Installing my home-built ISO in Virtualbox will not show the login screen

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1

When I make an ISO with buildiso and install Manjaro in a Virtualbox VM with that ISO, the VM will not show the login screen.

After the intallation shows done, I shut down the VM and remove the ISO from the virtual CD drive and start the VM. The VM boots and the Manjaro splash graphic screen animates as usual, but then the VM screen turns black. I have tried to login blindly by writing the password and press Enter, but the VM does not react to any keys pressed, not even Ctrl-Alt-Backspace or Ctrl-Alt-Del from Virtualbox soft keyboard. I have to use Virtualbox control to power off the VM.

Installing the official manjaro-kde-25.0.10-minimal-251013-linux612.iso in a similarly configured VM works perfectly.

The only difference I noticed during the VM installation was that Calamares does not show the option for autologin when I use my home-built ISO, but I never use that option anyway.

I tried reinstalling buildiso with

$ sudo pacman -Sy manjaro-tools-iso-git git
[sudo] password for freddy:
:: Synchronizing package databases...
 core is up to date
 extra is up to date
 multilib is up to date
warning: manjaro-tools-iso-git-r3054.14521ab-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
warning: git-2.51.0-1 is up to date -- reinstalling
resolving dependencies...
looking for conflicting packages...

Packages (2) git-2.51.0-1  manjaro-tools-iso-git-r3054.14521ab-1

and downloaded the latest ISO profiles with

$ git clone https://gitlab.manjaro.org/profiles-and-settings/iso-profiles.git ~/iso-profiles

Output from buildiso -qv -p kde -k linux612 :

==> manjaro-tools
  -> version: 0.15.15dev
  -> config: /etc/manjaro-tools/manjaro-tools.conf
==> PROFILE:
  -> gitlab branch: master
  -> build_lists: community|default|manjaro
  -> build_list_iso: kde
  -> is_build_list: false
==> OPTIONS:
  -> arch: x86_64
  -> branch: stable
  -> kernel: linux612
==> ARGS:
  -> clean_first: true
  -> images_only: false
  -> iso_only: false
  -> persist: false
  -> extra:
  -> permalink: false
  -> office_installer:
==> DIST SETTINGS:
  -> dist_name: Manjaro
  -> dist_release: 25.0.10
  -> dist_codename: Zetar
==> ISO INFO:
  -> iso_compression: zstd
==> BUILD QUEUE:
 --> Profile: [kde]
  -> iso_file: manjaro-kde-25.0.10-minimal-251017-linux612.iso
  -> iso_label: MANJARO_KDEM_25010
  -> autologin: true
  -> nonfree_mhwd: true
  -> multilib: true
  -> extra: false
  -> office_installer: false
  -> permalink: false
  -> netinstall: false
  -> chrootcfg: false
  -> geoip: true
  -> oem_used: false
  -> efi_boot_loader: grub
  -> custom_boot_args: splash
  -> hostname: manjaro
  -> username: manjaro
  -> password: manjaro
  -> user_shell: /usr/bin/zsh
  -> login_shell: /usr/bin/zsh
  -> addgroups: lp,network,power,sys,wheel
  -> enable_systemd: bluetooth cronie ModemManager NetworkManager cups haveged systemd-timesyncd sddm
  -> enable_systemd_timers: fstrim pacman-filesdb-refresh
  -> enable_systemd_live: manjaro-live mhwd-live pacman-init mirrors-live
  -> disable_systemd: pacman-init
  -> strict_snaps:
  -> classic_snaps:
  -> snap_channel: stable

Then I built the ISO with

buildiso -v -p kde -k linux612

and used /var/cache/manjaro-tools/iso/manjaro/kde/25.0.10/manjaro-kde-25.0.10-minimal-251017-linux612.iso to install Manjaro in the VM.

What am I doing wrong ?

2

This can be any thing - from the top of my head - a few things to check

  • btrfs can cause weird issues both on the host - and in the guest

  • if the host is using btrfs - try point your builddir to an ext-formatted partition

  • plymouth - try disabling plymouth in the grub menu when booting the cooked ISO

3

I copied profile.conf to profile.conf.ORIG and edited profile.conf. In profile.conf I set custom_boot_args=(‘nosplash plymouth.enable=0 disablehooks=plymouth’) and left everything else as in the unchanged original.

I made a new build putting chrootdir and targetdir on ext4 filesystems on two separate devices.

In Calamares I chose erase disk, swap no hibernate, and ext4. Bootloader in MBR. Ran installation using new ISO, it ended all done.

On the VM harddisk in the installed /boot/grub/grub.cfg it still said quiet splash - seems that buildiso ignores custom_boot_args, or I have misunderstood what that setting does. What is the use of custom_boot_args in profile.conf ?

I edited /boot/grub/grub.cfg on the VM harddisk to remove quiet splash and added plymouth.enable=0 disablehooks=plymouth to the linux command line.

I also removed resume ID from the line. I wonder why it is there, when I chose no hibernate in Calamares.

I rebooted the VM, and at the grub menu I checked that the boot line was as I had written it - yes plymouth disabled. Pressed F10 to boot Manjaro. Usual messages appeared on screen in text mode.

End result: black screen, no login picture :frowning:

4

Hmm :thinking:

Have you tried to run the installer from terminal using

su 
calamares --debug

After install has successfully completed - examine the content of the terminal window.

The $custom_boot_args variable is for setting custom variables - so force disabling plymouth is a valid use.

EDIT: 2025-10-18T04:42:00Z

I just built a default minimal KDE profile using (my file system of choice is ext4)

buildiso -p kde -b stable -k linux612 -n

I booted a vm using KVM/QEMU (in BIOS mode)

  • no issue booting
  • launched the installer from terminal
  • when done, I examined the content of the terminal window
  • no deal breakers
  • power down and remove ISO from vm
  • power up - vm starts without issues

:thinking: :man_shrugging: so now I have even less ideas.

I am using QEMU/KVM you are using VirtualBox - could it be virtualbox related?

My host system runs on unstable branch - yours are - stable branch?

5

The official ISO installs perfectly on a similarly configured Virtualbox VM. With my home-built ISO I have tried installing one with Virtualbox graphics VMSVGA and another with VBoxSVGA, both end in black screen.

My Manjaro is stable branch.

sudo inxi -zv8:

System:
  Kernel: 6.16.8-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.2.1
    clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-6.16-x86_64
    root=UUID=15de0dd7-8a22-45e5-9004-6a1a9ba201e8 rw rootflags=subvol=@
    nowatchdog mitigations=off security=none amdgpu.dc=0 "dyndbg=func
    fw_log_firmware_info +p" udev.log_priority=3 noresume nohibernate
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.3.6 tk: Qt v: N/A wm: kwin_x11 with: krunner
    dm: SDDM Distro: Manjaro base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: PRIME B450-PLUS v: Rev X.0x
    serial: <filter> part-nu: SKU uuid: 1d39562d-d533-dfbc-9ce9-40b076a412f6
    BIOS: American Megatrends v: 4631 date: 01/14/2025
Battery:
  Message: No system battery data found. Is one present?
Memory:
  System RAM: total: 16 GiB available: 15.53 GiB used: 2.26 GiB (14.5%)
  Array-1: capacity: 128 GiB slots: 4 modules: 1 EC: None
    max-module-size: 32 GiB note: est.
  Device-1: DIMM_A1 type: no module installed
  Device-2: DIMM_A2 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous unbuffered (unregistered)
    size: 16 GiB speed: 3000 MT/s volts: curr: 1.2 min: 1.2 max: 1.2
    width (bits): data: 64 total: 64 manufacturer: G Skill Intl
    part-no: F4-3000C16-16GISB serial: N/A
  Device-3: DIMM_B1 type: no module installed
  Device-4: DIMM_B2 type: no module installed
PCI Slots:
  Slot: 0 type: PCIe status: in use length: long volts: 3.3 bus-ID: 00:03.1
    children: 1: 08:00.0 class-ID: 0300 type: display 2: 08:00.1 class-ID: 0403
    type: audio
  Slot: 1 type: PCIe status: available length: long volts: 3.3
    bus-ID: 00:1f.7
  Slot: 2 type: PCIe status: available length: short volts: 3.3
    bus-ID: 00:1f.7
  Slot: 3 type: PCIe status: available length: short volts: 3.3
    bus-ID: 00:1f.7
  Slot: 4 type: PCIe status: available length: short volts: 3.3
    bus-ID: 00:1f.7
CPU:
  Info: model: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 socket: AM4 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen 2
    gen: 2 level: v3 note: check built: 2020-22 process: TSMC n7 (7nm)
    family: 0x17 (23) model-id: 0x71 (113) stepping: 0 microcode: 0x8701035
  Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 1 cores: 6 threads: 12 tpc: 2
    smt: enabled cache: L1: 384 KiB desc: d-6x32 KiB; i-6x32 KiB L2: 3 MiB
    desc: 6x512 KiB L3: 32 MiB desc: 2x16 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 1724 min/max: 558/4208 boost: enabled
    base/boost: 3600/4200 scaling: driver: amd-pstate-epp governor: powersave
    volts: 1.1 V ext-clock: 100 MHz cores: 1: 1724 2: 1724 3: 1724 4: 1724
    5: 1724 6: 1724 7: 1724 8: 1724 9: 1724 10: 1724 11: 1724 12: 1724
    bogomips: 86397
  Flags: 3dnowprefetch abm adx aes aperfmperf apic arat avic avx avx2 bmi1
    bmi2 bpext cat_l3 cdp_l3 clflush clflushopt clwb clzero cmov cmp_legacy
    constant_tsc cpb cpuid cqm cqm_llc cqm_mbm_local cqm_mbm_total
    cqm_occup_llc cr8_legacy cx16 cx8 de decodeassists extapic extd_apicid
    f16c flushbyasid fma fpu fsgsbase fxsr fxsr_opt ht hw_pstate ibpb ibs
    irperf lahf_lm lbrv lm mba mca mce misalignsse mmx mmxext monitor movbe
    msr mtrr mwaitx nonstop_tsc nopl npt nrip_save nx osvw overflow_recov pae
    pat pausefilter pclmulqdq pdpe1gb perfctr_core perfctr_llc perfctr_nb
    pfthreshold pge pni popcnt pse pse36 rapl rdpid rdpru rdrand rdseed rdt_a
    rdtscp rep_good sep sev sev_es sha_ni skinit smap smca smep ssbd sse sse2
    sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 stibp succor svm svm_lock syscall tce topoext
    tsc tsc_scale umip v_spec_ctrl v_vmsave_vmload vgif vmcb_clean vme
    vmmcall wbnoinvd wdt x2apic xgetbv1 xsave xsavec xsaveerptr xsaveopt
    xtopology
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: ghostwrite status: Not affected
  Type: indirect_target_selection status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected
  Type: l1tf status: Not affected
  Type: mds status: Not affected
  Type: meltdown status: Not affected
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected
  Type: old_microcode status: Not affected
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed status: Vulnerable
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Vulnerable
  Type: spec_store_bypass status: Vulnerable
  Type: spectre_v1 status: Vulnerable: __user pointer sanitization and
    usercopy barriers only; no swapgs barriers
  Type: spectre_v2 status: Vulnerable; IBPB: disabled; STIBP: disabled;
    PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: Not affected
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsa status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
  Type: vmscape status: Vulnerable
Graphics:
  Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Ellesmere [Radeon RX
    470/480/570/570X/580/580X/590] vendor: Gigabyte driver: amdgpu v: kernel
    arch: GCN-4 code: Arctic Islands process: GF 14nm built: 2016-20 pcie:
    gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 ports: active: HDMI-A-1 empty: DP-1, DP-2,
    DP-3, DVI-D-1 bus-ID: 08:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:67df class-ID: 0300
    temp: 49.0 C
  Display: unspecified server: X.Org v: 21.1.18 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.8
    compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X: loaded: amdgpu unloaded: modesetting
    alternate: fbdev,vesa dri: radeonsi gpu: amdgpu display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 3840x2160 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 1013x570mm (39.88x22.44")
    s-diag: 1162mm (45.76") monitors: <missing: xrandr>
  Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 model: Philips FTV serial: <filter> built: 2017
    res: 1920x1080 dpi: 34 gamma: 1.2 chroma: red: x: 0.651 y: 0.333 green:
    x: 0.325 y: 0.588 blue: x: 0.145 y: 0.051 white: x: 0.278 y: 0.290
    size: 1440x810mm (56.69x31.89") diag: 1652mm (65") ratio: 16:9
    modes: 1920x1080, 3840x2160, 1920x1080i, 1600x1200, 1680x1050, 1400x1050,
    1280x1024, 1440x900, 1280x960, 1280x800, 1280x720, 1024x768, 800x600,
    720x576, 720x576i, 720x480, 720x480i, 640x480
  EDID-Warnings: 1: parse_edid: unhandled CEA mode 97 2: parse_edid:
    unhandled CEA mode 96 3: parse_edid: unhandled CEA mode 95 4: parse_edid:
    unhandled CEA mode 94 5: parse_edid: unhandled CEA mode 93
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: amd radeonsi platforms: device: 0 drv: radeonsi
    device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: radeonsi surfaceless: drv: radeonsi x11:
    drv: radeonsi inactive: wayland
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: amd mesa v: 25.2.3-arch1.2
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: AMD Radeon RX 590 Series (radeonsi
    polaris10 ACO DRM 3.64 6.16.8-1-MANJARO) device-ID: 1002:67df
    memory: 7.81 GiB unified: no
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.321 layers: 1 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu name: AMD
    Radeon RX 590 Series (RADV POLARIS10) driver: mesa radv v: 25.2.3-arch1.2
    device-ID: 1002:67df surfaces: N/A
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo,xprop
Audio:
  Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Ellesmere HDMI Audio [Radeon RX
    470/480 / 570/580/590] vendor: Gigabyte driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 08:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:aaf0
    class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Starship/Matisse HD Audio
    vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s
    lanes: 16 bus-ID: 0a:00.4 chip-ID: 1022:1487 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.16.8-1-MANJARO status: kernel-api with: aoss
    type: oss-emulator tools: alsactl,alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off tools: N/A
  Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.4.8 status: n/a (root, process) with:
    1: pipewire-pulse status: active 2: wireplumber status: active
    3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
    vendor: ASUSTeK RTL8111H driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1
    speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: f000 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168
    class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp3s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  IP v4: <filter> type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
    broadcast: <filter>
  Info: services: NetworkManager, sshd, systemd-timesyncd
  WAN IP: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Message: No bluetooth data found.
Logical:
  Message: No logical block device data found.
RAID:
  Message: No RAID data found.
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 2.52 TiB used: 409.71 GiB (15.9%)
  SMART Message: Required tool smartctl not installed. Check --recommends
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital model: WD10EADS-00L5B1
    size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s
    tech: N/A serial: <filter> fw-rev: 1A01 scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Western Digital
    model: WD10EADS-00L5B1 size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s tech: N/A serial: <filter> fw-rev: 1A01
    scheme: MBR
  ID-3: /dev/sdc maj-min: 8:32 vendor: Micron model: MTFDDAK256MAY-1AH12ABHA
    size: 238.47 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: M5T4 scheme: MBR
  ID-4: /dev/sdd maj-min: 8:48 vendor: A-Data model: SU800NS38
    size: 476.94 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 8B scheme: MBR
  Message: No optical or floppy data found.
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 476.94 GiB size: 476.94 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 188.55 GiB (39.5%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/sdd1
    maj-min: 8:49 label: statroot uuid: 15de0dd7-8a22-45e5-9004-6a1a9ba201e8
  ID-2: /data/ssd200 raw-size: 238.47 GiB size: 233.67 GiB (97.99%)
    used: 35.04 GiB (15.0%) fs: ext4 block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/sdc1
    maj-min: 8:33 label: ssd200 uuid: 90a6ed92-904a-458e-90e7-427c598d9337
  ID-3: /data/swdisk raw-size: 923.5 GiB size: 907.93 GiB (98.31%)
    used: 185.69 GiB (20.5%) fs: ext4 block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/sda1
    maj-min: 8:1 label: swdisk uuid: ed96f3d3-edea-43bc-8418-2223e4ec312d
  ID-4: /home raw-size: 476.94 GiB size: 476.94 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 188.55 GiB (39.5%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/sdd1
    maj-min: 8:49 label: statroot uuid: 15de0dd7-8a22-45e5-9004-6a1a9ba201e8
  ID-5: /home/<filter>/cryptomount.fredox.vol raw-size: 600 MiB
    size: 573.7 MiB (95.62%) used: 437.5 MiB (76.3%) fs: ext4 block-size: 4096 B
    dev: /dev/dm-1 maj-min: 253:1 mapped: loop0 label: N/A uuid: N/A
  ID-6: /var/cache raw-size: 476.94 GiB size: 476.94 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 188.55 GiB (39.5%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/sdd1
    maj-min: 8:49 label: statroot uuid: 15de0dd7-8a22-45e5-9004-6a1a9ba201e8
  ID-7: /var/log raw-size: 476.94 GiB size: 476.94 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 188.55 GiB (39.5%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/sdd1
    maj-min: 8:49 label: statroot uuid: 15de0dd7-8a22-45e5-9004-6a1a9ba201e8
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: yes
    compressor: zstd max-pool: 20%
  ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 8.01 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
    priority: -2 dev: /dev/dm-0 maj-min: 253:0 mapped: swap label: swap
    uuid: c4c44df3-30b9-49be-8681-59cc07486726
Unmounted:
  ID-1: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2 size: 8.01 GiB fs: ext2 label: cryptswap
    uuid: ec4a49ac-3057-4c0b-a02d-12dc093f7355
  ID-2: /dev/sdb1 maj-min: 8:17 size: 931.51 GiB fs: ext4 label: hd1Tb
    uuid: a0f67169-c4c3-48e9-bafe-a73dc0983560
USB:
  Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 10 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 1d6b:0002
    class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 1-7:2 info: MosArt Wireless Keyboard/Mouse type: keyboard,mouse
    driver: hid-generic,usbhid interfaces: 2 rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s (1.4 MiB/s)
    lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 power: 100mA chip-ID: 062a:4101 class-ID: 0301
  Device-2: 1-9:3 info: NZXT Smart Device V2 type: HID
    driver: nzxt-smart2,usbhid interfaces: 1 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s (1.4 MiB/s)
    lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 power: 100mA chip-ID: 1e71:2006 class-ID: 0300
    serial: <filter>
  Hub-2: 2-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 4 rev: 3.1
    speed: 10 Gb/s (1.16 GiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-2x1 chip-ID: 1d6b:0003
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-3: 3-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 4 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 1d6b:0002
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-4: 3-1:2 info: Genesys Logic Hub ports: 4 rev: 2.1
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 power: 100mA
    chip-ID: 05e3:0610 class-ID: 0900
  Hub-5: 4-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 4 rev: 3.1
    speed: 10 Gb/s (1.16 GiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-2x1 chip-ID: 1d6b:0003
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-6: 4-1:2 info: Genesys Logic USB3.0 Hub ports: 4 rev: 3.0
    speed: 5 Gb/s (596.0 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 chip-ID: 05e3:0617
    class-ID: 0900
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 59.2 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 48.0 C
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A gpu: amdgpu fan: 766
Repos:
  Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1228 libs: 292 tools: pamac
  Active pacman repo servers in: /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
    1: https://mirrors.dotsrc.org/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
Processes:
  CPU top: 5 of 351
  1: cpu: 1.5% command: VirtualBox pid: 88640 mem: 369.3 MiB (2.3%)
  2: cpu: 1.4% command: firefox pid: 3939 mem: 516.1 MiB (3.2%)
  3: cpu: 1.3% command: konsole pid: 5322 mem: 254.0 MiB (1.5%)
  4: cpu: 1.1% command: firefox pid: 4590 mem: 285.2 MiB (1.7%)
  5: cpu: 1.0% command: qbittorrent pid: 1927 mem: 172.2 MiB (1.0%)
  Memory top: 5 of 351
  1: mem: 516.1 MiB (3.2%) command: firefox pid: 3939 cpu: 1.4%
  2: mem: 369.3 MiB (2.3%) command: VirtualBox pid: 88640 cpu: 1.5%
  3: mem: 317.0 MiB (1.9%) command: plasmashell pid: 1056 cpu: 0.3%
  4: mem: 285.2 MiB (1.7%) command: firefox pid: 4590 cpu: 1.1%
  5: mem: 254.0 MiB (1.5%) command: konsole pid: 5322 cpu: 1.3%
Info:
  Processes: 351 Power: uptime: 31m states: freeze,mem suspend: deep
    avail: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: disabled image: 6.18 GiB
    services: org_kde_powerdevil, power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd
    v: 257 default: graphical tool: systemctl
  Compilers: gcc: 15.2.1 Shell: Sudo (sudo) v: 1.9.17p1 default: Bash
    v: 5.3.3 running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.39
6

The last thing that comes to mind is the content in the profile’s live-overlay and desktop-overlay folders.

They will do exactly that - they shadow for anything provided by the packages and profile configuration - including boot loader configuration.

EDIT: 2025-10-18T09:42:00Z

I have attempted to recreate the issue - but I cannot.

I have done a test run

  • a laptop running a LUKS container with btrfs
  • building the ISO on this laptop
  • created a virtualbox vm on the same host
  • booted the vm using the ISO
  • installing the guest from the ISO using btrfs
  • finally restarting the guest
  • all without any issues

Without access to your specific ISO profile including your changes - there is very little to suggest.

7

The custom_boot_args settings I put in profile.conf are in the linux command line in grub when booting my home-built ISO in the Live environment, but the settings are not written in /boot/grub/grub.cfg on the harddisk during installation - weird.

To exclude my fumbling I renamed the old ~/iso-profiles and cloned a clean fresh one with

git clone https://gitlab.manjaro.org/profiles-and-settings/iso-profiles.git ~/iso-profiles

and built a fresh ISO with

#!/bin/sh

STARTTIME=$(date '+%Y%m%d.%H%M%S')
CHROOTDIR=/data/ssd200/buildiso
TARGETDIR=/data/swdisk/builtISO

nzxt 100  # all cabinet fans run max
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/manjaro-tools /var/log/manjaro-tools /var/cache/manjaro-tools $CHROOTDIR $TARGETDIR/*
buildiso -q -v $@ -p kde -k linux612   -r $CHROOTDIR -t $TARGETDIR > buildiso-$STARTTIME.txt 2>&1
time  buildiso  -v $@ -p kde -k linux612 -r $CHROOTDIR -t $TARGETDIR
nzxt -n  # all cabinet fans normal

sudo chmod 755 /var/cache/manjaro-tools  $TARGETDIR
sudo chmod 644 /var/log/manjaro-tools/*

and with that ISO I installed Manjaro on my HP Elitebook 820 G1 (Haswell). No login picture, just black screen.

Now I am installing the official manjaro-kde-25.0.10-minimal-251013-linux612.iso on that laptop, and I will make a clean build there.

8

On my haswell laptop I made a clean build without changing anything in the profile. Install with that iso works perfectly both in a VM and on the laptop.

My goal is to make a small iso with only what I need, getting rid of nVidia and 32 bit libraries.

The settings I change from default in profile.conf to make the smallest iso :
multilib=“false”
nonfree_mhwd=“false”
extra=“false”
enable_systemd=(‘bluetooth’ ‘cronie’ ‘ModemManager’ ‘NetworkManager’ ‘cups’ ‘haveged’ ‘systemd-timesyncd’ ‘sshd’)
user_shell=“/usr/bin/bash”
login_shell=/usr/bin/bash

Leaving the Packages-Desktop unchanged I made a new build. Install with that iso in a VM ends with a black screen.

Next step will be using the laptop to make an iso where I only change nonfree_mhwd to false in profile.conf.

9

That is strange - although - it is beginning to look like a host hardware issue.

I don’t know what you need - I have a stripped down plasma for my needs

10

On my haswell laptop I made a build where multilib=“true” and nonfree_mhwd=“false” in profile.conf and Packages-Desktop unchanged. That iso is 3.0 GB, which is small enough for use on a 4GB (nominal) USB stick. Install with that iso in a VM ends with a black screen.

Then I made a build where multilib=“false” and nonfree_mhwd=“true” in profile.conf and Packages-Desktop unchanged. That iso is 4.0 GB, too big for a 4GB (nominal) USB stick. Install with that iso in a VM ends with a black screen.

Manjaro kde minimal iso is now 4.4 GB because of nVidia in the mhwd squashfs, and of course Manjaro must distribute isos that can work out-of-the-box on nVidia systems. My purpose for making a smaller iso is to make use of my 4GB USB stick.

The only successful build I have made is on my haswell laptop with original unchanged iso-profile cloned with git, equivalent to the official Manjaro iso and also 4.4 GB. Building there takes four times as long as on my main PC.

My conclusion is that making my own build is not worth the bother, and going forward I will put the official Manjaro iso on my 16GB (nominal) USB stick for installations.

Tak for venlig deltagelse.

11

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