program or any way to force boot off a usb thumbdrive

[jbander]

I have it set in bios at removable , cd, hdd in that order. So unless there is another thing in the bios that needs to be changed I'm lost. The thumbdrive is bootable because after I went back to default in the bios it worked once. I've had trouble over the last couple of years with it. Any help at all would be appreciated.

[edwardr]

Right after you press the power button there is a key you press that will open a "one time boot menu" screen that allows you to select which drive to boot from. For Dell computers you press F12. You can google what key to press for your brand of computer. Make sure the usb stick is plugged in before you start up.

[duneelliot]

I have it set in bios at removable , cd, hdd in that order. So unless there is another thing in the bios that needs to be changed I'm lost. The thumbdrive is bootable because after I went back to default in the bios it worked once. I've had trouble over the last couple of years with it. Any help at all would be appreciated.

Are you dual-booting? Is it UEFI or MBR?

[jbander]

the hard drive is dual boot , its 2 different linux systems 17 and 17.2. but I'm trying to boot off of my thumb drive, porteus,. The hard drive has a bios

[duneelliot]

the hard drive is dual boot , its 2 different linux systems 17 and 17.2. but I'm trying to boot off of my thumb drive, porteus,. The hard drive has a bios

And you have the BIOS in order of:
USB
CD
HDD
Network

Correct?

[jbander]

I have it set in bios at removable , cd, hdd in that order, No network setting in my bios. I even went through f8 to boot from usb thumb. still didn't work

[duneelliot]

Removable what?

[jbander]

USB thumb drive.

[duneelliot]

Sounds like you have an issue with the USB Bootable media if it won't work through the one time boot menu. We had this same problem with a bootable Windows CD that the system couldn't read.
Can you open GParted in either one of your Linux Mint installs and select the USB drive. Then take a screenshot and post the results.

[jbander]

I don't have g-parted, This has been going on for over a year. I've run 3 thumb drives to check. I went back to defaults and it worked once but that was it. It seems like it could just be a bad bios but I'm really uncomfortable working with the bios

[duneelliot]

I don't have g-parted, This has been going on for over a year. I've run 3 thumb drives to check. I went back to defaults and it worked once but that was it. It seems like it could just be a bad bios but I'm really uncomfortable working with the bios

GParted is available in the Software Manager.
Can you take a picture of the BIOS Menu?
I'm surprised one of the better-educated guys hasn't come along yet to give some advice.

[gold_finger]

I have it set in bios at removable , cd, hdd in that order. So unless there is another thing in the bios that needs to be changed I'm lost. The thumbdrive is bootable because after I went back to default in the bios it worked once. I've had trouble over the last couple of years with it. Any help at all would be appreciated.

What is exact make/model of computer?

If you know, approximate age of computer?


In all likelihood this is the key:

Right after you press the power button there is a key you press that will open a "one time boot menu" screen that allows you to select which drive to boot from. For Dell computers you press F12. You can google what key to press for your brand of computer. Make sure the usb stick is plugged in before you start up.

To expand on what edwardr said, many computers have two special keys you can press immediately after P.O.S.T screen. One to get you into the main Bios settings menu and one to open a per-session boot menu. In main settings menu you can set boot options for all boot-ups of the computer, including order of devices to boot from. If setting boot order with (what appears to be the) USB stick in first position does not work, then use the per-session boot menu instead. (USB must be connected to computer before you power on for either option to work.) Dell for example commonly uses the <F2> key for the main Bios settings and the <F12> key for the per-session boot menu. (I have a Toshiba laptop that also uses those two keys.) Manufacturer of your computer may use a different set of keys and you/we need to figure out what those are so you can access the per-session boot menu instead.

If your computer is only 3-4 years old, it may actually have UEFI firmware instead of Bios firmware and the process of getting to the per-session boot menu may differ a little because of that. Eg. You might have only one key to hit which then offers choice to enter main settings or boot menu. UEFI firmware can usually boot in either UEFI mode or the older Bios mode and manufacturers commonly (and misleadingly) continue to call the firmware "Bios" even though that is technically wrong. (So you could have UEFI firmware and just not know it, if computer is relatively new.)

If you do have a newer computer, post back output from a terminal (while booted into one of your Mint installs) of this command just so we can be 100% sure what mode the computer is using to boot in right now:

Code: Select all

sudo blkid -c /dev/null

If there is a FAT32 formatted "EFI System Partition" present, then you're probably booting in UEFI mode. If not, you're booting in Bios/(CSM/Legacy) mode.

[jbander]

Thanks for the response, It is a bios ( 8mb flash rom Ami bios), I built the computer, it's 4-5 years old. I have Tried to set the boot order in the Bios and I've used f8 to get into the grub order. still wont boot from my thumb drive I reset the bios and if I have to i'll flash the bios but I don't want to/ >i is something else but I just cant figure it out . Here's your requested information----------- jbander@jons ~ $ sudo blkid -c /dev/null
[sudo] password for jbander:
/dev/sda1: UUID="9f23da48-7d89-40ef-9d43-a36ea0393b7b" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sda5: UUID="3d2159a9-37bc-4543-ba96-fc8405442682" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sda6: UUID="9cae88cf-74d2-42b9-a728-bdcdfa2ac0c8" TYPE="ext4"
/dev/sdb: LABEL="Porteus" TYPE="iso9660"
jbander@jons ~ $

[gold_finger]

Well, you're definitely installed and booting in Bios mode and seems like you're going through correct procedure to boot from USB, so I'm not sure why it won't work. If you've got another USB stick (preferably of a different brand), try making another live Mint from that and see if it makes a difference. It sounds stupid, but every once in a while certain combinations of USBs and computers just don't work, while others do. (Why? I don't know, but I've seen that happen here on forums before.)

[edwardr]

This may sound dumb, but try it with the USB stick in different USB ports. I have a laptop that only boots from USB from one of the USB ports.

[duneelliot]

This may sound dumb, but try it with the USB stick in different USB ports. I have a laptop that only boots from USB from one of the USB ports.

I was going to recommend this yesterday but I got distracted with a work project and forgot. Glad someone is on the ball!

[jbander]

I really appreciate every ones help. I've tried using three different thumb drives with different distro's on them and I have tried all of my USB ports. I can live with this , the way it is but I always like to keep up on these problems otherwise they seem to stack up. Any thoughts from anyone???

[duneelliot]

I really appreciate every ones help. I've tried using three different thumb drives with different distro's on them and I have tried all of my USB ports. I can live with this , the way it is but I always like to keep up on these problems otherwise they seem to stack up. Any thoughts from anyone???

Again, can you take a picture of your BIOS screens and post them. Both of the Security Menu and the Boot Menu...that might help us troubleshoot a little.

Also, how did you make the USB?

[jbander]

unetbooten , Two linux systems from way back that I've boot off multiple times through the months. And the one from Unitbooten Porteus. None of them will boot. Don't have a clue about taking a picture in the bios.

[duneelliot]

unetbooten , Two linux systems from way back that I've boot off multiple times through the months. And the one from Unitbooten Porteus. None of them will boot. Don't have a clue about taking a picture in the bios.

Hmm, okay.
And just use your phone or a camera to take pictures of the BIOS...just make sure they are clear enough and big enough to read.