[SOLVED]-Dell Inspiron won't boot to USB?

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tyhee
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[SOLVED]-Dell Inspiron won't boot to USB?

Post by tyhee »

I have a new Dell Inspiron 15 3511 with BIOS 1.15.1 which is up to date as of today. I have a USB drive with Mint 20.3 XFCE 64 bit which I've used to install on two other computers, one very old HP laptop and one even older HP desktop. I've used Linux for about 14 years but could safely be termed a perpetual novice.

The new laptop came with Windows 11 Home in S mode. I've switched out of S mode.

When I put the flash drive in a usb port Windows boots off the hard drive which is no surprise. I opened the BIOS Boot Configuration and get 3 entries:
First, Windows Boot Manager
Second, UEFI RST KBG508N5256G NVME K10XIA 256 GB 52VC7AP8EJ26.
Third: UEFI HTTPs Boot

None of these appears to me to permit booting by USB. My new laptop has no optical drive.

There is an "Add Boot Option" choice available. When I choose it, I get "File Name" and a Browse Button. When I browse there are two file entries. The first begins with ESP, followed in square brackets by a long string beginning with PciRoot. The second file is WINRETOOLS also followed by a long string in square brackets starting with PciRoot. There is also a box in which one can type a Boot Option Name, but I have no idea what to type there.

I have in Windows connected an external hard drive to the new laptop via usb and transferred files from it, so the problem doesn't appear to be that the usb port doesn't work or isn't recognized.

Secure Boot is presently on in Deployed Mode. When I tried to turn it off it gave an error message and I turned it back on.

I realize this may be more than one issue, but my main problem right now is to get the BIOS to boot from usb. Any ideas? Thanks very much.
Last edited by LockBot on Sat Jun 10, 2023 10:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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manyroads
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Re: Dell Inspiron won't boot to USB?

Post by manyroads »

If you have built a functional USB Live Boot device,turn your PC off, insert your USB, Hit F12 after turning on your device (PC). You should receive a Boot-once screen. Select the USB and boot.
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linux-rox
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Re: Dell Inspiron won't boot to USB?

Post by linux-rox »

I have a relatively new Asus laptop which doesn't have a USB boot option per se. The only way to boot from USB is to navigate in the firmware to a tab where boot order can be selected manually. No idea how one does this on your laptop, but it has to be possible. Not because the manufacturer necessarily cares about supporting Linux (though Dell is reputed to be Linux-friendly) but because its essential for Windows repair, which also boots from USB drive. If you can't find the setting by poking around in the firmware, do an internet search, email support and/or find a Dell user forum.
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kato181
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Re: Dell Inspiron won't boot to USB?

Post by kato181 »

In the boot tab, click on the first boot device and open it up, it should give you the option to select the bootable usb, select it, F10 to save and reboot.
tyhee
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Re: Dell Inspiron won't boot to USB?

Post by tyhee »

manyroads wrote: Fri Dec 09, 2022 10:06 am If you have built a functional USB Live Boot device,turn your PC off, insert your USB, Hit F12 after turning on your device (PC). You should receive a Boot-once screen. Select the USB and boot.
Thanks for this. Pushing F12 as you indicated does get me a Boot-once option which shows my flash drive as an option.

I haven't managed to boot into it yet but will play around some more before posting again.

Thanks again.
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manyroads
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Re: Dell Inspiron won't boot to USB?

Post by manyroads »

tyhee wrote: Sat Dec 10, 2022 8:17 am
manyroads wrote: Fri Dec 09, 2022 10:06 am If you have built a functional USB Live Boot device,turn your PC off, insert your USB, Hit F12 after turning on your device (PC). You should receive a Boot-once screen. Select the USB and boot.
Thanks for this. Pushing F12 as you indicated does get me a Boot-once option which shows my flash drive as an option.

I haven't managed to boot into it yet but will play around some more before posting again.

Thanks again.
It may be that your USB is not "burned" correctly. If you have not already done so, you might try creating a fresh Live USB using Balena Etcher or if you are using Linux burn the USB with dd (but be careful if you use that it is often also known as disk destroyer- dd- by those who burned the usb incorrectly)
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kato181
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Re: Dell Inspiron won't boot to USB?

Post by kato181 »

Don't use dd to burn a iso, use the linux default USB Image Writer or boot into windows, and d/l and install Rufus, and use that to create your bootable LM media. It is afar better option.
tyhee
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Re: Dell Inspiron won't boot to USB?

Post by tyhee »

Thanks all. The usb had been created using dd quite some time ago, when 20.3 was only a few months old, and it had worked on other computers. I'd used it to install on another computer last week. For the next usb I'll probably try Rufus having had trouble with Mint's USB Image Writer in the past.

In any event, manyroads' instructions worked and I was able to boot to my flash drive, try Mint on the new computer and am about to mark the thread solved. Thanks again.
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