But the system doesn't boot from a live CD, all you get is the grub prompt.

what programs have you used to create your live usb and are you doing so only on windows?

edit: also, how many different times have you tried to make a live usb?

I have tried various things including Rufus and Win32 disc imager and yes I have done them on Windows.

I have tried several times.

have you tried rufus with the dd option? can you try a dvd if that doesn't work?


failing those, what are the make and model of the computer? cpu and amount of ram will help if you happen to know it/can get that from windows (if this is the same system).

No I haven't tried Rufus with the dd option and no, it is not the Windows system on my computer that I used so I have no way of telling what the hardware specs are.

make and model still might provide some assistance.

I am trying to figure out from my buying history at Amazon, but amazon.co.in is not loading

BTW I should mention that I made lots of changes to the os prior to all this as I was trying to configure an openvpn connection and was constantly troubleshooting using edits that I found on the web and was finally able to establish a connection except it wasn't showing up on the network manager and trying to configure that finally encountered a problem with grub which people were saying could only be done by a reinstallation and that then started me on this current path. So it's possible that I inadvertently messed up the system.

1 members found this post helpful.

You could have messed up Grub, but none of what's on your system HDD or SDD should have affected your ability to boot from live DVD or USB.

Do you know whether the 18.04 installation was originally made in MBR/Legacy mode, or in UEFI? Are you trying to boot live media in the same mode as the installation?

1 members found this post helpful.

I don't know these things sorry, I am just another newbie

Given this history, maybe it's time for you to choose a different distribution and perform a fresh installation.

2 members found this post helpful.

You mean on a different machine?

By different distribution you mean something other than Linux?

Or do you mean something other than Ubuntu?