[SOLVED] Can't boot the latest Mint Cinnamon live session (installed on a USB key) FIX: I set the "removable device" as the 1st boot device in my BIOS settings

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Sikntired

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Windows 10 x64 version 22H2 OS build 19045.5440.
This is an older Dell Inspiron 545 computer that was purchased in 2009 and came with Windows 7x64 and subsequently updated to Windows 10 and it has the built-in Windows Disk Burning Utility. I have tried to configure the Boot Sequence so that it will boot from USB first. This is a Phoenix Award Bios Cmos Setup Utility Boot Device Configuration. I went into the Bios and set [ Removable Device First] [CD-ROM Second] [Hard Disk Third] prior to exiting I pressed F10 to save changes and confirmed before exiting. I checked Dell for any Bios update and there was one available so it was updated.
I still cannot boot from USB as I have downloaded Linux Mint Distro using Rufus and it was not recognized and went to normal Windows boot. So, I'm at a loss as to how to resolve this. Any suggestions and/or thoughts is appreciated.

Tia
 
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Is your only problem not being able to dual boot? It seems you can get into Windows 10. Also, on what drive/partition are your personal files?

EDIT: What media is Mint on? Does what you plug in have Boot options installed, created in Windows or obtained from?
 
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Corday said:
Is your only problem not being able to dual boot? It seems you can get into Windows 10. Also, on what drive/partition are your personal files?

EDIT: What media is Mint on? Does what you plug in have Boot options installed, created in Windows or obtained from?
Click to expand...
I used to dual boot Windows 7 & 10. I have no problem booting into Windows 10. My personal files, etc are on (C:). I have burned Mint to a DVD as well as USB. I can boot from DVD into Mint and then it crashes and I have to shutdown the computer. I've downloaded the same Mint version to USB however it is not recognized and the computer just boots into Windows as it normally does . I've tried Balena/Etcher and Rufus to create bootable USB but no joy. My goal is to try Live Sessions with Mint and eventually install alongside Windows 10. Support for my machine ends in Oct. this year and was thinking of gravitating towards Mint or maybe some other flavor. I have used the Windows Built-in Disk burner utility for many years and successfully burned Windows .iso, Repair disk, Backups, etc. I haven't tried using USB's until recently as I have always used DVD's. Support from Dell has expired in 2011. The specs shows that it should be able to boot from USB. But all of this is Waaay above my pay grade and I do not understand. That is why I am posting.

Thanks for the privilege of your time in responding.
 
You'll here this a lot, but Oct. 2025 isn't the end of the world. There are many options and Linux is only one of them. Since using Rufus or Etcher has worked perfectly for others (Cinnamon version of Mint) I would question the download. If your AT&T service is DSL, air and not Fiber, try downloading again, particularly at an off hour. If you're using USB 1.0, I'm not positive it's even possible. 2.0 should work. 3.1 would be ideal. If still stuck, start with a new, freshly formatted disc to re-try the DVD route. Again I suspect a faulty download. If all else fails you can buy a disc from Linux Mint for about 3 bucks.
 
Corday said:
You'll here this a lot, but Oct. 2025 isn't the end of the world. There are many options and Linux is only one of them. Since using Rufus or Etcher has worked perfectly for others (Cinnamon version of Mint) I would question the download. If your AT&T service is DSL, air and not Fiber, try downloading again, particularly at an off hour. If you're using USB 1.0, I'm not positive it's even possible. 2.0 should work. 3.1 would be ideal. If still stuck, start with a new, freshly formatted disc to re-try the DVD route. Again I suspect a faulty download. If all else fails you can buy a disc from Linux Mint for about 3 bucks.
Click to expand...
Yes, I understand that Oct. is not "doomsday" (LOL) I too questioned the downloads and tried from different sources but the "mirrors" are the same. I believe my USB slots are 2.0. As for AT&T, I have Fiber 300. I have made several attempts burning with fully formatted Re-writable DVD's. I can use Rufus successfully however Etcher has been a problem as I get a pop-up error which I tried to address here: Error(0,h.requestMetadata) is not a function but I still get the same error regardless.
I have successfully burned a Linux MX 23.1 and booted into it. So, go figure. As I stated previously all of this is "above my pay grade" and hence coming to Sysnative hoping one of you "gurus" would have a solution. I realize I have options but right now a new PC with Windows 11 at this time is not one of them.

Again, thank you for trying to assist me. It is deeply appreciated.
 
The site you suggest is exactly the site from which I have downloaded Mint regardless of version. Everyone of the distros that were downloaded and tried came from this site. I have even tried downloading from different sites within Linux.org, eg. James Madison University, Linux Freedom and so on. As I said all of the mirrors are the same. I burned Xia Linux Mint to a DVD and tried booting into and Linux crashed coming up with all kind of errors. See below:
1738696673493.webp
So, I disabled fast-startup and hibernation and tried but still no luck!! It's frustrating because Windows Built-in Disk Burning Utility has always worked flawlessly for me although I haven't utilized for over 6 mos. Many things have gone through my mind in trying to rectify this problem: Has a Windows Update been responsible for this change? Is this utility too old to properly burn to disk newer Iso's? Honestly, I am grasping at straws.
 
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I'm joining you in "grasping" so let's try something different. See what happens if you format the flash drive as FAT32 assuming the file isn't too big.
 
Corday said:
I'm joining you in "grasping" so let's try something different. See what happens if you format the flash drive as FAT32 assuming the file isn't too big.
Click to expand...
I've thought of that as well and did format as FAT32. But you know what I think I will try it again. Well, I can report that the flash drive was not recognized and it just booted into Windows normally. This is really perplexing!! I have no idea where to go from here! Many thanks for your suggestions. I may just have to accept that it will never be able to boot from USB although the specs says it has the capability?
 
Update. I found an old version of Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon and burned it to a disk using ImgBurn. After successfully burning I then inserted it in the Optical Drive and it booted right into Linux. I cannot do the same with any of the newer versions.
Since this worked I thought I would try this using a USB using Rufus. The following pop-up appeared:

https://imgur.com/BKIqbXz
 
Well, I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. In the "Boot Device Configuration" I had the first boot device as "CD Rom" , the second as "Removable Device" and the third as "Hard Disk". According to what I had read this configuration was okay because the BootMgr would look for the first device, then the second and finding none would boot from Hard Disk. This is wrong as you need to have "Removable Device" as the First Boot Device, then CD Rom then Hard Disk. This sequence will enable one to boot from USB. I also had to format USB to FAT32 before (NOT NTFS). Once I had done this I was able to go into the BOOT MENU and lo and behold there was the USB and was able to boot from it. This is an older machine and may not be the same for others.
 

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