Problems booting Q4OS in dual boot mode with Windows 10 Home 64.

nirick · 2025-11-26 18:26

Hello, my old notebook is having trouble booting Q4OS in dual boot mode.

The dual boot loads properly and gives me the choice between Q4OS and Windows. The problem is that after choosing Q4OS, the screen remains stuck on the underscore in the top left. At that point, no button works, and the only solution is to force shutdown with the laptop's physical button. Then, when I turn it back on, the previous dual boot screen reappears.

I have already tried with 3 methods: Aquarius Plasma x64 installer from within Windows, Andromeda Trinity x64 from live and today with install-cd Andromeda Trinity x64 (having created 80gb of free space beforehand), but the same problem of the fixed and flashing underscore in the top left always occurs, after a preliminary system loading phase of about 10 seconds.

I'd like to know if anyone has experienced this and if there's a solution to the problem, which is most likely related to the age of my laptop, which has a new SSD but an original legacy BIOS from August 2009.

nirick · 2025-11-26 20:20

Hi everyone, I'm happy to let you know that after a few attempts, I finally solved the Q4OS boot freeze, which occurred starting from the second system boot, after the initial setup one right after installation.
The cause was Probably the integrated video card drivers, which I didn't immediately update after the initial installation.
I noticed this probable error because I subsequently installed Aquarium 32-bit and immediately activated the connection with desktop refresh (I chose Plasma). In this case, I never had any problems booting the system afterward.
I could only confirm this if I reinstalled 64-bit, but this is most likely the cause.
Thanks so much, see you soon!

Last edited by nirick (2025-11-27 11:38)

q4osteam · 2025-11-26 20:23

Thanks for sharing the solution.

nirick · 2025-11-28 20:39

nirick wrote:

I could only confirm this if I reinstalled 64-bit, but this is most likely the cause.

Good evening everyone,

I couldn't resist giving Q4OS x64 one last try on my old 2009 laptop native with Vista Home Premium x86.

As I did with x86, I immediately configured the desktop after the first reboot following installation, but after the second reboot, nothing happened again, with the underscore still stuck in the top left.

In all my attempts to make small changes in the BIOS and Windows, it only booted once, and I was happy with the result, but it was probably a fluke.

I still think the problem might be the integrated video card, because during the preliminary system boot, before the crash, you only see large, low-resolution characters, just like in safe mode; then, just before the crash with the underscore, you can see a line at the top with a hint of small, colored characters, which immediately fades into indistinctness.

In the end, I decided to permanently reinstall the Aquarius i386 with the Trinity desktop, which works great. After all, this machine was originally built with 32-bit, and I don't mind the idea of it continuing to exist exclusively in 32-bit.

I deliberately chose to burn the ISO to an old rewritable DVD so I could hear the sound of the drive writing the new files to the disc... there's something poetic about it!

Thanks so much, see you soon!

Last edited by nirick (2025-11-28 20:45)

Q4OS Forum

#1 2025-11-26 18:26

Problems booting Q4OS in dual boot mode with Windows 10 Home 64.

#2 2025-11-26 20:20

Re: Problems booting Q4OS in dual boot mode with Windows 10 Home 64.

#3 2025-11-26 20:23

Re: Problems booting Q4OS in dual boot mode with Windows 10 Home 64.

#4 2025-11-28 20:39

Re: Problems booting Q4OS in dual boot mode with Windows 10 Home 64.

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