Install guide · Kova OS 0.1.x

Install Kova OS

One USB stick, one drive, about ten minutes. Everything on the target drive is erased, that is the point.

1. What you need

A USB stick of 8 GB or more. It gets erased.
A PC with UEFI firmware, an AMD graphics card for this preview (NVIDIA support lands in 0.2), and a drive you are willing to wipe.
Network at first boot, wired or Wi-Fi, so Steam can fetch its runtime.

2. Get the image

Registered testers download Kova_0.1.x_x86-64.img from images.kovaos.org/stable. The image is a complete disk image: it is the live system, the installer and the first release all in one file. Check the SHA256SUMS next to it.

3. Write the USB

macOS

diskutil list                      # find the stick, e.g. disk8
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN
sudo dd if=Kova_0.1.3_x86-64.img of=/dev/rdiskN bs=4m status=progress
diskutil eject /dev/diskN

Linux

lsblk                              # find the stick, e.g. sdb
sudo dd if=Kova_0.1.3_x86-64.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=direct conv=fsync

Windows

Use Rufus, choose the image, and when asked pick DD image mode, not ISO mode. Balena Etcher works too.

4. BIOS, once

Secure Boot: choose "Clear Secure Boot keys", "Delete all keys" or "Reset to Setup Mode". Kova enrolls its own keys on first boot. Turn Secure Boot back to Enabled after the first boot from the installed drive.
CSM / Legacy boot: Disabled.
SVM / AMD-V and IOMMU: Enabled. Needed for the Windows sandbox later.
Boot from the USB via the boot menu key, usually F8, F11 or F12.

5. Install

In the boot menu pick Install Kova. The menu waits five seconds, so press an arrow key when you see it.
You land on the Kova desktop with the installer open. Choose the target drive; the USB is hidden.
Tick Secure erase if you want old data on the drive to be unrecoverable. It takes longer.
Type WIPE, click Erase and install. Two to five minutes.
Reboot, remove the USB when the screen goes dark.

First boot.

The boot loader enrolls the Kova Secure Boot keys, then Kova boots straight into Steam Big Picture. Sign in to Steam. User kova, password kova; change it from a terminal with passwd.

6. Daily use

Switch to desktop: Steam menu → Power → Switch to Desktop. Back with Super+G.
Desktop keys: Super+Space apps · Super+Return terminal · Super+B browser · Super+S Steam · Super+E files · Super+L lock · Super+Q close · Super+1…6 workspaces
Update: kova update, or wait, it checks by itself. Reboot when it says so.
Roll back: Hold Space at boot and pick the previous Kova entry, or kova rollback.
Health: kova doctor prints one screen of what is running.

7. Dual boot and other drives

Kova takes one whole drive. Other drives in the machine are left alone, so a Windows install on a second SSD keeps working: pick it from the firmware boot menu. Kova's boot loader only lists Kova entries. Adding a second drive as a Steam library is kova storage add from 0.2.

8. Troubleshooting

USB not in boot menu: Secure Boot still has the old keys, or CSM is on. Clear the keys and disable CSM, then try again.
Black screen after the menu: Wait 30 seconds. If nothing, reboot, press e on the entry, remove quiet and splash, boot and read the last lines.
Installer says the drive is busy: Click Back and retry. The installer waits and retries on its own from 0.1.3.
Need help: On the installed system run kova logs share and send the link to the Kova OS Dev Team.