Install Linux Mint From USB

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Linux Mint is one of the most popular Linux distribution. Mostly advanced Linux users including LinuxAndUbuntu, it is always suggested to start with Linux Mint. So those who are newbies or thinking to use Linux Mint, here is a complete tutorial on how to install Linux Mint from USB and CD/DVD.

Linux Mint has four editions or flavors:

  • Linux Mint Cinnamon
    • Cinnamon is the own desktop environment of Linux Mint, it’s a fork of Gnome.
    • It’s elegant and functional.
  • Linux Mint Mate
    • Mate is another fork of Gnome, it seems Gnome 2.
    • It’s for users that like a classical desktop environment.
  • Linux Mint XFCE
    • XFCE is a minimalistic and elegant desktop environment.
    • It’s better for computers with low resources.
  • Linux Mint KDE
    • KDE is one of most complete desktop environments.
    • It has a lot of functionalities and a good look.
    • It’s better for modern computers with the most recent hardware.

System Requirements For Linux Mint

  • 512MB RAM (1GB recommended for a comfortable usage).
  • 9GB of disk space (20GB recommended).
  • 1024×768 resolution (on lower resolutions, press ALT to drag windows with the mouse if they don’t fit in the screen).
  • Notes:
    • The 64-bit ISO can boot with BIOS or UEFI.
    • The 32-bit ISO can only boot with BIOS.
    • The 64-bit ISO is recommended for all modern computers (Almost all computers sold in the last 10 years are equipped with 64-bit processors).

How To Install Linux Mint From USB, CD/DVD?

  1. Go to the Linux Mint download website and choose the better flavor for you, then download it:
    1. Download Linux Mint

Download Linux Mint

                  2. You can choose a download mirror or a torrent download, for this tutorial I will use the torrent download.

                 3. Open the torrent file with the transmission or other torrent clients (utorrent from Windows).

​    2. Verify your ISO

  1. From the main mirror download the sha256sum.txt file of the actual version
    1. https://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/linuxmint.com/stable/18/
  2. In a linux terminal move to the directory of your iso using cd
  3. Type the command: ‘sha256sum linuxmint.iso’
  4. Compare that checksum with the one you can find from the “sha256sum.txt” file. If the two checksums are the same, then you know your ISO file is exactly the same as the original.
  5. Example
    1. checksum from “sha256sum.txt” file

3fb60a7698f5d80e68526016da3e4455d8a19be6b1cb0eeb5b59dbdd8cf1ffb3 *linuxmint-18-cinnamon-32bit.iso

2. Terminal output

​​                      3. If you compare the checksums, they are equals
6. If the checksums don’t match, your ISO file could be damaged

​3. Make your installation media

  1. Burn a Linux Mint Live DVD
    1. k3b (Linux KDE) – Free
    2. Brasero (Linux Gnome) – Free
    3. Nero (Windows) – $$
    4. Alcohol 120% (Windows) – $$
    5. Free ISO Burner – Obviously Free: http://www.freeisoburner.com/
  2. Create a Live USB
    1. Linux Live USB Creator http://www.linuxliveusb.com/
    2. UNetbootin https://unetbootin.github.io/
    3. dd – Linux
      1. dd if=linuxmint.iso of=/dev/sdx

4. Notes

  1. Your laptop must be connected to energy
  2. Your laptop must be connected to internet (ethernet / wireless)
  3. Linux Mint (Live) has problems with some graphic cards like nvidia because the free drivers don’t have a good performance

5. Boot the installation media

  1. Configure your BIOS / UEFI to boot from the installation media device

6. You can try the system before the installation.

​​7. Open the Linux Mint Installer

  1. Select your language

​8. Third-party software

  1. If you want to install proprietary drivers and audio codecs you must check the option

​9. Preparing your hard disk

  1. You can choose the first option to use your entire hard disk
  2. Use the last option to make the partitions manually
  3. Also you can encrypt the installation
  4. If you selected an option you can start the installation by clicking “install now”

       5. ​Write changes to disk

10. Choose your location to determine the correspondent time zone

11. Select your keyboard layout

​12. Create the user account

  1. Enter your real name
  2. Enter the hostname
  3. Enter the user name
  4. Enter a strong password
  5. Choose between “Log in automatically” and “password to log in”

13. The Installation process will be started

14. During the installation process, you will see the features of Linux Mint

​15. The installation should take between 10 and 15 minutes when it finished you will see the following dialog:

16. Restart your computer and remove the installation media

17. First Login

18. Enjoy your Linux Mint System!