Need help installing Linux NixOS

[MartinL]

Hi all. I’m new to Linux. I’ve tried Linux Mint Cinnemon Edition and Manjaro KDE Plasma. I downloaded NixOS KDE Plasma after watching a video about this OS. I like how Nix is almost bullet proof when updating the softwares or the OS itself.

 

Now to my problem.

 

I built a new computer this week. Here are the basic spec:
Asus Prime B650-Plus motherboard
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 CPU
32Gb of DDR5
Sapphire Radeon RX 6800
Corsair mechanical keyboard
LG Hero 403 mouse
Corsair 2T SSD PCIe 5.0
Samsung 2T SSD PCIe 4.0

 

I heard in the past that I needed to install Windows (it’s currently on my Samsung SSD) before installing any Linux distro which I did. I’m trying to install Nix on the Corsair SSD. I used Balena Etcher to flash a Samsung T5 removable SSD and even the Corsair SSD but when I reboot the computer it loads Windows. When I go into the BIOS, I do not see the Samsung T5 or the Corsair SSD as a bootable option (only Windows boot manager is listed). What did I do wrong?

[10leej]

Quote

I heard in the past that I needed to install Windows (it’s currently on my Samsung SSD) before installing any Linux distro which I did.

This is correct as Windows will override any linux boot loader.

 

Quote

when I reboot the computer it loads Windows. When I go into the BIOS, I do not see the Samsung T5 or the Corsair SSD as a bootable option (only Windows boot manager is listed). What did I do wrong?

Sounds like the boot order loads the installed disk before anything else. When loading you should see a "boot menu" or "one time bot" option on the bios splash screen, I don't know what modern ASUS efi setups look like since I mostly use MSI boards.

 

But usually while the system is booting you can use the f10 or f11 key to launch the boot menu and you should see your install media SSD there

[MartinL]

18 minutes ago, 10leej said:

This is correct as Windows will override any linux boot loader.

 

Sounds like the boot order loads the installed disk before anything else. When loading you should see a "boot menu" or "one time bot" option on the bios splash screen, I don't know what modern ASUS efi setups look like since I mostly use MSI boards.

 

But usually while the system is booting you can use the f10 or f11 key to launch the boot menu and you should see your install media SSD there

F10 or 11 doesn't do anything.

[MartinL]

I checked the BIOS version and I need to update it. I'll update once it's done.

[MartinL]

Ok. Updating the BIOS did the trick but it still wouldn't recognize the Samsung T5 so I used a SD card (my old 8Gb USB key doesn't work either) and it worked. I followed the instruction to properly install NixOS and it's working.

 

Now tho, I have no boot menu when I start the computer so I can't switch betweem NixOS and Windows 10.

 

I'm also trying to customize the desktop environment especially by making the top of each window (especially the buttons (maximize, close, etc) bigger).

[10leej]

8 hours ago, MartinL said:

Ok. Updating the BIOS did the trick but it still wouldn't recognize the Samsung T5 so I used a SD card (my old 8Gb USB key doesn't work either) and it worked. I followed the instruction to properly install NixOS and it's working.

 

Now tho, I have no boot menu when I start the computer so I can't switch betweem NixOS and Windows 10.

 

I'm also trying to customize the desktop environment especially by making the top of each window (especially the buttons (maximize, close, etc) bigger).

Sounds like Fast Boot is enabled in the bios.

 

Which Desktop Enviropnment did you install KDE Plasma or Gnome?

[MartinL]

KDE Plasma. I also installed Bottles and Lutris and I'm enable to install Battle.net on both. I installed the depedencies on Bottles and modified some parameters and I still can't install it. It freezes when installing the Agent and then crash. I don't know what to do.