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First of all, I'll say I'm actually very clueless regarding "computer stuff", that's why I'm asking this question from scratch, since related questions/answers I've seen here and on other sites I couldn't really understand (read 'understand' as trying for ~4 hours and arriving at no results) and/or they didn't work for me. I won't talk about what I already tried because I'm willing to try those options again since this was several months ago. Eventually I gave up on this and continued to use Windows.

I'm interested in setting up dual boot for Windows10 64bits (my current OS) and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Desktop. I've bought a USB Stick with 16GB of storage space and followed this tutorial: https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/create-a-usb-stick-on-windows#1-overview

When I restart my computer and boot it from the USB Stick, I get the following error message:

SYSLINUX 6.03 EDD 2014-10-06 Copyright (C) 1994-2014 H. Peter Anvin et al

Failed to load ldlinux.c32

Boot failed: please change disks and press a key to continue.

APL2020
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    Does this answer your question? Why Doesn't a Bootable USB Boot and What is the proper way of creating installation media from Ubuntu iso? – karel Jul 26 '20 at 04:23
  • So many possible solutions, I end up with 10+ tabs open and a million useless tools installed on my PC. One of them leads to a tutorial on how to verify checksum, this tutorial asks me to install an Ubuntu terminal on W10, now trying to install this I get an error. I'm better off paying someone to do this all for me aren't I? It feels like it will never end. This is why I gave up months ago, I had been trying different stuff for hours on end every weekend for a whole month. I apologize for acting this way I'm just so frustrated.. Thanks for the links regardless, appreciate them – APL2020 Jul 26 '20 at 04:44

1 Answers1

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Ubuntu Install Quick Start

The guide that you used is not the best guide. Following the screen shots, such as using Free Dos, can create problems. The following step by step guide is as simple as it gets:

![enter image description here

  • Select USB Device and Ubuntu ISO file for Boot Selection.

  • Stretch the Persistent partition size slider about half way.

  • Confirm your Rufus looks exactly like the screen shot except for the Device name and position of the Persistence slider.

  • Select START.

  • When Rufus is done you can use USB to install Ubuntu to BIOS or UEFI machine.

C.S.Cameron
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  • Thanks for the answer. Up to now I had been setting the Persistence silder at 0. I've tried setting it halfway through like you said and I get the following error message while formatting the drive: The directory is not a subdirectory of the root directory This happened whenever I put the slider at anything but 0. I've been looking into this for the past couple hours but I still can't figure out what's wrong – APL2020 Jul 26 '20 at 22:13
  • Rufus persistence only works with 19.10 and later. Is it working if you have the slider at zero? You don't need persistence to install Ubuntu. The only time it fails for me is when I have the slider all the way to the right. Are you booting BIOS or UEFI mode? Syslinux should only be the bootloader in BIOS mode, GRUB2 is the boot loader for UEFI mode. Can you try the stick on a UEFI computer? if it still does not work try downloading the ISO again. I found this online MD5SUM checker, nothing to download, just copy and paste the file: http://onlinemd5.com/ – C.S.Cameron Jul 27 '20 at 07:13
  • If Rufus does not work for you try Etcher: https://github.com/balena-io/etcher/releases/download/v1.5.101/balenaEtcher-Portable-1.5.101.exe This is portable version, no need to install, just double click the exe. Drag and drop the ISO onto the window. – C.S.Cameron Jul 27 '20 at 07:21
  • From Etcher: Failed Target; PhysicalDrive1 : Checksum does not match for range[0,... This means the iso I downloaded is corrupted, doesn't it? Guess I'll download it again

    Rufus was showing that error whenever I had persistency!=0. I'm booting on BIOS mode

     – APL2020 Jul 27 '20 at 08:13
  • Just verified checksum using the online tool you provided and it tells everything is OK. However, Etcher keeps showing me that message – APL2020 Jul 27 '20 at 08:37
  • Is your computer 64 bit or 32 bit? Does it boot UEFI or BIOS? The USB drive is new so that should be okay? Have you tried downloading a new ISO? Do you have access to a different computer, a friend or the library maybe? – C.S.Cameron Jul 27 '20 at 09:09
  • My computer is 64bit, it boots BIOS, and yes the USB is brand new. I've tried a downloading a new ISO but I got the same results. Lockdown is still going strong here so I guess I'll try this on an old computer I have stored, it's very old and I haven't used it in almost a decade. If I managed to install Ubuntu on another PC, would that somehow help me install it on my main PC? – APL2020 Jul 27 '20 at 18:42
  • At the least you could probably move the old HDD to the main PC, set it as first HDD, run "sudo update-grub" and use that to boot Windows when needed. This would not mess up your Windows boot loader. If you don't need Windows you can clone the OS on the old drive to the main drive using dd. That would overwrite everything on the main drive though. – C.S.Cameron Jul 28 '20 at 03:43
  • I'm afraid I'm getting the same error on my other computer as well (failed to load ldlinux.c32). The wa I'm burning the ISO on the USB is exactly how the tutorial I mentioned tells you to do as that's the only way I can do it without getting some kind of error – APL2020 Jul 28 '20 at 23:38
  • Halfway down the Rufus page there is Format Options. I have read changing to FAT rather than FAT32 sometimes works to fix the ldlinux.c32 problem. Also make sure that you are using version 3.11 of Rufus. YUMI might be worth trying https://www.pendrivelinux.com/downloads/YUMI/YUMI-UEFI-0.0.2.5.exe – C.S.Cameron Jul 29 '20 at 02:09
  • I'm not seeing the FAT option, just FAT32 and NTFS. I'm using Rufus' latest version (3.11). I've tried YUMI, first I get a list of the distributions I've got set in the USB, in my case the list only has one entry which reads "Linux Distributions", when I select it, I get the following message: "Failed to boot both default and fallback entries." Also I made a mistake earlier, I thought my PC was booting on BIOS but it's actually UEFI – APL2020 Jul 29 '20 at 09:48
  • If you click on FAT32 you should et an option for FAT32, FAT or NTFS. Did you try Partition Scheme = GPT? – C.S.Cameron Jul 29 '20 at 13:29
  • The "File System" dropdown menu only has the options "FAT32(Default)" and "NTFS". Would it be the same if I formatted the USB in format "exFAT" and THEN used Rufus? Or would Rufus re-format it to FAT32?

    I've tried using GPT instead of MBR. And apparently I'm booting on BIOS in the end, not UEFI. I apologize for the confusion, it says UEFI everyhwhere (in the title, on the prompt "Press F2 to run UEFI setup", etc). That's why I thought I had UEFI. And well, GPT is for UEFI only, not BIOS, so it threw me an error message telling me to use MBR

     – APL2020 Jul 29 '20 at 16:44
  • It looks like Rufus only allows Fat if the stick is under 16GB, do you have a smaller stick? – C.S.Cameron Jul 30 '20 at 06:19
  • I don't. Maybe there are other programs similar to Rufus that allow FAT formatting with a 16GB stick? – APL2020 Jul 30 '20 at 14:46
  • UNetbootin is another Syslinux booter: https://github.com/unetbootin/unetbootin/releases/download/681/unetbootin-windows-681.exe . I think YUMI BIOS/UEFI is the only GRUB2 booter in the bunch: https://www.pendrivelinux.com/downloads/YUMI/YUMI-UEFI-0.0.2.5.exe. MultiBootUSB uses GRUB2 to some extent, Ithink it has problems with 20.04: https://github.com/mbusb/multibootusb/releases/download/v9.2.0/multibootusb-9.2.0-setup.exe – C.S.Cameron Jul 30 '20 at 16:36
  • Okay so I've been trying some things with those tools and it went like this: No matter what tool I used, if the format was exFAT, I got an error message that included "exF" somewhere (the messages were not descriptive at all though, example: "Boot error. exF. press any key to reboot". The UNetBootin tool always gave me the short "Boot Error" message when booting, even when using persistency. I also tried multiboot "install syslinux" feature but that ended up on an error message that flashed too quickly to read when booting, and then instantly booting Windows automatically – APL2020 Jul 31 '20 at 00:06
  • ldlinux.c32 is a Syslinux file. Are you able to boot Ubuntu using VirtualBox? If so, you can install mkusb in a virtual machine and use that to install to a USB. mkusb uses GRUB2 as a bootloader, not Syslinux. I had expected YUMI BIOS/GRUB to have worked as it is also a GRUB2 booter. It uses just a little syslinux, but not ldlinux.c32. Where did it fail? – C.S.Cameron Jul 31 '20 at 00:53
  • Regarding YUMI, I had tried it before when you suggested it and when I booted my PC, I was presented with the YUMI UI, where I could select ">Linux Distributions" from a list, I would select that option (the other option was to reboot) and then I got the "Failed to boot both default and fallback entries." message. However, I tried it again and now when I select that option, nothing happens. I tried pressing Esc while on that list and I get to write on a console which reads ">grub". Is there something I could do from there? If the answer is no, I'll proceed to try the VM thing – APL2020 Jul 31 '20 at 01:30
  • YUMI BIOS/UEFI Step 2 is Select a Distribution. Step 3, (below that), is to Browse for the ISO. Don't forget step 3. – C.S.Cameron Jul 31 '20 at 02:02
  • I don't get to step 3, I press Enter to select a Distribution but nothing happens. Few days ago, the first time I tried YUMI, I actually got to step 3 somehow, but once I selected the ISO I got the following message: "Failed to boot both default and fallback entries." – APL2020 Jul 31 '20 at 15:16
  • I could set up a VM with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and I installed mkusb, I've been doing some research on how I can proceed but I'm having trouble following it, how would I go on about creating a bootable USB from a VM? I'm sorry I'm being so annoying and I really appreciate your help through all of this – APL2020 Aug 02 '20 at 00:27
  • Create a new virtual machine. Start the machine. when you get to Try / Install screen select Try Ubuntu. Once it is stable plug in USB stick. Click Devices / USB and select target drive and select USB with ISO file on it. Open Startup Disk Creator, Select Target USB on bottom and ISO file on top. Click Make Startup Disk. If you have already created a Ubuntu VM you can just use SDC from that. If you don't have a second USB stick to put the Ubuntu ISO on, put it on the Target drive and move it to desktop before proceeding with SDC. This is not annoying for me, bootable USB's are my hobby. – C.S.Cameron Aug 02 '20 at 06:19
  • Okay, I could almost taste victory now. I made the USB using SDC (I already had a VM with Ubuntu installed) and then booted my PC from it. When it starts, I get the purple screen with the "Keyboard = Man in a circle" logo at the bottom. I press a random key and then get to select a language. Once I do that, I get a menu with several different options, like Try Ubuntu, Install Ubuntu, check CD, test memory,.... I've tried first three of those options and I always get this message "Booting kernel failed: Invalid argument". If I press Enter then it repeats the same message after a few seconds. – APL2020 Aug 04 '20 at 06:08
  • I normally don't press a key when I see the little man, I hit Ctrl-c when file checking starts, then wait until the Try/Install screen appears. I select Try or Install depending on the situation. If I want a special boot like nomodeset or toram I press the shift key, (I think you did this), then Esc at the Language screen, then F6 and Esc again. If it does not start by leaving it alone, try this and type a space then type toram. This helps if your video card is a problem. Have you tried this USB on your other computer yet? Try just leaving it alone during boot first though. – C.S.Cameron Aug 04 '20 at 09:03
  • I've tried on both computers now. If I don't press anything on the purple screen, it goes straight to "booting kernel failed ..". If I press any key (shift, Ctrl+c, or any other) I get to select a language. I press Esc on that. The menu displayed has these options: Try Ubuntu w/o installing // Install Ubuntu // Check disk for defects // Test memory // Boot from first hard disk. I press F6 and get this list: Expert Mode // acpi=off // noapic // nolapic // edd=on // nodmraid // nomodeset // Free software only. I select nomodeset, then hit ESC, then select Install. I get the same message again – APL2020 Aug 05 '20 at 02:21
  • Once this message shows up ("booting kernel failed: Invalid argument") it doesn't seem like I can do anything else than manually restart the computer. I never get to type so I can't input " toram" anywhere like you suggested – APL2020 Aug 05 '20 at 02:22
  • After F6 and the menu displays : Try Ubuntu w/o installing // Install Ubuntu // Check disk for defects // etc. pressing Esc again should make that menu go away so you can type a space and then toram or nomodeset. It sounds to me like the downloaded ISO is corrupt. Perhaps try downloading one more time. – C.S.Cameron Aug 05 '20 at 03:21
  • When typing ' toram' or ' nomodeset' on the terminal I get this message: "Loading ... failed. No such file or directory". I've verified the checksums of the ISO and they are OK. I'll go ahead and download another one and see what happens – APL2020 Aug 05 '20 at 11:23
  • Sorry I left this hanging, I've been too busy this past few weeks. I've tried most methods with different downloads (I've tried both Ubuntu 18.04 and 20.04) and it's always the same results. So that shouldn't be the cause of the issue. – APL2020 Aug 17 '20 at 21:02