Tumbleweed impossibe to install on a Lenovo Legion Laptop

English Install/Boot/Login
1

Laptop: Lenovo Legion 5 17IMH05, 5 1/2 years old
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i7
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650Ti
Mem: 16GB DDR4
Storage: Single 512GB SSD
EFI BIOS
Secure boot disabled

Currently runs KDE-Linux (in Alpha Stage), the only OS/Distro on it.

For the life of me SuSe Tumbleweed ISO downloaded today 20-07-2026 4.2Gig for offline install will not install. I have never run into an issue like that before and its got me stumped :persevere:

ISO was installed onto a 16GB USB using Fedora Media Writer which does dd. Checksum file was downloaded and ISO passed.
Laptop starts install until it brings up a GUI to select Media source?? at which stage its completely frozen.
No Mouse, no keyboard action, no TTY
At this stage, all that I can do is a hard shutdown.
Getting nowhere.

2

Hi, welcome

That is most likely the NVIDIA, can you in the bootloader screen hit e, then add nomodeset to the kernel command line? I would expect that to work.

3

Thanks I try that and get back

4

Nopeā€¦same result.

5

I add a bit more info:
Boots with shell and then hits: ā€œActivating USB devicesā€¦ā€
Then the below GUI pops up and all is frozen.

IMG_4140
IMG_41401920Ɨ1440 93.7 KB

6

Did you write the ISO to the raw device ( f.e. /dev/sda ) of to a partition ( f.e. /dev/sda1 )?
Can you, from KDE-linux, show inxi -GSaz ?

7 
inxi -GSaz
System:
  Kernel: 7.1.3-arch1-3 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 16.1.1
    clocksource: tsc avail: acpi_pm parameters: rw
    rootflags=subvol=@system,compress=zstd:-4,lazytime
    lsm=landlock,lockdown,yama,integrity,bpf zswap.enabled=0 preempt=full
    threadirqs nohz=on nohz_full=all rcu_nocbs=all rcutree.enable_rcu_lazy=1
    amdgpu.dcdebugmask=0x10 systemd.hostname=kde-linux nowatchdog
    vt.global_cursor_default=0 quiet splash plymouth.ignore-serial-consoles
    loglevel=3
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.7.80 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.29.0
    wm: kwin_wayland vt: 2 dm: N/A Distro: KDE Linux
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel CometLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics] vendor: Lenovo driver: i915
    v: kernel arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20 ports:
    active: eDP-1 empty: none bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:9bc4
    class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: NVIDIA TU117M [GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile] vendor: Lenovo
    driver: nvidia v: 610.43.03 alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm
    non-free: 550-6xx.xx+ status: current (as of 2026-07) arch: Turing
    code: TUxxx process: TSMC 12nm FF built: 2018-2022 pcie: gen: 1
    speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s ports:
    active: none empty: DP-1,HDMI-A-1 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:1f95
    class-ID: 0300
  Device-3: Chicony Integrated Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-6:3 chip-ID: 04f2:b6c2
    class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.24 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.13
    compositor: kwin_wayland driver: gpu: i915 display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: AU Optronics 0x449d built: 2018 res:
    mode: 1920x1080 hz: 144 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 128 gamma: 1.2
    size: 382x215mm (15.04x8.46") diag: 438mm (17.3") ratio: 16:9
    modes: 1920x1080
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris drv: nvidia platforms: device: 0
    drv: nvidia device: 2 drv: iris device: 3 drv: swrast gbm: drv: nvidia
    surfaceless: drv: nvidia wayland: drv: iris x11: drv: iris
    inactive: device-1
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.6 vendor: intel mesa v: 26.1.4-arch1.1
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics (CML GT2)
    device-ID: 8086:9bc4 memory: 15.12 GiB unified: yes display-ID: :0.0
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.350 layers: 4 device: 0 type: integrated-gpu name: Intel
    UHD Graphics (CML GT2) driver: mesa intel v: 26.1.4-arch1.1
    device-ID: 8086:9bc4 surfaces: N/A device: 1 type: discrete-gpu
    name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti driver: nvidia v: 610.43.03
    device-ID: 10de:1f95 surfaces: N/A device: 2 type: cpu name: llvmpipe
    (LLVM 22.1.6 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe v: 26.1.4-arch1.1 (LLVM
    22.1.6) device-ID: 10005:0000 surfaces: N/A
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: nvidia-smi wl: wayland-info
    x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
8

Mmmm, I personally donā€™t have that kind of hardware, maybe @malcolmlewis knows how to get the installer starting, In the meantime, could you please reply to my other question

9 
lsblk -fs
NAME     FSTYPE FSVER       LABEL                          UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
sda1     vfat   FAT16                                      8152-AA06                                           
ā””ā”€sda    iso966 Joliet Exte openSUSE-Tumbleweed-DVD-x86_64 2026-07-17-23-36-25-77                              
sda2     iso966 Joliet Exte openSUSE-Tumbleweed-DVD-x86_64 2026-07-17-23-36-23-50                              
ā””ā”€sda    iso966 Joliet Exte openSUSE-Tumbleweed-DVD-x86_64 2026-07-17-23-36-25-77                              
zram0    swap   1           zram0                          e5b271e2-0281-4af6-a14e-b148934aca9f                [SWAP]
nvme0n1p1
ā”‚        vfat   FAT32                                      E376-1748                               3.1G    23% /boot
ā””ā”€nvme0n1
                                                                                                               
nvme0n1p2
ā”‚        btrfs              KDELinux                       15f026af-d15a-4139-9d3e-3a679f92d0dc  166.6G    16% /var/lib/incus/storage-pools/default
ā”‚                                                                                                              /system
ā”‚                                                                                                              /
ā””ā”€nvme0n1


sudo fdisk -x -l
Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 476.94 GiB, 512110190592 bytes, 1000215216 sectors
Disk model: WDC PC SN730 SDBPNTY-512G-1101          
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: B5E1B209-2036-44BB-8753-F8FD50417149

Device           Start       End   Sectors  Size Type
/dev/nvme0n1p1    4096   8396799   8392704    4G EFI System
/dev/nvme0n1p2 8396800 427827199 419430400  200G Linux root (x86-64)


Disk /dev/sda: 14.46 GiB, 15525216256 bytes, 30322688 sectors
Disk model: STORE N GO      
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x0dbd472f

Device     Boot Start     End Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sda1        2840   16195   13356  6.5M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)
/dev/sda2  *    16196 8720383 8704188  4.2G 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS


Disk /dev/zram0: 15.48 GiB, 16619929600 bytes, 4057600 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 4096 = 4096 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes

Store N GO is the USB stick with the SuSe Tumbleweed ISO

10

That is a ā€œDual VGAā€ setup, the installer might have trouble choosing which adapter to use. Is there a way to disable the Nvidia in the firmware (aka ā€œBIOSā€) so that you can install at least a basic system?

11

That is a ā€œDual VGAā€ setup, the installer might have trouble choosing which adapter to use. Is there a way to disable the Nvidia in the firmware (aka ā€œBIOSā€) so that you can install at least a basic system?<
All previous tries were with gpu set to basic.
I didnā€™t set it to ā€œdynamicā€ until the last boot into KDE-Linux and that is the output you are looking at.

12

I am not entirely sure what you mean. Fedora Media Writer wipes the entire USB and uses dd, so byte for byte raw transfer of the ISO to the USB.
Fedora Media Writer also shrinks the USB to only the required size of the ISO.

13

Just saw the lsblk, and that shows up as it should. Had missed that. I would follow @OrsoBrunoā€™s advice and see if you get different results with different BIOS settings for the dual graphics.

2 Likes
14

I had a similar issue when trying to install Tumbleweed on a Lenovo Lap top & I found that I had to go into the BIOS first & disable secure boot. I was then able to install Tumbleweed from a USB as expected in the way you describe. Hope this helps maybe?

1 Like
15

Thanks for the suggestion. Secure boot was turned off straight from the 1st attempt.
I wiped the USB and ran a full block error check and it came up faultless, so at this stage I wait until the next ISO image comes out and try again. The Laptop is already running a Linux Distro installed just a few weeks ago.
I am suspicious of the current SuSe snapshot ISO. See if the next one coming out is better.

16

May I suggest to use the ā€œOnline installer imageā€ just in case there is a specific problem with the offline one?
Also, hit ESC while booting, so you can see any error printed by the system.

1 Like
17

I downloaded the 2026 0718 version and the same thing. The Installer just doesnā€™t like NVIDIA cards as it certainly is a GUI freeze.
I will persist and have a few other things to try, including your suggestions.

18

Yes, especially with relatively recent Nvidia cards the installer only boots with ā€œnomodesetā€ added to the kernel boot line; see if your system allows booting with only the Intel active?

19

Ok, we are up and running using SuSe Tumbleweed.

After turning everything off in the bios and even trying Legacy BIOS settings and still failing, I download a LIVE KDE Image and it failed part through the boot up with file corruption.
So, I changed 3 things.

  1. I reset the BIOS to ā€œdefaultā€ with Secure Boot turned off.
  2. I used another identical USB stick.
  3. I wrote the image iso using the dd command as per SuSeā€™s recommendation via the shell, which is a far slower image transfer then any of the GUI iso Writers.
    It went all the way through the installation with zero issues.
1 Like
20

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