-one poster suggested it's too much new laptop for solus kernel--I see the reality of this in some threads.
-solus picture up there is like solus saying, no it's not too much, we got this.
-OP convinced nothing wrong with boot media.
-buzz has great point. I have given up on black screen installs and walked away a while and came back and it was ready for me with a boot menu. 5 minutes for sure. Don't remember 10 minutes but its possible. Inkbug did not discuss if he used the 'walk away' method for a while.
--sys 76 does have arch/fedora instructions only. I read them. They also involve installing a lot of sub-packages and extra drivers. it was exhausting. good idea.

cms and bios are great places to look too. Interesting for sure.

edit--been a while since I've used rufus. I can't believe it can set partition size now. wow.

    brent His usb by what he posted is Silicon Motion's high-performance USB flash drive controller
    so would tend think its not that slow.
    But I guess anything is possible

        Axios absolutely nothing of value doing a 'system76' search on this forum. none were install-related.

        usb sounds great!
        I read about solus hiccups adapting to huge fast SSDs and how you should never give solus (or a distro) the whole SSD (especially TB size) but instead create a partition for it instead.
        like you say, just info, but I remembered this basic theme in threads. edit: that's why I wonder if USB ISO seems unresponsive.

        gonna sleep on this one

          brent compatible laptops

          • The problem is with the Thelio Mira desktop, but I'll try my Live Solus medis on the (older) Gazelle to verify that it's not the media.

          Axios I would try arch or fedora

          • Great suggestion - their Live Disks use the latest kernel, right? I'll try that next.

          Axios If there is (cms) setting would check it

          • I dn't remember there being a CMS option, but I'll check it out.

          Axios Partition Scheme and Target system

          • I've used Rufus before, but I think the last time I wrote this particular Live USB was on my older machine running Solus, so it was probably done with either multi-writer or Popsicle (flatpak) - both of which don't give all these options. If the above options don't help me find a solution, I'll re-write the disk from Windows and try that.

          brent sys 76 does have arch/fedora instructions only. I read them. They also involve installing a lot of sub-packages and extra drivers.

          • If I'm not mistaken, those instructions are meant for enabling the control of Sys76 specific hardware for better fan/power control after the OS has already been installed.

          Thanks for all the suggestions guys, you've really given me a few things to think about and try out.
          I'll update when I have any results to report.

                    inkbug The USB is a non-ventoy standalone, which I've used many times for both installing Solus in its various iterations, or for some distro-hopping on my older machine.

                    You don't mention what boot software you are using. Maybe Etcher would be worth a try.
                    Because your current software has worked on one machine it does not guarantee correct function on another. Ventoy recently needed to update the Secure Boot key on V1.0.98 which stopped it working on my Dell Latitude after a BIOS update. Even on the latest version I get some error reports when trying to boot from a Ventoy prepared USB.
                    As a result of this I prepared a USB with Etcher (in the Solus repo) and suddenly i could boot without any issues.
                    Every machine has it's own little ways when it comes to booting from USB. Trying some different software could be the way to success.

                        BuzzPCSOS
                        I wrote this Solus Plasma 4.5 ISO a few months ago, using my older Solus machine. I can't remember exactly which flashing software I used at the time, but it would have been MultiWriter from the Solus repo, or Popsicle from Flathub. It might even have been Balena Etcher, since I remember installing it.
                        Before I bought this new machine, I was trying various non-Systemd distros in order to speed up the boot time on my older machine - so for a couple of months I would flash an ISO, try out the new distro for about a day, then try another one.
                        I eventually came back home to Solus 🙂 , but during this time I kept trying different flashing software, and at this time I don't remember which one was the last one.

                            inkbug Good call on your favourite iso choice.
                            Your gen 14 CPU should be supported by the 6.6.9 kernel that Solus 4.5 ships with. Make sure that you are using the 4.5 iso and not one of the earlier ones.
                            Especially when trying to boot more modern equipment from USB it is important to make sure that you are using the most recent boot media software to ensure compatibility.
                            In the case of Etcher for example it may be worth using the app image on their website rather than installing from the Solus repo as it is a later build.
                            Edit: My mistake the etcher App image is only a 32 bit one and quite outdated. Probably best to use the Solus repository after all.

                                BuzzPCSOS
                                Alright then. So my next step is to create the live media with Etcher, and a second one of Fedora, boot into UEFI options and check for cms, and see which of the two, if either, boots into a live session.
                                I'll try it later tonight and see how it goes 👍

                                  Before that....
                                  Your problem could be because of the USB socket you are using. At boot using a USB 3.0 drive and a USB 3.0 socket (blue tang) can cause problems.
                                  Look for a USB socket that doesn't have the blue tang or is identified as USB 2.0 and try to boot from that location instead.

                                    7 days later

                                    Hi again everyone,

                                    TLDR: It was the flash media - they were too old. Using a newer flash drive solved the issue.

                                    Details:
                                    After trying and failing the Fedora install using one of the two media I've been using (a novelty 8gb flash drive from 2014, and a 32bg SanDisc Cruzer Blade from about two-three years ago), I opened a support ticket with System76.
                                    Their support representative asked me by email what media and ports I was using.
                                    The Thelio Mira b4 comes with USB-3.0 and USB-4.0 type-A ports, and one type-C port.

                                    I have one extra flash drive with both type-A and type-C connectors, so I used it to try the type-C port - and that booted properly.
                                    I next tried the same media on one of the USB-3.0/type-A ports, and this one also booted.

                                    According to the System76 rep, any USB-2.0 media should work, as long as it has enough storage for the Live ISO.

                                    I must confess to feeling a little embarrassed at not trying the third flash drive before posting here 🤦
                                    Since the various Live disks did reach the pre-boot menu, I had no reason to thing the media were at fault.

                                    Thanks again to everyone for your insights and suggestions!

                                    • Edit -
                                      Having managed to boot the Solus Plasma Live session, the Calamares installer crashed before it finished the installation. If I can't figure this one out on my own however, I'll start a new thread, as it is not strictly speaking related to booting the Live Disk.

                                      inkbug Sandisk cruzer sticks are tough I have worn a couple out but took forever
                                      I was transferring alot stuff back in the day surprised mine lasted that long.

                                      Glad you got it to boot.
                                      Fyi I stick with the usb 3.0 stick nowdays so much faster and price isnt that much higher.

                                          Axios Fyi I stick with the usb 3.0 stick nowdays so much faster and price isnt that much higher.

                                          Indeed. In fact, they're about 10x faster. And prices today are about what USB 2.0 flash drives used to cost, and the 3.0 versions are much larger. In fact, it's almost impossible to find a 3.0 flash drive smaller than 16 GB or 32 GB.