Installing Linux Mint is easy. Far easier than installing Windows for instance but first you have to create the installation media. This is not intuitive.

• You will need a bittorrent program. Get qBittorent from Ninite.
• The first step is to download the Linux Mint 17.1 image file (ISO). Cinnamon desktop environment 32 or 64 bit versions.

If you choose to create a bootable DVD:

• On Windows 7 right-click on the ISO file and choose “Burn disk image” and follow the prompts.
• On Linux use a burning program like Brasero. Right-click the ISO and select “Open with Brasero” (or other buring program). Follow the prompts.

For a bootable USB drive:

• For Windows use the Universal USB Installer.
• For Linux use a program like the USB Imagewriter installed on Linux Mint.

Boot to DVD or USB drive

For every computer’s BIOS (basic input output system) there is a different method but they are all similar.

Put your media  you in the drive or the USB port and restart your computer. As the computer starts there maybe a message that says F12:Boot Menu or F9:Boot Menu. If you see this press then release this button. If you do not set the keyboard shortcut listed you may have to find it on the Internet or change the boot squence in the setup options. To change the setup options start your computer when you see the first screen it should say “Press F1, F2, Del or others to Setup”. After entering the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) Setup look for “Boot Squence’ or something similar sounding. Follow the instructions on the screen to change the boot order to boot to CD/ DVD or FDD (Flash Drive). Again the there are different instructions for each BIOS find the instructions for you computer on the Internet. Press F10 to save your new BIOS configuration and reboot. Your computer should boot to you DVD or flash-drive.

Installation

Now you’ve created your media and booted your computer to that media. You will eventually be prompted to begin setup. Just closely follow the instructions.