[Joe321]

System Specs

Operating System – Linux Lite	Linux Lite 8.0
CPU / Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 5650U
Memory (RAM)	16 GB
Storage	NVMe SSD
Graphics (GPU)	amd radeon vega mobile
Network device	MEDIATEK Corp. MT7921 802.11ax PCIe Wireless Network Adapter [Filogic 330] [14c3:7961]

I try to install LL8.0 on a Lenovo Thinkpad T14s Gen 2.

Secure BIOS is disabled.
LL8.0 image created by Etcher.
I try a clean install: "erase" - swap (no hibernate), encrypted, only LL8.0 (no dual boot).
System creates 3 partitions:
- EFI system - FAT32
- rootfs - LUKS
- swap - LUKS


During install, I end up with this error message:
The bootloader could not be installed. The installation command <pre>grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=Linux_Lite --force</pre> returned error code 1.


I tried on 2 different SSD drives in the same laptop with same results (first drive had Win11 on it, the second drive was completely empty).
I tried again on a Lenovo M715Q-MT with Ryzen 5 2400GE with same error message. Later smooth install of LL7.8 on this machine.

I tried Valtam's suggestion to update Calamares:
"New Calamares build uploaded.

Boot the Live ISO. Then:

Code:

Code:

apt download calamares-settings-linuxlite

Code:

Code:

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Start the installer, let me know how you get on. "

At first, the terminal wouldn't take it (no sources available). I had to manually update Lite Sources.
It then accepted to update Calamares. I then tried a new install, and this time got a simple error message "Installation failed", no further code or information.


On the T14s only, I tried Serban S solution to first install LL 7.8 (which went fine), then from there upgrade to LL 8.0.
What I ended up with was weird, everything looked like LL8.0 (new desktop, theme, software ...), but the new "About Lite" would still say it's running LL7.8, and I still have Chrome as default browser ... like if I was stuck somewhere in between both versions.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.




Edit:
I tried a 5th (or6th?) time to install from Live USB, and it worked. I noticed later that it's because I forgot to tick "encrypt" during install.
So it may be something related with encryption.
Upon realizing my mistake, I tried to reinstall again from Live USB (remembering to tick "encrypt" this time), and got a new error message:
"The installer failed to create partition on disk ...

Create a new partition (512.00 MiB, fat32) on ‘/dev/nvme0n1’


Job: Create new partition on device ‘/dev/nvme0n1’


Command: sfdisk --force --append /dev/nvme0n1


Command: sfdisk --list --output Device,UUID /dev/nvme0n1


Job: Create file system ‘fat32’ on partition ‘/dev/nvme0n1p1’


Command: mkfs.fat -F32 -I -v /dev/nvme0n1p1


Command: sfdisk --part-type /dev/nvme0n1 1 EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7


Job: Set the file system label on partition ‘/dev/nvme0n1p1’ to ""

Setting label for partition ‘/dev/nvme0n1p1’ to


Command: fatlabel /dev/nvme0n1p1 -r


Job: Check file system on partition ‘/dev/nvme0n1p1’


Command: fsck.fat -a -w -v /dev/nvme0n1p1


--- Diagnostic state at failure ---
lsblk:
NAME FSTYPE MOUNTPOINT SIZE UUID
loop0 squashfs /rofs 2.2G
sda iso9660 7.5G 2026-05-30-23-44-31-00
|-sda1 iso9660 /cdrom 2.4G 2026-05-30-23-44-31-00
|-sda2 vfat 5M 73B7-988D
`-sda3 ext4 /var/crash 5.1G 920c1307-ebe3-45f6-841e-108163a1b2ad
zram0 0B
nvme0n1 476.9G
`-nvme0n1p1 vfat /run/media/linux/7454-DA07 512M 7454-DA07
dmesg tail:
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] Modules linked in: qrtr(E) cmac(E) algif_hash(E) algif_skcipher(E) af_alg(E) bnep(E) snd_acp_legacy_mach(E) snd_acp_mach(E) snd_soc_nau8821(E) snd_soc_dmic(E) snd_acp3x_rn(E) snd_acp3x_pdm_dma(E) snd_sof_amd_acp70(E) snd_sof_amd_acp63(E) snd_sof_amd_vangogh(E) snd_sof_amd_rembrandt(E) snd_sof_amd_renoir(E) snd_sof_amd_acp(E) snd_sof_pci(E) snd_sof_xtensa_dsp(E) snd_sof(E) snd_sof_utils(E) amdgpu(E) uvcvideo(E) videobuf2_vmalloc(E) uvc(E) snd_pci_ps(E) videobuf2_memops(E) videobuf2_v4l2(E) videobuf2_common(E) videodev(E) mc(E) snd_soc_acpi_amd_match(E) snd_soc_acpi_amd_sdca_quirks(E) snd_amd_sdw_acpi(E) btusb(E) soundwire_amd(E) soundwire_generic_allocation(E) soundwire_bus(E) btmtk(E) btrtl(E) btbcm(E) btintel(E) snd_soc_sdca(E) snd_soc_core(E) bluetooth(E) snd_compress(E) ac97_bus(E) snd_pcm_dmaengine(E) amd_atl(E) amdxcp(E) drm_panel_backlight_quirks(E) gpu_sched(E) drm_buddy(E) drm_exec(E) drm_suballoc_helper(E) snd_hda_codec_alc269(E) drm_display_helper(E) cec(E) mt7921e(E) rc_core(E)
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] snd_hda_codec_realtek_lib(E) snd_hda_scodec_component(E) snd_hda_codec_generic(E) i2c_algo_bit(E) intel_rapl_msr(E) mt7921_common(E) mt792x_lib(E) snd_hda_codec_atihdmi(E) mt76_connac_lib(E) intel_rapl_common(E) mt76(E) snd_rpl_pci_acp6x(E) snd_hda_codec_hdmi(E) mac80211(E) snd_acp_pci(E) snd_hda_intel(E) snd_ctl_led(E) snd_amd_acpi_mach(E) snd_acp_legacy_common(E) cfg80211(E) snd_hda_codec(E) snd_hda_core(E) snd_intel_dspcfg(E) snd_intel_sdw_acpi(E) snd_hwdep(E) edac_mce_amd(E) libarc4(E) snd_pci_acp6x(E) kvm_amd(E) snd_pci_acp5x(E) snd_pcm(E) kvm(E) irqbypass(E) thinkpad_acpi(E) snd_timer(E) binfmt_misc(E) snd_rn_pci_acp3x(E) nvram(E) think_lmi(E) snd_acp_config(E) snd_soc_acpi(E) input_leds(E) joydev(E) k10temp(E) rapl(E) wmi_bmof(E) amd_pmc(E) i2c_piix4(E) firmware_attributes_class(E) snd_pci_acp3x(E) mac_hid(E) ccp(E) i2c_smbus(E) vmwgfx(E) drm_ttm_helper(E) ttm(E) lp(E) ppdev(E) parport_pc(E) msr(E) parport(E) efi_pstore(E) nfnetlink(E) dmi_sysfs(E) autofs4(E) overlay(E) isofs(E) nls_iso8859_1(E)
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] uas(E) usb_storage(E) hid_logitech_hidpp(E) snd(E) hid_multitouch(E) soundcore(E) psmouse(E) platform_profile(E) sparse_keymap(E) ghash_clmulni_intel(E) serio_raw(E) ucsi_acpi(E) i2c_hid_acpi(E) video(E) i2c_hid(E) typec_ucsi(E) nvme(E) typec(E) nvme_core(E) r8169(E) thunderbolt(E) nvme_keyring(E) wmi(E) nvme_auth(E) xhci_pci_renesas(E) realtek(E) hkdf(E) sp5100_tco(E) hid_logitech_dj(E) hid_generic(E) usbhid(E) hid(E) aesni_intel(E)
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 98 Comm: kworker/1:1 Tainted: G E 7.0.0-linuxlite #1 PREEMPT(full)
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] Tainted: [E]=UNSIGNED_MODULE
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] Hardware name: LENOVO 20XGS0M800/20XGS0M800, BIOS R1NET67W (1.37) 04/16/2026
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] Workqueue: events drm_fb_helper_damage_work
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] RIP: 0010:drm_crtc_wait_one_vblank+0x19d/0x200
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] Code: 48 85 db 74 7a 48 8b 7b 08 4c 8b 67 50 4d 85 e4 75 03 4c 8b 27 e8 a3 4b ec ff 48 8d 3d 1c f1 bd 01 44 89 e9 4c 89 e2 48 89 c6 <67> 48 0f b9 3a 44 89 ee 48 89 df 41 bf 92 ff ff ff e8 9d fc ff ff
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] RSP: 0018:ffffcfab80493d70 EFLAGS: 00010246
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] RAX: ffffffffc29d78ca RBX: ffff8dff8de00010 RCX: 0000000000000000
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] RDX: ffff8dff811e1370 RSI: ffffffffc29d78ca RDI: ffffffffb92f7a80
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] RBP: ffffcfab80493dd0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff8dff811e1370
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 000000000000022f R15: 0000000000000000
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8e02a52a9000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] CR2: 0000754999523cd4 CR3: 000000006a444000 CR4: 0000000000f50ef0
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] PKRU: 55555554
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] Call Trace:
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] <TASK>
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] ? __pfx_autoremove_wake_function+0x10/0x10
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] drm_client_modeset_wait_for_vblank+0x63/0x80
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] drm_fb_helper_damage_work+0x89/0x1a0
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] process_one_work+0x199/0x3c0
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] worker_thread+0x19d/0x340
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] kthread+0xf7/0x130
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] ret_from_fork+0x29d/0x330
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] </TASK>
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
[Tue Jul 14 12:49:55 2026] Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 240x67
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:04 2026] Bluetooth: RFCOMM TTY layer initialized
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:04 2026] Bluetooth: RFCOMM socket layer initialized
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:04 2026] Bluetooth: RFCOMM ver 1.11
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:19 2026] audit: type=1400 audit(1784051419.544:3): apparmor="DENIED" operation="change_onexec" class="file" info="label not found" error=-2 profile="unconfined" name="ubuntu_pro_apt_news" pid=5436 comm="(python3)"
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:19 2026] audit: type=1400 audit(1784051419.619:4): apparmor="DENIED" operation="change_onexec" class="file" info="label not found" error=-2 profile="unconfined" name="ubuntu_pro_esm_cache" pid=5438 comm="(python3)"
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:28 2026] logitech-hidpp-device 0003:046D:400A.0003: HID++ 2.0 device connected.
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:35 2026] SGI XFS with ACLs, security attributes, realtime, quota, no debug enabled
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:35 2026] JFS: nTxBlock = 8192, nTxLock = 65536
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:35 2026] QNX4 filesystem 0.2.3 registered.
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:35 2026] raid6: avx2x4 gen() 34038 MB/s
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:35 2026] raid6: avx2x2 gen() 34182 MB/s
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:35 2026] raid6: avx2x1 gen() 27836 MB/s
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:35 2026] raid6: using algorithm avx2x2 gen() 34182 MB/s
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:35 2026] raid6: .... xor() 31822 MB/s, rmw enabled
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:35 2026] raid6: using avx2x2 recovery algorithm
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:35 2026] xor: automatically using best checksumming function avx
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:36 2026] Btrfs loaded, zoned=yes, fsverity=yes
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:46 2026] EXT4-fs (nvme0n1p2): orphan cleanup on readonly fs
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:46 2026] EXT4-fs (nvme0n1p2): mounted filesystem 898b4919-fb69-492f-904f-cd33486cc0e2 ro without journal. Quota mode: none.
[Tue Jul 14 12:50:52 2026] EXT4-fs (nvme0n1p2): unmounting filesystem 898b4919-fb69-492f-904f-cd33486cc0e2.
[Tue Jul 14 12:51:57 2026] nvme0n1:
[Tue Jul 14 12:52:04 2026] nvme0n1: p1
[Tue Jul 14 12:52:08 2026] nvme0n1: p1

[valtam]

Thank you for the detailed report, developers love seeing this level of information.

I'll look into this and report back to you.

[valtam]

Good news: both errors you hit are already known and fixed. You actually diagnosed the main one yourself when you noticed the install only succeeded with Encrypt unticked.

Here’s what was going on:

1. grub-install ... error code 1 (encrypted installs) — Calamares wasn’t setting up the LUKS boot chain, so GRUB had no way to embed the crypto modules it needs to read /boot from inside the encrypted root. That’s the exit code 1. If you’d pushed past it, it would have dropped to a BusyBox/initramfs prompt for the same reason. Fixed.

2. “failed to create partition” (mkfs.fat/fsck.fat) — the live session was auto-mounting the EFI partition the instant Calamares created it, before it could be formatted. You can see it in your own log: nvme0n1p1 vfat /run/media/linux/7454-DA07 already mounted. Also fixed.

The Calamares build you dpkg-i’d earlier was an interim one — it cleared the partition problem, which is why the second attempt got further and just said “Installation failed” with no code, but it didn’t yet contain the encryption fix. The version that fixes everything is calamares-settings-linuxlite 8.0-0110.
To grab it, boot the Live USB, open a terminal, refresh Lite Sources, then:

Code:

apt download calamares-settings-linuxlite

Code:

sudo dpkg -i calamares-settings-linuxlite_8.0-0110-linuxlite_all.deb

Since you’ve been through several failed attempts, wipe the target drive first so no leftover EFI partition confuses things:

Code:

sudo wipefs -a /dev/nvme0n1

Then start the installer and do your clean, encrypted install as before. That should go through cleanly now.

Two things not to worry about:

• The amdgpu/drm_crtc_wait_one_vblank trace in your log is a harmless kernel warning on your Vega graphics during the console switch — it recovers on its own and has nothing to do with the install failing.

• I’d skip the “install 7.8 then upgrade” route for now — that’s what left you half-way between versions (About still showing 7.8, Chrome still default). A clean 8.0 install with the updated Calamares is the way to go.

Let me know how you get on.