Linux Mint Cinnamon installation from stick - no boot process initiated

[Mika97]

Hi all,

I have a few questions about installing Linux Mint from a USB stick, as I want to switch from Windows to Linux on my Xoro tablet (Pad 10W6 3G, 64 GB; operating system should be Winows 10). It seems that a boot file has been deleted in Windows; this is now the time for me to make a first switch (to Linux Mint Cinnamon).
I followed the instructions in the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0RD9OXHrUw) and was able to successfully create the installation stick with Rufus. If I now insert the USB stick into the switched-off tablet and start it, I get to the (?) UEFI Interactive Shell (v2.1). A "Mapping table" is displayed there. Underneath it runs a timer with the text "Press ESC in 5 seconds to skip startup.nsh or any other key to continue. down. Pressing ESC is a bit difficult because the keyboard doesn't work completely and in addition the connection (via the connector tiller) only works at a certain angle. Therefore, I used a USB hub with keyboard, mouse and the USB stick for input.
I also had the display when I first started the tablet after the messages that a boot file was missing (most recently "Windows Boot Manager boot failed. [OK]".
How do I proceed now to install Linux on the tablet?

Thanks for the answer(s) in advance!

Mika

[mikeflan]

Are you saying the Xoro tablet has 3 GB RAM? Which version of LM are you trying to install?

I say bypass all that by going into the bios boot menu and selecting the USB drive to boot.

[Moem]

This is tangential to your question, but if I had 3GB of RAM, I would not go with Cinnamon. It's too heavy for that low amount of memory.

[Mika97]

The description of the tablet states the following regarding the RAM: 2 GB DDRIII-L RAM
I think the 3G refers to the mobile network, but that's just a guess.
I actually wanted to install the Cinnamon version. But if that doesn't fit in terms of RAM, which version would you recommend?
Which button do I press to get into the boot menu to select the USB device as the boot source?
The tablet opens the UEFI shell directly when it starts up.

[Moem]

Both XFCE and Mate are lighter than Cinnamon.

[Mika97]

I have now created a MATE installation stick with Rufus. Unfortunately, it still doesn't work. With the stick connected (via USB hub together with keyboard and mouse), the UEFI Interactive Shell appears directly after the start (no matter which key(s) I press). But I can't get into a boot directory there with "bcfg" either.

[gittiest personITW]

Have you rooted your tablet?
If not, there may be a chance that you'll be unable to boot from another source.

Have you tried booting any other OS or any other application (Foxclone/Clonezilla for example)?

[mikeflan]

I think the 3G refers to the mobile network, but that's just a guess.

Instead of guessing post the output of this in a terminal:

Code: Select all

inxi -I

[Mika97]

In the meantime, I can get into the BIOS and choose to boot from the stick. But then I get into the folder directory, which is structured as follows:

Code: Select all

D:\>tree
List of folder paths for Volume LINUX MINT

D:.
├───.disk
├───EFI
│   └───boot
├───boot
│   └───grub
│       ├───fonts
│       ├───i386-pc
│       ├───themes
│       │   └───linuxmint
│       │       └───icons
│       └───x86_64-efi
├───casper
├───dists
│   └───jammy
│       └───main
│           └───binary-amd64
├───isolinux
├───pool
│   └───main
│       ├───b
│       │   ├───b43-fwcutter
│       │   └───bcmwl
│       ├───g
│       │   ├───gcc-9-base
│       │   ├───grub-efi
│       │   └───grub2-unsigned
│       ├───l
│       │   └───linux-wlan-ng
│       ├───liba
│       │   └───libasan5
│       ├───libc
│       │   ├───libc-dev-bin
│       │   ├───libc-devtools
│       │   ├───libc6-dev
│       │   └───libcrypt-dev
│       ├───libg
│       │   └───libgcc-9-dev
│       ├───libn
│       │   └───libnsl-dev
│       ├───libt
│       │   └───libtirpc-dev
│       ├───libu
│       │   └───libuniconf4.6
│       ├───libw
│       │   ├───libwvstreams4.6-base
│       │   └───libwvstreams4.6-extras
│       ├───r
│       │   └───rpcsvc-proto
│       ├───s
│       │   ├───setserial
│       │   └───shim
│       ├───u
│       │   └───ubiquity
│       └───w
│           └───wvdial
└───preseed

What do I need to select to start the installation?

After changing the Scoure Boot Options (not available) [disabled] I could now try in the subdirectory EFI/boot/ to install the files bootx64.efi, grubx64.efi and mmx64.efi still not.

The tablet can't do anything with inxi -I (I entered it in the EFI shell).

What is the best thing to do now?

[mikeflan]

In the meantime, I can get into the BIOS and choose to boot from the stick. But then I get into the folder directory, which is structured as follows

If you select the USB stick in the bios boot menu and the stick does not boot up, then my initial thought is that the live OS you created is corrupted.

If that same stick does boot on another computer, but goes into a black terminal screen on the tablet, then I don't know what to say. I guess there must be something about that tablet that interferes with the normal operation of the USB port.