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I currently have 16.04, but want to start fresh so that I can clean the hard drive, which is partitioned -- it includes an old version of an MS OS -- that I want to delete.

I created a bootable USB. Even after several reboots of the computer, pressing F12 then Esc, F2, and F10. The boot menu still does not appear.

M. Becerra
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user835886
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  • How did you create the USB? I use Etcher and it works well. – Katu May 31 '18 at 07:18
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    On some computers we need to change the bios configuration to accept boot from USB in order to boot from it. If the problem is that Ubuntu is not starting when you turn on the computer I only see three possible reasons: 1- you need to change your bios configuration; 2- the image isn't properly recorded on your USB device; 3- your computer can't boot from USB (this one is very unlikely). – Rafael Muynarsk May 31 '18 at 07:26
  • 1. Have you [checked the iso file with md5sum](https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuHashes)? 2. You can try again to clone/flash from the iso file to the USB drive according to [this link](https://askubuntu.com/questions/1042167/is-there-a-specific-format-a-usb-needs-to-be-to-boot-from/1042172#1042172); 3. Look for a hotkey to get a temporary boot list (like you already tried with `F12` etc; 4. Change the boot order of hard disk drives (the USB pendrive can be seen as as hard disk drive because both are 'mass storage devices') in the UEFI/BIOS system of the computer. – sudodus May 31 '18 at 09:25

1 Answers1

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If you're using 16.04, the best way to create a bootable USB stick is to use dd.

sudo dd if=path_to_ISO_file of=/dev/sdx bs=4M && sudo sync

Warnings

  1. sdx represents the device letter for the USB stick. It can be sda, sdb, sdc etc, so make sure you type the correct letter over there otherwise you may delete the contents of another drive irreversibly.

  2. Make sure there are no spaces in the path_to_iso_file.

The best way to find the appropriate key to invoke the DIOS boot menu, is to consult your motherboard manual, since every M/B uses a different one. If you can't find it, you have to change the device boot order in the BIOS settings so that it boots from USB first.

Stormlord
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