LinuxQuestions.org - [SOLVED] Cannot boot Linux Mint 18.2 live DVD

Hi guys and gals,

I'm new to Linux and only used Unix in my first job after leaving college as a software engineer. Other than that it's been Windows all the way.

I recently discovered that Linux could run on an older PC (Win XP, vista etc) and decided to give it a go. True, this installation has some issues, but mostly, they can be fixed by upping the amount of RAM, so everything's cool there.

I also have an old Asus X70IO laptop running Vista 32 bit that I want to dual boot. My issues however are that it won't boot with the live DVD; the same DVD I used to install Mint 18.2 on the XP machine. All that happens is, the drive blinks and whirs a bit then up pops windows.

I then tried a USB flash drive, but that didn't work either. All that happens is, the flash drive blinks a bit then up pops windows. Damn!!

I have been into the bios and changed the boot order to USB, CD/DVD and then HDD, but to no avail.

Having looked through any number of forums, I tried to find out whether I shouldn't change the bios to legacy, only to find that no such option exists on this laptop.

Ironically, I had mistakenly left the DVD in the Win 7 machine and on boot up, the Mint Distro fired up without a problem.

Back it went into the Asus laptop with no success whatsoever. I'm at a loss as to where to go next.

I assume that is this is a bios issue, and formatting the hard drive to remove windows or even swapping out the hard drive for a fresh one won't change anything, except leave me with an over-sized paperweight.

I hope someone here can help, as my hair's already grey and I don't want to end up pulling it out in frustration! I may be new to Linux, but I've been in the industry for 25 years, so am feeling a bit of a useless plonker right now.