0

I'm trying to install Ubuntu and in BIOS there is no boot from USB drive or anything like that. I would boot it from disk, but my laptops CD/DVD reader is broken and it can't read anything. Please help?

bain
  • 11,260
user250527
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
  • What are your system specs? – Mr.Lee Feb 20 '14 at 21:00
  • What brand and model of laptop? Is there a "Boot Menu" key similar to the "Enter Setup" key. For example on many Dell computers you hit F2 to enter setup and F12 for a onetime boot menu. – Dennis Feb 20 '14 at 21:01
  • @Mr.Lee I'm not quite sure. Where can I find them? – user250527 Feb 20 '14 at 21:02
  • @Dennis this laptop is Compaq Evo N1015v. It goes to boot menu with F10 but that is the only button on startup. And my BIOS is PhoenixBIOS 4.0 release 6.0 if that helps. – user250527 Feb 20 '14 at 21:06
  • What kind of USB device are you booting to? Not all are capable of being boot devices. Also, some register themselves as USB-floppy and USB-CDROM, instead of USB-HDD. – The Dude Feb 20 '14 at 21:08
  • @The Dude my USB device is probably Kingston DataTraveler G3 USB Device. – user250527 Feb 20 '14 at 21:11
  • @user250527 It should be bootable. Did use use UnetBootIn or the Startup Disk Creator from within Ubuntu? The drive must be formatted FAT32 (not NTFS like it comes from the factory) so that it is bootable. – The Dude Feb 20 '14 at 21:16
  • @The Dude I used Pen Drive Linux's USB installer. And the drive is formatted FAT32. – user250527 Feb 20 '14 at 21:20
  • Could I just launch wubi and then remove Windows XP? – user250527 Feb 21 '14 at 13:33

3 Answers3

2

Have you tried finding your USB in the hadrdrive list in the BIOS. Make your first boot device as harddrive and under harddrives you should be able to find your USB.

The Prenx
  • 355
  • 2
  • 3
  • 10
  • There is no USB in there. :/ – user250527 Feb 20 '14 at 21:08
  • Try changing the USB port... – The Prenx Feb 20 '14 at 21:10
  • In your BIOS make sure your USB is enabled. There's probably also an option that says Legacy USB support, try changing the status of that as well. – The Dude Feb 20 '14 at 21:17
  • @The Dude I found USB BIOS Legacy Support and enabled it but still not working. – user250527 Feb 20 '14 at 21:28
  • @user250527 Yeah, that was a long shot. Typically used for using USB keyboards at boot to adjust BIOS settings and in DOS, I was hoping it would make your USB drive visible. Does this USB stick work after boot? – The Dude Feb 20 '14 at 23:06
  • @The Dude if I understood what you meAnt then yes. – user250527 Feb 20 '14 at 23:29
  • I don't think this computer's bootable from USB sticks, then. If you are handy with a screwdriver, I'd suggest putting this drive in another machine, installing Ubuntu there, and bringing it back to this laptop. Just make sure that if you want 64bit Ubuntu, both computers support it. Another possible alternative is a USB CDROM drive; you'd have to test it with your computer for compatibility with booting first, though. – The Dude Feb 21 '14 at 18:04
  • In my case i have to activate the hard drive emulation in the usb tab on the bios, i follow this http://www.curlybrace.com/words/2009/05/02/boot-from-usb-stick-on-biostar-tf8200-a2/ – fpilee Mar 02 '14 at 14:56
0

Sometimes USB sticks will appear as hard disks in the BIOS menu. There may be a section called "Hard Disk Priority" or something similar where you will see your USB stick. Also post the specs of your computer because some old computers do not support booting from USB.

user250071
  • 31
  • 1
0

As I suspected, according to this thread your laptop does not support booting from USB. See post # 16:

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=306565

All I can think of trying to do would be to remove the HDD and install Linux directly on the HDD using another computer.

user250071
  • 31
  • 1