Install Linux Mint on secondary SSD [SOLVED]

[benaknoun]

Recreate the ISO image, this time in Rufus, under "partition scheme and target system type" i chose the last option "GPT for EFI..

I don't know Rufus, I always burn my boot sticks with Mint's Image Writer (maybe you should do that, boot your live Mint Usb and use Image Writer to prepare a second Usb drive, then use this for install)

OK so i have booted to Linux using the USB, then searched for Image Writer in Menu and there came up USB image Writer.
I used that to write the Linux Mint 18.2 to a USB
There was no settings at all, just a plain tool with "load the image" and Write...

Should i reinstall Mint using this USB ?

[prestonR]

Yes but make sure you read my last post. We need Uefi order look like:
- DISQETE CD USB
- UEFI SANDISK if that's where your Mint is
- UBUNTU
- WINDOWS BOOT MANAGER
- REALTECH network adapter

Then make sure you disable 'Legacy Compatibility Mode', save and shut-down
- connect Win drive
- start-up and boot USB
- open Gparted an erase the old Mint by creating new partition table 'gpt for bloody uefi'
- Apply, close gparted and start install
- do not tick 'download and install stuff during installation'
- whole disk
- grub goes to 'efi' or 'SYSTEM'? on the win disk
- reboot with the USB removed

If that works, you should at least get to grub, from where you should be able to boot Win. If you can't boot Linux we'll fix that but we need to get to grub.

If that doesn't work don't change anything just post error screenshot

If you need Win to post here: tick F9 during boot and pick the Win loader or the Win drive.

[mr_raider]

When you boot the live usb, what does the boot screen look like?

Is it just a black screen with a box and some options in text?

It does you see a graphic with nice pretty colors?

https://www.tecmint.com/wp-content/uplo ... b-Menu.png

When i boot the USB it gives me a black screen with white text, with these options:

Start Linux Mint 18.2 Cinnamon 64 bit
Start Linux Mint 18.2 Cinnamon 64 bit ( compatibility mode )
OEM install ( for manufacturers )
Check the integrity of the medium

That is a UEFI boot screen. It is appropriate if you are trying to install in UEFI mode. It is not the legacy boot screen. This means you are booting your USB key in UEFI mode.

[prestonR]

mr_raider -- yes I think so too
That's why Win was able to boot and it was only possible to move the Uefi boot order but not the legacy order.

[mr_raider]

A lot of bios implementations don't like booting both modes. My HP laptop is an example.

[benaknoun]

Can you enter the bios and tell us the exact version number of your bios, or make a screenshot of that first screen with all the model numbers, please. Want to check if there's an update and if what are the changes

.

Webp.net-resizeimage..jpg

[benaknoun]

When you boot the live usb, what does the boot screen look like?

Is it just a black screen with a box and some options in text?

It does you see a graphic with nice pretty colors?

https://www.tecmint.com/wp-content/uplo ... b-Menu.png

When i boot the USB it gives me a black screen with white text, with these options:

Start Linux Mint 18.2 Cinnamon 64 bit
Start Linux Mint 18.2 Cinnamon 64 bit ( compatibility mode )
OEM install ( for manufacturers )
Check the integrity of the medium

That is a UEFI boot screen. It is appropriate if you are trying to install in UEFI mode. It is not the legacy boot screen. This means you are booting your USB key in UEFI mode.

OK, I did enable legacy compatibility mode so I don't know how to boot in legacy and not in uefi

[benaknoun]

Yes but make sure you read my last post. We need Uefi order look like:
- DISQETE CD USB
- UEFI SANDISK if that's where your Mint is
- UBUNTU
- WINDOWS BOOT MANAGER
- REALTECH network adapter

This doesn't work quite like you instruct me to do.

If i understand well i need to disconnect Win drive since you say later " connect Win drive"
So i switch off the PC, disconnect Win drive, and connect the Linux USB and the Sandisk SSD where Linux is.
This is what it looks like when i set it how you mention above.
The Sandisk Cruzer Switch shown in Legacy section is the Linux Mint USB.

Webp.net-resizeimage (16).jpg

Then make sure you disable 'Legacy Compatibility Mode', save and shut-down

when i disable legacy compatibility mode, BIOS order changes to this ( see image )
There is no shut down, there is "save and exit", at this point it reboots, it does not shut down.
So obviously i have to shut manually...

Webp.net-resizeimage (17).jpg

- connect Win drive
- start-up and boot USB

At this point i must set boot priority to Windows boot manager because the PC does not boot to the USB

[benaknoun]

So after setting boot order to windows manager and booted to windows, i went to boot setting sand booted from the USB.
When i booted from the USB, i got this:

Webp.net-resizeimage (18).jpg

then i hit Start Linux, the first option, i opened Gparted, and i got this message

Webp.net-resizeimage (19).jpg

At this point i hit Cancel, and got this, i suppose this is the Windows drive:

Webp.net-resizeimage (20).jpg

[benaknoun]

at the top right, i select the Mint Sandisk drive and i see this:

Webp.net-resizeimage (21).jpg

Right now, i have no idea what to do next

[benaknoun]

After doing all this, i have noticed that my 32GB Sandisk Cruzer USB, where i had Mint, looks like this now

32GB USB.PNG

Inside it, there is one folder called EFI, and inside it another folder BOOT, and inside boot there is 2 files

USB contents.PNG

[mr_raider]

Your last few posts all describe things that are normal. Linux Mint is installed correctly, and we have established that the EFI folder has the Ubuntu boot loader.

We are going in circles. The install is not broken. Your bios is unable to see and boot another bootloader than the windows, because hp was too lazy to code it right. I had a gigabyte fm1 motherboard that could only boot windows in EFI mode.

I see two options at this point:

Manually create a custom bootloader option, if your bios offers the option.


Or try using refind a program that can multi boot EFI operating systems. I suggest you create refund usb

http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/getting.html

Then post further in the refind thread in the chat section.

[prestonR]

Ok, I agree with mr_raider, I think your bios firmware is a mess but lets see if we can work around this.

There is a little tool for emergency booting if boot loaders are broken: http://www.supergrubdisk.org/super-grub2-disk/
Download the 20Mb SuperGrubDisk2 bootable iso, burn it on a Usb stick or CD (best use Mint's Image writer) and boot from it.

It works like an emergency grub/osprober and sniffs out all bootable OS on your system, no matter if the Os' bootloader is working or broken. From all the possible boot options it finds, pick the ones referring to your Mint install and try them one-by-one (especially 'boot by grub.cfg').

First try it with both Win and Mint drive connected, if you can not get Mint to boot, remove Win disk and repeat with only Mint drive connected (try this on both ports, especially the one that the Win drive is usually connected to!).

If you get to a Mint desktop don't change anything and come back here.

[benaknoun]

Hi

OK I will try this.
But I have a feeling that we're getting to the conclusion that Linux Mint is not compatible with my PC, which is a shame...

[prestonR]

Hey, I can understand if you say 'enough'

... however, I can't accept this simply because, as you've said before, you already managed it once before.

If all efforts to get a dual-boot working with Win and Mint on separate drives working we still can set this up like this:

- drive A for operating systems, split between Win and Mint
- drive B for storage --- split in 2 partitions - one for Win, where we copy the storage partition which you have now on your Win drive and a separate for Linux

Speed or performance-wise there is no disadvantage, in fact it may even be faster when working with large data files because the load on the sata bus is handled by two ports instead of a single one.

[benaknoun]

Ok, I agree with mr_raider, I think your bios firmware is a mess but lets see if we can work around this.

There is a little tool for emergency booting if boot loaders are broken: http://www.supergrubdisk.org/super-grub2-disk/
Download the 20Mb SuperGrubDisk2 bootable iso, burn it on a Usb stick or CD (best use Mint's Image writer) and boot from it.

It works like an emergency grub/osprober and sniffs out all bootable OS on your system, no matter if the Os' bootloader is working or broken. From all the possible boot options it finds, pick the ones referring to your Mint install and try them one-by-one (especially 'boot by grub.cfg').

First try it with both Win and Mint drive connected, if you can not get Mint to boot, remove Win disk and repeat with only Mint drive connected (try this on both ports, especially the one that the Win drive is usually connected to!).

If you get to a Mint desktop don't change anything and come back here.

OK so i did this, i booted from SuperGrubDisk2 USB and got this screen

Webp.net-resizeimage...jpg

From this list, the first option i have chosen was (hd2, gpt2)boot/grub/grub.cfg
its the 4th line below Linux Mint 18.2 Cinnamon 64 bit

This is with both drives connected ( although i did swap the sata ports between Windows drive and Linux drive previously )

And it booted Linux Mint, it gave me this screen

Webp.net-resizeimage (22).jpg

[prestonR]

And it booted Linux Mint.

That's it, you've done it!

Ok, now normally I would just do

sudo update-grub

then reboot with supergrubdisk2 removed or

sudo grub-install dev/sda

where sda is the target destination for grub but maybe don't even try this second option now because I bet it the standard way will not work here.

So first try if you can boot Windows with one of the 'microsoft' options and if that works as well:

burn supergrubdisk2 on one of those small Usb drives that don't stick out of the Usb socket and use supergrubdisk2 permanently.

You'll have the ugliest grub possible but it works and it won't ever break.

[benaknoun]

burn supergrubdisk2 on one of those small Usb drives that don't stick out of the Usb socket and use supergrubdisk2 permanently

You'll have the ugliest grub possible but it works and it won't ever break

Yes that's an option, i can leave the USB disconnected, and when i want to use Linux i'll connect the USB and boot from it.
Sorry to be thick, but what's the difference between that and booting Linux from the live USB ?

[benaknoun]

Ok, now normally I would just do

sudo update-grub

then reboot with supergrubdisk2 removed

OK i did that, that's what i got, see the photo, then when i rebooted, it just rebooted to Windows 10

Webp.net-resizeimage (23).jpg

or

sudo grub-install dev/sda

where sda is the target destination for grub but maybe don't even try this second option now because I bet it the standard way will not work here

OK i won't do it

So first try if you can boot Windows with one of the 'microsoft' options and if that works as well:

You mean try to boot into Windows 10 from the supergrubdisk2 USB ?

[benaknoun]

Can you please tell me, should i follow the steps listed in these 2 videos:

Video 1, jump to 6:15 if you wish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPUVIc- ... 6&index=50

Video 2, jump to 7:50 if you wish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw__bTv ... 6&index=51