Hello! I was given a Toshiba C655 with Windows 7 Pro. It is ridiculously slow, and as I'm a Mac fan and don't currently have a laptop I thought I'd install Linux instead, as I hear it's faster on old computers.

I downloaded a couple different versions of Linux (first Mint, as I read that it was super user-friendly for newbies), then Ubuntu but it doesn't matter, I can't install either! The boot manager only gives me the option of installing Windows 7, whether I'm using a CD or a USB drive. I don't have any Windows start-up disks either.

I've searched elsewhere on the internet and everything I can find refers to Windows 8, and the boot manager gives you options that aren't appearing on this computer. Since it was free it won't break my heart to trash it, but it would be nice to have a laptop again. I hope you can help me!

Thanks,
Lizzy

Could you post some hardware information on this Toshiba? Processor, RAM, etc would be helpful. Do you change the boot priority to DVD or the flash drive when booting the Mint or Ubuntu as there is no reason you would see a windows bootloader if you do that? Did you download Mint/Ubuntu from their sites? You should do an md5 checksum on the downloaded file before burning it to a DVD or putting it on a flash drive. Should be instructions on the site.

Get in to BIOS at startup (After Power on) using the keys (usually CTRL or DEL or F2). Change boot priority from Hard Disk to Optical Media (CD/DVD), save settings.

Insert your burned distro cd/dvd and power on or restart (CTRL-ALT-DEL). Distro DVD should boot and now do installation as per installer directions.