Note: Bazzite requires a stable internet connection with no bandwidth cap in place.
Attention: Several handhelds requires BitLocker to be unlocked, Windows “Fast Startup” disabled, and not putting Windows into Hibernation Mode before installing Bazzite.
Installer Requirements
- A USB flash drive with 10GB free space
- Note: All data on this drive will be wiped when flashed
- Software to flash the image:
- Fedora Media Writer, Ventoy, or Rufus
- Make sure to properly eject the drive after flashing the ISO to it
- Fedora Media Writer, Ventoy, or Rufus
- Physical keyboard
Bazzite’s Handheld Wiki contains information on setting up your handheld after installing Bazzite and workarounds for known issues.
Steam Gaming Mode Requirements
- Compatible graphics card
- A modern AMD GPU
- An Intel Arc GPU (Other Intel GPU series will not boot Steam Gaming Mode)
- Intel Arc handhelds will currently have missing functionality (TDP limit, controls, etc.)
Handheld users will also benefit from also reading the Steam Gaming Mode documentation.
Dual Boot Preliminary Setup + Post-Setup Guide
Installation Guide
1. Download and Flash Bazzite
- Download Bazzite after choosing the correct handheld hardware with our Image Picker tool.
- Flash Bazzite to your bootable medium.
- Eject drive.
2. Boot Installation Medium
You may need to research your handheld on how to boot from removable storage. It may be similar to the Steam Deck with holding down one of the “volume buttons” and pressing another button, but like for other general hardware, it highly dependent on your hardware.
3. Installer Setup
- Select your language, region, keyboard layout, and time zone.
- Select the drive that Bazzite is going to be installed on.
- Delete any partitions that you have remaining on the drive unless dual booting on the same drive.
- Recommended to use the automatic storage configuration unless dual booting on the same drive.
- Optionally encrypt the drive with a password if desired.
- If you lose this password, then it cannot be decrypted.
- Setup a user account and begin the installation.
- Give administrative privileges and set a user password. (required)
- Begin the installation.
- Reboot device after it has finished installing.
Important information for users with Secure Boot enabled:
Post-Installation
GRUB Menu
The first boot will show a screen showing your current and last deployment. It will automatically boot if nothing. It is important to note that the GRUB menu can be used to rollback Bazzite deployments if you encounter issues.
Read more about this in the Updates, Rollback, and Rebasing documentation.
Configuring System Settings for KDE Plasma and GNOME
KDE Plasma’s System Settings application
GNOME’s Settings application
After you have booted into the Desktop for the first-time configuration, then you can should adjust the settings to your liking. The most important setting that may need to be changed is the scaling setting in “Display(s) [and Monitor]” since it can be incorrect for the screen of your hardware on a fresh installation. Monitor orientation should also be corrected if it is rotated improperly.
First Boot Setup Utility: Bazzite Portal
Attention: This section requires a stable internet connection. Make sure you are connected to a network.
An application will pop up welcoming you to Bazzite when you boot into the desktop for the first time. This is a utility that allows you to tailor Bazzite to your liking by installing additional software.
- Click “Next” to begin configuring Bazzite.
- Press the toggle switch button next to the item to have the option enabled or disabled for your installation, some are already toggled on by default.
- If you would like to customize any of the options, then press the arrow next to the toggle switch button if available.
- Installing items from the portal may take a long time.
Note: If you only check a few items in a category, then it will only install those selected items. The switch is only toggled to install everything in that category.
Attention: There is a rare chance you will be asked to setup KDE Wallet or GNOME Keyring and set a password to continue installing items from the Bazzite Portal.
Installing additional software
The Installing and Managing Applications documentation is useful to learn how to install additional software on Bazzite outside of the Bazzite Portal.
Login to Steam & Reboot Device
Login to Steam then reboot your device when you finish setting up your device during the first-boot process.
After completing all of the above, then your next boot will be in Steam Gaming Mode which requires additional setup for Steam.
Post-Setup and Known Issues for Handhelds
Steam Gaming Mode Overview:
Video Tutorials
Note: Some of the information in a few of the video’s post-installation sections may be outdated, but the tutorial for the installer and first-boot setup portion should still be mostly relevant.
Lenovo Legion Go & ASUS ROG Ally (Dual Boot Guide):
Lenovo Legion Go (Dual Boot Guide):
ASUS ROG Ally:
Issues Installing Bazzite?
Documentation Contributors: Kyle Gospodnetich, Nathaniel Warburton, Jorge Castro, Noel Miller, ChaiQi, Damian Korcz, and Justin Garrison
See also: Upstream Manual Partitioning Guide & Steam Gaming Mode Overview (Handheld/HTPC)