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🌿 Linux Mint Install Guide

Linux Mint Download and Install Complete Beginner Guide

Your PC did not slow down by itself - Windows just got heavier on the same hardware. Linux Mint is the free, familiar-feeling system built for exactly this moment, and installing it is a one-hour job if you follow the right order.

✍️ Technical Anshu🐧 Linux Mint 22 Series⏱️ 12 minute read
🎥 Watch the complete Linux Mint installation in the video - download, bootable USB and install, step-by-step

This is the full route from the video, in writing: download, verify, bootable USB, live test, install, first setup. The sequence matters more than any single step - most install disasters come from skipping the live test or clicking the wrong option on one particular screen, and this guide flags both before you reach them.

Linux Mint Installer - Installation Type
Install Linux Mint alongside WindowsKeeps Windows
Erase disk and install Linux MintWipes everything
Something else (manual partitions)Advanced only
Before you click Install Now
✓ Important files backed up outside this PC
✓ BitLocker recovery key saved (if Windows is encrypted)
✓ Laptop plugged into power
👆 The one screen where a wrong click costs data - the two main choices and the checks to finish first
1

Before You Start - What You Need

Linux Mint is free, and the whole job needs only three things: the PC or laptop, a USB pen drive of 8 GB or more, and about an hour. The current release is Linux Mint 22.3 Zena, based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and supported with updates until 2029. The official minimum is a 64-bit processor, 2 GB RAM and 20 GB of disk space - treat 4 GB RAM as the comfortable floor.

  1. Back up your important files first - documents, photos, anything you cannot lose, copied to an external drive or cloud
  2. Plug the laptop into power - an install interrupted by a dead battery can leave both systems unbootable
  3. Keep your phone handy - if Windows is BitLocker-encrypted, its recovery key may be asked for after the first reboot
2

Download the ISO - Official Site, Mirror for Speed

Download only from the official site, linuxmint.com - never from a random download portal. On the download page, pick an edition (Cinnamon is the main one; there is a separate guide on this channel site for choosing between Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce).

  1. Open linuxmint.com and go to the Download page
  2. Click your edition - the page offers a main download link and a long list of mirror servers around the world
  3. As shown in the video, pick a mirror near you instead of the main link - the main link is often slow, a nearby mirror is much faster
  4. The ISO is about 2.9 GB. When it finishes, verify it before use - the checksum guide on this site shows the two-minute check
3

Make the Bootable USB with Rufus

The video uses Rufus, a small free tool, to write the ISO onto the USB drive. Rufus itself needs no installation.

  1. Download Rufus from its official site, rufus.ie, and run it
  2. Select your USB drive at the top - check twice, the drive will be erased
  3. Under Boot selection, choose the Linux Mint ISO you downloaded
  4. Leave the partition scheme on GPT for a modern UEFI PC (MBR only for very old BIOS-only machines) and click Start
  5. If Rufus asks about ISO versus DD mode, choose the recommended ISO mode, and wait for the green READY bar
4

Boot From USB and Try the Live Desktop First

Restart the PC and open its one-time boot menu - commonly F12, F9, Esc or F8 depending on the brand - and choose the USB drive. Mint starts into a live desktop: a full working system running from the USB that changes nothing on your disk.

Spend five minutes here. Connect to Wi-Fi, play a video for sound, check the keyboard, touchpad and screen brightness. If everything works live, it will almost always work after install. If Wi-Fi is missing in the live session, do not panic - the separate live-session guide explains which problems are real and which fix themselves with the Driver Manager after installation.

5

Install - The Two Choices That Matter

Double-click Install Linux Mint on the live desktop, choose your language and keyboard, tick the option to install multimedia codecs, and you reach the screen shown above.

  1. Install alongside Windows - the installer shrinks Windows and puts Mint in the freed space. You get a menu at every start to pick which system to boot. This is the safe choice for a first try
  2. Erase disk and install Linux Mint - everything on the disk is deleted, including Windows. This is what the video does on a fresh SSD, and it is right for a spare or old PC - but it is permanent
  3. Set your name, computer name and password, then wait - a typical install takes 10 to 20 minutes
  4. When asked, remove the USB and press Enter. The PC restarts into your new system - or into the boot menu, if you chose dual boot
🔴 Read the install-type screen twice. Erase disk means the whole disk - Windows, files, everything. If there is anything on that disk you still need and it is not backed up outside the PC, stop, cancel, and back up first. No recovery tool promise survives a rushed click here.
6

First Ten Minutes After the First Boot

Do not start installing apps yet. Three jobs come first, and the first-hour guide on this site walks through each: run the Update Manager until it reports the system is up to date, open the Driver Manager if your PC has NVIDIA graphics or Broadcom Wi-Fi, and take a Timeshift snapshot so you can roll back to this clean state if anything ever breaks. After that, the PC is ready for daily work - browser, office documents, media and everything a normal home or office day needs.

🎥 Watch the Full Video Guide

See every click from the official download to the first boot - including the mirror trick for a fast download and the exact install screens.

▶️ Watch Full Video
❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Is Linux Mint really free, and is it legal to install?

Yes. Linux Mint is free to download, install and use on as many PCs as you like - home, school or office. It is built from Ubuntu and other open source software. There is no activation, no licence key and no subscription.

Will installing Linux Mint delete my Windows and files?

Only if you choose Erase disk on the installation type screen. The alongside option keeps Windows and your Windows files untouched and adds a boot menu. Either way, back up important files outside the PC before you start - partitioning is safe when done carefully, but a backup is what makes it stress-free.

Can a very old laptop run Linux Mint?

If it has a 64-bit processor and at least 2 GB of RAM, yes - and the Xfce edition is the kindest to weak hardware. A mechanical hard disk will still feel slow for booting and opening apps though; a cheap SSD makes a bigger difference than any setting. Mint is 64-bit only, so truly ancient 32-bit-only machines are out.

This guide is based on the Technical Anshu Linux Mint installation video • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments - you will get a reply 🙏