Linux Installation Help

[mvpcurtis]

Hi there. I'm happy to be a part of this community and that it's great to meet you all!

I'm having a small problem with an old laptop I have managed to find. For the past 2 days, I've tried to install multiple distros on it via a USB drive but failed. It turns out that the HDD has been taken out and the only on board storage is eMMC. Unfortunately, I keep receiving "no bootable device" when I remove the installation media (the USB drive).

My next plan was to use another USB drive as the storage for the laptop and to install Linux on. After the installation finished, I take out the installation media leaving the USB drive where Linux was installed to still plugged in, reboot the laptop and I get the same "no bootable device" text. I reboot the laptop again, enter the boot order page and nothing is showing. I've taken out the other USB drive, plug it into my desktop and I can see the OS files on it.

Some information:
. Acer Aspire ES1-132
. InsydeH20 BIOS
. Secure boot is disabled
. Linux distro tested: ubuntu, fedora and ubuntu mate.

If anyone can help me out, that was be amazing and if you require any extra info, please just ask!

PS - I have created a Windows boot disk and tried that with nothing but the eMMC storage and Windows 10 works fine?

 

[dos2unix]

I would think you would be able to run any "Live" distro from the USB without a hard drive.

 

[captain-sensible]

yep and have a certain amount of persistence too; just got that working with Slackware15.0 live using ALien Bobs iso2usb.sh script

 

[mvpcurtis]

I would think you would be able to run any "Live" distro from the USB without a hard drive.

So should I be having a problem installing ubuntu from 1 USB drive onto different USB drive?

 

[Brickwizard]

Welcome to the forums, the Acer Aspire ES1-132 never has a traditional hard drive but a 32gb SSD/eMMC. , fine for windows, not so good for Linux, if you know what you're looking for there are many such problems covering nearly every distribution you can name It has an SD reader, one short term solution would be use a 32gb cl10 SD card to install to, installing to a second USB is easy, you will need one of 32gb [and a good make] it must be clean and formatted FAT32, you install USB should also be of good quality, clean and formatted to FAT32 as well [before you burn the ISO to it, ] installation is the same format as https://www.linux.org/threads/“how-do-i-instal-linux-a-general-guide-to-installation”-a-guest-article-for-linux-tips.38891/ Except when you come to selecting the target drive you select the blank Pen drive

 

[Lobo1980]

I had the same problems in the past and they solved by installing a Systemd free distro (like MXLinux, Artix or Void).

Have you try that?

 

[Shinookami]

Hi there. I'm happy to be a part of this community and that it's great to meet you all!

I'm having a small problem with an old laptop I have managed to find. For the past 2 days, I've tried to install multiple distros on it via a USB drive but failed. It turns out that the HDD has been taken out and the only on board storage is eMMC. Unfortunately, I keep receiving "no bootable device" when I remove the installation media (the USB drive).

My next plan was to use another USB drive as the storage for the laptop and to install Linux on. After the installation finished, I take out the installation media leaving the USB drive where Linux was installed to still plugged in, reboot the laptop and I get the same "no bootable device" text. I reboot the laptop again, enter the boot order page and nothing is showing. I've taken out the other USB drive, plug it into my desktop and I can see the OS files on it.

Some information:
. Acer Aspire ES1-132
. InsydeH20 BIOS
. Secure boot is disabled
. Linux distro tested: ubuntu, fedora and ubuntu mate.

If anyone can help me out, that was be amazing and if you require any extra info, please just ask!

PS - I have created a Windows boot disk and tried that with nothing but the eMMC storage and Windows 10 works fine?

Simple fix bud all you need to do is install a hard drive into the laptop and then have it install the Linux of your chose to that or go into the bios, if your doing the whole flash drive part, and disable all the other bootable drives on there and see if that works and also check if the laptop can handle UEFI files (not 100% if that's what there called do to needing to charge my hp laptop) casue that's how mine did it when I installed it onto my hard drive

 

[mvpcurtis]

Welcome to the forums, the Acer Aspire ES1-132 never has a traditional hard drive but a 32gb SSD/eMMC. , fine for windows, not so good for Linux, if you know what you're looking for there are many such problems covering nearly every distribution you can name It has an SD reader, one short term solution would be use a 32gb cl10 SD card to install to, installing to a second USB is easy, you will need one of 32gb [and a good make] it must be clean and formatted FAT32, you install USB should also be of good quality, clean and formatted to FAT32 as well [before you burn the ISO to it, ] installation is the same format as https://www.linux.org/threads/“how-do-i-instal-linux-a-general-guide-to-installation”-a-guest-article-for-linux-tips.38891/ Except when you come to selecting the target drive you select the blank Pen drive

Thanks for the reply man and that's what I have been doing previously but no luck. The OS installs itself onto a blank USB thumb drive and once it's complete, I remove the installation USB thumb drive but nothing is detected in the boot menu.

I had the same problems in the past and they solved by installing a Systemd free distro (like MXLinux, Artix or Void).

Have you try that?

Hi bud and yes, I've been using Tails but it seems sluggish and slow. I might be wrong but I think that's because it's not properly installed on the system?

Simple fix bud all you need to do is install a hard drive into the laptop and then have it install the Linux of your chose to that or go into the bios, if your doing the whole flash drive part, and disable all the other bootable drives on there and see if that works and also check if the laptop can handle UEFI files (not 100% if that's what there called do to needing to charge my hp laptop) casue that's how mine did it when I installed it onto my hard drive

Cheers man but with this laptop missing it's own unique SATA cable and a HDD cage, that is sort of a last resort.

 

[Brickwizard]

I remove the installation USB thumb drive but nothing is detected in the boot menu.

Did you re-boot after removing the installation ISO pen-drive, if not the installation will not have completed

 

[mvpcurtis]

Did you re-boot after removing the installation ISO pen-drive, if not the installation will not have completed

Yes mate. That's the next thing I do when removing the ISO pen-drive. The machine reboots and the pen-drive with the OS installed is not detected.

 

[Brickwizard]

sorry but my last thought is have you changed the boot order in the Bios to be usb first boot?

 

[mvpcurtis]

Yes mate. That was the next thing I tried after the boot order menu didn't work. It's strange because I've installed both ubuntu and fedora onto 3 different pen-drives I have but none of them are detected when I remove the ISO pen-drive.

 

[Brickwizard]

It is a strange one, over the years I have made persistent pen-drives and SD cards on many occasions to test and repair all makes and ages of kit and never had this problem, at this point I cannot think of anything else to try.

Addendum.. what part of the country are you in?

 

[Lobo1980]

Bro, Can you try MXLinux?

I think it gonna work just fine.

 

[dos2unix]

How are you creating the bootable USB drive?