Boot options

Some graphics cards and motherboards don’t work well with the open-source drivers present in Linux Mint by default.

Compatibility mode

The easiest option is to select compatibility mode from the USB stick (or DVD) boot menu.

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Grub menu (EFI mode)

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Isolinux menu (BIOS mode)

If that doesn’t work, you can try the nomodeset boot option.

Nomodeset boot option

In EFI mode, highlight the Start Linux Mint option and press e to modify the boot options.

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Replace quiet splash with nomodeset and press F10 to boot.

In BIOS mode, highlight Start Linux Mint and press Tab to modify the boot options.

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Replace quiet splash with nomodeset and press Enter to boot.

Repeat this operation post-install in your grub boot menu and read Hardware drivers to install additional drivers.

Other boot options

If you still cannot boot try one of the following solutions:

  • Try nouveau.noaccel=1 instead of nomodeset.

  • After the installation, use Advanced Options ‣ Recovery mode from the boot menu and choose resume.

Install an older release

If your computer has compatibility issues with the latest Linux Mint release, install a previous release from the same Linux Mint series.

For instance, if you can’t install Linux Mint 18.3 (which comes with a 4.10 kernel), install Linux Mint 18 (which comes with a 4.4 kernel) and upgrade to 18.3.

Note

The first release in each series uses an LTS (Long Term Support) kernel. Upgrading from this release to the latest one in the series does not change your kernel.