More often than not, when trying to install several Linux distributions (or releases) via a USB stick created from the downloaded iso live or install image, I’ve experienced the frustration of being dropped to a busybox (which is the Linux way of not ending up in a Windows-like blue screen, but exactly as useless. Who on earth knows what to do in such cases with a busybox?)
After lots of googling and reading dozens of posts where people report the same problem and nobody offers any useful solution, I finally found a very easy workaround that, at least for me, fixes the problem: when booting off your created USB, at the first splash screen with the typical boot options, hit the Tab key for inserting kernel boot parametres and write the following one: LIVEMEDIA=/dev/sdb1. Then hit Enter. That’s it: many chances are that now your install USB will boot correctly.
Note: The Merry Ubuntu Crew say that this problem is because of a “buggy BIOS”, but I think that this is crap. My BIOS may or may not be buggy, I don’t know; but the fact is: other distributions’ USB sticks (Debian, Aptosid, Arch) boot perfectly in my machine; therefore, what other distros implement for being able to boot in “buggy BIOSes”, Ubuntu and Mint could also do. Why they don’t? It’s not that difficult.
I hope this post can help someone out there. If any constructive ideas, please feel free to comment below.
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Reveries of a tramp
“Why they don’t? It’s not that difficult.”
Don’t you think that’s quite arrogant?
Arrogance from a user is not a big issue. Not implementing a properly bootable USB image from a developer team is.