HP Z240 (standard dimensions) appears to lack support for USB sticks with Linux systems.
HP Z240 (standard dimensions) appears to lack support for USB sticks with Linux systems.
I own an older Z240 regular size (not SFF) equipped with i7-6700 and 16GB RAM. It features W11 on the M.2 drive. I attempted to install "MX Linux 25" using dual boot. The ISO is stored on a Ventoy USB stick that worked on another machine. In BIOS, I configured the boot order to prioritize USB. However, the system doesn’t display anything for the USB stick in BIOS—unlike on my other PC where it appeared. After saving the BIOS settings and launching the PC, it simply entered W11 without loading Ventoy. It seems HP products are generally unreliable with Linux. Could anyone confirm whether these devices typically perform poorly under Linux? Before investing too much time, it would help to know if this setup is even feasible. If a live session becomes too complicated, there might be more hidden issues.
Z240 originally came with Linux enabled during setup. You've experienced some issues with Ventoy, can you simply copy the ISO to the USB drive? Also, are you using UEFI or a legacy boot setup? Ensure Secure Boot is disabled and other settings are appropriate. Linux should work fine once those are configured correctly.
MX 25 is meant to support secure boot, but I turned it off and used another USB stick. It didn’t appear in BIOS, yet it launched normally when the PC started. This suggests it works, though I hesitated to install it. To maintain W11, I had to manually configure partitions. The installer seemed to auto-set them on the whole drive, so I’ll retry in a month or two once I’m ready to remove W11. As for formatting, I’m unsure whether ext4 or btrfs is better—I’ll decide later.
Linux offers three options. First, you can boot live and use it without installing anything on your main drive; save important files to a separate flash drive, though you can also store them on the same card. Second, you can run Linux alongside Windows—it sets up in an area Windows doesn’t use for data. Third, install Linux over Windows, which wipes all data on the drive but lets you restore it from backups, including bookmarks and browser passwords. To enable BIOS to boot from USB, ensure Secure Boot is disabled, as Microsoft tried to block Linux installations.
Consider switching between legacy and UEFI settings in the BIOS menu. If your system supports it, revert to UEFI or go back to legacy and ensure secure boot is disabled. Flash the ISO to the drive using whichever mode you prefer (legacy or UEFI), then move the drive to another PC and flash it again. This should resolve the issue—likely a persistent legacy boot or secure boot configuration.