Tips for Linux HVMs

Original forum link
https://forum.qubes-os.org/t/19008
Original poster
taradiddles
Editors
adw, deeplow
Created at
2023-06-02 05:35:17
Last wiki edit
2023-08-15 08:35:47
Revisions
3 revisions
Posts count
1
Likes count
2
Tags
configuration, hvm

How to fix bootup kernel error

If the HVM pauses on boot and shows a series of warnings, visit HVM Troubleshooting for a fix.

Screen resolution

Some kernel/Xorg combinations use only 640x480 in HVM, which is quite small. To enable maximum resolution, some changes in the Xorg configuration are needed:

  1. Force "vesa" video driver
  2. Provide wide horizontal synchronization range

To achieve it (all commands to be run as root):

  1. Generate XOrg configuration (if you don't have it):

    X -configure :1 && mv ~/xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf

  2. Add HorizSync line to Monitor section, it should look something like:

    Section "Monitor"
        Identifier   "Monitor0"
        VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
        ModelName    "Monitor Model"
        HorizSync    30.0 - 60.0
EndSection

  3. Change driver to "vesa" in Device section:

    Section "Device"
        # (...)
        Identifier  "Card0"
        Driver      "vesa"
        VendorName  "Technical Corp."
        BoardName   "Unknown Board"
        BusID       "PCI:0:2:0"
EndSection

Now you should get resolution of at least 1280x1024 and should be able to choose other modes.

Qubes agents

Linux Qubes agents are written primarily for PV qubes, but it is possible to run them also in a HVM qube. However some work may be required to achieve this. Check this thread.

This document was migrated from the qubes-community project