Installation Troubleshooting

Symptom-first index. Nothing here fits? Community channels on https://acreetionos.org welcome logs (journalctl from live session).

Black/garbled screen when booting USB

  • Try nomodeset: press e in GRUB menu, add to linux line, F10.

  • Intel iGPU old-gen: i915.modeset=0 test similarly.

  • NVIDIA hybrid laptop: BIOS switchable-graphics toggle sometimes required pre-install.

Installer sees no internal disk

Classic Intel RST/VMD RAID mode. Firmware → SATA/storage → switch RAID/RST → AHCI. Windows-side prep needed first if dual-booting (safe-mode boot cycle trick) — search "RST to AHCI windows" + follow Partitioning Options Explained carefully after.

"Failed to mount ESP" / EFI errors

  • ESP missing/corrupt: create 512 MiB FAT32 with esp flag manually (Partitioning Options Explained) and retry.

  • Dual-boot: never format Windows' ESP — reuse it.

Partition operation fails mid-way

Usually overlapping/messy legacy layout: run GParted from live session, fix/align, retry. Data-bearing partitions: backup first (Backup Strategies).

Bootloader install failed at end

System files are fine; only GRUB missing. Retry installer OR skip ahead: boot installed system via USB → Chroot Rescue Guide → grub-install + config regen.

Wi-Fi needed during install but absent

Live session includes most firmware; exotic chips may need packages from the same repo after connecting by phone USB-tethering temporarily.

Installed but boots to firmware/old OS only

Boot order (Firmware Settings: BIOS & UEFI end section) or Windows stomped entries → one-shot boot menu → pick "AcreetionOS"; permanent fix via efibootmgr ordering.

Random freeze during package copy

USB stick dying (very common symptom!). Different port/stick, re-write with conv=fsync (Creating Bootable USB Media).