Switch to Linux Lite from Windows 10

Linux Support
1

Hi. I want to move from Windows 10 to Linux Lite on my Acer Spin111-31 and have tried creating a boot USB using Upgrade Zorin OS - Zorin Help and Etcher to create the boot drive. HOWEVER although I have changed the boot order to HDD as per the instructions, and the download seemed to happen okay, the netbook seems not to be able to find it and it boots in Windows. When I checked what was on the USB there were two .efi files. Now, however, neither my netbook nor my Acer Swift can even see the USB. Please help - how can I restore my USB, and how can I get Windows 10 off the netbook, where it is now too large to work, and Linux Lite onto it?

2

Hello Clare - and welcome to the Forum.

Linux Lite should be ideal for your netbook, though I’m not sure why you downloaded Zorin, even though it is also Ubuntu-based.
But first there is the problem of not being able to see your USB, although at some point you could see two efi files.

If you have access to a Linux computer, try the following:
Insert only your USB then start a Terminal Session (Ctrl+Alt+T)
Enter the following command:

df | grep media

…and post the output here.
If there is no output, we’ll have to think again.

Keith

3

Hi, thanks for responding. You are right - why did I download Zorin? I was wandering around the internet trying to find the best solution, but must have got confused somewhere along the way. I did then find a Linux Lite manual Help Manual - Install which told me I had to format my USB to FAT 32 - but now since neither my laptop nor my netbook can see the USB, I can’t do that. I did see that it was already formatted to FAT (no FAT 32 option) before it died, however. This has happened to two USB drives that I tried yesterday.

Unfortunately I don’t have access to a Linux computer at all.

4

Hmm! I abandoned Windows many years ago so can’t help you access the USB on a Windows PC - perhaps others here an help.

In extremis, you could:

  1. Buy another (or two!) USBs which will be formatted in FAT 32,
  2. Follow the instructions in the LinuxLite manual you mentioned

You can download and find useful details about Linuxlite, system requirements, UEFI vs BIOS, etc here: Linux Download | Download Linux Lite Free Linux Operating System
And a user manual for your netbook here: User manual Acer Spin 1 (English - 83 pages)

I am assuming you have a 64-bit system.

Keith

5

Keith, is there any reason why you recommend unetbootin? Lite, like many other distros, recommends etcher:

6

Sorry - force of habit! Yes, use Etcher as it comes with a USB formatter that you might need.
You can download it here: https://etcher.download/. Do check that you download the version appropriate to your netbook.

One nice thing about UNetbootin is that is comes with a list of Linux versions that one can choose from rather than having to download an ISO first.

Keith

7

It looks as though I’ll have to buy another USB and try again one last time. Thank you for your help. Wish me luck!
Clare

8

God Luck!