Hello, I am VERY new here and literally getting started as I really wish to expand my knowledge in bioinformatics.
I have a Bio-linux USB (that I requested) and I'm trying to get it started. I'm on a Dell Inspiron 15R. I followed the instructions by once inserting my USB, I booted and then with F12 I got the boot menu. On my menu, USB was not one of my options, I saw:
Diskette
Hard Drive
CD/DVD

and so on.
I selected diskette but nothing happened. Was this correct?
I *think* I may have messed with the USB on a previous occasion when (stupidly) I inserted the USB when my computer was up and already running and my computer "prepared" it for use. Could I have intentionally messed up the USB?

(I am currently downloading Bio Linux onto a DVD just to be on the safe side)

Danae

Generally few computer/laptops recognize specific usb ports for booting. Look for "esata and usb" port, or try usb2 ports only.

Is your USB a bootable one?
USB boot option is there's in your laptop. but you can see it only when you've a bootable USB (that is your USB should contain a bootable image of OS) connected to your system.

So once check and verify that USB is bootable, or better format it and put a bootable image of your OS in it. Attach it to your system again and reboot.
Then check into boot menu.

Good luck!

That action almost certainly wiped the USB. You'll need to set it up again with the Linux image.

You have to enable boot from usb in the bios press F2 after boot and look for something like boot options and look if boot from usb is enabled.

Hiya,
Thanks for the quick replies!
I did try a few things as suggested,but got nowhere. I'm not entirely sure if that is due to my ignorance, or if I screwed up the USB.
So now I'm back at square one, I don't even know how to create a bootable USB. I'm going to see if I can get a bit of help in my local area with some friends, and also inquire from the people that I got the USB from.
As you maybe able to tell, I only know the absolute basics of computers, and I think I may need local support, as I am doing this from my personal PC.
Like I said, I'm very new! :/

thanks again
D.

There are many free utilities that will create a bootable USB from a downloaded linux ISO. Unetbootin, Universal USB Installer, and LiLi (LinuxLive USB Creator) just to name a few.

try under hard disk ( in the F12 menu ),

i don't think the usb got any problem

I doubt you messed up the drive. It is supposed to be a device that can be removed and inserted. (however that promise is not so good) Almost all new usb flash drives can be made to boot in some way or another.

I'd suggest looking at www.pendrivelinux.com for how-to's and guides for simple ways to create a bootable linux usb drive. Generally those guides are not true installs but ways to take a "live" cd and cheat it to a usb.


From a linux perspective, almost any distro can be installed to a usb flash drive. In newer linux, a usb drive is just like a real internal hard drive to the OS.

If your computer is newish, you may have to do a few tricks to get a flash to boot. One is that many flash drives may show up as a hard drive order choice instead of a boot media choice. I have had to power down system and boot directly to bios and see if the usb shows up under the internal hard drive on many systems. Once it gets recognized you can then either change the order there in bios or use boot screen to select.

Some older computers may never easily boot to a usb. Some may show up as a usb order choice or even usb-zip or other choice. Might have to use some tools on the usb to get it to boot. My guess would be that 98 percent of 2g and over flash drives could be made to boot.

Just format your USB in FAT32 format (insert, right click on it's icon, and format). Paste the .iso in it and reboot your PC.
When boot menu appears, press F2 and check boot option. You should certainly find an option for USB boot there.

Note: Before doing any installation, take backup of your existing data (if any), it's a must step!

That is most certainly wrong and will accomplish nothing. Sticking the iso file onto the USB does not make it a live USB.

2 members found this post helpful.

@suicidaleggroll: I have been using the same way & it's working fine for me. This is the simplest way to boot from a USB.

i agree

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