Hey everyone,
I’m hoping someone here has dealt with a similar setup, because I’ve spent well over 8 hours trying to get Parrot OS running properly on my laptop, and I’ve pretty much hit a wall.
I’m not completely new to Linux. I’ve used Fedora before, and I’m currently studying cybersecurity. I wanted to set up Parrot OS Home with KDE as my main Linux environment, dual-booting alongside Windows 11.
The installation itself isn’t really the issue anymore. It’s getting the graphics working reliably, especially the NVIDIA GPU.
My hardware:
Laptop: ASUS ROG Strix G15 G513RM
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
Integrated graphics: AMD Radeon 680M
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: 1 TB NVMe SSD
OS: Parrot OS Home 7.4 KDE + Windows 11 Pro
Kernel tested: 7.2.11
Boot mode: UEFI, with GRUB
GPU switching: ASUS MUX switch, configurable through G-Helper in Windows (Standard / Ultimate)
What I’m trying to achieve
I want a proper, stable dual-boot setup where Windows remains untouched and Parrot can use my laptop’s hardware correctly.
Ideally, I’d like the RTX 3060 to drive the internal display when the MUX switch is set to discrete GPU mode (Ultimate), rather than being forced to rely on the AMD integrated graphics.
I previously had the NVIDIA GPU driving the display under Fedora, so that’s the kind of setup I’m aiming for.
I’m also looking for working Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, audio, brightness controls, and suspend/resume. Stability comes first.
What actually happened
The initial installation was successful, and both operating systems could boot.
However, once I started dealing with the graphics configuration, things went downhill pretty quickly.
With the open-source nouveau driver, KDE/Wayland suffered complete freezes. Kernel logs showed errors including:
PCIe Bus Error: BadTLP
gsp mmu fault
kwin_wayland ... channel killed
I then attempted to get the proprietary NVIDIA drivers working.
The NVIDIA 550.163.01 driver was installed, and I went through DKMS-related checks and repairs, including dpkg --configure -a and rebuilding the initramfs.
Here’s the frustrating part:
I could boot into a text environment using nomodeset 3, and nvidia-smi actually worked and detected the GPU.
But trying to get a working graphical desktop resulted in a black screen.
I also tried switching from Wayland to X11, blacklisting nouveau, and rebuilding the initramfs. None of that resolved the NVIDIA graphical startup problem.
Eventually, I reinstalled Parrot, formatting only its Linux partitions and leaving Windows and the existing EFI partition intact.
Where things stand now
I managed to get Parrot booting into KDE on X11 using the AMD Radeon 680M.
So the system isn’t completely broken, and Windows is still fine.
But getting the RTX 3060 working reliably as the display GPU remains unresolved, which was one of my main goals from the beginning.
One additional detail: the laptop has an existing shared EFI partition of around 260 MiB. The installer initially wanted at least 300 MB, although GRUB and dual boot have worked. I’m mentioning it for completeness, not because I know it’s related to the graphics issue.
What I’d really like to know
Has anyone successfully configured Parrot OS 7.x with KDE on an ASUS ROG laptop using AMD integrated graphics and an NVIDIA RTX GPU?
More specifically:
Is running the internal display directly through the NVIDIA GPU actually reliable on this setup?
Is there a particular NVIDIA driver version or kernel combination that works well with Parrot 7.x?
Would you recommend X11 over Wayland for this hardware?
Are there specific ASUS MUX, display manager, or NVIDIA configuration steps I should be aware of?
Is there a known compatibility issue with the current Parrot graphics stack that would explain this behavior?
I’m not looking to blindly run another twenty commands and hope something sticks. I’d really appreciate a tested approach, preferably from someone running similar hardware.
And if this particular configuration is simply not reliable on the current version of Parrot, I’d rather know that too.
I genuinely like the idea of using Parrot as my main Linux environment for cybersecurity, but after eight-plus hours of troubleshooting, I’m trying to figure out whether I’m missing something obvious or fighting a compatibility issue.
Any advice, experiences, or pointers to reliable documentation would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Checking and updating PHP on Debian Trixie — what I did on my own PC

I’ve just been through this on my desktop and thought I’d put the steps here for anyone who isn’t sure what to check.

For context, I’m running Parrot OS based on Debian 13 Trixie. These are APT/Debian commands. If you’re using another distribution, the process and package versions will differ.

The PHP issues are CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619. Debian’s Trixie fix is in 8.4.27-1~deb13u1. That was the update available to me; you may see something newer.

PHP is software commonly used to run websites. You don’t need it installed just to browse websites that use it. However, it can be installed alongside other software without you having deliberately set up a web server. That was why I checked mine.

Finding PHP installed doesn’t mean you’ve been hacked. The immediate concern is whether vulnerable PHP is running and handling requests that an attacker can send to it.

First, check what system you’re running

Open a terminal and enter:

cat /etc/os-release

That will show your distribution and release. Don’t add Debian Trixie repositories to a different system just to get the version mentioned here.

See what’s installed

dpkg -l | awk '$1=="ii" && $2 ~ /php|apache2|nginx/ {print $2, $3}'

This only lists packages. It doesn’t install, remove or change anything.

Mine showed Apache, Nginx and several PHP 8.4 packages, including Apache’s PHP module. The PHP version was:

8.4.26-1~deb13u1

That needed updating.

If you get no results, there are no matching installed packages in this list. It doesn’t cover PHP installed manually or inside containers or virtual machines.

Check whether the web services are running

systemctl is-active apache2 nginx

You’ll get Apache’s result first, then Nginx’s.

"active" means running. "inactive" means it isn’t currently running. "failed" means the service has failed.

Mine said:

inactive

inactive

That lowered the immediate concern, but I still updated the packages.

There is also PHP-FPM, which is another way of running PHP for a web server. Check for that with:

systemctl list-units --type=service --all 'php*-fpm.service'

If any services appear, look at their ACTIVE and SUB columns.

These checks cover the usual system services. They don’t prove that nothing else is running, and an active service isn’t automatically exposed to the internet.

If this is a public web server, or you host something other people use, follow the update procedure for that setup. Stopping services will interrupt whatever they provide.

Refresh your package lists

sudo apt update

If it asks for your password, type your normal computer password. Nothing appearing while you type is normal.

Despite the name, "apt update" doesn’t install updates. It refreshes the information about what’s available.

If you see repository or signature errors, deal with those before continuing. Don’t turn off signature checks to get past them.

I then checked the available PHP version:

apt-cache policy php8.4-common libapache2-mod-php8.4

The two lines to look for are "Installed" and "Candidate".

On mine, they showed:

Installed: 8.4.26-1~deb13u1

Candidate: 8.4.27-1~deb13u1

The candidate came from Parrot’s security repository.

Install the updates

Your distribution’s normal software updater is a valid way to do this. Make sure it actually installs the PHP security updates.

I used a targeted command because I’d already checked exactly which PHP packages were installed:

sudo apt install --only-upgrade php8.4-cli php8.4-common php8.4-opcache php8.4-readline php8.4-sqlite3 libapache2-mod-php8.4

That list matches my machine. If you have additional PHP packages, such as "php8.4-fpm" or "php8.4-mysql", update those as well. If you have a different PHP branch, use your distribution’s update for it rather than copying my version numbers.

Read the proposed changes before pressing Y. If it wants to remove unexpected packages, reports dependency errors or leaves the relevant updates held back, get help with that output rather than forcing it.

Wait until it finishes and gives you the terminal prompt back.

Check the result

Run the first package command again:

dpkg -l | awk '$1=="ii" && $2 ~ /php|apache2|nginx/ {print $2, $3}'

My six PHP 8.4 packages had moved to:

8.4.27-1~deb13u1

Not every package with “php” in its name uses that numbering. For example, "php-common" has its own package version.

Also, other distributions sometimes put security fixes into older versions without changing the main version number. Use their security advisory to confirm what’s fixed.

Don’t forget running processes

If Apache or PHP-FPM was running, it needs to be using the updated code. The installer may restart the affected services, but check the output rather than assuming.

On a personal desktop, saving your work and rebooting after the update is a straightforward way to clear old processes. On a server, arrange the necessary service restarts because they can interrupt websites.

You can then repeat:

systemctl is-active apache2 nginx

If you weren’t using those services, don’t start them just to check the update.

If you use Docker or virtual machines, check those separately. Updating the host does not update the PHP inside them.

A couple of things worth clearing up

A VPN or encrypted DNS won’t fix vulnerable PHP. Changing router settings or DNS providers isn’t a substitute for installing the patch.

An inactive web server also doesn’t mean you should leave outdated packages sitting there. They could be started later by you or another application.

Finally, installing the patch isn’t proof that an exposed server was never compromised. If you run a public server and have evidence of an intrusion, that needs investigating separately.

For my own PC, the practical job was to check what was installed, check what was running and install the official update. There was nothing in those results alone that showed I’d been hacked.

These are the official references I used:

- "PHP security announcement" (https://www.php.net/archive/2026.php)

- "Debian Trixie advisory — DSA-6574-1" (https://lists.debian.org/debian-security-announce/2026/msg00489.html)

- "UK NCSC guidance" (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/critical-security-issue-affecting-php)

This was written on 23 October 2026. If you find the post later, check those pages for newer guidance.

Using windows as main system running parrot in virtualbox i find when using my vpn on main system it messing with parrot os internet connection

Any fixes or bypasses would be appreciated

I've used both Parrot OS with KDE and Arch Linux with Hyprland, but honestly, I still can't move away from Parrot OS. I love its ecosystem and cybersecurity tools, but I really miss Hyprland's minimal, modern, and customizable workflow.

Imagine Parrot OS with official Hyprland support. It would be a game changer!

Why hasn't this happened yet? Are the developers planning it, or are there technical challenges I'm missing?

I know Hyprland can be installed manually, but an officially supported edition with proper integration and updates would be amazing.

Parrot OS really needs official Hyprland support! Even an optional community edition would be a fantastic start.

What do the developers and community think? Is there any chance of this happening?

I’m having some Wi-Fi issues on Parrot OS and I’m not sure what’s causing them.

Sometimes, when I connect to Wi-Fi, the connection doesn’t work properly and websites don’t load. After restarting the system, it usually starts working again.

I also noticed another issue when connecting to a different Wi-Fi network. Parrot OS connects to the Wi-Fi, but I’m unable to access any websites through the browser. The Wi-Fi security is WPA2-PSK, and it shows a connection speed of 54 Mbit/s.

What’s strange is that the same Wi-Fi works perfectly fine when I boot into Windows on the same laptop. I’m dual-booting Parrot OS and Windows, so I’m wondering if this could be a driver, DNS, network configuration, or some other issue specific to Parrot OS.

Has anyone experienced something similar or know what I should check?

Hello guys, hope anyone can help me

So i have a Celeron 2 Dell Laptop, and since W10 doesn't supported by Microsoft anymore I try to change of for much lightweight, So Install parrot home, everything nice, Its just this one that it doesn't come to the desktop environment when the mode set isnt nomodeset, This give me hard time, I cant configure graphics related options like Night light Brightness controlleer, It works with no modeset but some features dont work.

Please help me.

Hey everyone! I'm pretty new to Linux. I just installed Parrot Security OS yesterday because I want to learn Linux and cybersecurity.

I’ve been seeing setups like the ones in these pictures and I really like this kind of customization/rice.

Is it possible to customize Parrot OS this heavily — things like Hyprland, Kitty, Waybar, custom themes, animations, etc. — while still keeping Parrot as my main OS?

Or am I making my life harder than it needs to be and should I just say fuck it and jump straight into Arch Linux? 😂

I’m still learning, so I’m curious what you guys would recommend.

I have installed ParrotOS 7.2 several times already and it doesn’t want to boot.

Initially I had 6.2 but after I upgraded to 7.2 I couldn’t boot anymore getting a grub error. I tried using the docs to fix the grub problem https://parrotsec.org/docs/troubleshooting/grub/ but still couldn’t make it work.

I finally decided to go for a clean install instead and used the docs to start over with 3 partitions… EFI, Root and Home.

Still no joy. What I am noticing is that when I run fdisk -l I am getting the partitions that I created but I can also see two additional devices

/dev/sda1 which shows with a boot flag
/dev/sda2

See attached.

I remember it being this way even before I did the re-installation, but didn’t take pictures.

I’m brand new to Linux so I’m pretty lost. I installed parrot 6.2 a couple of years ago and never did anything with it. Recently decided to learn it so I upgraded to 7.2 and apparently broke everything. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I installed parrot os in lenvo loq but it's screen brightness is icon is not working. I tryed with brightnessctl via terminal not working

​

Hey everyone,

I recently installed Parrot OS alongside Windows. I’d like to move away from the default desktop environment and learn i3wm.

I’ve used Linux before (including Arch/Hyprland), but I’m still not very familiar with i3 and how it fits into Parrot OS.

I’m looking for some guidance on:

- Installing i3 properly on Parrot OS

- Setting it up without breaking anything

- Setting up a good terminal, application launcher, status bar, wallpaper, notifications, etc.

- Customizing the appearance (fonts, gaps, colors, borders, transparency, etc.)

- Setting up useful tools/workflows for Cybersecurity

- Any recommended i3-specific utilities or scripts

- Things I should avoid changing or removing on Parrot OS

- Good resources or dotfiles/configs to learn from

I’d actually like to understand what I’m configuring and build my setup gradually.

If you use i3 + Parrot OS, I’d really appreciate any advice on how you approached your setup, useful resources, or things you wish you knew when starting out.

Thanks!

im wanting to use a panasonic cf sv7 & i wanna use a linux distro for daily use, i prefer internet privacy so i feel like this is perfect for me.

parrot os installing stuck at 43 then erroring out ( „calamares-sources-media“did not finish within 600 seconds) I tried WiFi with and without

I'm new to Virtual Machines and Parrot seems to be typing and loading in 10x speed, when I click one key, it types 20+ of that key, I've gone through everything I can think of, hardware acceleration, video memory, base memory, numbers of CPUs, hardware virtualization, graphic controllers, 3d acceleration, I had to delete the IDE for it to not be stuck in a boot cycle, but it still boots so I'm good with that, I have no clue what's happening since all other distros work fine. I am not able to get a screenshot since the OS is being weird. If needed any more info, ask and ill try to find it. Thanks for everyone's' time :)

Version: Parrot 7.3
Version: VirtualBox 7.2
Base Memory: 8192 MB
Number of CPUs: 4
Processing Cap: 100%
Video Memory: 128MB
Graphics Controller: VMSVGA
3D Acceleration: On
Disk Encryption: Off
Hardware Virtualization/Nested Paging: Off
Paravirtualization Interface: None
Controller IDE: none
Controller SATA: 50GB SSD.vdi

Odd question here for sure, but are there any plans for a Parrot Server edition, something like Ubuntu Server or Debian Server?

I ask out of sheer curiosity, because I use Parrot Security to host a web server on my laptop, using NGINX as the primary web server application, but I can't help but wonder what an Enterprise edition of Parrot would look like, which is why I asked about a Server edition.

Thanks for taking the time to read this off thought!

Two days ago, I booted parrot os to the external SSD and used it, but today, although windows could not see the disk and the box was working healthily, the boot manager did not see the parrot, I deleted it and installed it again, this time it saw, I did the downloads, I closed it, now I opened it again and it doesn't see it again, how do I solve it (SSD KIOXIA 500GB, SSD BOX UGREEN 10902)

for ex compared to tails

I have an Asus ROG Strix Gl703 with Fedora installed as a daily distro. I have both a Kali Vm and Ubuntu VM installed on GNOME Boxes and both work fine. However, I can't get Parrot to install as either an ISO or .qcow2 file. However, it installed no issue as an ISO in VirtualBox. Not a big deal in the long run. I guess I'll just use it in VirtualBox but find it odd it doesn't seem to like GNOME Boxes.

The .qcow2 file won't load. The iso just hangs on the blue parrot logo screen and sits there for 30+ minutes until I have to force end the virtual machine.

As where with VirtualBox it full installed in minutes.

Anyone else have the same issue?

Why i've got this error, ive tried everything ! Can someone explain to me pls. Thank you

EDIT : Sorry if i didn't put information on what happened exactly.

I installed the 'Security' edition with dd, ventoy, and media writer, but they all gave me the same error when i tried to boot 'error: invalid magic number' and 'you need to load the kernel first'. The usb is a 32GB so i guess is way enough for the Security edition. Later i tried the 'Home' edition (with the same USB) and it worked perfectly (i'm using it now). I don't know what exactly happened but i'm pretty sure i did something wrong. For now i'll keep using the Home edition and understand the tools first and maybe later on i'll try the Security edition again.

Thank you for you help

Hello,

These past few days i was thinking about Parrot OS (i'm on fedora right now) and i'm curious about it, and honestly i don't to use in VM.

My question is what should i install Parrot Security or Parrot Home ?

My laptop info : (Lenovo IdeaPad Slim3)

• RAM : 8gb
• CPU : AMD Ryzen 5
• GPU : AMD Radeon 680M [Integrated]
  
• Disk : 235.89 GiB

Should i go with Parrot Security ?

Thanks

Hii, im new to parrot os htb. When i started it it said login. But i dont have a username or password. Could u please help me?

Hello guys this is more of a question but I have seen some distros ship without emacs and I wonder why? There is a pretty good use or use case for emacs in a hacker-wannabe cs student cyber student already hacker distro sure is an apt install away but the thing is that I found the editor to be so integrated with gnu user space binaries that we fall on or use latter and info being friendlier and some times deeper than man that it looks like it makes sense
Readline keybinds work across most shells repls and lisp with a touch of procedural languages and homoiconicity can some times shape the way we learn craft or document the process in a pretty cohesive way.
Don't think that that binary will make a notable difference in size to the distro compared to the many benefits newcomers to Linux and hacking ("like in deep technical learning and sharing knowledge, not in crack neighbor wifi")
The editor goes a long way in doing many things that you might end up not needing another tool to do some tasks such as encoding and decoding data. Anyway just a question if someone more experienced or the main devs could answer it will be appreciated.

I'm trying to install the latest version of ParrotOS Security on my laptop, but as I said in the title the installation keeps failing with the error message "'calamares-sources-media' did not finish within 600 seconds, no output from command".

I wanted AnonSurf on CachyOS and ended up making a proper Arch port of Parrot’s version.

It uses its own Tor service, routes TCP and DNS through Tor, blocks unsupported UDP and IPv6 leaks, keeps LAN access working, and cleans up the firewall/network state when you stop it.

I’ve tested start/stop, DNS, Tor routing and normal network restoration on CachyOS and it’s working well now.

Repo if anyone wants to try it or look through the code:
https://github.com/Luvvydev/anonsurf-cachyos

I'm interested to see how it behaves on other CachyOS/Arch setups