Various installation issues

Ask Fedora
,
1

Sorry for creating one topic for several issues but I ran into them while trying to install Fedora 42.

I had 40 on and decided to do a clean reinstall.

  • First thing once I boot up the Live USB key : the installer shows up on the wrong screen. Even worse, that screen isn’t even on. My Nvidia card has a main PC screen on DisplayPort and a TV (turned off) on HDMI. So I was greeted with just a wallpaper and nothing else. I think it’d be beter if on installation the screen layout was on “duplicate” instead of “extend”, that would easily solve this issue.
  • Another issue I had was that the desktop was in light mode. Being visually impaired I can’t use desktops properly in light mode, and I try to switch from the get-go to dark mode. Other Linu distros like Mint (I believe) ask the user first thing first if they want a liglht or dark mode during install, and I think that’d be best for accessibility.
  • Now the bad part : First reboot and the keyboard doesn’t work at all? No key presses do work, and I’m stuck at the “Timezone” screen as I can’t type any city in the search field.
  • I rebooted and now the keyboard worked. However, and that’s where I’m stuck : I select the right timezone, click “Next” and then the welcome screen just hangs there. System is not frozen as I can move the window around but I have no issue what’s wrong, the app just stops responding.

I’m going to try installing Fedora 41 and upgrade from there if I manage to pass the installation/welcome properly.

3

Please raise bug reports for the user-experience improvements.
See How to file a bug :: Fedora Docs

I know that the 6.14 kernel has issues with handling USB devices correctly, which is being worked on. This may be affecting you.

Some developers found that adding pci=realloc=off to the kernel command line in grub fixed the issue for them.

4

Good to know, I’ll try to file a bug report later.

I worked around it though by installing 41 instead and upgraded from there.

5

I don’t have a pre-install solution, but I’ve seen this a lot with GNOME if I have my laptop lid closed and external screen on (Intel GPU). Xfce also does it, but only with default modesetting Xorg DDX (intel DDX default mirrors). It’s annoying, but a minor inconvenience until I get the post-install and handle it :stuck_out_tongue:

If it’s a USB keyboard, it sounds like USB didn’t initialize right. I had a CORSAIR RGB keyboard that would sometimes connect fine, or delay boot, or not register after boot.

If you do have a CORSAIR keyboard or mouse, ckb-next has a Troubleshooting page on their GitHub that has commands to generate USB boot flags to fix the specific CORSAIR device(s).

I think the next step involves something with the network; if it does then maybe DNS is timing out or something internet-related outside of the computer is doing something odd (I’d reboot all network equipment to be sure)

It might also be a wifi network select screen; if that’s not loading that implies something odd with the wifi driver (I’d disable it in BIOS/disconnect it and figure it out post-install).

I’d try nouveau.modeset=0 as a boot option too; I had an Alienware RTX 3060 laptop that’d randomly hard-freeze with nouveau pre and post-install; that option helped until I got proprietary drivers installed.

6

I agree it’s minor but in the end I have to get behind the computer to unplug the cable connecting it to the TV. On a laptop that’s easier since cables are more easily accessable.

Coincidentally, it’s a Corsair RGB keyboard I’m using! Still kind of annoying, and it worked after a reboot, anyways…

It was not a display freeze as I was able to move the mouse and even move the welcome screen window around on the screen.

I have no Wifi on this computer, so it was perhaps a weird network issue… I tried twice via a reboot and it ended up the same somehow. Can’t test it again anyway as I installed 41 instead and upgraded to 42.