Please Help - Can't Install Mint 19 - No Drive Found

[377Ohms]

Hello everyone. I'm not exactly a Linux Newb, but I'm no expert by any means. Any help is appreciated:

I have a new adorable little laptop, an ASUS VivoBook Flip 12 ($199.99 + Tax). It came with Windows 10S and I switched it to Windows 10 Pro by following Microsoft's instructions. That was easy. But with all the spying going on, I really don't want anything to do with Microsoft anymore...

So I tried installing Linux Mint Cinnamon 19 (v2) over Windows from a Live USB drive, no dual-boot. When I get to the part where I need to select the installation target I don't see any target drive, I only see the bootable USB stick with Mint 19 Live as: /dev/sda SanDisk Ultra (15.6 GB). No other disks appear. When I try to proceed, a pop-up appears in Mint saying: "No root file system is defined."

In Windows the boot disk properties say: Windows, NTFS, Capacity 61.9GB, Used 18.3GB, Free 43.6GB. This is supposed to be a 64GB eMMC drive.

I see the Windows drive OK in the BIOS setup. I can switch booting from Windows 10 Pro to the Mint Live USB drive in BIOS OK. I don't see any options in the BIOS setup to "unlock" the Windows drive. In-fact the BIOS setup says very little about the boot drive and there doesn't seem to be any options or switches that affect it.

Here are the laptop's specifications.

Model: ASUS VivoBook Flip 12
P/N: TP202NA-OB04T
Processor: Intel Celeron Dual-Core N3350
Operating System: Windows 10S (Switchable to 10 Pro)
Chipset: Integrated Intel CPU
Memory: 4 GB Onboard Memory
Display: (1366x768) (16:9) 11.6" HD Glare Touchscreen 60Hz LED backlit with 45% NTSC
Graphics: Integrated Intel HD Graphics
Storage: eMMC 64GB
Keyboard: Chiclet keyboard
Card Reader: Multi-format card reader (SDXC/MMC/SDHC)
WebCam: VGA Web Camera
Networking: Wi-Fi Integrated 802.11 AC
Bluetooth: Built-in Bluetooth V4.1
Ports: 1xCOMBO audio, 1xUSB 2.0, 1xDC Power, 1xHDMI, 1xUSB 3.1 GEN1, 1xuSD
Audio: Support Windows 10 Cortana, Built-in Stereo 1 W Speakers And Digital Array Microphone
Battery: 2 Cells Polymer 36 Whrs Battery
Power Adapter: 100-240VAC 50/60Hz / 12VDC 24W
Power Plug Type: 4mm Barrel
Dimensions: (WxDxH) 280x200x17.9mm
Weight: 1.27kg
Security: BIOS Booting User Password Protection, fTPM (Firmware-based Trusted Platform Module)

Here I stumble around looking for the boot disk in Linux Mint 19 Live:

Code: Select all

mint@mint:~$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: mint Kernel: 4.15.0-20-generic x86_64 bits: 64 gcc: 7.3.0
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.8.8 (Gtk 3.22.30-1ubuntu1) Distro: Linux Mint 19 Tara
Machine:   Device: un-determined System: ASUSTeK product: TP202NAS v: 1.0 serial: N/A
           Mobo: ASUSTeK model: TP202NAS v: 1.0 serial: N/A
           UEFI: American Megatrends v: TP202NAS.208 date: 06/05/2018
Battery    BAT0: charge: 36.4 Wh 99.0% condition: 36.8/37.0 Wh (99%) model: AS1JSEc3KA TP20239 status: N/A
CPU:       Dual core Intel Celeron N3350 (-MCP-) arch: N/A cache: 1024 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 4377
           clock speeds: max: 2400 MHz 1: 923 MHz 2: 1092 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Intel Device 5a85 bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 ) drivers: modesetting (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1366x768@62.00hz
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 500 (Broxton 2x6)
           version: 4.5 Mesa 18.0.0-rc5 Direct Render: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel Celeron N3350/Pentium N4200/Atom E3900 Series Audio Cluster
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:0e.0
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-20-generic
Network:   Card: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter driver: ath10k_pci bus-ID: 01:00.0
           IF: wlp1s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: NA (-)
           ID-1: USB /dev/sda model: Ultra size: 15.6GB temp: 0C
Partition: ID-1: / size: 1.9G used: 169M (9%) fs: overlay dev: N/A
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 42.0C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: 0
Info:      Processes: 189 Uptime: 9 min Memory: 875.7/3777.0MB Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 7.3.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.4.191) inxi: 2.3.56

---[snip]---

mint@mint:~$ sudo fdisk -l
Disk /dev/loop0: 1.7 GiB, 1859526656 bytes, 3631888 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Disk /dev/sda: 14.5 GiB, 15597568000 bytes, 30464000 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x39f675eb

Device     Boot   Start     End Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sda1  *          0 3793663 3793664  1.8G  0 Empty
/dev/sda2       3782852 3787523    4672  2.3M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)

---[snip]---

mint@mint:~$ sudo lshw -class disk
  *-disk                    
       description: SCSI Disk
       product: Ultra
       vendor: SanDisk
       physical id: 0.0.0
       bus info: scsi@2:0.0.0
       logical name: /dev/sda
       logical name: /cdrom
       version: 1.00
       serial: 4C530001071128115230
       size: 14GiB (15GB)
       capabilities: removable
       configuration: ansiversion=6 logicalsectorsize=512 mount.fstype=iso9660 mount.options=ro,noatime,nojoliet,check=s,map=n,blocksize=2048 sectorsize=512 state=mounted
     *-medium
          physical id: 0
          logical name: /dev/sda
          logical name: /cdrom
          size: 14GiB (15GB)
          capabilities: partitioned partitioned:dos
          configuration: mount.fstype=iso9660 mount.options=ro,noatime,nojoliet,check=s,map=n,blocksize=2048 signature=39f675eb state=mounted

---[snip]---

mint@mint:~$ lsblk -io NAME,TYPE,SIZE,MOUNTPOINT,FSTYPE,MODEL
NAME   TYPE  SIZE MOUNTPOINT FSTYPE   MODEL
loop0  loop  1.7G /rofs      squashfs 
sda    disk 14.5G /cdrom     iso9660  Ultra           
|-sda1 part  1.8G            iso9660  
`-sda2 part  2.3M            vfat

So what do you think? Who really owns this new laptop, the person that paid for it (me) or Microsoft?

Thanks - David

[377Ohms]

One more thing... I haven't done anything (yet) that prevents Windows 10 Pro from loading normally. I did make a Windows USB Recovery Drive in Win10 first (with the system files and drivers option included) and tested it by reinstalling Windows 10 Pro anew from the USB drive. The USB Windows Recovery Drive works OK. Regards, David

[catweazel]

So I tried installing Linux Mint Cinnamon 19 (v2) over Windows from a Live USB drive, no dual-boot. When I get to the part where I need to select the installation target I don't see any target drive, I only see the bootable USB stick with Mint 19 Live as: /dev/sda SanDisk Ultra (15.6 GB). No other disks appear. When I try to proceed, a pop-up appears in Mint saying: "No root file system is defined."

UEFI's Secure Boot may be the cause. You'll need to switch it off in BIOS. Also, on that little machine, you'll have trouble running Cinnamon. You may need to look at xfce, or even the Antix or MX Linux distributions.

[377Ohms]

In the Advanced BIOS Setup option there is a Boot page. That has some options. With the Linux Mint Live USB drive inserted I boot to the Advanced BIOS Setup > Boot Options page and I see this:

> Fast Boot: Enabled [Options: Enable/Disable]
> Boot Option Priorities:
* Boot Option #1: Windows Boot Manager [Options: Windows Boot Manager/Disabled] <= I select Disabled.
* Boot Option #2: UEFI: SanDisk <= I leave this unchanged.
* Boot Option #3: UEFI: SanDisk, Partition 1 <= I leave this unchanged.
> Add New Boot Option: By default this is empty. <= Maybe it wants a path to a file?
> Delete Boot Option: By default this is empty.

I select Disable for Boot Option #1 instead of Windows Boot Manager and leave Boot Option #2 and #3 alone. The machine boots to Linux Mint from the USB drive. I start installing Linux Mint from the USB drive. Then...

Just like before, at the Mint installer's "Installation Type" page the 64 GB eMMC drive does not appear, only the USB boot stick with Linux Mint appears as /dev/sda SanDisk Ultra (15.6 GB). This doesn't work. When I try to proceed a pop-up appears saying "No root file system is defined."

Maybe I need to add a path to a somewhere under the Add New Boot Option entry in the BIOS?

[kukamuumuka]

dmraid -E issue?
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/ubuntu-ins ... ata-drive/

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=265909&p=1445327&h ... e#p1445327

[377Ohms]

dmraid -E issue?
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/ubuntu-ins ... ata-drive/

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=265909&p=1445327&h ... e#p1445327

@administrollaattori: Thanks for the link, but it looks like the fix suggested is specific to a drive that was previously part of a RAID array. I seriously doubt that applies to the eMMC in this new laptop. Anyway, in my original post I show how I listed the block devices but the 64 GB eMMC drive doesn't appear.

Here's what happened when I did what's in the link you provided (plus a list of block devices):

Code: Select all

mint@mint:~$ sudo su
root@mint:/home/mint# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/loop0: 1.7 GiB, 1859526656 bytes, 3631888 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Disk /dev/sda: 14.5 GiB, 15597568000 bytes, 30464000 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x39f675eb

Device     Boot   Start     End Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sda1  *          0 3793663 3793664  1.8G  0 Empty
/dev/sda2       3782852 3787523    4672  2.3M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)

root@mint:/home/mint# dmraid -E -r /dev/sda
no block devices found

root@mint:/home/mint# lsblk -io NAME,TYPE,SIZE,MOUNTPOINT,FSTYPE,MODEL
NAME   TYPE  SIZE MOUNTPOINT FSTYPE   MODEL
loop0  loop  1.7G /rofs      squashfs 
sda    disk 14.5G /cdrom     iso9660  Ultra           
|-sda1 part  1.8G            iso9660  
`-sda2 part  2.3M            vfat

Yeah, unless I did something wrong it's not a fix in my case. If-fact I doubt this would be a fix for any case where Microsoft is forcing a lock-down via UEFI - which is starting to look like what's happening to me.

[377Ohms]

UPDATE: There are no UEFI Enable/Disable or CSM Enable/Disable switches in my BIOS. This seems strange because there are alternate boot option slots that even get populated automatically at start-up. It's like the damn BIOS is teasing me by showing me what I CANNOT install because it hides the eMMC drive!

After wasting hours online with ASUS Technical Support, they told me to update my BIOS firmware. Unfortunately the BIOS update file I'm supposed to use doesn't work! So now ASUS has elevated the issue, but it takes up to 48 hours for a reply and given it's Sunday - maybe longer. I don't think the BIOS update will fix it though. It looks to me like this machine is by design locked-down tight through UEFI - Microsoft Only. I'll post back when ASUS gets back to me.

[MrEen]

In the Advanced BIOS Setup option there is a Boot page. That has some options. With the Linux Mint Live USB drive inserted I boot to the Advanced BIOS Setup > Boot Options page and I see this:

> Fast Boot: Enabled [Options: Enable/Disable]<<<Disable this
> Boot Option Priorities:
* Boot Option #1: Windows Boot Manager [Options: Windows Boot Manager/Disabled] <= I select Disabled.
* Boot Option #2: UEFI: SanDisk <= I leave this unchanged.
* Boot Option #3: UEFI: SanDisk, Partition 1 <= I leave this unchanged.
> Add New Boot Option: By default this is empty. <= Maybe it wants a path to a file?
> Delete Boot Option: By default this is empty.

I select Disable for Boot Option #1 instead of Windows Boot Manager and leave Boot Option #2 and #3 alone. The machine boots to Linux Mint from the USB drive. I start installing Linux Mint from the USB drive. Then...

Just like before, at the Mint installer's "Installation Type" page the 64 GB eMMC drive does not appear, only the USB boot stick with Linux Mint appears as /dev/sda SanDisk Ultra (15.6 GB). This doesn't work. When I try to proceed a pop-up appears saying "No root file system is defined."

Maybe I need to add a path to a somewhere under the Add New Boot Option entry in the BIOS?

I think you need to disable fast boot here, then boot back into Windows and disable it's own fast boot by following these instructions. I'd follow that with a full shutdown. Then try booting to the USB and installing.

[377Ohms]

In the Advanced BIOS Setup option there is a Boot page. That has some options. With the Linux Mint Live USB drive inserted I boot to the Advanced BIOS Setup > Boot Options page and I see this:

> Fast Boot: Enabled [Options: Enable/Disable]<<<Disable this
> Boot Option Priorities:
* Boot Option #1: Windows Boot Manager [Options: Windows Boot Manager/Disabled] <= I select Disabled.
* Boot Option #2: UEFI: SanDisk <= I leave this unchanged.
* Boot Option #3: UEFI: SanDisk, Partition 1 <= I leave this unchanged.
> Add New Boot Option: By default this is empty. <= Maybe it wants a path to a file?
> Delete Boot Option: By default this is empty.

I select Disable for Boot Option #1 instead of Windows Boot Manager and leave Boot Option #2 and #3 alone. The machine boots to Linux Mint from the USB drive. I start installing Linux Mint from the USB drive. Then...

Just like before, at the Mint installer's "Installation Type" page the 64 GB eMMC drive does not appear, only the USB boot stick with Linux Mint appears as /dev/sda SanDisk Ultra (15.6 GB). This doesn't work. When I try to proceed a pop-up appears saying "No root file system is defined."

Maybe I need to add a path to a somewhere under the Add New Boot Option entry in the BIOS?

I think you need to disable fast boot here, then boot back into Windows and disable it's own fast boot by following these instructions. I'd follow that with a full shutdown. Then try booting to the USB and installing.

@MrEen, Thanks for the help. I disabled the fast boot in the BIOS setup before and It didn't help. But I did not try disabling the fast boot in Windows.

I just tried installing Mint 19 again but this time with both the fast boot disabled in BIOS and in the Windows 10 Control Panel. Nope, still no eMMC drive. It's the same as before. Sigh...

Thanks for the suggestion though. David

[Laurent85]

Don't you have in the bios settings different sata modes for that drive: AHCI, RAID. Change to AHCI if available.

[michael louwe]

.

.
Try this ... viewtopic.php?f=46&t=256446

[catweazel]

Try this ... viewtopic.php?f=46&t=256446

Excellent catch.

[377Ohms]

Don't you have in the bios settings different sata modes for that drive: AHCI, RAID. Change to AHCI if available.

@Laurent85, Nope and no SATA modes is to be expected. I do not think there is a physical SATA interface in this machine. It has a 64GB eMMC boot SSD on board.

However, I do expect to see switches for UEFI and CSM/Legacy Mode Enable/Disable in the BIOS setup, and they are not there. There are bootloader selection slots though. So the whole thing is confusing to me.

[377Ohms]

.

.
Try this ... viewtopic.php?f=46&t=256446

@michael louwe, Thanks for the link. When I read that thread I see this:

Rebooted and entered the BIOS settings(F2) went to the boot tab, changed settings to -> Fast boot - disabled, Secure boot - disabled, Legacey option - on
Rebooted and entered boot option menu(F12), selected under the UEFI options the USB I had installed

* I turned off Fast Boot in BIOS and in Windows Control Panel.
* There is no option to disable Secure Boot/UEFI in my BIOS.
* There is no option to enable Legacy Mode (I think ASUS calls this CSM).
* There are UEFI boot option slots that auto-populate with the Linux Mint stuff when the Live USB is plugged in (or you can enter something manually).

I have no problem booting from the Linux Mint Live USB drive and starting the installation process. But that's when it all goes downhill... Something is hiding the 64 GB eMMC boot drive from the Linux Mint installer and until the boot drive is accessible and ready to receive Mint, Microsoft owns this machine (even though I paid for it).

[michael louwe]

@ 377Ohms, .......

.

.
Seems, you need to update the BIOS via the OEM website before you can have those BIOS settings.

Or maybe try this ... Certain OEM Win 8.x/10 computers, eg Acer, Asus and HP, have an obstructive or pro-M$ UEFI-BIOS setting for "select an UEFI file as trusted for executing",(= Linux cannot boot). For the fix, please refer to ...
https://itsfoss.com/no-bootable-device-found-ubuntu/
viewtopic.php?t=236560

[deanr72]

I'll just add my experience here anyway just it case it's of any use to the OP...

I had similar issues with Mint 18.3 and a Lenovo laptop. In the end I decided to try burning the ISO image to DVD with the help of windows and then install Mint using an portable CD/DVD drive. Worked first time, no issues.

I don't know anything about it tbh but maybe the DVD drive bypasses the need for fiddling with UEFI and BIOS or whatnot.

[377Ohms]

I'll just add my experience here anyway just it case it's of any use to the OP...

I had similar issues with Mint 18.3 and a Lenovo laptop. In the end I decided to try burning the ISO image to DVD with the help of windows and then install Mint using an portable CD/DVD drive. Worked first time, no issues.

I don't know anything about it tbh but maybe the DVD drive bypasses the need for fiddling with UEFI and BIOS or whatnot.

@deanr72, Thanks for your suggestion. I too have a portable CD/DVD+/-RW USB drive. Unfortunately I'm going to have to go to the store and buy a DVDRW disc - if I can find one. Once I have the disc (does it take more than one?), I'll try installing Mint from it.

It sounds like a long shot that installing from DVD would unlock my machine but you never know, maybe the young BIOS programmers forgot that DVD's even exist any more and left the back-door open

[djh53]

I've just spent a couple of weeks, on and off, wrestling with UEFI settings and Linux Mint installations. FWIW, I get your frustration.

There is no such thing as a "standard" UEFI BIOS. They are all over the map. It sounds like you've drawn the short straw.

Yes, by all means grab a portable drive and a DVD disk and have a go. It's a good idea to validate the burn - how that works depends on the burner software you're using.

If you can get the Mint DVD to boot, you're in with a chance. If not, and if the BIOS update you're trying to get doesn't work, you can consider using a partition editor. Keep us in the loop.

[377Ohms]

@ 377Ohms, .......

.

.
Seems, you need to update the BIOS via the OEM website before you can have those BIOS settings.

Or maybe try this ... Certain OEM Win 8.x/10 computers, eg Acer, Asus and HP, have an obstructive or pro-M$ UEFI-BIOS setting for "select an UEFI file as trusted for executing",(= Linux cannot boot). For the fix, please refer to ...
https://itsfoss.com/no-bootable-device-found-ubuntu/
viewtopic.php?t=236560

@michael louwe, Thanks for your reply. I'm sorry for being late with this feedback, but it took me a bit of time to go through the information you provided and do some experiments.

1. Your BIOS update suggestion... As I stated earlier ASUS wants me to do a BIOS update before they will even begin to address whether my BIOS is irrevocably locked-down. My machine came with a v208 BIOS but I found the latest BIOS online for download is v210, a full two major steps newer. ASUS seemed surprised about this too. My machine is new production. The nameplate has a July 2018 Made in China date stamp. I downloaded what is clearly the correct BIOS update file for my particular model number, but it would not install. The ASUS BIOS updated utility just throws a BIOS Update Failed! (or some-such) message, then it boots back into the default Windows 10 Pro system. Yes, I verified the integrity of the download by downloading the BIOS update file multiple times and comparing hashes.

ASUS contacted me twice today via Email asking a lot of questions. It seems like they are making an effort, so I'll stick with them for now.

2. The link you provided...

I read with interst the article at the link you provided:

https://itsfoss.com/no-bootable-device-found-ubuntu/

However in that article the Author was able to install Ubuntu, but it seems that after the install (and presumably a reboot) the boot drive wasn't found. In my case I never even get that far. The Mint installer can't even find the boot drive to install to. So it seems to me the article doesn't really apply to my problem.

But - in the article linked above there is another link to an article about disabling BIOS Setup UEFI restrictions from WITHIN Windows 8.1. I found this very interesting:

https://itsfoss.com/disable-secure-boot-in-acer/

This second article jogged my memory, I've seen something like this before. So I went on to digest the article and then attempt to duplicate it in Windows 10 Pro.

It seems that in Windows 8.1 you go to the Recovery option (in Windows 10 I think it is Start > Control Panel > Recovery) and buried deep in there is an Advanced Recovery/Restart option that brings up a screen that looks very much like the screen you see when you boot from the Windows 10 USB Recovery Drive.

In the Windows 8.1 from the native Recovery application there is an option: Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > UEFI Firmware Settings. On that page there is a single Restart button that says: "Restart to change UEFI firmware settings". When you push this button, the machine reboots and the BIOS Setup utility screen automatically appears just like when you first boot and hold down the appropriate Function key.

So it seems to me that Windows 8.1 must set some sort of non-volatile software/firmware flag somewhere, then reboots the machine so the bootloader sees the flag and opens the BIOS Setup utility, but this time with more options. Once you are in the BIOS Setup screen the article says you have to create an Administrator or Supervisor password (presumably if there isn't one set already) which then unlocks things like control over UEFI.

What I did...

I went through everything in my Windows 10 Pro Control Panel > Recovery tree but I couldn't find anything like what is shown in the Windows 8.1 article that enables UEFI control in the BIOS Setup.

But since the last Windows screen in the Windows 8.1 article looks so much like the Windows 10 Recovery USB drive screen, I booted from a newly created Windows 10 Pro recovery drive to see what I could find. AND THERE IT WAS!

Step-by-step (sort-of)...

* After the machine boots to the Windows Recovery USB drive navigate as follows: Language > Keyboard > Troubleshoot > Advanced > UEFI Firmware Settings (Change settings in your PC's UEFI firmware.) Now you are at the UEFI Firmware Settings screen still within the USB Recovery Drive utility. It says "Restart to change UEFI firmware settings." Click the Restart button.

* The machine will reboot. Do NOT hold the Function key to enter the BIOS Setup. Leave the machine alone to boot like normal. Magically, the BIOS Setup utility will load all by itself. Here's where things get specific to my ASUS VivoBook Flip 12 machine, yours might be a bit different.

* In the default ASUS BIOS Utility-EZ Mode switch to Advanced Mode by hitting F7. In Advanced Mode go to Security > Administrator Password. Create a new Administrator Password (WRITE IT DOWN!). Go to Save & Exit and choose Save Changes and Exit. The machine will reboot. Before the system boots, press the Function key to enter the BIOS Setup again (if you miss it and Windows starts, just restart the machine and bring up the BIOS Setup again like usual). Choose to boot from the USB Recovery Drive again then click the Restart button in the screen that says, "Restart to change UEFI firmware settings." The machine boots again and the BIOS Setup automatically starts AFTER you enter the Administrator password.

* Supposedly this time when the BIOS Setup starts you should see new options to control things like UEFI Enable/Disable, Legacy Mode/CSM Enable/Disable, SATA Modes, etc.

Now the bad news...

In the BIOS Setup, I STILL DO NOT SEE ANY NEW UEFI SETUP OPTIONS! Sigh...

But the interesting thing is that this method for accessing UEFI options from within the USB Windows Recovery utility still exists in Windows 10 Pro just like it used be natively accessible from Windows 8.1 (I don't know about Windows 10 Home yet, maybe someone else can try).

So except for trying the Mint install from DVD+/-RW, I'll have to wait for ASUS to give me a working up-to-date BIOS - then I'll restart the conversation with them about their (seemingly) locked-down BIOS.

P.S. This is a bit off-topic but when I was rooting around in the Windows 10 Pro Control Panel > Recovery tree, I discovered that on my machine System Restore is completely DISABLED! Not only is it disabled, the disk size slider is by default set to zero bytes. This seems dangerous to me. But I can see why Microsoft is doing it. The eMMC drives that come with laptops today are SO SMALL that it seems Microsoft by default has decided to turn off System Restore entirely rather than have it use even a small amount of precious disk space.

[kukamuumuka]

P.S. This is a bit off-topic but when I was rooting around in the Windows 10 Pro Control Panel > Recovery tree, I discovered that on my machine System Restore is completely DISABLED! Not only is it disabled, the disk size slider is by default set to zero bytes. This seems dangerous to me. But I can see why Microsoft is doing it. The eMMC drives that come with laptops today are SO SMALL that it seems Microsoft by default has decided to turn off System Restore entirely rather than have it use even a small amount of precious disk space.

So the conclusion about that computer is ..

win10crapware.jpg