Confused with partitions | Linux Mint Community🍵 | Page 1

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 9:39 PM

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I am trying to put XFCE on a USB stick.
The partitions are confusing and I don't know what to do.

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.

cobalt sandal Apr 12, 2025, 9:44 PM

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you're going to have to know more technical terms for storage devices

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nvme is NOT a USB

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the device you're looking for may likely be called something like sda sdb sdc

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you will need a free USB if you're intending to put the install on the USB

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if you're using a USB flash drive already, then you will need 2 USB flash drives

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you cannot write to a running system

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do you intend to use Mint Stick ?

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what's your intentions? a normal install with the USB treated as any other storage device, or writing an ISO to USB?

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 9:51 PM

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Run off of a USB

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I have two

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One is in the live boot

cobalt sandal Apr 12, 2025, 9:52 PM

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alright, it'll be something like /dev/sda

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 9:52 PM

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Yeah I see one

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Oh wait my computer froze

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Am I supposed to close the lid

cobalt sandal Apr 12, 2025, 9:53 PM

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the root partition should be mounted at /, and is the ext4 one

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no

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it's normal for a USB to be very slow

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 9:53 PM

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Alright gimme a sec I'll re boot

cobalt sandal Apr 12, 2025, 9:54 PM

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I did it once and it took about 40 minutes to complete an install to a USB

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expect 🐌

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would recommend an external SSD if possible

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 9:55 PM

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^^

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u can use a cheap usb stick if ur just gonna run Mint once in a blue moon to do online banking or check some email. I wouldn't recommend using it heavily as a daily on that kind of device. can brick/kill the usb stick.

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also, if this is uefi system, then the external drive needs efi partition (or if the usb stick/usb-ssd will be used on any other computer having UEFI to boot up.

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this must be the efi partition OF THE EXTERNAL DRIVE. not of the nvme or other internal booting drive

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if your usb target device is sda (as in example picture) then click (-) to remove all partitions on it. You may also click "new partition table" button, and make as GPT type. then click (+) to make the two shown above. 2nd one can be any size, minimum 15 GB though

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see red writing also.

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:21 PM

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Sorry. I'm back.

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I rebooted it and am back and when I plugged the USB I'll be using and it won't pick up.

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Alright it picked up

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It's sdb

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@silk scarab

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:33 PM

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ya

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:33 PM

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What to do

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:33 PM

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u sure sdb is your 62 or 64 GB thumb drive?

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:34 PM

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62

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:34 PM

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do efibootmgr in terminal

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:35 PM

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Ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:35 PM

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this shows if current boot method is uefi-run or not

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:35 PM

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?

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:36 PM

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and that means it is

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minimize terminal

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:36 PM

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Ok

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:37 PM

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sullen aurora

highlight /dev/sdb

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:37 PM

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Wdym

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:37 PM

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click the line

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:37 PM

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Oh ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:38 PM

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then click 'new partition table' button

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:38 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:38 PM

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scroll back

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down to sdb

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:38 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:39 PM

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u clicked new partition table yes or no?

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:39 PM

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What's that

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:39 PM

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omg

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:39 PM

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No

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:40 PM

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ok exit installer to be safer

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use gparted app

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:40 PM

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Ok?

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Ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:40 PM

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just back right out of installer til the cancel or close button appears

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:41 PM

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Oh

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I exited it whole

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:41 PM

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k

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:41 PM

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Whopps

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:41 PM

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gparted

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open from start menu

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:42 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:42 PM

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step 1 pick usb 64 gb

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:43 PM

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sullen aurora

this show linux is already installed on nvme

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:44 PM

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What to do

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:44 PM

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are u trying to make a portable distro?

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:44 PM

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Yes

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Like plug into a computer on the go

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:45 PM

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gotcha

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ok so if u aree ready to wipe usb, then click apply

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:45 PM

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Do I click apply

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Ok

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Applyed

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:46 PM

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next, right click the space

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do new:

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:46 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:46 PM

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primary partition, type: fat32. size: 100 MiB , label: ESP

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:46 PM

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silk scarab next, right click the space

?

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:47 PM

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the grey

cobalt sandal Apr 12, 2025, 10:47 PM

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yes, the unallocated stuff

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:47 PM

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Noting pops up

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:47 PM

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right click ON the grey

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:48 PM

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Im right clicking it

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No menu pop up

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:48 PM

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ok. close gparted, and reopen it

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then pick usb again n do

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:49 PM

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I just realized the right click does not work on anything

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?????

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:49 PM

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then wtf

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boot back to ur regular installation for a minute

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:50 PM

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Ok

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Sorry if I'm annoying

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:50 PM

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s-ok

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not ur fault if mouse or live system glitched

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:51 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:52 PM

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what's that? thought u closed it?

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:52 PM

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Opened it again

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:53 PM

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oh u rebooted live?

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:53 PM

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? I just clicked this again

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:54 PM

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i c

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reboot to ur install on nvme

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:54 PM

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Reboot for what?

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:55 PM

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cuz ur mouse is screwy, so make partitions on usb using ur real OS

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:56 PM

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Ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:56 PM

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if u dont have gparted on main OS, just install it, it's not very big

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:57 PM

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I got it don't worry

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:57 PM

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kool

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:58 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:58 PM

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pick usb 64 gb

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:58 PM

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Ok

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:58 PM

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then right clik grey space, n "new"

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:59 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 10:59 PM

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silk scarab primary partition, type: fat32. size: 100 MiB , label: ESP

all this

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 10:59 PM

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Ok

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"Type" as in file system

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:01 PM

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yep must be fat32 for esp

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:02 PM

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This good?

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:02 PM

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ya hit add

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:03 PM

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Ok!

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:03 PM

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next, rclick grey space again: new:

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:03 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:04 PM

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primary, size: 53,248 MiB, type: ext4, label: LINUX

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:06 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:06 PM

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i recommend to leave rest as fat32 after, for universality to store any small files from any OS

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Change size

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:06 PM

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Ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:06 PM

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silk scarab primary, size: 53,248 MiB, type: ext4, label: LINUX

.

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:07 PM

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silk scarab Change size

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:07 PM

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click add

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then last grey space, : New

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:08 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:08 PM

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primary, type: fat32 , size (remaining available), and label: DATA

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:08 PM

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Wdym : new?

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:09 PM

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silk scarab primary, type: fat32 , size (remaining available), and label: DATA

Ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:09 PM

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on third block (grey)

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:09 PM

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Add?

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:10 PM

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yes

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:10 PM

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Ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:11 PM

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then click big green checkmark

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after it finishes, right click ESP u made, and do "manage flags"

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:11 PM

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Still some unallocated

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:12 PM

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cant see cuz stupid flash

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but just hit checkmark

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:12 PM

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Whoops

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Better?

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sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:13 PM

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silk scarab but just hit checkmark

Ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:13 PM

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its 1 MB buffer

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:14 PM

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Hope

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Disabled flash

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:14 PM

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silk scarab after it finishes, right click ESP u made, and do "manage flags"

and put boot and esp flag on partition 1

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:15 PM

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Close?

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What's partition 1

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:15 PM

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ESP

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:15 PM

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Ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:16 PM

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u labelled it

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:16 PM

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What to click

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:16 PM

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i wrote above

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:17 PM

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Ok

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:17 PM

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silk scarab and put `boot` and `esp` flag on partition 1

How

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:18 PM

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silk scarab after it finishes, right click ESP u made, and do "manage flags"

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sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:18 PM

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Ok

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:19 PM

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yep

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:19 PM

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Ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:20 PM

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show final pic

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:20 PM

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Ok

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:21 PM

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did u put msftdata on p3, or was like that?

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:21 PM

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Like that

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:21 PM

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ok close gparted.

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:21 PM

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Ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:21 PM

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fire up the linux iso usb

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:21 PM

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WAIT I DID NOT SAVE

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:22 PM

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i think it saves

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when u do flag changes

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:22 PM

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Ok hopefully

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:22 PM

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but u can check

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:23 PM

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Checked and it saved

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:23 PM

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great

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:23 PM

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Now boot into the USB stick

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Right?

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:24 PM

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silk scarab

get back to this point in Mint installer.

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:24 PM

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Ok

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Oh no which?

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:25 PM

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do both or either of your usb drives have lights?

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:25 PM

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No lights

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:25 PM

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neither one?

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:26 PM

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Neither

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Do I try both

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:26 PM

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ok boot one of them

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idk which 😛

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:26 PM

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My gambling was correct!

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:29 PM

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let me know when ur at the chart step

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:29 PM

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I will

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sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:30 PM

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silk scarab let me know when ur at the chart step

.

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I'm there

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:32 PM

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ok

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scroll down

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find ur 52 gb ext4

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:33 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:33 PM

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sullen aurora

click on sdb2, then 'change'

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:33 PM

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silk scarab find ur 52 gb ext4

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:34 PM

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then put use as: ext4 jour fs, format, and mount point: /

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:35 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:35 PM

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silk scarab then put use as: ext4 jour fs, format, and mount point: /

.

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:35 PM

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Where's ext4 jour fs

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:36 PM

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very top of that

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:36 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:37 PM

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yep

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then hitok

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then for BOOTLOADER select

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put on /dev/sdb1

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:38 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:38 PM

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silk scarab then for BOOTLOADER select

.,,

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:39 PM

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How

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:39 PM

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silk scarab

look red

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:40 PM

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What to click

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:41 PM

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the down arrow

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:41 PM

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Ok

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:42 PM

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silk scarab put on /dev/sdb1

.

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:42 PM

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This good?

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Oh ok

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:42 PM

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no

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sdb1

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not sdb

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:43 PM

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silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:43 PM

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that's it. hit install and wait like an hour

sullen aurora Apr 12, 2025, 11:44 PM

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Ok! Sorry for wasting an hour of you life!

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Once it's done I set tag as solved

silk scarab Apr 12, 2025, 11:45 PM

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you may want to test boot the new portable Mint on another machine, to ensure it boots up, and u can see DATA partition (will show up as a device of 5.6 GB)

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and u can test it out, change wallpaper, etc.

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u can use DATA partition as data drive on any Windows computer. or u can use it too from Linux for something u want to save to SHARE onto a windows or mac computer

silk scarab Apr 13, 2025, 2:05 AM

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any news, @sullen aurora ?

#Confused with partitions