I don’t understand why setting up a new operating system isn’t working on my old Dell laptop.
I don’t understand why setting up a new operating system isn’t working on my old Dell laptop.
When attempting to set up Windows on my old Dell Inspiron 15, the process consistently fails. I rely on a USB flash drive, but selecting it from boot options results in a frozen screen with a pixel border, and pressing any key triggers an automatic reboot. I've also tried installing Ubuntu, which led me to "Grub Rescue," though I'm unsure how to use that feature. The BIOS remains functional, but I haven't managed to install any operating system on this laptop in about six months. I'm trying to keep it from being discarded. Help!
It's a vintage Dell Inspiron 15 3521. I attempted to set up Windows 10, 8.1, 7, and Ubuntu 22.04.3. Updated on February 10, 2024 by Prakhar Tripathi.
The BIOS offers various boot settings. If it's outdated, it may only support legacy modes or require transitioning to UEFI. Current Linux distributions are attempting to accommodate legacy boot through GRUB recovery, though handling it can be tricky. Some BIOS configurations display multiple USB boot options, with one functioning while the other fails.