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I'm using a Dell Inspiron 5590, it came with Windows, I want to install Ubuntu instead. I downloaded the 18.04.5 image file and made a bootable USB device with Rufus following the ubuntu tutorial. The problem is, when booting, the USB device doesn't show in the Boot Options.

What I've tried:

  • Tested in USB ports 3.0 and 2.0
  • Tested flash drive in another notebook (It works)
  • Tested with and without Secure Boot.
  • Tried two "builds" of the bootable USB: Partition scheme: MBR + Target system: BIOS or UEFI AND with Partition scheme: GPT + Target system: UEFI (non CSM).

Also:

  • I'm not looking to dual boot this, just linux is fine.
  • USB Boot Support is enabled
  • I didn't tried with Legacy Boot, because the BIOS says that this mode is not supported in the platform.
  • Contacted Dell before purchase to be sure the hardware was compatible with Linux. (Also contacted the Dell support for help, useless in this case)
  • BIOS is up to date.

What else can I try in order to have my bootable USB to be recognized by the Boot Manager?

karel
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Justcurious
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  • Did you add the usb as a boot option in the bios? – George Udosen Dec 27 '20 at 20:50
  • @GeorgeUdosen Not sure how to do that. There is a field for enabling USB Boot Support, that is enabled. – Justcurious Dec 27 '20 at 21:22
  • I'll point out that folks have had issues with Rufus lately. You might want to give it another go with Balena Etcher. – KGIII Dec 27 '20 at 21:29
  • @KGIII Ok, so I downloaded Balena Etcher, made a new bootable USB (balena doesnt seem to support custom configs.) but no luck. still doesnt show up in boot manager. – Justcurious Dec 27 '20 at 22:17
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    Do you have an option to push a button to select the boot device? It's often F12 to select a boot device. It varies by OEM and even by model, but it's frequently F12 or seldom F2. – KGIII Dec 27 '20 at 22:28
  • Yes, it's F12, but the USB doesn't show up there. Just "Windows Boot Manager" and "UEFI Hard Drive". – Justcurious Dec 27 '20 at 23:00
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    This may give some inspiration: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1190764/why-doesnt-a-bootable-usb-boot – C.S.Cameron Dec 28 '20 at 00:54

2 Answers2

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Well, if anyone is facing similar issues, I solved mine by replacing the USB flash drive.

It was a Sony 16gb, it works fine both within the OS and as a bootable device in other notebook, but for some reasons in this notebook it didn't. Replaced with a SanDisk 16gb and it worked.

Justcurious
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Some BIOSes have difficulty with USB sticks over 4 GB. If the USB stick that you have tried previously is larger than that size, try one that is less than 4GB.

Matthew
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    Ubuntu tutorial says to use one of 4GB or more https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/create-a-usb-stick-on-windows#2-requirements . Also, not sure if they still make <4gb usb drives. – Justcurious Dec 27 '20 at 23:02