With some cli familiarity the install process is super simple: Download the most recent iso Plug in a USB $ sudo dd if=Qubes-R<YOUR_ISO_VERSION>-x8

With some cli familiarity the install process is super simple: Download the most recent iso Plug in a USB $ sudo dd if=Qubes-R<YOUR_ISO_VERSION>-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sd<YOUR_USB_DRIVE> status=progress bs=1048576 && sync Now start up the destination machine with the USB and follow the installer instructions. But for whatever reason the actual procedure is fraught with difficulties; and this is from someone who uses qubes daily and has installed and reinstalled qubes on multiple machines. I've seen: - multiple random installer freezes (hard shutoff, start again, 3rd try magically works, ?shrug?) - USB drive overheating (apparently, according to forum posts, sdcards are incompatible with the installer, and some USBA drives are actually sd cards welded to boards... had to crack one open to see that was the failing point) - incompatible hardware blocks (motherboard is compatible but digging deeper apparently the mobo's chipset is incompatible) - successful installs freeze on login due to incompatible hardware (Broadcom wifi cards) Also 8G is the real min req Dom0, the admin qube, will gobble all of the 'minimum required 4G RAM', 8G will be sluggish with only one qube running, 16G+ should be the min req to use as intended The best way to avoid headaches is follow the hardware compatibility list and go big on RAM: https://www.qubes-os.org/hcl/ https://www.qubes-os.org/hcl/ Or buy certified hardware: https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/certified-hardware/ https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/certified-hardware/ Once running, it sings.