Stuck at the beginning

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pengyou

Stuck at the beginning

Post by pengyou »

I have a Lenovo z475. I tried to install win 7 pro but then discovered that my disk has issues. I then tried to boot with a usb drive - 4 gb - made using Rufus and 64 bit Linuxmint cinnamon. I get the menu where it gives me the choices - start linux mint 18.3 Cinnamon 64 bit, Staart Linux Mint 183 Cinnamon 64 compatibility mode, etc but it doesn't allow me to make choices. If I push enter, nothing happens. It just sits there. What am I doing wrong?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Mute Ant

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by Mute Ant »

Mint starting through a USB port might be stuck using USB1 speed (1MB/s) until the kernel is loaded and it can switch to USB2. That's nearly a minute of apparent inactivity... how long are you waiting?
pengyou

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by pengyou »

I let it sit there for hours. It is unresponsive to begin with. It displays the menu but doesn't let me make any chnages. It appears to be completely unresponsive.
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Moem
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Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by Moem »

How exactly are you trying to make changes?
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Pierre
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Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by Pierre »

just to check - - you did test for the Correct Checksum of the ISO that you wrote to that USB Stick
- Right :)
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pengyou

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by pengyou »

This notebook may be 10 years old. It has an option to boot from a USB HDD in the cmos Is it possible that it doesn't like booting from a flash drive?
pengyou

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by pengyou »

Pierre wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 9:05 am just to check - - you did test for the Correct Checksum of the ISO that you wrote to that USB Stick
- Right :)
No, I didn't. The changes I am trying to make? I am trying to put Linuxmint on my notebook. How do I do the test?
michael louwe

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by michael louwe »

@ pengyou, .......
pengyou wrote:.
.
To fix screen-freezing on AMD graphics cards ... viewtopic.php?f=46&t=122257
https://linuxmint.com/rel_sonya_cinnamon.php

The Rufus program has a setting for target install mode, ie your 2011 Legacy BIOS computer requires the setting of BIOS/MBR-disk, and not UEFI/GPT-disk.
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Moem
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Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by Moem »

pengyou wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 10:48 am The changes I am trying to make? I am trying to put Linuxmint on my notebook.
I know that. When you said "It displays the menu but doesn't let me make any chnages." what exactly where you trying to do and how?
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pengyou

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by pengyou »

Would it be helpful if I were to remove the hard drive and install mint on it externally? I am going to put an SSD in it anyway. I was just hoping to use the present setup as a test.
pengyou

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by pengyou »

Moem wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 12:00 pm
pengyou wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 10:48 am The changes I am trying to make? I am trying to put Linuxmint on my notebook.
I know that. When you said "It displays the menu but doesn't let me make any chnages." what exactly where you trying to do and how?
The screen says to use the arrow keys to more the cursor up and down to make my choice. The arrorw keys do not move the cursor
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Moem
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Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by Moem »

Very clear, thank you for clarifying.
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michael louwe

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by michael louwe »

@ pengyou, .......
pengyou wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 10:45 am This notebook may be 10 years old. It has an option to boot from a USB HDD in the cmos Is it possible that it doesn't like booting from a flash drive?
.
The USB HDD setting for Boot Order/Menu in BIOS setup can boot either external USB HDD or USB Flash-drives which has a bootable OS/software.

USB ports can be fickle or partly-damaged = try alternate ports.
pengyou

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by pengyou »

Have tried all 3 of them. :( I am going to pull the hd this weekend and install it outside of the computer...see if that works.
michael louwe

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by michael louwe »

@ pengyou, .......
pengyou wrote:.
.
Instead of Rufus, try USB Universal Installer or Etcher or Unetbootin.

If you have a DVD-Writer/burner, try Imgburn.
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lsemmens
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Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by lsemmens »

DO you have an optical drive? You could also try to install from CD/DVD.
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pengyou

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by pengyou »

Thanks for all of your help! I tried the dvd player...same problem...then, just for kicks, I plugged an external keyboard into the notebook and it worked. I chose option 4 to verify the media. It came out clear. I tried option 1, to start, but after a bit it locked up. It very quickly showed 2 error messages. One was something about a bdc graphics error and the other one said something about illegal brightness setting. I then restarted the computer and choose option 2, hmmm can't think of the message now. It booted up to a dot prompt asking me for a password. The computer works fine with win 7, but I don't want to keep win 7 on it. Any more ideas?
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lsemmens
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Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by lsemmens »

I just re-read your OP, you say that the disk has issues. Maybe a replacement disk is in order. My lappy was decidedly flaky with it's original 500Gb drive, I swapped it for a SSD and have not had any issues since. Said 500Gb drive has been tested and re-formatted with no problems reported so is now relegated to non-critical data storage.
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pengyou

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by pengyou »

I just replaced the hd with an ssd. It shows correctly in the bios but still have the same problem. I am in compatibility mode now. How should I proceed?
michael louwe

Re: Stuck at the beginning

Post by michael louwe »

If you have an Nvidia graphics card, it may likely be the problem.
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