Hey Steve! I may be too late (not a big deal) but Wizard developed a method to "verify" that your USB used a good .iso. But now that you have a handle on the process, it will be easier to use the regular method as you are now on your way to do.
OK... we will write off the data losses to Mr. Gates and his evil brood, and move on. Question any steps as we go if you have any uncertainty, but I'll try to explain things (with way too many words, as usual, probably).
You've been running on the Linux USB and it seems fine. You will have it verified shortly which gives even more confidence. We will use that to install the same Linux Mint on to the WD drive. And you want to install other Linux distros on to the same drive a little later.... can do. We're going to have to get you familiar with the Linux installer, or Gparted, or both, so that you become intimate with partitions and drive assignments. You will soon teach this class!
Let's do this "the easy way" first. This could be your final and finished Mint installation, or we can remove and do-over to explore this process more fully so you understand it all better.
I'd unplug your GoFlex drive for now, and I think all the other hard drives are unplugged... so just the WD will be available. We will boot on the Linux USB, double-click the Install Linux Mint icon on the desktop, and have it use the entire WD hard disk to install Linux Mint. I just ran through a quick install, so if I took good notes, there are only 7 steps:
1. Pick and language. Click continue.
2. Connect to wireless network (not required for install). Click continue.
3. Install 3rd party software. Usually a good idea, so check the box and click continue.
4. Installation Type: choose "Erase disk and install Mint" then click the Install Now button. Do not select encryption or LVM. On another install later (if I can get you to do-over) we will go for "something else" at this stage. But the "easy way" is just to erase disk and do a full install. This lets you skip the SWAP questions and where to put the bootloader.
5. Pick your Time Zone and click continue.
6. Pick your keyboard layouts and click continue.
7. Who are you? Enter your first name (with a capital letter), and it will automatically fill in the user name with a lower case letter... normal. The computer name is what would be seen on a local home network, but it also shows up in your command line as user@computer.... so a short name here is nice, like hp, dell, acer, or can be anything you want. Enter your password and then again to confirm it. I choose to log in automatically here at home, but if you don't choose this you will have to enter your password every time you boot and log on. Do not encrypt the home folder. Click continue.
And.... wait for it. When finished, it will prompt you to remove the USB and restart. It should boot up on Mint without using your BIOS Boot Menu. Fingers crossed!
Thanks Stan. The more words, the better. I'm all ears.
Instructions are straight forward and understandable. I'll power down and unplug the GoFlex, (Seagate) and start the process when I get back. I think I selected "something else" last time I tried this, but easy works for me.
Back soon...