Having trouble booting Linux on my older PC – Any suggestions?

If you’re experiencing kernel crashes, it might be an issue with your Intel CPU. Sometimes older systems can have issues with newer software. You could try to slip into text mode, then install just the base system. From there, adding a desktop environment later on might bypass the issue.

First off, could you describe what error you’re seeing? It’s key info. If it crashes right after booting from the USB, we need to figure out how far it actually gets—is it really starting to boot or does it just not recognize the USB? If the boot doesn’t even begin, there are several BIOS settings you might want to check. Disable Fast Boot, ensure USB booting is enabled, and see if there’s an updated BIOS version for your machine that might help.

It sounds like you’re able to select the USB but crash when loading the desktop. I recommend trying a different USB stick; sometimes hardware issues can cause problems like this. Also, you might want to reinstall the ISO on the USB using a reliable method—certain ISOs can have peculiarities with tools like Ventoy. If Linux Mint isn’t working, consider switching to another distribution that has a good reputation for older hardware.

You can try installing a minimalist version of Debian without a GUI, and then use 'sudo dmesg -H' after logging in to see if there are any errors that could point to what's happening. That command gives you insight into what's going on during boot. Based on the information from your hardware, also consider testing your RAM with two different stick configurations to eliminate memory issues.