Feature request for the Live Media

[insomniacno1]

As 400 million devices can't upgrade to Windows 11, more and more Windows users who have no knowledge of installing anything else than Windows, move to Linux Mint.

Unfortunately, they run into installation problems that seem to be worse in 22.x than in previous versions and don't know how to solve these, I see this all the time in the Facebook group Linux Mint Desktop.

The feature request is very simple, but do take some effort from you guys/girls :

Please add a fool proof install manual to the desktop in the Live Media, right below the Install button, and encourage the reader to print this out or send to their mobile phone, so they can follow it during install.

Basically you have to redo the current .ISO files with this addon.

I see all to many times problem with freash install and dual booting with Windows, especially with computers that came from factory with Windows 11, because Microsoft have had a bad influence on PC/Laptop manufacturers over the last 30 years and made it more difficult to install OS other than Windows on those systems, with bios implementations like Fast boot, Secure boot, UEFI, and in Windows Fast startup.

Users need to be made aware of problems with these bios implementations, and how to turn them off.

The alternative, which is already happening, is that the users say "Linux is supose to be our salvation when our computers don't meet the requirements of Windows 11, so why is it so hard to install it?" and "If it is this hard I just buy a new computer capable of running Windows 11".

Do you see my point?

So a fool proof install manual make sense😉

I know its in your website, but a newbie might not find it there, and I am telling you that the install of Linux Mint has boomed since the end of Windows 10 support.

With kind regards

Jan Broendum Johansson
Jbj-tech-notes.blogspot.com
38 years in IT, as support, Technician, custom build and a ThinkPad lover😁

[fosslover306]

Unfortanatly I suspect that a picture guide would be mostly useless due to different hardware having different ways to get to bios so only the glossary would be helpfull.

I have delt with this problem 2 times in the last several year when I finaly could aford and needed 2 new computers for special use cases, anyway both of them I could only get linux on because of how the recovery tools work when you turn it on and off till you break the windows install, and when the recovery option comes up you point it to the linux install media.

So unless these users in question can grasp that microsoft and their cronies have basicly became a bios or uefi trogan and can't figure it out on thier own they were going to give up anyway.

And getting to the bios was just mashing the correct keys before the windows bootloader hijacked everything, which gave me about 1 blink of the eye to get the correct combo in to even see anything bios related, and only then were any key functions listed, because they are hidden and different it felt like I had to crack the safe just to try to open it when the time clock allows me to.

On the bright side now with computer and electric bill prices going threw the roof that problem is solved now. Windows 11 destroys ssds, both due to excess writing and broken buggy al slop code so keepinh windows 11 is a very costly mistake, and that's before RAM usage gets factored in.

[fosslover306]

Keep in mind I have been using and installing Linux for the last 8 years, with multiple systems needing maintince all at once so If am now reduced to educated guessing what chance does any normal new users have?

[insomniacno1]

Please read below 🙂

[insomniacno1]

A couple things to remember before installing Linux alongside Windows (dual boot) or as only OS

1. If dual booting with Windows, search in Windows for and turn off Fast boot(different names in different languages, also sometimes named Fast startup). You don't need this if Linux Mint is the only OS.

2. Turn off Fast boot in Bios (sometimes called Fast startup).

3. Disable Secure boot

4. Set UEFI to either Legacy or if it has this option BOTH.

5. If you have Nvidia discreete graphic chip alongside Intel, then try see if you can set it to be default or just make sure its enabled.

5a. Make sure to research your model first and find the correct Nvidia driver before installing Linux Mint, so you have it ready on an USB stick.

5b. Same procedure for AMD.

This is a basic lineup of what I am asking for.

For the Linux Mint developers ONLY - Older Nvidia cards don't show up in Driver Manager anymore, and in my honest opinion this is a mistake that need to to be corrected immediately, give people the option back, to either keep Noveau or use Proprietary driver.

And make sure Driver Manager unload the Noveau kernel driver directly after install of Proprietary Nvidia driver, before restart, or the user end up with black screen as you have seen so many users complain about!

This is is not done by the Nvidia driver.

It would also help a bit I you clearly tell people the command to use if installing Nvidia driver from Terminal and do NOT forget sudo where it is most definately needed.

Same ask for AMD.

Another thing which I find incedible annoying and dumb because in almost 2026, this problem should not exist, is while Live Media find the WiFi card and its working, when finished installing often the WiFi card is not installed, I know its an Ubuntu thing, but for god sake please fix this!

Or at least add a guide in the manual on how to install the driver from the Live Media - Not Everyone has a LAN cable or even an RJ45 LAN port.

As a last thing, I have noticed many complain that the ISO is corrupted after download, please advice users Directly on the Download page to NOT use download managers.

Torrent work fine.

I started with Red Hat 5.2 in 1998, and have tried many distros, even some you might never have, but I love Linux Mint 🙂

[insomniacno1]

The straight to Windows is the Fast boot in bios, and in Windows too, if you disable these two you should be able to get to bios, otherwise you can boot to bios from Windows by following this guide

1. Click the Start Menu (Windows icon) > Settings (gear icon).

2. Go to Recovery: Select Update & Security (Windows 10) or System > Recovery (Windows 11).

3. Start Advanced Startup: Under "Advanced startup," click Restart now.

4. Navigate the Blue Screen:
   Choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options.
   Select UEFI Firmware Settings.

5. Click Restart to enter the BIOS/UEFI.

6. Disable Fast boot or Fast startup in bios and do the same in Windows after reboot.

[billyswong]

Older Nvidia cards don't show up in Driver Manager anymore, and in my honest opinion this is a mistake that need to to be corrected immediately, give people the option back, to either keep Noveau or use Proprietary driver.

Nvidia doesn't support old cards indefinitely. When the official Nvidia Linux driver support of your card ends, it ends. This is the common behaviour of out-of-tree closed source hardware driver written for Linux.

[insomniacno1]

This is not true, there are archived drivers at Nvidias servers which could work in newer versions of Linux Mint with some effort from the developers.

https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/

[fosslover306]

That's much better, however given currant microsoft behavior I would not even go into windows it's self but that is admittidly a nitpick, it does at least get the new user to the bios so that the rest of the guide is actually usefull so I would be fine with this guide being added to the website, seeing as unless the user followed the guide they would not be able to boot the live image anyway which is where they can actually use the guide meaning it would be kinda pointless including it in the live image.

Kinda like having a introductery dvd with a dvd player if you needed the guide then you could not use it anyway, and if you did not need it to start using said dvd player then you didn't need it anyway.

I think the best course of action would be to have a install guide (with pictures) download with the iso or have a clearly visable button to strongly suggest the new user to read it if they are new to installing any os's cause lets face it locking the user out of bios screws even windows users.

[billyswong]

@insomniacno1 What I read in https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nvidia-graphics-drivers-470-server/+bug/2110338 doesn't match your claim.

[insomniacno1]

And yet another user jumped ship, for Manjaro, because getting older Nvidia hybrid cards to work in Linux Mint is a PITA and not enough info, when Noveau fail.

Can't you understand that in order to keep users You need to provide better support for Nvidia, it is not that difficult to understand.

[insomniacno1]

@fosslover306 It was not meant for you, but for the developers 🙂

[fosslover306]

I kinda figured, but i:m just trying to set your expectaions.

And I agree about the nividia driver stuff.

I also wonder if LMDE users will ever get a driver manager which might actully help fix this problem.

Or even a kernel manager, which can also effect hardware support.