Unable to set up Linux on a USB flash drive.
Unable to set up Linux on a USB flash drive.
You have a 128GB flash drive with a GPT partition layout, and you installed Inux Mint on 48GB after leaving space for the bootloader. The installation took longer than usual, and now you're seeing Linux only on the NVME drive while the flash drive isn't recognized. It appears the bootloader is set up correctly, but the system isn't mounting the flash drive properly. Since it boots into GRUB instead of Windows, you might need to adjust the boot order or ensure the correct partition is selected during installation. Also, verify that the flash drive is properly formatted and accessible at boot time.
This setup isn't possible because Ventoy is the only way to start from this device. Still, you can leverage Ventoy to load a disk image onto the drive or configure persistence for a live operating system. Flash drives, especially high-end SSDs, tend to be too slow for running an OS like you've observed.
For future use, avoid installing operating systems directly on school computers. Simply bypass Ventoy and create a USB installer for Mint using Rufus or another tool. Then you can run the drive as a live operating system from the USB device.
It makes sense now. I’m curious why the bootloader was installed on the SSD. I double-checked the installation menu multiple times to confirm the flash drive was chosen, so that’s unlikely. The drive works perfectly for Linux and runs smoothly, though it took a long time this time—about 150MB/s read speed, which isn’t a problem. It’s definitely fast enough for VSCode.
Ubuntu and similar distributions sometimes face issues where existing EFI partitions can override selections, installing their own loader instead. It’s best to disconnect all but the intended drive to prevent this behavior.
Review the system details and verify the bootloader sequence. It might be useful. However, I’m not entirely clear on the situation. Be mindful with installation media, particularly for Linux.