q4os windows not working

Nitwit · 2026-05-31 07:29

I installed q4os windows on my windows 10 toshiba satellite z30-a i5 4th gen. When I booted the laptop, it would show an error like 'etc/debian/s invalid' and then would always boot into windows like nothing ever happened. I tried disabling secure boot and hibernate but it still didn't work. I went into the boot bios and it showed an option to boot into my c drive which booted into windows but also showed boot from ip v4 and v6 which both booted into an error screen. There was no q4os option in the boot bios. I didn't want to have 2 partitioned drives on my ssd so that is why I went with the windows installer. I have searched forums and none of them have helped though there was a post similar to mine which I will link below. They had the same 1st startup error of the etc/debian/s invalid but also had other issues after that which I don't have. But I have no option to boot into q4os from startup or bios. His post hasn't even been responded to the last time I checked. Please help me...
Link to post: https://www.q4os.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4687

q4osteam · 2026-05-31 11:09

Welcome to the forum

We have released new Winsetup installer "q4os-winsetup-6.7-r0-testing1.zip" with significant fixes included, you can download it here https://sourceforge.net/projects/q4os/files/testing/ . This installer should fix the issue you encountered as well.

It's testing at the moment, but safe to use. Please switch secure boot on, perform installation and post back the result.

Nitwit · 2026-06-01 02:04

Hello,
Big thanks to your team. My computer now boots into Grub. Only problem is that the cursor doesn't work, even when I plug in my usb mouse. The trackpad is broken on my laptop and with any mouse not registering, I can't control the interface and progress through the installation.

q4osteam · 2026-06-01 08:03

A USB mouse is a fairly generic device and should work without any issues. Please check that the USB port is not damaged, and try connecting a different mouse as well.

Nitwit · 2026-06-01 10:30

All mice I have do not work in the os. Every one of my mice works on all other devices and even in windows 10 on the same laptop.

q4osteam · 2026-06-01 10:34

Does the keyboard work well ?

Please try to boot Q4OS live media and check, if the mouse is working fine there.

Nitwit · 2026-06-01 10:39

Keyboard works fine. Just the mouse and it logging in as a different username on boot. I don't have access to a usb right now to boot live media (sorry). I also am not sure how to do anyway.

q4osteam · 2026-06-01 10:53

That's really odd. We understand the USB ports as well as mouse are working fine in Windows. We would need to investigate a bit more. Are you able to log in and run terminal ? If so, please re-plug the mouse and run in terminal:
$ lsusb
and post the output.

Nitwit · 2026-06-01 21:54

This is the response (with any amount of usb devices plugged in):
Bus 001 Device 001: ID ld6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID ld6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub

hchiper · 2026-06-02 10:12

I believe that the broken touchpad is the origin of the problem, as it is likely an USB device and probably interferes with other USB devices.

If that laptop was mine, I would do the following.

DO NOT try it if you don't feel confident enough or if you don't feel meticulous enough.
If you proceed, it will be at at own risks.
Never apply brute force to remove a component and avoid to touch any internal circuit with your hands or tools.

follow this tutorial (https://www.myfixguide.com/manual/toshi … sassembly/) until the battery is removed (only the first step after having opened the laptop case),
then try to locate and disconnect the touchpad electric ribbon (maybe there are tiny clips to fasten it in place),
put some insulating material on its electrical contacts to leave it disconnected,
have a look at the cooling fan and remove excessive dust (DO NOT disassemble it otherwise you would have to replace the thermal grease on the heat sink, which probably you don't have!)
as a last step, reinsert, fasten and reconnect the battery,
reassemble the laptop case.

Then try to install Q4OS again and see if your external mouse is recognized.

q4osteam · 2026-06-02 17:24

@hchiper Yes, that might be the case. We would suggest first to switch the touchpad off with function keys, or better directly in Bios, if possible. If that will not help, disassembly comes to the scene.

Nitwit · 2026-06-02 22:06

But the older q4os windows worked with my mouse on first boot. It's just that I couldn't boot it after. On first and every boot of the newer release, the cursor doesn't work.

hchiper · 2026-06-03 08:34

Hardware issues can worsen over time, cause intermittent malfunctions and have unpredictable consequences.
To exclude the touchpad issue as the origin of the problem, one should make several alternate installs of the old and new versions of Q4OS and have the mouse always working properly with the old version and at least sometimes not working only with the new version. This is a statistical method and the more tests one runs, the more reliable the result.
Tedious, whence my suggestion to disconnect the touchpad, which is useless in any case.

Edit
If the touchpad is not physically broken (in pieces), the problem might also be in the USB controller itself. Your `lsusb` command showed the controller is present, but it never recognizes any USB device.

Last edited by hchiper (2026-06-03 08:59)

Q4OS Forum

#1 2026-05-31 07:29

q4os windows not working

#2 2026-05-31 11:09

Re: q4os windows not working

#3 2026-06-01 02:04

Re: q4os windows not working

#4 2026-06-01 08:03

Re: q4os windows not working

#5 2026-06-01 10:30

Re: q4os windows not working

#6 2026-06-01 10:34

Re: q4os windows not working

#7 2026-06-01 10:39

Re: q4os windows not working

#8 2026-06-01 10:53

Re: q4os windows not working

#9 2026-06-01 21:54

Re: q4os windows not working

#10 2026-06-02 10:12

Re: q4os windows not working

#11 2026-06-02 17:24

Re: q4os windows not working

#12 2026-06-02 22:06

Re: q4os windows not working

#13 2026-06-03 08:34

Re: q4os windows not working

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