I'm trying to install Linux on my old 2010 Dell Precision M4800 laptop, which has an i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 250GB SSD. The laptop doesn't support secure boot, and I've already tried setting a password in the BIOS. I've also disabled TPM and fast boot, but it still won't detect a USB drive as a boot device. I'm looking for advice on how to get this working!
2 Answers
Have you considered burning a DVD instead? I know it sounds old school, but sometimes it's the simplest solutions that work for older hardware!
Are you able to access the boot menu at startup? You mentioned F12; that should let you see if your USB drive shows up. If it only lists the HDD and nothing else, that could be a problem.
Yes, F12 does work, but it only shows options for the internal HDD and CD/DVD. It also lists an option for exiting to BIOS and some diagnostics. I'm stuck in a loop trying to deal with an admin password in the Intel Management Engine BIOS, which really doesn’t help.