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

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* 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.