Running on Real Hardware

Redox OS can be installed on real hardware, but compatibility varies significantly between systems. Review the hardware compatibility information before attempting installation.

Important Safety NoticeInstalling Redox on real hardware carries risks:

Potential data loss on existing systems
Boot loader issues may affect existing OS installations
Some hardware may not be supported or may cause system instability
ACPI and firmware bugs may cause unexpected behavior

Always back up important data and test in a virtual machine first.

Before You Begin

Check hardware compatibility

Review the Hardware Compatibility page to see if your device has been tested with Redox.Pay special attention to:

Boot loader compatibility (BIOS vs UEFI)
Graphics support (VESA/GOP required)
Network adapter compatibility
Input device support (PS/2 recommended)

Verify system requirements

Ensure your hardware meets the minimum requirements:

x86-64 or i686 processor
1-2 GB RAM
1 GB available storage
BIOS or UEFI firmware

Test in a virtual machine

Before installing on real hardware, test Redox in QEMU or VirtualBox to familiarize yourself with the system.

Prepare installation media

Build or download a Redox ISO image and create bootable USB media.

Backup your data

Critical: Back up all important data before proceeding. Installation may affect existing partitions and boot configurations.

Supported Hardware

Best Compatibility

Recommended systems:

Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P (x86-64)
System76 Galago Pro (galp5)
System76 Lemur Pro (lemp9)

These systems boot to Orbital desktop with full or near-full functionality.

For a complete list of tested hardware, see the Hardware Compatibility page.

Known Limitations

Be aware of these limitations when running on real hardware:

ACPI Support

ACPI support is incomplete
Some systems may have hardcoded kernel configurations
Power management features may be limited
Some devices may not boot due to ACPI issues

Graphics

Only BIOS VESA and UEFI GOP are supported
No native drivers for AMD, NVIDIA, or ARM GPUs
Limited resolution options on some hardware
Firmware bugs may affect available video modes

Input Devices

I2C devices not supported (most laptop trackpads won’t work)
USB support varies by device
PS/2 keyboard and mouse recommended for best compatibility
Touchscreens not supported

Storage

NVMe driver may livelock on some Dell XPS models
Some SATA controllers may not be recognized
USB storage support is experimental

Network

Wi-Fi not supported
Ethernet adapters: Intel e1000 family works best
Some Realtek adapters supported
Laptop wireless cards will not work

Audio

Intel HDA (High Definition Audio) supported
AC’97 supported on older systems
Some systems may not detect audio output pins

Creating Installation Media

Build the ISO Image

After building Redox, create a bootable ISO:

make live=yes

This creates: build/<arch>/redox-live.iso

Write to USB Drive

This will erase all data on the USB drive. Double-check the device name!

Linux
macOS
Windows

# Find your USB device (e.g., /dev/sdb)
lsblk

# Write the ISO to USB
sudo dd if=build/x86_64/redox-live.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
sudo sync

Replace /dev/sdX with your actual USB device.

# Find your USB device (e.g., /dev/disk2)
diskutil list

# Unmount the device
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX

# Write the ISO to USB
sudo dd if=build/x86_64/redox-live.iso of=/dev/rdiskX bs=4m
sudo sync

Replace /dev/diskX with your actual USB device. Use /dev/rdiskX for faster writes.

Booting from USB

Insert USB drive

Insert the USB drive containing the Redox ISO into your target computer.

Access boot menu

Restart the computer and enter the boot menu:

Common keys: F12, F8, F10, ESC, or F2
Lenovo: F12 or Fn+F12
Dell: F12
HP: F9 or ESC then F9
ASUS: F8 or ESC

Select USB device

Choose the USB drive from the boot menu. You may see two entries:

UEFI: USB device name (recommended for modern systems)
Legacy/BIOS: USB device name (for older systems)

Boot Redox

The Redox bootloader should appear, presenting video resolution options.

If the system doesn’t boot from USB:

Check BIOS/UEFI settings
Disable Secure Boot (required for Redox)
Try both UEFI and Legacy boot modes
Verify the USB was written correctly

Firmware Compatibility

BIOS (Legacy)

Advantages:

Works on older hardware
Simple boot process
Broader compatibility with legacy systems

Disadvantages:

Limited video mode selection on some hardware
May have memory mapping issues on 32-bit systems
Boot loader bugs on specific models (e.g., ASUS ROG g55vw)

UEFI

Advantages:

Better compatibility with modern hardware
GOP provides better graphics support
Recommended for new installations

Disadvantages:

Requires Secure Boot to be disabled
Some systems may have UEFI firmware bugs
May fail on systems with incomplete ACPI tables

If you have issues booting with UEFI, try Legacy/BIOS mode, or vice versa.

Installation Process

Redox does not yet have an automated installer. The live ISO runs entirely from USB.

Live System

The Redox live ISO boots into a temporary system:

Select resolution - Choose from available video modes
Wait for boot - System loads into memory (may take time)
Login - Default user is typically configured
Explore - Orbital desktop environment launches

Manual Installation to Hard Drive

Manual installation is for advanced users only and may result in data loss.

To install Redox to a hard drive:

Partition the disk

Use the Redox installer tools or bootloader to create partitions.

Format with RedoxFS

Format the target partition with the RedoxFS filesystem.

Copy system files

Copy the Redox system files from the live image to the hard drive.

Install bootloader

Configure the bootloader to boot from the hard drive partition.

Detailed installation instructions are beyond the scope of this guide. Join the Redox Chat for assistance with manual installation.

Boot Loader Considerations

Multi-boot systems:Redox’s bootloader does not yet support automatic OS discovery. Installing Redox may affect your ability to boot other operating systems.For multi-boot setups:

Use a separate physical drive for Redox
Or use UEFI boot menu to select between drives
Backup existing bootloader configuration

Architecture-Specific Notes

x86-64
i686 (32-bit)
ARM64

Best Support

Primary development platform
Full feature set
UEFI or BIOS boot
Recommended for real hardware testing

Known Issues:

Some UEFI implementations may panic
NVMe driver issues on Dell XPS 13

Legacy Support

Works on older hardware
Some memory mapping limitations
BIOS boot only (typically)

Known Issues:

phys_to_virt overflow panics on some systems
Invalid memory mappings on certain models
Limited modern hardware support

Troubleshooting Boot Issues

System hangs at resolution selection

Try different video modes
Some firmware provides invalid resolution options
Use a lower resolution (e.g., 1024x768)

Bootloader panics or fails

Check hardware compatibility list
Try different boot mode (UEFI vs BIOS)
Disable Secure Boot in UEFI settings
Some systems have known bootloader bugs

Black screen after boot

System may have booted but display failed
Try different resolution
Check for serial output if available
GPU may not be supported (only VESA/GOP work)

System panics during boot

Common panic causes:

ACPI errors: Incomplete ACPI implementation
xhcid panics: USB controller issues (ASUS PN41, BEELINK U59)
Memory errors: 32-bit mapping issues on i686

Try:

Disabling USB in BIOS
Using different architecture (x86-64 vs i686)

Input devices don't work

Use PS/2 keyboard/mouse if available
USB support varies by device and controller
I2C trackpads don’t work (use external USB mouse)
Check hardware compatibility for specific model

No network connectivity

Check if your network adapter is supported
Intel e1000 family has best support
Wi-Fi is not supported
Some Ethernet controllers not recognized

Performance Considerations

Real hardware performance varies:

Modern systems (2015+): Generally faster than VMs
Legacy systems (pre-2010): May have driver or firmware issues
SSD vs HDD: SSDs significantly improve boot and load times
Multiple cores: Redox supports SMP, but scaling varies

Reporting Hardware Results

Help improve Redox hardware support by reporting your results:

Document your hardware

Vendor and model
CPU architecture
Firmware type (BIOS/UEFI)
Redox version and image date

Test functionality

Boot process (success/failure)
Video output (resolutions, issues)
Input devices (keyboard, mouse, trackpad)
Network connectivity
Audio output
Storage access

Collect logs

Take photos of error messages
Note any panic messages
Document boot behavior

Submit report

Follow the guidelines in the Hardware Compatibility page to submit your results to the HARDWARE.md document.

Join the Community

Need help with hardware installation? Join the Redox Matrix chat for assistance and to share your hardware experiences.

Safety Reminders

Before installing on real hardware:

✓ Back up all important data
✓ Test in virtual machine first
✓ Check hardware compatibility list
✓ Understand boot loader limitations
✓ Prepare for potential data loss
✓ Have recovery media for existing OS ready

Get Started

Build System

Architecture

Components

Development

Hardware

Running on Real Hardware

Before You Begin

Supported Hardware

Best Compatibility

Known Limitations

Creating Installation Media

Build the ISO Image

Write to USB Drive

Booting from USB

Firmware Compatibility

BIOS (Legacy)

UEFI

Installation Process

Live System

Manual Installation to Hard Drive

Boot Loader Considerations

Architecture-Specific Notes

Troubleshooting Boot Issues

Performance Considerations

Reporting Hardware Results

Join the Community

Safety Reminders

Next Steps

Hardware Compatibility

Virtual Machines

​Before You Begin

​Supported Hardware

Best Compatibility

​Known Limitations

​Creating Installation Media

​Build the ISO Image

​Write to USB Drive

​Booting from USB

​Firmware Compatibility

​BIOS (Legacy)

​UEFI

​Installation Process

​Live System

​Manual Installation to Hard Drive

​Boot Loader Considerations

​Architecture-Specific Notes

​Troubleshooting Boot Issues

​Performance Considerations

​Reporting Hardware Results

Join the Community

​Safety Reminders

​Next Steps

Hardware Compatibility

Virtual Machines

Before You Begin

Supported Hardware

Known Limitations

Creating Installation Media

Build the ISO Image

Write to USB Drive

Booting from USB

Firmware Compatibility

BIOS (Legacy)

UEFI

Installation Process

Live System

Manual Installation to Hard Drive

Boot Loader Considerations

Architecture-Specific Notes

Troubleshooting Boot Issues

Performance Considerations

Reporting Hardware Results

Safety Reminders

Next Steps