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476 lines
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Markdown
476 lines
20 KiB
Markdown
---
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lang: en
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layout: doc
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permalink: /doc/installation-guide/
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redirect_from:
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- /en/doc/installation-guide/
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- /doc/InstallationGuide/
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- /wiki/InstallationGuide/
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- /doc/InstallationGuideR1/
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- /doc/InstallationGuideR2B1/
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- /doc/InstallationGuideR2B2/
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- /doc/InstallationGuideR2B3/
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- /doc/InstallationGuideR2rc1/
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- /doc/InstallationGuideR2rc2/
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- /doc/InstallationGuideR3.0rc1/
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- /doc/InstallationGuideR3.0rc2/
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- /doc/live-usb/
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ref: 153
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title: Installation Guide
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---
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Welcome to the Qubes OS installation guide! This guide will walk you through
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the process of installing Qubes. Please read it carefully and thoroughly, as it
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contains important information for ensuring that your Qubes OS installation is
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functional and secure.
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## Pre-installation
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### Hardware requirements
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<div class="alert alert-danger" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-exclamation-triangle"></i>
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<b>Warning:</b> Qubes has no control over what happens on your computer
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before you install it. No software can provide security if it is installed on
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compromised hardware. Do not install Qubes on a computer you don't trust.
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See <a href="/doc/install-security/">installation security</a> for more information.
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</div>
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Qubes OS has very specific [system requirements](/doc/system-requirements/). To
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ensure compatibility, we strongly recommend using [Qubes-certified
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hardware](/doc/certified-hardware/). Other hardware may require you to perform
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significant troubleshooting. You may also find it helpful to consult the
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[Hardware Compatibility List](/hcl/).
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Even on supported hardware, you must ensure that [IOMMU-based
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virtualization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input%E2%80%93output_memory_management_unit#Virtualization)
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is activated in the BIOS. Without it, Qubes OS won't be able to enforce
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isolation. For Intel-based boards, this setting is called Intel Virtualization
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for Directed I/O (**Intel VT-d**) and for AMD-based boards, it is called AMD
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I/O Virtualization Technology (or simply **AMD-Vi**). This parameter should be
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activated in your computer's BIOS, alongside the standard Virtualization
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(**Intel VT-x**) and AMD Virtualization (**AMD-V**) extensions. This [external
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guide](https://web.archive.org/web/20200112220913/https://www.intel.in/content/www/in/en/support/articles/000007139/server-products.html)
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made for Intel-based boards can help you figure out how to enter your BIOS to
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locate and activate those settings. If those settings are not nested under the
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Advanced tab, you might find them under the Security tab.
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<div class="alert alert-warning" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-exclamation-circle"></i>
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<b>Note:</b> Qubes OS is not meant to be installed inside a virtual machine
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as a guest hypervisor. In other words, <b>nested virtualization</b> is not
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supported. In order for a strict compartmentalization to be enforced, Qubes
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OS needs to be able to manage the hardware directly.
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</div>
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### Copying the ISO onto the installation medium
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Start by [downloading](/downloads/) a Qubes ISO.
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<div class="alert alert-danger" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-exclamation-triangle"></i>
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<b>Warning:</b> Any file you download from the internet could be malicious,
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even if it appears to come from a trustworthy source. Our philosophy is to <a
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href="/faq/#what-does-it-mean-to-distrust-the-infrastructure">distrust the
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infrastructure</a>. Regardless of how you acquire your Qubes ISO, <a
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href="/security/verifying-signatures/">verify its authenticity</a> before
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continuing.
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</div>
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Once the ISO has been verified as authentic, you should copy it onto the
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installation medium of your choice, such as a dual-layer DVD, a Blu-ray disc,
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or a USB drive. The size of each Qubes ISO is available on the
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[downloads](/downloads/) page by hovering over the download button.
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<div class="alert alert-warning" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-exclamation-circle"></i>
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<b>Note:</b> There are important <a href="/doc/install-security/">security
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considerations</a> to keep in mind when choosing an installation medium.
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</div>
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<div class="alert alert-danger" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-exclamation-triangle"></i>
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<b>Warning:</b> Be careful to choose the correct device when copying the ISO,
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or you may lose data. We strongly recommended making a full backup before
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modifying any devices.
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</div>
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If you choose to use a USB drive, copy the ISO onto the USB device, e.g. using
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`dd`:
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```
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$ sudo dd if=Qubes-RX-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdY status=progress bs=1048576 && sync
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```
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Change `Qubes-RX-x86_64.iso` to the filename of the version you're installing,
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and change `/dev/sdY` to the correct target device e.g., `/dev/sdc`). Make sure
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to write to the entire device (e.g., `/dev/sdc`) rather than just a single
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partition (e.g., `/dev/sdc1`).
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On Windows, you can use the [Rufus](https://rufus.akeo.ie/) tool to write the
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ISO to a USB key. MediaTest is not recommended. Be sure to select "DD image"
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mode (*after* selecting the Qubes ISO):
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<div class="alert alert-warning" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-exclamation-circle"></i>
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<b>Note:</b> If you do this on Windows 10, you can only install Qubes
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without MediaTest, which is not recommended.
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</div>
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If you are an advanced user, and you would like to customize your installation,
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please see [custom installation](/doc/custom-install/). Otherwise, follow the
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instructions below.
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## Installation
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This section will demonstrate a simple installation using mostly default
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settings.
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### Getting to the boot screen
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Just after you power on your machine, make the Qubes OS medium available to the
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computer by inserting your DVD or USB drive. Shortly after the Power-on
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self-test (POST) is completed, you should be greeted with the Qubes OS boot
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screen.
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<div class="alert alert-info" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-info-circle"></i>
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<b>Note:</b> When installing Qubes OS 4.0 on UEFI, there is intentionally no
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boot menu. It goes straight to the installer. The boot menu will be back in
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Qubes OS 4.1.
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</div>
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From here, you can navigate the boot screen using the arrow keys on your
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keyboard. Pressing the "Tab" key will reveal options. You can choose one of
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three options:
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* Install Qubes OS
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* Test this media and install Qubes OS
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* Troubleshooting
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Select the option to test this media and install Qubes OS.
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If the boot screen does not appear, there are several options to troubleshoot.
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First, try rebooting your computer. If it still loads your currently installed
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operating system or does not detect your installation medium, make sure the
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boot order is set up appropriately. The process to change the boot order varies
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depending on the currently installed system and the motherboard manufacturer.
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If **Windows 10** is installed on your machine, you may need to follow specific
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instructions to change the boot order. This may require an [advanced
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reboot](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4026206/windows-10-find-safe-mode-and-other-startup-settings).
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After the POST, you may have a chance to choose a boot device. You may wish to
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select the USB drive or DVD drive as a temporary boot option so that the next
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time you boot, your internal storage device will be selected first.
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### The installer home screen
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On the first screen, you are asked to select the language that will be used
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during the installation process. When you are done, select **Continue**.
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Prior to the next screen, a compatibility test runs to check whether
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IOMMU-virtualization is active or not. If the test fails, a window will pop up.
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Do not panic. It may simply indicate that IOMMU-virtualization hasn't been
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activated in the BIOS. Return to the [hardware
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requirements](#hardware-requirements) section to learn how to activate it. If
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the setting is not configured correctly, it means that your hardware won't be
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able to leverage some Qubes security features, such as a strict isolation of
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the networking and USB hardware.
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If the test passes, you will reach the installation summary screen. The
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installer loads Xen right at the beginning. If you can see the installer's
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graphical screen, and you pass the compatibility check that runs immediately
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afterward, Qubes OS is likely to work on your system!
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Like Fedora, Qubes OS uses the Anaconda installer. Those that are familiar with
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RPM-based distributions should feel at home.
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### Installation summary
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<div class="alert alert-success" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-check-circle"></i>
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<b>Did you know?</b> The Qubes OS installer is completely offline. It doesn't
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even load any networking drivers, so there is no possibility of
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internet-based data leaks or attacks during the installation process.
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</div>
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The Installation summary screen allows you to change how the system will be
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installed and configured, including localization settings. At minimum, you are
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required to select the storage device on which Qubes OS will be installed.
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### Localization
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Let's assume you wish to add a German keyboard layout. Go to Keyboard Layout,
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press the "Plus" symbol, search for "German" as indicated in the screenshot and
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press "Add". If you want it be your default language, select the "German" entry
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in the list and press the arrow button. Click on "Done" in the upper left
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corner, and you're ready to go!
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The process to select a new language is similar to the process to select a new
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keyboard layout. Follow the same process in the "Language Support" entry.
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You can have as many keyboard layout and languages as you want. Post-install,
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you will be able to switch between them and install others.
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Don't forget to select your time and date by clicking on the Time & Date entry.
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### Software
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On the software selection tab, you can choose which software to install in
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Qubes OS. Two options are available:
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* **Debian:** Select this option if you would like to use
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[Debian](/doc/templates/debian/) qubes in addition to the default Fedora
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qubes.
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* **Whonix:** Select this option if you would like to use
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[Whonix](/doc/whonix/) qubes. Whonix allows you to use
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[Tor](https://www.torproject.org/) securely within Qubes.
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Whonix lets you route some or all of your network traffic through Tor for
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greater privacy. Depending on your threat model, you may need to install Whonix
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templates right away.
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Regardless of your choices on this screen, you will always be able to install
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these and other [templates](/doc/templates/) later. If you're short on disk
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space, you may wish to deselect these options.
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By default, Qubes OS comes preinstalled with the lightweight Xfce4 desktop
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environment. Other desktop environments will be available to you after the
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installation is completed, though they may not be officially supported (see
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[Advanced Topics](/doc/#advanced-topics)).
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Press **Done** to go back to the installation summary screen.
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### Installation destination
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Under the System section, you must choose the installation destination. Select
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the storage device on which you would like to install Qubes OS.
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<div class="alert alert-danger" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-exclamation-triangle"></i>
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<b>Warning:</b> Be careful to choose the correct installation target, or you
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may lose data. We strongly recommended making a full backup before
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proceeding.
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</div>
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Your installation destination can be an internal or external storage drive,
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such as an SSD, HDD, or USB drive. The installation destination must have a
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least 32 GiB of free space available.
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<div class="alert alert-warning" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-exclamation-circle"></i>
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<b>Note:</b> The installation destination cannot be the same as the
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installation medium. For example, if you're installing Qubes OS <em>from</em>
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a USB drive <em>onto</em> a USB drive, they must be two distinct USB drives,
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and they must both be plugged into your computer at the same time. (Note:
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This may not apply to advanced users who partition their devices
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appropriately.)
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</div>
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Installing an operating system onto a USB drive can be a convenient way to try
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Qubes. However, USB drives are typically much slower than internal SSDs. We
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recommend a very fast USB 3.0 drive for decent performance. Please note that a
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minimum storage of 32 GiB is required. If you want to install Qubes OS onto a
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USB drive, just select the USB device as the target installation device. Bear
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in mind that the installation process is likely to take longer than it would on
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an internal storage device.
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<div class="alert alert-success" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-check-circle"></i>
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<b>Did you know?</b> Qubes OS uses full-disk AES encryption (FDE) via LUKS by
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default.
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</div>
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As soon as you press **Done**, the installer will ask you to enter a passphrase
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for disk encryption. The passphrase should be complex. Make sure that your
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keyboard layout reflects what keyboard you are actually using. When you're
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finished, press **Done**.
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<div class="alert alert-danger" role="alert">
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<i class="fa fa-exclamation-triangle"></i>
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<b>Warning:</b> If you forget your encryption passphrase, there is no way to
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recover it.
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</div>
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When you're ready, press **Begin Installation**.
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### Create your user account
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While the installation process is running, you can create your user account.
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This is what you'll use to log in after disk decryption and when unlocking the
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screen locker. This is a purely local, offline account in dom0. By design,
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Qubes OS is a single-user operating system, so this is just for you.
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Select **User Creation** to define a new user with administrator privileges and
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a password. Just as for the disk encryption, this password should be complex.
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The root account is deactivated and should remain as such.
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When the installation is complete, press **Reboot**. Don't forget to remove the
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installation medium, or else you may end up seeing the installer boot screen
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again.
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## Post-installation
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### First boot
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If the installation was successful, you should now see the GRUB menu during the
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boot process.
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Just after this screen, you will be asked to enter your encryption passphrase.
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### Initial Setup
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You're almost done. Before you can start using Qubes OS, some configuration is
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needed.
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By default, the installer will create a number of qubes (depending on the
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options you selected during the installation process). These are designed to
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give you a more ready-to-use environment from the get-go.
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Let's briefly go over the options:
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* **Create default system qubes:**
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These are the core components of the system, required for things like
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internet access.
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* **Create default application qubes:**
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These are how you compartmentalize your digital life. There's nothing special
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about the ones the installer creates. They're just suggestions that apply to
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most people. If you decide you don't want them, you can always delete them
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later, and you can always create your own.
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* **Create Whonix Gateway and Workstation qubes:**
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If you want to use Whonix, you should select this option.
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* **Enabling system and template updates over the Tor anonymity network using Whonix:**
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If you select this option, then whenever you install or update software in
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dom0 or a template, the internet traffic will go through Tor.
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* **Create USB qube holding all USB controllers:**
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Just like the network qube for the network stack, the USB qube isolates the
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USB controllers.
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* **Use sys-net qube for both networking and USB devices:**
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You should select this option if you rely on a USB device for network access,
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such as a USB modem or a USB Wi-Fi adapter.
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* **Do not configure anything:**
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This is for very advanced users only. If you select this option, you'll have
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to set everything up manually afterward.
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When you're satisfied with you choices, press **Done**. This configuration
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process may take a while, depending on the speed and compatibility of your
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system.
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After the configuration is done, you will be greeted by the login screen. Enter
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your password and log in.
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Congratulations, you are now ready to use Qubes OS!
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## Next steps
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### Updating
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Next, [update](/doc/how-to-update/) your installation to ensure you have
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the latest security updates. Frequently updating is one of the best ways to
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remain secure against new threats.
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### Security
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The Qubes OS Project occasionally issues [Qubes Security Bulletins
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(QSBs)](/security/bulletins/) as part of the [Qubes Security Pack
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(qubes-secpack)](/security/pack/). It is important to make sure that you
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receive all QSBs in a timely manner so that you can take action to keep your
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system secure. (While [updating](#updating) will handle most security needs,
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there may be cases in which additional action from you is required.) For this
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reason, we strongly recommend that every Qubes user subscribe to the
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[qubes-announce](/support/#qubes-announce) mailing list.
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In addition to QSBs, the Qubes OS Project also publishes
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[Canaries](/security/canaries/), XSA summaries, template releases and
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end-of-life notices, and other items of interest to Qubes users. Since these
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are not essential for all Qubes users to read, they are not sent to
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[qubes-announce](/support/#qubes-announce) in order to keep the volume on that
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list low. However, we expect that most users, especially novice users, will
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find them helpful. If you are interested in these additional items, we
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encourage you to subscribe to the [Qubes News RSS feed](/feed.xml) or join one
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of our other [venues](/support/), where these news items are also announced.
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For more information about Qubes OS Project security, please see the [security
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center](/security/).
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### Backups
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It is extremely important to make regular backups so that you don't lose your
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data unexpectedly. The [Qubes backup
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system](/doc/how-to-back-up-restore-and-migrate/) allows you to do this
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securely and easily.
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### Submit your HCL report
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Consider giving back to the Qubes community and helping other users by
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[generating and submitting a Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)
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report](/doc/hcl/#generating-and-submitting-new-reports).
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### Get Started
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Find out [How to Get Started](/doc/how-to-get-started/) with Qubes, check out
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the other [How-to Guides](/doc/#how-to-guides), and learn about
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[Templates](/doc/#templates).
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## Getting help
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* We work very hard to make the [documentation](/doc/) accurate, comprehensive
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useful and user friendly. We urge you to read it! It may very well contain
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the answers to your questions. (Since the documentation is a community
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effort, we'd also greatly appreciate your help in
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[improving](/doc/doc-guidelines/) it!)
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* If issues arise during installation, see the [Installation
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Troubleshooting](/doc/installation-troubleshooting) guide.
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* If you don't find your answer in the documentation, please see [Help,
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Support, Mailing Lists, and Forum](/support/) for places to ask.
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* Please do **not** email individual members of the Qubes team with questions
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about installation or other problems. Instead, please see [Help, Support,
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Mailing Lists, and Forum](/support/) for appropriate places to ask questions.
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