I've successfully installed CachyOS and Arch on three of my laptops, but I'm hitting a wall with my gaming desktop. Most of the time (19 out of 20 tries), the installation just hangs at a black screen. The few times it does boot, my WiFi doesn't work, even after trying to install different adapters. I attempted USB tethering for the full installation, but once it's installed, the OS doesn't even boot properly. Out of about 50 tries, I managed to boot it once, but then it froze. I've had smooth installs on my AMD laptops, so I'm pretty sure the issue lies with my NVIDIA graphics card. I did select preloaded NVIDIA drivers when I downloaded the ISOs. I've tried both Rufus and Balena Etcher for the USB drives, and I'm installing on brand new SSDs. I'm really at my wit's end here trying to get either CachyOS or Bazzite working on my desktop. Here's my setup: Gigabyte motherboard, NVIDIA 2080 Super, and an i9 9900k.
4 Answers
Have you turned off "secure boot" in your BIOS settings? That can often cause issues with Linux installations.
It seems like your problems might mainly relate to the WiFi. Maybe consider using another network setup as a workaround? That could be the key to getting past the installation hurdle.
Make sure to list your full specs! Also, try disabling fast startup in Windows, then reboot your PC after unplugging it before it tries to boot up again. Afterward, press the power button to drain any leftover electricity and replug your PC. Sometimes Windows can mess with your WiFi connectivity.
What kind of issues are you facing with regular Arch Linux? It might help to rule out whether it’s specifically a CachyOS problem or something with your hardware setup.
For CachyOS, the USB installer boots, but the WiFi isn't working (I use an external TP-Link adapter). I end up having to use tethering to finish the install.
After I get it installed on the SSD, if I try to boot from that drive, the screen just goes black.
With Bazzite, after selecting 'Run Bazzite' from the USB, it immediately goes black too, so I can't even get to the installer.
Yes, I’ve definitely deactivated secure boot.