Install Zima on QNAP TS-x77

I have installed Zima on a USB drive. I would like to get Zima installed on an internal drive. I can install it but so far, I have not been able to get it to boot from an internal drive. QNAP has locked down access to the BIOS. I have tried removing the DOM and that has no effect. Has anyone had success in this area?

Unfortunately no, not in a reliable or supported way on TS-x77.

QNAP has the BIOS/UEFI locked down and enforces boot from the QNAP DOM / signed boot chain. Even if ZimaOS installs to an internal disk, the firmware won’t hand off boot to it. Removing the DOM doesn’t bypass this.

What does work:

  • Booting ZimaOS from USB
  • Using internal drives purely as /DATA once ZimaOS is running

What doesn’t:

  • Booting ZimaOS directly from internal SATA/NVMe
  • DOM removal as a workaround

There are no confirmed success reports of full internal boot on TS-x77.

Best options are:

  • Keep USB-boot + internal data disks
  • Or run ZimaOS as a VM
  • Or use hardware with an unlocked BIOS for bare-metal installs