Issues with starting a Linux install.

I am trying to install Linux (POP!_OS) on my new laptop. However I can't even seem to get started. I am trtying first to download the OS and then do a checksum on the downloaded file. The commands I found to do this don't appear to exist on my system (HP Compaq 8000 Elite SFF Business PC, running Windows 7 Pro). I decided to go ahead and move forward with creating the USB boot stick, but this isn't working either. I downloaded Balena Etcher and ran the file. It didn't go as expected. The window opened, but there are no buttons nor title within it. The only functional buttons are the minimize and shutdown buttons. Any advice?

Thanks,

CRR^2

Unless you are using a computer built for system 76 [the developers of POP] you could have problems with component compatibility [if it installs without a problem great, if not try another distribution
]



Why Linux fails to load/install direct to HDD, common reasons
1] Corrupt download [check SHA sum]
2] bad burn to installation medium [try again] [if you used Rufus then try Balena Etcher]
3] Wind 8.2 and higher quick start/fast boot or secure boot not disabled [doesn't normally apply to older versions]
4] defective pen-drive/DVD
5] hardware fault,
5A] If old style HDD run integrity check
5B]if SATA SSD check for hidden partition at the beginning of drive [this will stop Grub from loading] and delete it before re-installing Linux
If M2.NVMe check, your system is NVMe compatible [not all older kit is]

Since you are using Windows might want to try Rufus to create a live USB

According to the website on a link from this forum it requires Window 8 and I am running Windows 7 Pro. If you know of a link that works for Windows 7 I would be interested.

Thanks for the response.

CRR^2

How old is this machine???? is it a 2008/9 machine? if so it was supplied with
Intel® Core™2 Duo E8400 3 GHz
2 GB DDR3-SDRAM 1333 MHz 2 x 1 GB

2 GB ram will not be enough [unless it has been upgraded] to run most Linux distributions, medium or lightweight distributions, Mint LMDE6, Linux Lite, Mx-Linux, Bunsen Labs, are just a few that may run on minimal specification.
Also, it may not be UEFI so try choosing legacy boot mode when installing

If none of these works you could try Ventoy. Never had problems with this one, and one of advantages of it is that you can have multiple installation disks.

CRR^2 said:

According to the website on a link from this forum it requires Window 8 and I am running Windows 7 Pro. If you know of a link that works for Windows 7 I would be interested.

Thanks for the response.

CRR^2

Click to expand...

Yes you can go here - https://rufus.ie/downloads/
and scroll down until you find
rufus-3.22.exe 2023-03-25 13:54 1.4M Rufus 3.22 (LAST VERSION COMPATIBLE WITH WINDOWS 7)
then download it

Brickwizard said

How old is this machine????

The machine I want to install Linux on is a brand new laptop from Dell (Inspiron 16 2-in-1). The machine I am doing all this on the web is an old desktop, but its capacities are not relevant since I don't plan to put Linux on it at least not until I have a better handle on using Linux.

Gatorsfan THANKS for the link I will try that next.

Iomszz THANKS as well if I can't get rufus to work I will try Ventoy.

Kind regards,

CRR^2

CRR^2 said:

The machine I want to install Linux on is a brand new laptop f

Click to expand...

This could cause minor problems , in that Linux drivers for the latest components can take up to a year to be back engineered and tested before hitting the main stream, It will have windows quick start/fast boot, as well as secure boot and possibly some extra Microsoft add-ons to make life difficult

CRR^2 said:

The machine I want to install Linux on is a brand new laptop from Dell (Inspiron 16 2-in-1).

Click to expand...

Lemme guess, finding mentions of so-called « certified » Ubuntu flipped the switch that triggers envy?



I picked the "end-of-life" Inspiron 15 3520 model, euh... To be honnest i'm not so sure what i got exactly 'cause what was on the the purchasing page (before my credit card payment was accepted) doesn't correspond with the "S/T" number ticker on its back. Euh...

So far finding a perfect Linux for my fresh-antique "NoteBook" been quite some epic quest, on another hand the emerging tools as YUMi and Ventoy, even the recent YUMi-exFAT merge, all proved time-saving significantly by allowing much quicker evaluation of each additional release compared to the time it takes simply to download - up to 10 GB for 'AlmaLinux' last night and just for some non-LIVE installer DVD version, only to find out i must install a ton of basic manually anyway!!

So any sort of relief is priceless, of course!

Welcome to the Forum.

GatorsFan said:

es you can go here - https://rufus.ie/downloads/
and scroll down until you find
rufus-3.22.exe 2023-03-25 13:54 1.4M Rufus 3.22 (LAST VERSION COMPATIBLE WITH WINDOWS 7)
then download it

Click to expand...

Gatorsfan,

Many thanks, rufus executed without any issues I could see. Now I am stuck trying to bypass the Windows startup boot system on the new computer. I put the boot disk created by rufus in the USB port and turned the system on. It went immediately to the Windoz menu and started asking for a network connection. Any way to avoid this?

CRR^2

You need to disable both windows quick start [fast boot] usually found in the Bios/UEFI under power management] and windows secure boot [in Bios/UEFI under security]

CRR^2 said:

Gatorsfan,

Many thanks, rufus executed without any issues I could see. Now I am stuck trying to bypass the Windows startup boot system on the new computer. I put the boot disk created by rufus in the USB port and turned the system on. It went immediately to the Windoz menu and started asking for a network connection. Any way to avoid this?

CRR^2

Click to expand...

Generally tap the F12 key at startup then you can select the USB drive to boot from - some makers like HP use the F9 key - the BIOS also has boot-up settings

I have HP desktops and the 1st thing I had to do was to reset the bios which wasn't a problem since it's a desktop and cmos battery is easy to get to.

Laptops are gonna be harder because you can't easily pull the cmos battery.

This may be useful.

The Duck said:

Laptops are gonna be harder because you can't easily pull the cmos battery

Click to expand...

not necessary on most modern laptops [under 10 yrs old] to perform a bios purge [this also works on HP SFF desktops from around 2014]

Save all work
press and hold power button down for 60 seconds
Release and switch on

Always learning something new.

The Duck said:

Always learning something new.

Click to expand...

Not new, but it was the magic bullet known only to hardware engineers for a long time,

GatorsFan said:

Generally tap the F12 key at startup then you can select the USB drive to boot from - some makers like HP use the F9 key - the BIOS also has boot-up settings

Click to expand...

F12 worked beautifully to access the boot menu.

Selected the USB drive and hit "enter"

Next screen was the "GNU GRUB version 2.06 with a single line highlighted"

"*Try or install POP_OS"

I hit "enter"

error: bad shim signature.
error: you need to load the kernel first.


After 30 seconds or so this reverted back to the "GNU GRUB version 2.06 with a single line highlighted"

"*Try or install POP_OS"

Any ideas?

While you cogitate I am going to work through verifying the ISO image, which I didn't do because I couldn't figure it out.

Many thanks,

CRR^2

@CRR^2 wrote:

error: bad shim signature.
error: you need to load the kernel first.

Click to expand...

That error normally occurs when secure boot is enabled in the BIOS/UEFI. If you disable secure boot there, then normal booting ought to occur.

@Brickwizard mentioned this in post #15, but it may have been missed.