How to make a bootable Linux Mint 18.1 flash drive

giantgeekuk

Reputable
Nov 14, 2014
25
0
4,540
I have an Acer Aspire E5-774 with an Intel i5 core processor, 8GB RAM and Intel HD graphics. I want to be able to create a bootable USB flash drive for Linux Mint so that when I turn my PC on, the flash drive kicks in and my Linux OS boots up. That way, I'll always have my PC with me.

I have the latest iso file and the usual utilities have resulted in my laptop booting directly to Windows.

I have also tried disabling secure boot and disabling fast boot in Windows 10. The USB HDD option is the first in the list of boot systems in the BIOS.

When I tried booting from a Linux Live CD, I had to use the compatibility option, and tried to create a bootable USB drive from there, but couldn't figure it out.

If anyone could offer any advice or better yet an "Idiots Guide" I would be appreciative.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


Then the USB stick is not created correctly, or the BIOS boot order is wrong.

I've used that before, and it works.
 

giantgeekuk

Reputable
Nov 14, 2014
25
0
4,540


The BIOS order is correct. The USB drive is brand new, is there anything specific I should be doing to it before using the software you mentioned?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


I can't remember anything specific.
Crank it up and follow the directions.
 

giantgeekuk

Reputable
Nov 14, 2014
25
0
4,540


With respect, telling me to repeat a process that I have already gone through without success isn't especially helpful.
I have tried this and other automated solutions without success.

If you (or indeed anyone else) has a step by step guide or checklist of things to make sure I had completed before attempting the install to a flash drive, then that would be helpful.
 

Yuriwa

Honorable
Jan 28, 2013
2
0
10,510
I recommend Rufus as well. Here is a simple picture of how I used it to make a bootable Linux Mint usb a while back. https://goo.gl/photos/qbPjdVFn8GAp2YoZ7

Even if you do this right, you still have to make sure your computer is booting from USB. You can set the boot order in BIOS (which you can enter during startup by pressing an F-key, usually F10 I think), or you can, on some systems, simply bring up a boot menu during startup and that is a one-time deal. On my machine it's F12. You will probably want to choose the BIOS option. Tell me if the picture link doesn't work, I've never done that before.