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Frogprince

Member

Registered: 2026-08-10

Posts: 1  

Both Desktop and Netinstall Installer Fails

Hi, I'm trying to install Devuan with MATE on a Dell M6800 laptop using Ventoy. Running the desktop installer halted at the very beginning, and gave me an error message that I had to install the kernel first, which is what I thought I was doing. So I moved to the netinstall iso. When the installer got to the point where I identified wifi as the preferred channel, it went off and then came back and stated that my wifi password was too short or too long. But it gave me no way to enter it! How can I install Devuan from Ventoy? Or ?? Thanks in advance.

kapqa

Member

Registered: 2019-01-02

Posts: 756  

Re: Both Desktop and Netinstall Installer Fails

you could find some info here if you want to use "ventoy"
https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?id=8124
also would suggest you cpiöd do yourselves a favour and use an ethernet cable (atleast) for a more stable first-installation ~

good luck.

edit: if you have a dvd-r(w) laying around, yoiuu could master the iso onto it; that works best in my experience, specially with excalbiure. (am repeating myself)

Last edited by kapqa (2026-08-10 18:26:55)

Camtaf

Member

Registered: 2019-11-19

Posts: 566  

Re: Both Desktop and Netinstall Installer Fails

I've had no problems - did you check you had a good download?

ralph.ronnquist

Administrator

From: Battery Point, Tasmania, AUS

Registered: 2016-11-30

Posts: 1,727  

Re: Both Desktop and Netinstall Installer Fails

Why not copy the installer ISO, e.g. netinstall onto a device, not as a file but fully onto the device, and then boot with that.

Next, if you come to a similar wifi issue, then use "go back" until you get the menu of tasks (which you also can get directly by choosing the "expert install" option). Then move forward using that. Feel free to come back for specific advice.

greenjeans

Member

Registered: 2017-04-07

Posts: 1,746  

Website

Re: Both Desktop and Netinstall Installer Fails

This thread may be of interest : https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?pid=65160#p65160

Using refracta2usb instead of ventoy.

if you have a dvd-r(w) laying around, you could master the iso onto it; that works best in my experience, specially with excalibur.

This is how I always do a netinstall.

Last edited by greenjeans (2026-08-11 13:58:53)

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pixie

Member

Registered: 2024-09-28

Posts: 3  

Re: Both Desktop and Netinstall Installer Fails

I've used Ventoy and the Live desktop iso on recent Lenovo laptops without issue recently.

brocashelm

Member

Registered: 2020-06-29

Posts: 256  

Website

Re: Both Desktop and Netinstall Installer Fails

I have never had any issues loading a Devuan ISO with Ventoy (just tested loading up a Daedalus live ISO on a Dell Latitude laptop before submitting this post). I'm still surprised this is a recurring issue, according to threads like these.

I use Ventoy because it's more handy for carrying a bunch of distros and other OSes (like the BSDs) on a single USB flash drive than dedicating one (especially an optical disc such as a CD-R or a DVD-R) to a single ISO -- and it might still not work on your hardware, so you're screwed if what you used to burn it onto is not rewritable. The only actual argument I've seen AGAINST using Ventoy is the concerns over the blobs, which you can read about here for further clarification. Even still, it's not as bad as the fact that the CPU you're using likely has a proprietary backdoor that you can't do a single thing about...

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Devuan Users Forum

ralph.ronnquist

Administrator

From: Battery Point, Tasmania, AUS

Registered: 2016-11-30

Posts: 1,727  

Re: Both Desktop and Netinstall Installer Fails

The bad thing with Ventoy is that it does not hold the ISOs as block devices, which is what an ISO maker normally expects. It holds them as files. So the ISO maker must build their ISO with file browsing logic (to figure out which filesystem to browse, then browse that to find their ISO media as a file, then loopback mount that to be a block device) before their installer can use it.

In normal use, the ISO is present as a block device on the hardware. All that can be hard to understand when most computering seems like magic. But in short, the ISO maker has to tailor ther installer for use with Ventoy in a generic fashion, which is an amout of extra work for them.

It is also possible for a multi-ISO boot loader to keep ISOs as block devices. But that would require different hands-on for preparing it, and the multi-ISO boot loader developer would probably need to offer a special utility for that, since it does involve slightly more than copying a file into a filesystem.

Anyhow, clearly any multi-ISO program is good for those cases where it works.