Unable to get my PC to boot from a USB drive

Marie SWE · Aug 10, 2025

spapakons said:
As far as I know Linux and Mac OS have read only access to NTFS partitions, unless you enable read/write access. This should be used with caution as they might corrupt data.

I have used NTFS disks to Linux since mid 2018 with read/write. so its enabled by default in most deban based distros.
But yes i mention that you should be careful with it as windows might not like when you do some some things..
But so far i have not have any problem with my shared NTFS partition on my dualboot Linux/windows.... except for one time when it became a power outage while writing to an NTFS win7 system disk.. So when i booted windows next time, it did its disk control at boot up.

DJNelson · Aug 10, 2025

Bitlocker and fastboot are the reasons the linux distros I've used in the past can't access a Windows partition unless they're disabled in windows.

Marie SWE · Aug 10, 2025

QuicktellPro said:
The whole thing went very badly. It started showing tons of what looked like MS-DOS code which I assume was normal except that I kept seeing errors being reported in the code. After about 15 minutes, it came to an abrupt halt with just a flashing cursor. I waited for around 10 minutes but there was no change, however the USB was continually flashing which indicates it was busy, so I left it to do its thing. An hour later I returned to a black screen. Nothing would respond. Eventually I had no choice than to hard shutdown.

Would this be because I had failed to disable fast boot?

I have to leave now so will not be able to reply until tomorrow morning.

That sounds odd.. Pop_OS the Nvidia ISO usually works great to 10th gen intel and Nvidia cards.
I have to look in to your model......

Edit:
I did some search online and i found several running HP with Raid 0 Intel RST has problem with Linux.. So their solution was do disable it and change to AHCI.
I found one person that made it work with Linux Ubuntu. So you might try Ubuntu instead, but it seems that everyone switches to AHCI and dumps the Raid.
This is the search keyword i used on Duckduckgo.

Code:

Alienware A51 "Linux" "Intel RST"

Question is.. Do you still have an older computer you dont using? or if a friend has an old laptop laying around that you can get for free or for a symbolic sum.
If so you might use that for Linux and have your A51 untouched.
For just browsing or office stuff as old as 2gen intel (minimum 4core cpu) with 8GB ram and a 128GB SSD will work fine for office stuff and browsing the web.

Marie SWE · Aug 10, 2025

DJNelson said:
Bitlocker and fastboot are the reasons the linux distros I've used in the past can't access a Windows partition unless they're disabled in windows.

Bitlocker

I use VeraCrypt that works on Windows, Linux and Mac.... I love software that is cross platforms, so you can have the same everywhere.

But i only encrypt my Data-Drive, as encryption do has a tendency to slow down read/write performance.. And i dont have anything sensitive on my system drives... I dont think any thief will be exited over my Firefox bookmarks. :lmao:

spapakons · Aug 11, 2025

Marie SWE said:
That sounds odd.. Pop_OS the Nvidia ISO usually works great to 10th gen intel and Nvidia cards.
I have to look in to your model......

Edit:
I did some search online and i found several running HP with Raid 0 Intel RST has problem with Linux.. So their solution was do disable it and change to AHCI.
I found one person that made it work with Linux Ubuntu. So you might try Ubuntu instead, but it seems that everyone switches to AHCI and dumps the Raid.
This is the search keyword i used on Duckduckgo.

Code:

Alienware A51 "Linux" "Intel RST"

Question is.. Do you still have an older computer you dont using? or if a friend has an old laptop laying around that you can get for free or for a symbolic sum.
If so you might use that for Linux and have your A51 untouched.
For just browsing or office stuff as old as 2gen intel (minimum 4core cpu) with 8GB ram and a 128GB SSD will work fine for office stuff and browsing the web.

I know you are used to your modern fast computers, but please don't exaggerate. My main computer is a 3rd generation Intel Core-i7 3770 (3.5 GHz base frequency, 3.9 GHz Turbo Boost), with "only" 16GB RAM and it is reasonably fast for everything except gaming. Before maximizing the RAM to 16GB I had 8GB and it was also good. However since I render videos it was easy to reach 7GB+, so I added more RAM. What I am trying to say is that older computers with 4GB RAM might be "entry level" by today standards but certainly not junk. They are still very useable for office work and surfing the internet. Even with 2GB you can run Windows 11, albeit with some patience. Not everyone plays modern resource hungry games on their computers. Most can live with a less powerful one.

QuicktellPro · Aug 11, 2025

spapakons said:
This is because it tried to use a resolution not supported by the laptop or tried to enable it the wrong way since it doesn't have proper graphics drivers. That's why I said to enable VESA mode which uses standard resolutions that work on all graphics cards. I have seen that when booting Android-x86, if the computer graphics card cannot be detected properly, you are stuck in the text screen with the message about loading Android. In that case the only way to proceed and load the GUI is to use VESA mode, since Android doesn't have user installable drivers.

But I'm loading Linux, not Android. I have no idea how to enable VESA because Windows search cannot find the word. Are you sure it is even applicable to Linux?

QuicktellPro · Aug 11, 2025

Marie SWE said:
Question is.. Do you still have an older computer you dont using?

Yes, I have an MSI Titan GT73VR. Currently, it runs Windows 10 and works perfectly. It too has an Nvidia Geforce card but I can't remember which one. I'm not sure whether it runs in AHCI or RAID. I only ever use it as a backup machine for when travelling. I will fish it out and get more info. Do I need to disable fast boot on it anyway? I have to say, it starts in under 15 seconds which is much faster than my Alienware at nearly 6 minutes.

spapakons · Aug 11, 2025

QuicktellPro said:
Yes, I have an MSI Titan GT73VR. Currently, it runs Windows 10 and works perfectly. It too has an Nvidia Geforce card but I can't remember which one. I'm not sure whether it runs in AHCI or RAID. I only ever use it as a backup machine for when travelling. I will fish it out and get more info. Do I need to disable fast boot on it anyway? I have to say, it starts in under 15 seconds which is much faster than my Alienware at nearly 6 minutes.

Try to boot TAILS without changing the BIOS first. It might work without modifying anything. Chances are the disk is in AHCI mode.

jimbo45 · Aug 11, 2025

Just try any "sensible" live linux distro -- Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Linux Mint, ArchLinux or even a usb bootable version of gparted free great stand alone partition manipulating utility -- same basic layout as windows one's but far better - and handles almost ANY file system.

Those Linux distros are maintained and developed by people with serious cash and time - and are excellent in handling all sorts of hardware. I'd avoid those "specialized" ones that very few have even heard about.

To get into basic command mode if you need / want to from any Linux in "GUI" desktop mode simply enter ctrl_alt+F2 (or F3 etc). Then to run as administrator type su (no password usually required). If using Debian where root is disabled by default type sudo su to achieve the same thing.

Cheers
jimbo

spapakons · Aug 11, 2025

QuicktellPro said:
But I'm loading Linux, not Android. I have no idea how to enable VESA because Windows search cannot find the word. Are you sure it is even applicable to Linux?

Android uses the Linux kernel and the Grub bootloader. The parameters are the same since they are of the Grub Bootloader, but I am not sure which one you need and if I have typed them correctly. That's why I told you to Google it. Probably you can find nothing because TAILS OS is virtually unknown. Use Ubuntu or other well known Linux distro as suggested. As long as you boot with a USB flash drive you leave absolutely no usage traces in the host computer. What is that you are afraid too much? Are you doing something illegal? I don't buy it about "freedom of speech" etc.

QuicktellPro · Aug 11, 2025

spapakons said:
What is that you are afraid too much? Are you doing something illegal? I don't buy it about "freedom of speech" etc.

Don't wish to be rude, but I don't care whether you buy it or not. The fact is, the dystopian society we live in today is putting people in prison for things they say online. Indeed, in Kent last week, they passed legislation banning the use of swear words. That, despite them being used in most movies and TV series today! I grew up in an age when we all lived by the code "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." I have a habit of getting my news from zerohedge.com and members speak their minds in the comments section after every article. That's what this is all about.

spapakons · Aug 11, 2025

What about using a VPN? They will never know you are in your own country and is more difficult to track you. I would also use "private mode" to leave even less traces, if any. I wouldn't use my main browser for that. I would use another browser, preferably running portable, not even installed locally.

PS: Banning of "swear" words reminded me of the movie Demolition Man... Thanks God they cannot listen to our thoughts...yet. Maybe we should find a code, replacing each letter of the alphabet with a symbol. Only those that know the code can read the messages. Much like seeing "swear" words in comics @$&#$

QuicktellPro · Aug 11, 2025

I already use a VPN. I also use Brave's Tor window whenever possible. The problem with both is that you have to login to be able to comment which, of course, identifies you. It's the same with all social media, and YouTube are currently in the process of installing a requirement for digital ID to be able to login and view content. Indeed, 2 days ago, I found myself unable to download anything as they had implemented a new cookie identifier for each session. Yesterday, they turned that off, but you can be certain it will be back again soon.

Another thing that many sites are now gradually switching to is passkeys.

Regarding code words, throughout the pandemic we masked words by purposely misspelling them or using cockney rhyming slang. Today, AI can guess what we are saying from the context of the sentence anyway. The only genuine solution is probably not to say anything, but then that's precisely what all these ridiculous laws are for.

spapakons · Aug 11, 2025

Find a specific font with symbols. Devise a code, a specific symbol for each letter. Use that font in Word or other editor to write your secret message. Don't upload the document, convert it to a photo so it cannot be easily scanned. Upload the photo. Only those that know the code and have the specific font can read the message. I remembered writing messages in a secret "boy's code" with my friends, so girls could not read them.

QuicktellPro · Aug 11, 2025

spapakons said:
Find a specific font with symbols. Devise a code, a specific symbol for each letter. Use that font in Word or other editor to write your secret message. Don't upload the document, convert it to a photo so it cannot be easily scanned. Upload the photo. Only those that know the code and have the specific font can read the message.

Nothing wrong with the idea, other than zerohedge doesn't allow anything other than text comments, no images.

spapakons · Aug 11, 2025

QuicktellPro said:
Nothing wrong with the idea, other than zerohedge doesn't allow anything other than text comments, no images.

In that case replace each letter with another or a number or some symbol on the keyboard. Some code only few know and can decipher. What about using Greek or Chinese letters?

QuicktellPro · Aug 11, 2025

spapakons said:
What about using Greek or Chinese letters?

Can be done but AI will still be able to decipher it from the context of the message. Besides, the law against swear words only applies to Kent for now and there is major pushback taking place from the Free Speech Union. Will it spread elsewhere? It will be hard because swear words have become an integral part of many languages in the last 20-30 years.

spapakons · Aug 11, 2025

What do you do? Put coins in some giant public swear jar every time you swear to be collected by your tax office? Just kidding, of course.

QuicktellPro · Aug 11, 2025

spapakons said:
What do you do? Put coins in some giant public swear jar every time you swear to be collected by your tax office? Just kidding, of course.

Well, we are completely off topic, and to be honest, this forum is not the place for such a subject. I only went down this route because you challenged my motivation for searching for improved privacy. I think now would be a good time to get back on subject, although I have yet to get out my old MSI laptop and attempt to run the USB drive on that. I hope to be able to do that later today.

spapakons · Aug 11, 2025

Sorry for being off topic. In the original laptop, try all the USB ports. Maybe one is faulty. Also I have seen some USB 3.0 flash drives having difficulty to be recognized on older computers. Try another brand.

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