Since I have not found a solution to my intermittent boot problem I'm thinking of reinstalling Linux Mint, switching to a different Linux distribution, or turning back to the dark side, i.e. Windows. This was my first Linux install and I was really impressed with the OS and the applications. I like Linux Mint but I want a reliable computer and if I cannot even get it to boot properly then that's a long-term concern.

The problem with a reinstall of Linux Mint is that I don't know what to do differently. I don't know what, if anything, I did wrong the first time. Of course, switching to a different distribution is also a crap shoot since I don't know what went wrong with Mint. I don't really want to go back to Windows but it's been a stable, reliable OS for me for years.

Anyone have any advice?

It will help us if you tell us exactly what kind of problem you are experiencing.

I've had problems with Mint Cinnamon too, try Mint MATE or XFCE.

Do NOT go back to Windoze because Mint Cinnamon is broken, it's just one desktop environment of one distro. There are so many other distros you can try:
http://distrowatch.com/

However, if Windoze has been stable for you, then why did you switch to Linux ?

jp734, OP linked to his first post in his other thread in which he explained in great detail his boot issues in his first post in this thread.

OP, I've used Mint MATE on several computers and not encountered anything like this, so I have nothing to offer regarding your issue.

Thanks for your interest, jp734. In a nutshell, I have to boot twice. BIOS loads and runs but I cannot get to the boot loader on the first boot when the machine is off or when I use restart after Linux has loaded. As frankbell mentioned, the full details are here.

Thanks for your consideration, metaschima. Am I to understand that you think using a different Linux Mint desktop will solve the boot problem?

I'm transitioning to Linux mainly because I like the open source movement, as I understand it. Also, I really do kind of think that Microsoft is evil. I'm currently using XP and I don't want to pay MS more money and that for an arguably inferior OS. I am willing to contribute funds for good, free open source software.

Debian 8 (Jessie) has just been released and should be a good deal more reliable than Mint.
http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/un...64/iso-hybrid/

If you are new to GNU/Linux, the GNOME 3.14 desktop is very easy to use.

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Deleted.

Also, if you want to keep using the Cinnamon desktop you can install it pretty easily. Or any other desktop environment or window manager that you want to try.

Agreed wrt: Xfce

Flawless here on

Kronstadt1921,

All I can suggest is to use GParted to wipe the drive, format the new partition as msdos and then install another distro such as Zorin OS 9 or Ubuntu 14.04 MATE.

I would like to quote Cat Stevens: "The First Cut Is The Deepest".
First try of Linux nothing goes right -- you're trying to make a decision upon circumstances not yet seen much less understood.
So, in that situatio I would do as beachboy2 suggested and wipe the installation, however, I would then go back and install Mint again. Not because I think it is superiour to any of the suggested alternatives but because I belive it takes a few goes to install Linux in a way which is both efficient and, above all, comprehensible.

The boot loader is your problem, not the Linux system itself. Try a different boot loader, or at least a stable version of grub.
My personal recommendation is to look at either AntiX (13.2) or TinyCore Linux. Run them 'live' to see which you prefer.

There is no way that a different desktop will solve the boot problem.
Try a different boot loader as suggested by others.

If you you can't get this fixed, before going back to windows or even before trying another distro I think I'd try a plain reinstall. You can always do something different, even without having a clear indication that the previous way was wrong.

Maybe you could set up your system such that /boot is on the classic hard drive, not the ssd? Maybe for some reason grub is struggling with the ssd...
(This does not have to mean that your full OS is on the same drive, you can still have your OS on the SSD).

While I am writing this I am thinking that - to test this hypothesis - you could create a small partition on that drive (10GB?), install Linux Mint there and tell your EFI to boot that. That way you wouldn't have to wipe your current install without even knowing if it's going to help. With a little luck the new grub install would even pick up your current system as well. No idea how well that works accross different hard drives but it might be worth a trial...

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Yes. Worked for me. I think there is a bug in Cinnamon (maybe related to systemd) that prevents it from booting properly on some machines.

Debian is a great and stable alternative as mentioned above. It is somewhat harder to install.

That's great that you want to switch, either way M$ is on its way down, it's now giving away free upgrade to Windoze 10 just to get people to switch.