I'm trying to dual-boot Linux Mint with Windows 11 on a new Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Aura Edition. I downloaded Mint from the official site, created the ISO using a torrent download and qBittorrent, then flashed it to a 256GB USB drive with Rufus. I tried both GPT and MBR options, and I also tried downloading from a nearby mirror and flashing that image directly. My main SSD has about 120GB of unallocated space, but the laptop refuses to boot from the USB. Is there a BIOS setting or boot-menu step I'm missing? Secure Boot also appears to be unavailable to disable, although I've read that Mint may work with it enabled.
3 Answers
Secure Boot is worth checking in the firmware settings. Disabling it often makes booting Linux installers easier, although some Mint versions can boot with Secure Boot enabled. If the option is locked or missing, the laptop may have firmware restrictions rather than a Rufus problem.
Try opening the one-time boot menu by repeatedly pressing F12 immediately after powering on. On some Lenovo laptops you may need to use Fn+F12 instead. Select the USB from that menu rather than relying on the normal boot order.
Ventoy is another option to try. Install Ventoy to the USB, then copy the Mint ISO onto it instead of writing the image with Rufus. It can be useful for testing several installers, though you should still verify that the ISO matches your laptop’s processor architecture. The Yoga Slim 7 Aura Edition uses an ARM-based platform, so a standard x86-64 Mint image may not boot or may not be supported on that hardware.
That seems to be the issue I’m running into—the firmware doesn’t give me an option to turn Secure Boot off, and I was hoping Mint would still work with it enabled.