Fedora will not run linux mint usb drive

[Tyler Si]

Ok so I installed Fedora 16 onto my hard drive yesterday and i decided that i want Linux Mint 12 instead of fedora. I have my Linux Mint USB working on my windows 7 computer. But when i try to "boot from USB" on my fedora machine it never recognizes it and just boots regular fedora. Is there a way to get fedora to recognize my linux mint USB drive?

---------- Post added at 06:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:20 PM ----------

no response?

[stevea]

SO what does - try to "boot from USB" - mean exactly ?
I assume you are telling the BIOS to boot the USB device (thumb drive?) , but instead it boots the hard disk.

If so - then this behavior has nothing to do with Fedora. It means your BIOS either doesn't recognize the USB as bootable so it then tries the hard isk - or it might mean the USB contents aren't quite correct and it causes the disk boot.


If you don't believe me - then disconnect the Fedora disk cable and try booting the USB. I expect it will hang or give an error message.

Sometime the BIOS will have some USB options to read the USB storage as a disk, a DVD/CD etc - you might try playing with these BIOS options.

Some BIOSes just don't boot USBs thumb drives well - or at all.

[Tyler Si]

Well the problem is that Fedora is already the main OS on my laptop so I dont know how i would "disconnect the HD" I tried using the USB on my other laptop and it "booted from the thumb drive" successfully. But whenever i plug my thumb drive into my computer with Fedora on it, i set it to boot from USB, but it never does, just skips straight to loading from the computers hard drive not the usb

[kurtdriver]

Disconnect it by unplugging the wires to the power supply and the motherboard. That shouldn't be necessary though. Assuming that your computer can boot from USB, go into setup and set it to boot from the USB drive. As it boots you should see something like "Press Del to enter setup". Don't forget to save your changes.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by Tyler Si

Well the problem is that Fedora is already the main OS

NO - that is not the problem. I've tried to explain that to you. Fedora resides 100% on the disk - nowhere else. IF A/ your BIOS supports thumb-drive boots and B/ BIOS correctly configured to boot the USB and if C/ the USB content is bootable - then the disk is never accessed. It makes no difference what is on the disk (fedora, windows, nothing) if your BIOS supports a thumb-drive boot and if you correctly set up the BIOS and the USB.

on my laptop so I dont know how i would "disconnect the HD"

I didn't know it was a laptop. Some laptops you can pull the disk
That was just a suggestion so you can prove to yourself that the problem has ZERO to do with Fedora.

My strong hunch is that either you need to diddle your BIOS settings to boot the USB (thumb drive?) or else your laptop BIOS may be unable to to boot USB thumb drives.

I tried using the USB on my other laptop and it "booted from the thumb drive" successfully. But whenever i plug my thumb drive into my computer with Fedora on it, i set it to boot from USB, but it never does, just skips straight to loading from the computers hard drive not the usb

See my list above. The fact that your USB is bootable on another system means that item 'C/' is correct.
It does NOT mean that you have correctly configured your laptop BIOS and it does not mean your laptop BIOS can ever boot a USB (containing that sort of image). You may be forced to burn a CD.


So there are two or three questions here.
1/ Please show your laptop make & model.
2/ Please describe in detail the BIOS setting you used to select the USB thumb drive.
3/ Please point to the Mint download you used (and any instructions) to create the USB.

Did you look in the laptop BIOS for USB setting for boot ?