I'm trying to dual-boot Linux Mint with Windows 11 on a new Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Aura Edition. I downloaded the Mint image, created a bootable USB with Rufus using both GPT and MBR settings, and have about 120 GB of unallocated space on my 256 GB SSD. I also tried downloading from a nearby mirror and writing that image directly to the USB, but the laptop still refuses to boot from it. Could this be related to Lenovo's BIOS settings, Secure Boot, or the specific hardware in this laptop?
3 Answers
Try opening Lenovo’s one-time boot menu by repeatedly pressing F12 immediately after powering on. On some Lenovo keyboards, you may need to use Fn+F12 instead. Then select the USB drive manually.
Secure Boot may be preventing the USB from starting, so check whether it can be disabled in the firmware settings. Mint can sometimes boot with Secure Boot enabled, but compatibility isn’t guaranteed on every machine.
If you plan to test several operating-system images, Ventoy is another option instead of Rufus. Install Ventoy to the USB once, then copy the ISO file onto it and choose the image from Ventoy’s boot menu.
The BIOS doesn’t appear to give me an option to disable Secure Boot. I also thought Mint was supposed to support booting with it enabled.