Trying to verify iso image but keep getting "system can't find files" on Win10. I can see the file in downloads, I tried downloading the file again from several mirrors and torrent from the distro official site and no improvemrnt. I moved the file to a folder and the same thing. Ran all the virus/malware/sfc/chkdsk/dism stuff thinking it may be my computer. Everything else works great.Linux has been and continues to be very difficult for new users. Every one I know who has tried it gave up. If I didn't have older machines which it will be a perfect fit for, I would have given up 20 hours ago. Thanks in advance.

After reading through your post, I find it confusing as to why you are posting at a Linux forum. Have you installed Mint and are now trying to verify an iso file on windows from Mint? Surely you could do that on windows. If that's not the case and you are trying to do it on windows I would think you would post at a windows forum. In either case, post specifically what you did.

In the future, you might leave out the negative comment about Linux (or windows when posting on a windows forum) as you are less likely to get a positive response. It's much more difficult for a new user who has been using windows to learn Linux than it is for someone who has never used a computer as a user will expect certain behaviors and they won't be there..

Trying to download mint onto a Win10 computer. Did finally get a good download after numerous attempts but can't verify the iso image due to the "system can't find files" message. I've spent likely 40+ hours between buying and reading a book on Linux and lots of time reading forums before even selecting a distro. Mint seemed a easy decision as a 1st choice but it has been nothing but problems as often is the case and many new users report the same issue of how difficult, not just different, but difficult and often unnecissarily so. And that was a near quote from a mint developer. One of the Linux founders has said Linux is too complex anymore and getting worse. That's not a negative comment as you say, it's fact. A negative comment would be why many users are elitist about how special linux is and you can either hate windows/love linux or you can get a refund and leave. This is my 1st post on any forum. Linux certainly has good uses, especially on servers and keeping old computers alive, but it also seems to take pride in keeping new people out due to being unnecessarily complex. That is what is severely limiting growth. Many will also continue to use Win and feel the same way about negative towards the world's most popular and easy to use OS. Thanks.

Your comment is about trying to verify the iso image on a windows machine. Please explain how you can believe that particular problem has anything to do with linux. It seems related to not being able to use windows to verify the iso.

As noted above, posting about a windows problem on a linux forum then using negative comments about linux is definitely counterproductive.

If you want assistance with an install, simply ask. Otherwise your entire post is windows related.

A couple people have (rightfully so) browbeaten you about your assumption of fault on Linux. I won't go there.

It's good that you're trying to verify your image. When booted, many images have verification built in and you can test from there. Unless you have reason to believe your image is corrupt, I think you can go forward with transfer to a USB and start your install process.

One cool thing is that most Linux images also allow you to play in a live environment without making any changes to your hard drive, so you can see if Linux, or the specific distro, is right for you.

Good luck, and welcome to the Linux community!

It's rather difficult to INSTALL Linux if one can't even get the download to verify or authenticate, so yeah this is a Linux question as others have reported numerous issues with this process, but I found no answers to this specific issue. It's not likely a Win issue but the complex process of getting to the point where I have a chance to install. If you want to take realistic comments as negative, that's your choice. Any one with a reasonable approach would agree that Linux is complicated and too complex. If you disagree with that, then you are making negative comments against the founder of Linux and a mint developer as both have said so. i have zero interest in a Win/Linux debate and you never heard me sing the praise of Win. I simply don't. Your approach is exactly why Linux has almost no growth, flame any one who questions Linux. It gained 1% market share in 10 years for a good reason, it has limited use and is for people who want to spend 10 hours a week every week adjusting Linux to work. It is not a daily driver for 98% of computer users, it is a viable option for keeping old computers alive and that is my intent.

On the Mint download page there is a sha256sum.txt file that holds the verification code.

In a Windoze command prompt you can check the downloaded iso by :

certutil.exe -hashfile <afile> SHA256

<afile> being the iso file you want to check. This will output a hash which should match what you find in the text file.

As an example, go to the download folder and run the following command:

certutil.exe -hashfile linuxmint-20.3-cinnamon-64bit.iso SHA256

Hope that helps.

Once verified then install iso to a usb thumb drive or to a DVD for installation.


Linux is no more complicated than Windows. Only 'difference' is usually M$ Windows is already installed on the device, so people don't have to go through the install process. All they have to do is register with Microsoft, setup and account with Microsoft and then they are locked into that nanny OS with big brother oversight.

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Let's see if we can make a constructive conversation of this.

From what I've read and watched, most of the complaints center around the vast and "confusing" choice presented by Linux. There are many many distributions, and many many desktop environments, and many many ways to set everything up. This is different from Windows and MacOS, which only give you one option. Linux becomes much less confusing if you choose a mainstream distribution to start with (Mint is good, IMO), and learn your way around within it. Then if you ever decide to branch out to other distributions or desktops, you have that choice. To your point about having to "adjust" Linux all the time, that's simply not true. It takes me about 30 minutes from start to finish to completely install, update and "adjust" my Linux desktop, and from that point on I'm just using my apps, browsing the web. I will say that I enjoy tinkering, so I do "adjust" my system more than some desktop users might.

The whole "linux only has x% market", is sort of a misnomer. What's not considered is that Linux powers the majority of servers, IOT devices, and if you consider Android to be Linux (which I think it is), then the lion's share of the phone and tablet market as well. There is also a growing number of hardware markets emerging, built specifically for and with Linux; laptops, phones ... and the new Steam Deck, which demonstrates Linux as a valid gaming platform.

As far as your current technical issues, how about some more information? I presume you downloaded the ISO from Mint? What Windows based tool(s) are you trying to use to verify it? And what specific errors are you getting?

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certutil.exe -hashfile linuxmint-20.3-cinnamon-64bit.iso SHA256 is what I am using and "system can not find the file" is the result. Thanks for the input. This should work but isn't. I have test downloaded a bunch of other files and it works, just not the mint file and therefore my assumption was that it was a Linux issue and others have reported the issue but never saw a solution. Not sure if I ever used an iso file other than Linux and this mint download. Seems reasonable after I did all the checks I have explained here that I ran on my computer, that this was a mint or specific Linux issue.

I am unable to find much at all for the error you're getting when using 'certutil -hashfile ...', and nothing specific to Linux Mint ISO errors. It's possible you have a bad ISO, but a bad ISO wouldn't generate a hash error. It's almost like you could have a corrupted filesystem, or you just aren't pointing certutil to the correct location. I assume you've tried re-downloading the ISO?

Thanks for the reply and yes I have tried several different downloads from the mint site, the mirrors and the sites torrent download. After each try, I remove the previous download and restart. I have done this 15+ times in an attempt to resolve a potential bad download. I have the 2.09GB file sitting in the downloads section right now. I tried to resolve any potential corrupt file issues with the "virus/malware/sfc/chkdsk/dism" and a restart and by testing downloading numerous other files and they all worked and executed perfect. This is the only issue I'm having with my computer. Simply can't verify integrity or authenticate the iso file due to the "system can not find files specified". Not a issue I've experienced before. There were issues with this on the linuxmint site forum but no solution. I am trying to open the file with Firefox as that is my browser and I guess that could be an issue and I haven't tried opening it in another browser as Firefox seems to play very well with Linux and would likely be preferred.
The last attempt at resolution I got a "The specified path does not contain a valid program" from Win10 for the file "linuxmint-20.3-cinnamon-64bit.iso". I've tried every Win solution I can think of but all indications to me point to a bad download, just can't imagine that many being bad. If I had corrupt files that affected downloads, then why only THIS file?

Could you try another application to check integrity? For example back here at work, I have 7zip installed and under it's menu (right click on a file) I find a SHA256 that computes the sum also. Also under notepad++ I find under tools->sha256->generate from files (pick a file) will also compute it. Just a thought. certutil.exe may have file size restrictions from a quick search I did.

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Ok, then it's probably not a problem with a corrupted image, just how the certutil app on your system is trying to process it, and they aren't getting along. I think it's probably safe to move past this step, to burning the ISO to USB. I think Rufus is the most commonly recommended app for this in Windows.

An ISO is essentially a whole filesystem in a file, and is binary, so you won't be able to view it in Firefox.

BTW, Linux is great for keeping older hardware serviceable, and not added to the landfills before their time. I have a 2009 Dell Studio with a Core Duo processor, that runs Mint Cinnamon without issues. Not lightning, but very usable. As long as you have 64bit hardware, you should be fine with Mint.

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I have been using the official linuxmint tutorial for the download, integrity and authenticity. CertUtil was what they used so I expect that they tested it. I tried 7Zip and no luck. The apps not getting along sounds perfect but Firefox not being compatible seems so odd dince its a major browser for Linux and I think Linux and Mozilla are even working together from the program/developers point. Possible though and no mention of what app to use other than CertUtil. I have a similar year/model as you and I'm sure the computer has more than enough power for what I need, its still very useful, just not on Win. On the subject of making a usb and install it, I looked into that a week ago as a last ditch effort and from what I read it was very risky? What risks, in brief do I accept by installing without an integrity/authenticity check? That may be my only choice.

Update: I am able to flash the "linuxmint-20.30cinnamon-64bit.iso" file to a usb and there it sits.
* From the linuxmint installation guide: "Never install from an .iso that failed the integrity check."?

You are attempting to open an iso file (DVD ROM image that is in iso9660 format) with a browser. In my experience such never works.

What I would suggest is to simply use rufus or etcher to write that image to a USB device then boot from it.

It is almost 100% certain that among all the multiple downloads you claim to have done that the majority are perfectly good images. Writing to the USB device then booting from that device should work. I have not used mint, but many installers will so a self check at boot time if you select that option so it takes it out of the windows environment where you seem to have trouble with the verification step and allows the linux installer built into the iso to do its own self verification.

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