I'm trying to install Puppy Arcade on my HP laptop using a 1GB USB stick that I flashed with Rufus, but it doesn't appear in the BIOS. The UEFI boot order only lists Windows. Has anyone encountered this issue and has any ideas on how to resolve it? I previously installed Mint Linux on another machine without any problems, so I'm a bit puzzled. Unfortunately, I don't have a larger USB stick available.
5 Answers
I actually managed to figure it out! Puppy Arcade isn't supported on UEFI x64 systems, so I'm going to give BookwormPup64 a shot instead.
It might not show as a separate Linux option in the BIOS; it could just appear as a USB drive. You should also consider trying a different tool like Ventoy to create the bootable USB.
I suspect that secure boot could be causing the issue. Mint uses a signed Ubuntu kernel, while Puppy has a modified Debian kernel that might not be signed. I'm not really sure how to disable secure boot, though, as I'm not too familiar with the security keys involved.
You might want to try a different tool instead of Rufus and double-check the documentation for the specific Puppy variant you're using. What version of Puppy Arcade are you trying to install? The latest version I found is pretty old.
When installing Linux on my older laptop, I found that it only booted from specific USB ports. It might be worth trying different USB ports if you haven't already.
I've noticed that too! Some older systems only boot from USB 2.0 ports, especially when 3.0 ports were the new thing.
I tried using Ventoy, but it still doesn't show up. Is it normal that nothing appears on the USB drive after installing Ventoy? I did put the ISO on it.