

If Linux Mint freezes during boot, use the "nomodeset" boot option. Some Nvidia graphics cards don't work well with Mint's open-source driver. And, from there, you'll be running Linux Mint. Then, select "Start Linux Mint" from the first menu. Once your PC is set to try to boot first from the alternative drive, insert your DVD or USB stick and reboot. Once you get to the BIOS or UEFI, look for a menu choice labeled "Boot," "Boot Options," or "Boot Order." If you don't see anything with the word "boot" in it, check other menu options such as "Advanced Options," "Advanced BIOS Features," or "Other Options." Once you find it, set the boot order so that instead of booting from the hard drive first, you boot from either the CD/DVD drive or from a USB drive. Read more: Six Clicks: Linux Mint tips and tricks If you don't spot it the first time, don't worry about it. Likely candidates are a function key or the "esc" or "delete" keys. Look for a message as the machine starts up that tells which key or keys you'll need to press in order to get to the BIOS or UEFI. How you do this varies according to the system. During the reboot, stop the boot-up process and get to your PC's UEFI or BIOS settings. Next, you place your disc or USB stick into your PC and reboot. I've found this to be very handy and there's always at least one Linux stick in my laptop bag. This way you can carry Linux and use it as a walk-around operating system for hotel, conference, and library PCs. With this, you can store your programs and files on the stick. You can set it up a USB stick with persistent storage. Over the years, I've had more problems with running Linux and installing Linux from DVDs from bad discs than all other causes combined.

If you're using a DVD - Mint is too big to fit on a CD - check your newly burned disc for errors. Once you've installed the burner program and have the latest Linux Mint ISO file in hand, use the burner to put the ISO image to your disc or USB stick.

You can run Linux from a DVD, but it's very slow.Īt 1.5GB, the Mint download might take a while, so be ready for a wait. Unless you're stuck with an older PC that won't boot from a USB stick, I strongly recommend using a USB flash drive. Read also: Dumping Windows and installing Linux Mint, in just 10 minutes Other good choices are LinuxLive USB Creator and UNetbootin. I recommend freeware programs ImgBurn for optical drives and Yumi for Windows for USB sticks. If you don't have an ISO burner program, download one.
