[SOLVED] Black screen when trying to boot Linux Mint Cinnamon 21.3 on Dell AIO 5420 with preinstalled Win 11 home

[baka_strumpf]

Cause: Hardware too new to run standard Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon.
Solution: Install Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon Edge.

Hi, guys.
I have just bought an all-in-one Dell 5420 with Windows 11 home pre-installed on it, but I want to run it over with Linux Mint.
I use Linux since 2018, so this is not the first time I am installing it, but it is the first time I am experiencing this type of an issue.
I entered bios setup (it only has uefi option), disabled secure boot, and changed the order of boot drives to first boot from a usb flash drive, then the rest.
I use a bootable usb flash drive which I made in January, Linux Mint Cinnamon 21.3 on it, and I used it already to install this distro on multiple laptops (an old Toshiba and a Dell Vostro).
However, when I try booting the system, and choose to boot LM, I get a black screen, and I see the usb flash drive goes off (no blinking).
Not to forget to mention, after disabling Secure boot, the system requested some code for BitLocker, which I filled in.
Of course, I cannot find the answers online which tell me enough, so asking the question here is my last resort.
I am not interested in dual boot, so I would be perfectly happy to completely get rid of Win anyway. I only want Linux Mint.
Any ideas what might be causing the issue, why does the usb flash drive go off, and how to resolve it?

[Reddog1]

I've run into this myself with a different laptop. W11 was installed in RST mode and with Bitlocker on. I couldn't even boot mint usb.
This is your model, and you will find some directions here:

https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/22/ ... ved_laptop


If you don't want your Win install at all, turn off Bitlocker, turn on AHCI and boot the usb. Win 11 can always be installed as a (very annoying) virtual machine.

But I do think it is a not good idea to wipe Windows off a drive if it is a supported and working install. Just shrink the drive to about 10GB more than Win is using and install linux dual boot.

[baka_strumpf]

Hey, thanks for the url. However, it did not help enough. I partitioned the SSD, I disabled BitLocker, and I tried disabling RAID and enabling AHCI, but all it did was mess up the Windows - I got the blue screen of death upon restart.

My model is Dell Inspiron all-in-one 5420 desktop PC, not a Latitude laptop, and it's been compiled about a month ago in Germany. I tried posting a question to their community, on the dell.de website directly, but they seem to have deleted the question immediately, as I cannot find it.

I have also started a discussion on Unix&Linux Stack exchange, but I am still waiting for any useful responses.

This is so frustrating, as I've been a faithful Dell user for 6 years now. That was the main reason I purchased this PC, believing it would be relatively easy to install and use an OS of my choice.

I am starting to believe it will not be possible after all, so I will probably have to sell the PC to a Windows fan willing to waste 1000 euros on a PC with a very, very bad Win 11 OS.

[Reddog1]

I tried disabling RAID and enabling AHCI

After disabling bitlocker, you need to set Windows to boot in 'Safe Mode', which will be with minimal drivers. Then boot into the uefi and change RST to AHCI, then boot Windows. It will boot in safe mode and then recognize the system as ahci and install the ahci driver, at least that happened when I did it.Then turn safe mode off and reboot into Windows using the ahci mode and driver. After that, I installed using Ventoy and the Mint 21.2 iso, and it worked for me. Who knows what Dell and Windows have done, now, though.

Good luck

[baka_strumpf]

I am starting to think Dell must have messed something up so as to drive us crazy if we try to come up with a workaround for all this.

I tried what you sad, but with no success. The usb flash drive goes dead, and the underscore gets stuck in the top left corner of the black screen, which I get when I choose to boot LM.

I even suspected my usb flash drive went bad in the meantime, but it didn't. I used it to boot LM on a different Dell that my mom uses as her home computer (OptiPlex 3020), just minutes ago, and it works just fine. I also went through BIOS setup in the said OptiPlex - things seem to be just as they should to enable LM booting. Secure boot off, AHCI active, no ssd partitioning.

I just don't get it.

[Reddog1]

Are you considering making a windows boot usb, resetting the bios to ahci and doing a clean install of windows?

I cannot understand why any laptop has rst enabled because I cannot imagine a laptop using raid.

Intel submitted an rst linux kernel driver, but it was rejected because it broke some kernel functionality. This windows only garbage has gotten out-of-hand, again.

[baka_strumpf]

Just an epilogue to the story. Turns out, Ubuntu can be booted; but the very edition I had, Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon (LTS), CANNOT. I took the PC to a professional, who had to disable secure boot, update BIOS, re-enable secure boot (I think), and what not (I did not watch while he was doing it so I cannot really say), and only then boot the newest Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon Edge (which is meant to be used when other distros or flavours are unsupported by the newest hardware...). Understandably, after so much trouble with it, he completely wiped off the pre-installed Windows, and now I can normally boot or reinstall Linux as I wish.

I am shocked and appalled by such work ethics of Dell. This is definitely my last Dell PC. Never again!!!

I will mark this topic as resolved, as the solution was to use Linux Mint Cinnamon Edge instead of the regular Linux Mint Cinnamon. Thanks for all suggestions. If I hadn't tried them out myself, I would never have taken the the PC to a professional.