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Installing Linux Mint 22.1 Xia Cinnamon

So You've Finally Decided to Take the Plunge. Great!

1. Make a backup of your HDD/SSD. You have been warned. If you lose everything, it's all YOUR fault. I'm not telling you to install Linux Mint. You're simply following instructions. If you don't have a way to backup or don't want to, I assume you will probably wipe Windows and everything off your machine. 2. Check BIOS for Secure Boot -- this keeps you from booting from the USB stick -- diasable it. After turning on your computer, you will see an initial text, press the correct key as soon as you see that message. The correct key is different for each brand of computer. Common keys are ESC, F2, F10. The easiest way to do this is search the web for "how to enter BIOS [your computer's name/model]" Then search for secure boot in your BIOS and turn it off. Now save your changes and exit; your computer will probably reboot. Now that you are back in Windows. You must decide on whether you will a. wipe Windows out completely and install Linux, or b. repartition to make room for Linux at the end of your HDD in a dual boot configuration. If you are going to dual boot, the process takes some more time, but isn't much more difficult. First, you need a backup whether you are wiping or dual booting because you can always return to Windows if something goes wrong. For Dual booting situations and after backing up, Press and hold the Windows key, and press the 'R' key and in the dialog box, type diskmgmt.msc and press enter. This is Windows Disk Manager, and you can maximize its window. Normally, you should see your C: drive is already selected/displayed. Click on the C: drive, then right click it for the menu, and select Shrink Volume. When the dialog box is displayed, the free space you can play with is highlighted. Simply type in how much in MB you would like to shrink C: by. For instance, if you have a 500 GB drive, and you have already used 302 GB, you will have perhaps 150-165 GB of free space depending on the hard drive manufacturer. Let's say the number is equivalent to 165 GB. The highlighted number you will see in the dialog box will be something close to 168960 which is 165 1024. Since Disk Manager uses megabytes, you have to divide/multiply to use the correct numbers. Therefore, if the number you see highlighted is something like 168960, you divide that by 1024 and get 149.68. So assuming that number, let's leave Windows some extra space (this is a must or the system will crash), before we shrink C:. So let's leave Windows 30 GB in this scenario. 30 1024 = 30720. Disk Manager is asking us how much we want to shrink C: by. If we enter into the calculator 153272 - 30720, we get 122552. That is what we type into the box. Then click the shrink button and watch Windows shrink the C: partition. After that the system will be ready to receive Linux and still allow us to have Windows. Disk Manager shrink partition to make room for Linux. 3. Need 4GB USB stick 4. Download Balena Etcher portable; You can run it directly from your Desktop or Downloads folder. Go to linuxmint.com with your browser, click on the download menu, and select Cinnamon. Scroll down, and click the Download button. Now click on the sha256sum.txt, and when it's loaded in your browser, press CTRL-S to save it. Now keep scrolling down and select the mirror closest to you to begin the download. This will put the file linuxmint-22.1-cinnamon-64bit.iso in your Downloads directory. When it is finished, insert your blank => 4GB USB drive into you computer. Double click the Rufus icon to start the program. Make sure you have inserted the USB stick you are going to put Linux Mint on. In the device drop down box, make sure it is set to your USB stick, as opposed to someother drive that you DO NOT want to erase. Because Rufus is going to erase your USB stick--completely. Click the 'Select' button and navigate to your Downloads folder, and select the linuxmint-22.1-cinnamon-64bit.iso file. Click the 'Start' button near the bottom, and click 'OK' to write in ISO mode. 2. Download Linux Mint iso 3. Burn iso to

Deciding How to Install on Your HDD

Single Boot or Dual Boot

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