G'day to you all,

I've been using Linux Mint 19.2 for about a month now after installing it on an old Dell laptop. I'm really enjoying it & decided I would install it on my new PC and that is giving me a real headache.

I downloaded the linux iso file & used rufus to install it on a bootable usb. I changed the bios so the usb was first boot. I chose 'compatability mode' & hit enter. It appeared to be installing as page after page of lines flew up the screen. The last line read " [OK] Started update UTMP about System Runlevel Changes" & a cursor flashing below it. Nothing else. After a while out of desperation I hit enter again & more pages of lines flew down the screen some of which I could see saying 'stop'. I assumed it was then uninstalling. When finished a line at the bottom said to remove usb & hit enter. After hitting enter the pc switched off. On another occasion hitting enter or any other key had no effect & the only way out was to power off.

I tried a different usb with another install in case that was a problem but had the same result. I can enter a command before trying the install but of course I haven't a clue what if anything to enter. I thought perhaps it's something to do with the graphics but it does show the LM icon when checking the file integrity.So at the moment I'm at a loss & my head is spinning after looking for possible solutions here & elsewhere.Maybe I can't see the wood for the trees but it all seems very complicated.

The pc is new & had no operating system installed. It has 2 SSDs, one 250Gb & one 1Tb. The graphics card is an AMD RX Vega M GH. Not designed for Linux but I'm loathe to go back to Windows. I'll be more than happy to supply any more info if you tell me what you need. I really appreciate any help or suggestions you make.

Forgive my ignorance if I am mistaken, I find it odd that there was no operating system installed. If new, would not Windows 10 already be installed?

Also, did you install the components yourself without an OS? If you installed everything yourself, without an OS, can you give us come specifics on the SSD's? Here is a link to find HDD and SSD information on Windows 10:

https://www.itechtics.com/3-ways-to-...your-computer/


Again, at this point I am just seeking information about your installation in order to know more knowledge.

Yes greencedar, the pc was brand new & came with no operating system installed. It was a 'kit' but in reality all I had to do was install the RAM & the 2 SSDs. The SSDs are both M2 so installing them was virtually the same as installing ram. As long as you take precautions about static it's really a 5 minute job. As I said, both SSDs are M2, one is a Kingston M2 250GB and the other is an Intel SSD6 M2 1024GB. Apart from that I don't know what else I can say about them but if you need more, please let me know.Thanks for your reply.

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Thank you for the information concerning your pc being a 'kit.' Like you, a lot of folks are tired of MS Windows and are loathed to go back to them. So, we will try and get this issue resolved.

A couple of questions and thoughts.

Questions:

1. Did you download the Linux ISO file onto a Windows OS and then use Rufus to create the USB? Or, did you download from your Linux Mint 19.2 Dell OS? If not, what OS did you use? Either case, did you check the Rufus USB for errors?

2. have you tried other settings in your BIOS?, If so, what settings and what results.

3. Are you able to get into the Linux terminal at any time during the installation?

Thoughts:

1. Rufus is a fine program and used by a lot of folks. And, a USB made with Rufus is normally used in comparison to a CD disc due to convenience in handling. But, sometimes Rufus may have a problem.

Please see the accompanying article.https://fossbytes.com/create-bootabl...windows-linux/

So, On my last install (Linux Mint 19.1 Tessa), I had a problem with the USB install so I downloaded the Linux Mint 19.1 onto a CD disc and the install went fine. I do need to note that I had just bought a new computer and the installed OS was MS Windows 10.

So, maybe you can try a CD disc. Here is the link to Linux Mint download for Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia: https://linuxmint.com/download.php

M2 drives are a little bit of a different animal than just 'regular' SSD's that hook up via SATA. First thing to try is going into BIOS, and making sure the drives are set to be AHCI mode, instead of "Optane/RAID", or whatever it's called, otherwise you won't see any disks at all to perform the installation to. Boot into live mode, and run
...and post the output. Past that, have you reached the part of installation where it asks you to partition the drives, or does it abort before then?

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Many questions to answer here.

To answer greencedar,

1. I have done both actually. First time I downloaded the Linux ISO file to W7 & used Rufus to produce the bootable usb. After not working with that I downloaded the same Lixux ISO to the old Dell that has Linux Mint 19.2 Tina running and created a different bootable usb using the usb image writer. The end result after trying the install was exactly the same.

2. In the BIOS UEFI Boot Priority I have UEFI Boot selected & Boot order showing USB as first. Fast Boot is OFF. Secure Boot is OFF. Chipset SATA is ON & Mode is AHCI. Looking at USB configuration USB Legacy is ON. Something I don't understand (one thing among many) is that in Boot Drive Order it has
UEFI : USB: Disk 2.0 PMAP: PART 1:OS Bootloader
UEFI : USB: Disk 2.0 PMAP: PART 0:OS Bootloader
UEFI : LAN: PXEIP4 Intel(R) Ethernet Connection (2) l219-LM
UEFI : LAN: PXEIP6 Intel(R) Ethernet Connection (2) l219-LM

I looked at an Intel site that deals with Linux to find possible solutions.On this site https://www.intel.com/content/www/us...intel-nuc.html they deal with failing to install on an Intel NUC8i7HxK, same as mine, so I disabled iGD in the BIOS. That made no difference. I can't find the other link just now but with reference to booting from PXE, Intel seems to recognise a problem there and say a way around it is to change Network Boot in Boot Devices from DISABLE to UEFI PXE & iSCSI and then Select either Ethernet1 Boot 1 or 2. So I tried that as well all to no avail.

I think I'm getting in above my head here. F9 in my bios is Load Defaults so hopefully I'll be safe.

3. With regards to access to linux terminal , before trying the install I get the grub page where at the top I can type 'C' and then enter a command. Not the terminal my very limited Linux experience knows but I could enter a command here.
I haven't tried installing via a cd but I'm happy to give just about anything a try. I'll let you know the result. Nomatter what I try it has always stopped installing with the line"[OK] Started update UTMP about System Runlevel Changes" & a cursor flashing below it.

To TB0NE,

I read about M2 SSDs being a bit of a problem, I just didn't realise how big. From what I've read so far it appears that Intel NUC PCs are a bit different too. You'll see from above that the SATA is set to AHCI. I don't get anywhere near the partitioning stage I'm afraid & don't see terminal for a sudo command.

Have you disabled RAID in the BIOS? That may (?) hide the SATA controllers, which don't have disks, and let the M2 drives show up.

I wish I could send a screen print of the BIOS it would be a lot quicker. So in the Intel Visual Bios under DEVICES on of the tags is SATA with sub heading Chipset SATA Controller Configuration. Listed under that are the following & their present settings.

Chip SATA - Ticked on
Chipset SATA Mode - AHCI selected
SATA Port - Ticked on
M.2 Slot 1 NVMe SSD - details of the SSD
M.2 Slot 2 NVMe SSD - details of the SSD
Hard Disk Pre- Delay - Set to zero.

So I Deselected Chip SATA & SATA port & hit F10 to save the changes. That cleared the 2nd & 3rd line in the list When Grub came up I selected Install in compatability mode again but I'm afraid I got the same result as before with screen stuck on the same Started Update UTMP line.

I notice that UEFI Boot is ticked on & cannot be altered but USB Legacy is ticked on also. Should that be the case? If I switch Legacy off the keyboard doesn't work.

Thanks for all of the information. Keep us informed on your result with the CD install or if you can ever enter the Linux terminal.

I do think that TBOne is on the right track with his M2 drive information.

One thought. Is it possible for you to install standard SSD's instead of the Kingston M2 250GB and the Intel SSD6 M2 1024GB SSD's?

The PC is a mini pc & has no optical drive. I tried attaching a portable dvd player via usb but the pc doesn't recognise it. I will have another try when I get a minute. (Planning bathroom reno) Also because it's a mini pc there is no option to try a standard SSD, it's M.2 or nothing.

Can you give us the brand name, model number, and any other relevant information, of the mini pc?

The mini pc is an Intel NUC8 i7HVK4 with AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH graphics, 16Gb RAM, SSD 250GB & SSD 1TB. I wasn’t thinking about trying Linux at the time or I might have got something a bit different.

The good news is that I have Linux installed, up & running, but I am blushing as I explain.

I did say that I was trying to install Linux in the compatibility mode & that was because when I had tried the non-compatibility mode in the beginning, all I got was a blank screen so I didn’t try using that mode again. With all the changes I was making to the BIOS I should have tried that mode again, which you will have guessed by now, is what I did & how it finally all fell into place.

I have the software manager telling me that an Intel Wireless driver is available but the Download Manager can’t seem to find it and a message popping up to tell me that I have no video hardware acceleration but apart from that all seems to be going well. If anyone reading this can help with those two problems I’ll certainly appreciate it.

A word of thanks to greencedar and TB0ne. It looks like the biggest problem here was me, but I appreciate your suggestions and support and I hope I haven’t wasted your time. Even though Linux Mint does bear a resemblance to Windows it’s still like learning a different language & it’s pretty disconcerting when you don’t know the words. I know that I have a lot to learn & I’ve no doubt I’ll be back. Thanks again.

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lately I've had better luck with the dd option in rufus on uefi systems

Thank you for informing us that the installation of Linux finally successful. It is always good news when a problem is solved. You did not waste our time. Speaking for me, it helped my understand mini PC hardware and OS's. I may suggest as this problem is solved, and that you have a couple of other issues that need to be resolved, that you first mark this issue as "SOLVED" and then take the other two issues to the appropriate thread and start a separate thread for each issue. This way the people in that particular expertise of OS's can help you better.

Thanks for the reminder, I'll mark it as SOLVED right away.