Booting your own kernels in a Qubes qube (VM)

If you read this you might have come across the instructions to do the following in order to boot your own kernels installed in /boot:

1. Set your AppVM's kernel to '' using qvm-prefs -s <vm> kernel ''
2. Set your AppVM's virtualization mode to HVM using qvm-prefs -s <vm> virt_mode hvm

This will not work!

You need to do one more thing.  Here are the steps:

• Start your AppVM's template qube.
• In a terminal within that qube, run sudo grub2-install /dev/xvda
• Power off your template qube.

That will work.  HVM mode boots the VM from the "first hard disk".  If there is no bootloader in the disk — which is the case in the default templates — then nothing will happen, and eventually Qubes OS will give up starting your qube.