI (Audio/GUI) — keep on (default). Needed. ====
* Desktop accessibility — enable only if you need screen reader/assistive tech.
* Sway Window Manager — choose only if you prefer a tiling Wayland sway session and you know how to use it. If you’re new to Qubes/Xfce, leave it off.

Quick fix: stick with defaults for a first install (only Qubes UI).

==== This is the key error. The installer is telling you the EFI System Partition (ESP) is currently set to be inside LUKS (encrypted), or you flagged the ESP to be encrypted — that’s invalid. The firmware (UEFI) needs an unencrypted FAT32 partition to read the bootloader. ====

===== You must create a separate unencrypted EFI partition (FAT32, ~512 MiB) and not put it inside LUKS. Example partition scheme: =====
# Partition 1 — EFI System Partition - Size: 512 MiB - Type: EFI System Partition - Filesystem: vfat/FAT32 - Do not encrypt this.
# Partition 2 — LUKS container for Qubes - Size: 150 GiB (or your chosen system size) - Type: physical volume (LVM) or leave as partition that you will encrypt - Enable LUKS encryption on this partition (the installer will wrap it and then create LVM inside it).
# Partition 3 — Unencrypted media - Size: ~700 GiB - Filesystem: ext4 OR leave unformatted and format later (exFAT if you need Windows compatibility) - Not encrypted.
# (Optional) Partition 4 — small exchange - Size: ~54 GiB - Filesystem: exFAT (if available) or unformatted and format later.

Important: Ensure the ESP is flagged properly and that when you choose LUKS for the main system you do not select the ESP to be inside LUKS. The GUI sometimes lets you accidentally apply LUKS to the whole disk; instead assign LUKS only to the partition you intend for the system.

===== Boot the installer live and open a terminal: =====

<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">lsblk -f

</syntaxhighlight>

Check which partitions exist and whether any FAT32 partition is present for EFI. Also check you booted in UEFI.

===== If you accidentally encrypted the whole disk (including ESP), you need to: =====
* Recreate partitions: make a small unencrypted FAT32 ESP first, then the LUKS partition after it. This may require wiping/repartitioning the disk.

Quick fix: Create a 512 MiB vfat EFI partition (unformatted as EFI System Partition in GUI), then a separate LUKS partition for Qubes. Don’t wrap the EFI partition in LUKS.

==== After install, attach the media partition to a media-vm and run: ====

<syntaxhighlight lang="bash"># install tools in the media-vm if missing
sudo dnf install exfatprogs      # Fedora-based template
=== or on Debian-based TemplateVM: ===
sudo apt install exfatprogs

=== format the block device (example /dev/nvme0n1p3) ===
sudo mkfs.exfat /dev/nvme0n1p3

</syntaxhighlight>

Or use mkfs.ntfs for NTFS, mkfs.ext4 for ext4.

==== - /dev/nvme0n1p1 — EFI | 512 MiB | vfat | EFI System Partition (unmounted by LUKS) ====
* /dev/nvme0n1p2 — System | 150 GiB | set to be encrypted (LUKS) → inside LUKS create LVM → LVs (auto: root, swap, vm-pool)
* /dev/nvme0n1p3 — Media | 700 GiB | unformatted (or ext4) → format later as ext4 or exFAT inside media-vm
* /dev/nvme0n1p4 — Optional exchange | ~54 GiB | unformatted (format later to exFAT/NTFS if needed)

Make sure the EFI partition is not encrypted.

==== 1. ISO SHA256 verified. ====
# USB written with balenaEtcher or dd.
# Booted in UEFI (not legacy).
# EFI partition exists (vfat, 512 MiB, unencrypted).
# Main system partition is marked for LUKS and inside it LVM will be created.
# Media partition left unencrypted/unformatted or ext4 as you prefer.
# Don’t enable root; keep software defaults.
# If you get “Error checking storage configuration” again, review the installer log (there’s a button to show details) and confirm the ESP is not LUKS.

If you want, I can:
* Walk you through writing the ISO step-by-step for your OS (Windows or Linux) — exact commands for dd / Rufus / Etcher.
* If you copy the exact installer test error output (the text it shows when tests fail), paste it here and I’ll diagnose it specifically.
* Or I can create a short checklist you can follow at the installer screen (one-liner commands you can copy into a terminal in the live environment).

Which would you like next — (A) exact USB write commands for your OS, or (B) help parsing the installer test failure output?