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Last I was hung up on creating a bootable USB - my USB stick was ancient. Got a new one, a nifty "dual" model from SanDisk that protrudes either large or small connector from opposite ends - clever and it works.

The old laptop runs Mint fine but the USB at ~62GB has twice the storage of the hard drive so installing 'major' apps like an IDE still not viable. I should just learn to use Vim or something

So I tried booting it on my Win10 pc, but I'm using a 2016 model Vizio TV instead of a true PC monitor, which means it will not display 'low level' screens like the BIOS menu.

Testing indicates that the the bios screen is loading 'blind' (power off button activates immediately)

Tried the Windows method of Settings...-> UEFI reboot, same result.

It seems like I might have to get a 'real' PC monitor just to access the BIOS so I can disable Secure Boot.

Last I was hung up on creating a bootable USB - my USB stick was ancient. Got a new one, a nifty "dual" model from SanDisk that protrudes either large or small connector from opposite ends - clever and it works. The old laptop runs Mint fine but the USB at ~62GB has twice the storage of the hard drive so installing 'major' apps like an IDE still not viable. I should just learn to use Vim or something So I tried booting it on my Win10 pc, but I'm using a 2016 model Vizio TV instead of a true PC monitor, which means it will not display 'low level' screens like the BIOS menu. Testing indicates that the the bios screen is loading 'blind' (power off button activates immediately) Tried the Windows method of Settings...-> UEFI reboot, same result. It seems like I might have to get a 'real' PC monitor just to access the BIOS so I can disable Secure Boot.
[–] • 2 pts

I have a 2013 Dell laptop I installed a 1tb ssd in and updated the wifi card with a spare one I had; installed Linux mint over win 11 pro and have had zero problems beyond the crummy linux color space.

[–] • 1 pt

In my experience, SanDisk USB sticks fail when you need it the most. If you can afford to wait, get some MicroCenter branded thumbdrives.

[–] • 1 pt

I would imagine you can find a cheap monitor at goodwill or a pawn shop maybe. People get rid of perfectly fine monitors all the time just because they want to upgrade to a bigger size or higher resolution.

[–] • 1 pt

That is an easy fix. I am working on installing Arch on a old laptop that had Windows 10. Having bootloader issues.