Need to install Linux Mint 8 from USB Drive

[rameshkarthik]

Hi,

I'm posting this question in Ubuntu since mint is a variant of ubuntu.

I've just downloaded Linux Mint 8 and my cd rom is not working properly and so the only option I've is to take the iso to usb drive and install it from there.

I've tried two ways and bot of them did not work.
1. Using IsoBuster I directly extracted the data from the downloaded file into the usb drive and tried re-booting the system

2. I used a LinuxLive USBcreator to create the installation files into the usb drive and this too didn't work out.

Could some one please help me in installing the linux mint 8 into my system using the usb drive?

Please note that I don't want to run linux mint from the usb drive like knoppix.
Also note that I'm going to have dual boot system with win xp pro as the other os.

Regards,
K.Ramesh Karthik.

[rokytnji]

2. I used a LinuxLive USBcreator to create the installation files into the usb drive and this too didn't work out.

How did you create it and what went wrong. Not enough details in your post.
Need more info than what you gave in original post.

Like is your computer even capable of booting through uSB with bios. Howdy and Welcome to the forums.

[ultimatelinux]

use UnetBootin

[rameshkarthik]

Hi rokytnji,

I've tried installing the linux mint 8 in the usb drive using the following 3 ways provided in pendrivelinux.com

1. Using Universal USB Installer and followed the on-screen instructions

2. Using Linux Live USB Creator
I chose my usb drive and the iso file and set persistence around 300mb

3. Using unetbootin and followed the on-screen instructions

Each of the above method also failed.

I'm sure that my BIOS is capable of booting thro' USB drive since I can find the corresponding options to set my USB drive as the first boot device. Having said that I've not tried this kind of booting earlier (even using win xp).

Please let me know whether I can boot LM 8 from my usb drive.

NOTE: Since I haven't made 15 posts I'm not able to give the exact url that I followed

Regards,
K.Ramesh Karthik.

[jay105]

i had exactly the same problem with my mint 8 using a flash drive.

the installation (via unetbootin) wouldn't recognise the USB stick and kept prompting for a physical CD. when i burned the iso onto a CD it worked first time. 3 days totally wasted

hope it helps

EDIT: BIOS set to USB, still didnt like it and prompted for CD everytime.

[rokytnji]

From what jay105 just said. I wonder if the USB stick you are using may be at fault.

As a experiment. You could try installing another iso to usb in question and see if it boots using unetbootin. Like Simply Mepis maybe. That way you can determine if this problem is not just with Mint, but with something else.

Are you also using Windows Unetbootin to make the Pendrive? Or the Linux Unetbootin?

The 3 methods you tried should have worked. At least they have for me. That is why either the fault is in the stick or in the way bios boots usb I am thinking.

[rameshkarthik]

I just now tried intalling win xp thro' the usb but in vain. Although I set my usb drive as my first boot device, the system boots from the HDD after sometime trying to boot from USB.

My System Config:
Processor: p4 2.4GHZ
Board Model: D845GEBV2
Board Version: AAA97674-104
BIOS Version: RG84510a.86A.0033.P17.0307141128

I want to resolve this problem. Any help might be highly useful.

[redbook]

I just now tried intalling win xp thro' the usb but in vain. Although I set my usb drive as my first boot device, the system boots from the HDD after sometime trying to boot from USB.

My System Config:
Processor: p4 2.4GHZ
Board Model: D845GEBV2
Board Version: AAA97674-104
BIOS Version: RG84510a.86A.0033.P17.0307141128

I want to resolve this problem. Any help might be highly useful.

Just be sure you have a decent usb stick many do not seem to work very well on unet bootin ( I have always had trouble with sony). Transcend seem to be very reliable and I always keep a couple to one side just for this purpose.

[TaZMAniac]

Here are a few helpful hints for booting from a usb thumb drive.

Use a thumb drive that is 2 Gigs or smaller. Some bios's won't boot larger thumb drives.

I have the best results with PNY and SanDisk thumb drives. I've encountered other brands that just won't work!

If creating your own from scratch make sure it's formatted in Fat32 and not NTFS.

When setting up your Bios make sure you not only enable USB boot but make sure the thumb drive is recognized in the hard drive boot order and set it for the first bootable device. This last step has bitten more then one user.

If you use Unetbootin it may boot up to a command line that says Boot. Press the enter button to get to the boot menu.

After you create a bootable thumb drive open Gparted and access the thumb drive. Right click on the partition and click on Manage Flags. The box marked Boot should be marked with a check.

How much Ram is installed on your system? A 'heavy' distro like Mint or Ubuntu may not boot up properly if you have 512 Mb or less of Ram. 1+ Gb's is preferred for best results. An easy way to test if it's a Ram issue is to try a smaller distro like Puppy or Slitaz. If they boot then you need more Ram.

When having problems with bootable thumb drives or disks it makes it much easier to diagnose the problem if you post your CPU and Ram specs, make and year of motherboard and exactly what error messages or screens you see while trying to boot a thumb drive.

Good Luck!

[rameshkarthik]

Hello Everyone,

I've finally installed Linux Mint 8 Helena (not thro' USB). I got my friend's DVD rom to install it.
The interface is quite new to me and its refreshing. I'm able to find some good improvement in Audio files when Play them in the Rhythmbox player.

Regards,
K.Ramesh Karthik.