I'm trying to boot my Windows laptop using a USB with Arch Linux, but it's been a mess! I downloaded the ISO and flashed it onto a brand new USB 3.2 with Valens Etcher. However, I couldn't figure out the boot selector key for my Legion 7i Pro GeForce RTX 4090 – I tried f2, f9, f12, and toggling the FN key, but nothing worked. While I was struggling with that, Windows pushed some updates which caused more issues. After logging back in, I got an error saying "X-rite cannot detect brightness levels from display," and now my brightness controls as well as audio (except Bluetooth) aren't working. I even received suggestions to do a clean install of my Nvidia drivers, but it reported that my device isn't compatible. I updated my BIOS and used DDU again, but no luck. The weird part is that after a while, my laptop started detecting the GPU again, but when I attempted to boot from the USB, the problems resurfaced. I am hoping to set up Arch Linux but just want to resolve these Windows issues first. Any advice before I consider reinstalling Windows? Thanks!
4 Answers
Seems like you tried to boot from the USB but didn’t get past the initial steps. Booting from a USB shouldn't affect your OS unless you change the BIOS settings. If you didn’t touch anything there, everything should be fine. Honestly, starting with a different distro like Linux Mint or EndeavourOS might be less chaotic compared to Arch for now, especially if you're running into so many issues.
Honestly, if your main goal is testing Arch Linux, you might be better off with something a little more stable than a USB if it's causing that many problems. A tool like Ventoy could make booting easier, and maybe trying a more user-friendly distro first could help you get your feet wet without frying your main OS settings.
I find it hard to believe that booting from a thumb drive can mess with the GPU detection unless you altered the BIOS settings. Make sure your laptop’s power state is completely off and try that USB again. Also, avoid changing too many settings in BIOS if you find yourself stuck there. Reset it to default values if needed and start fresh.
Have you tried looking up how to access the BIOS and change the boot order for your specific laptop model? It seems like your USB isn't being recognized at all, and all that key mashing might have put your system into a sort of recovery or safe mode. Try focusing on just one key to enter BIOS instead of blitzing through them all. That might give you a better chance to set everything correctly.
I think I may have limited the GPU detection somehow while trying all those keys. I'll check the BIOS settings again for anything unusual.
Why change to something else? I have Arch running well on my VM, so I thought just trying to boot from USB would be the next step.