NixOS 26.05 on an older AMD laptop: boot errors, failed downloads and eventual success

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Hello everyone,

I’m documenting my first NixOS installation as part of a practical project to develop my NixOS skills and understand how it performs on older hardware.

I’ve now managed to install NixOS successfully, but the process involved several problems that I haven’t fully explained. I’d appreciate any advice from people with experience of NixOS, particularly regarding the initial boot failures and installation errors.

I’m sharing this as a troubleshooting report rather than a solution, as I haven’t yet established the root cause of all the problems.

1. Hardware and installation details

The laptop is an older ASUS machine with the following specifications:

  • Processor: AMD A4-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Memory: Approximately 3.3 GiB usable RAM
  • Storage: Toshiba 500 GB mechanical hard drive
  • Previous operating system: Kubuntu with KDE Plasma
  • Target desktop: KDE Plasma
  • NixOS release: 26.05
  • Installation method: Graphical installer (Calamares)

The laptop had been running Kubuntu normally before this experiment. I had also tested my Borg/Vorta backup and recovery arrangements before proceeding.

I used an Ethernet connection throughout the installation attempts because the laptop’s Wi-Fi performance is poor.

I intended to replace Kubuntu with a clean NixOS installation. I selected swap without hibernation.

2. Initial boot problems

My first attempts to boot the graphical installer produced the following error:

[FAILED] Failed to start Load Kernel Modules

The logs included failures involving several Hyper-V modules:

  • hv_balloon
  • hv_storvsc
  • hv_utils
  • hv_netvsc
  • hv_vmbus

Other messages included an ACPI warning and an AMD P-state message. The system also reported that systemd-modules-load.service had failed.

Selecting the KDE Plasma LTS boot option produced the same initial module-loading error.

I ran Memtest86+, which completed successfully.

On one attempt, choosing to continue booting left the laptop apparently stuck at:

Starting initrd.target

The system did not progress, so I powered it off.

However, on a subsequent attempt, the graphical environment loaded and I reached the Calamares installer despite seeing the same module-loading error.

I’m unsure whether the module-loading failure was responsible for the initial boot stall or whether it was incidental to another problem.

3. Installation attempts

I made three installation attempts.

Attempt 1 — Rufus ISO mode

I created the installation USB using Rufus ISO mode.

The live environment encountered the boot problems described above. I eventually reached the installer, but the installation stalled at approximately 44% and failed.

Attempt 2 — Rufus DD mode

I recreated the USB using Rufus DD mode and tried again.

The installation progressed, but this attempt also failed while I was away from the laptop.

The installation log from the failed attempt is available here:

https://termbin.com/z7s33

The log contained download failures involving cache.nixos.org, including:

curl error: Failure when receiving data from the peer

It also contained an HTTP 416 error.

The installer could not complete the installation.

At the time, I wondered whether the laptop might have entered a sleep or power-saving state while I was away. However, I haven’t established that this happened or that it caused the failure.

Attempt 3 — Rufus DD mode, monitored

For the third attempt, I stayed with the laptop throughout the installation.

Network activity began at approximately 43% and continued until approximately 79%. Whenever the screen dimmed, I moved the touchpad to restore the display.

This time, the installation completed successfully.

I selected the option to restart the computer, removed the USB installation media, and clicked Continue. The system then displayed numerous error messages and appeared to hang.

I forced a shutdown and restarted the laptop.

NixOS then booted successfully.

The first boot was slow, but subsequent boots were noticeably faster.

I have now reached the installed KDE Plasma desktop.

4. Questions for the community

I’d appreciate advice on the following points.

1. Hyper-V module errors

Is it normal for the NixOS graphical installer to attempt to load Hyper-V-related modules on physical hardware that isn’t running under Hyper-V?

Could these failures explain the initial boot problems, or are they more likely incidental messages?

2. Initial boot stall

What would be the best way to investigate a system that reports a systemd-modules-load.service failure and then stalls at Starting initrd.target?

Now that the installed system boots, are there particular logs or kernel parameters I should examine?

3. Failed downloads

The first two installation attempts did not complete, and the second attempt’s log showed download errors involving cache.nixos.org.

Would you treat this primarily as a transient network or download problem, or is there anything else I should investigate?

4. First restart after installation

The successful installation was followed by numerous error messages and a hang during the first restart. A forced shutdown was followed by a successful boot.

Is this something that can occur during the transition from the live installer to the installed system, or should I investigate it as a possible installation problem?

5. Rufus ISO versus DD mode

The first attempt used Rufus ISO mode, while the second and third attempts used DD mode.

DD mode was used for both subsequent attempts, so changing the USB-writing method did not, by itself, guarantee a successful installation.

Could the difference between the two methods be relevant to the initial boot problems?

5. Next steps

My immediate objective is to establish a reliable baseline for the installed system.

I plan to check:

  • Failed system services.
  • The installed NixOS version and kernel.
  • Hardware recognition.
  • Memory and swap configuration.
  • Boot logs and any significant errors.

I’d also like to document the process properly as a practical case study, including the problems encountered, the evidence collected, and what I learn from investigating them.

I’m relatively new to NixOS, so I welcome explanations of the reasoning behind any recommended troubleshooting steps. I’d rather understand the underlying issues than simply apply fixes without knowing why they work.

Thank you for reading, and I’d appreciate any suggestions.

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Hey, man. Thank you for sharing all of this. And welcome!

I think that such batching of topics together in one post can be discouraging participation.

I think you may get better results if you do one topic per post. And I would not post all of them at the same time. Post one and see what responses you get and go from there.

3

Hey, thanks for the welcome and for taking the time to offer some advice. I really appreciate it.

I’m new to contributing to the NixOS community, so feedback like this is genuinely helpful. Looking back, I can see how bringing several topics together might make it harder for people to join the discussion.

I’ll take your advice and focus on one topic at a time, see where the conversation leads, and learn from the responses.

I’m here to learn, contribute where I can, and hopefully become a useful member of the community along the way.

Thanks again!

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