can't boot from USB

Hello all, I'm having a heck of a time trying to get my old HP G60 laptop to boot from USB to try/install Zorin OS. I've downloaded the 64-and 32-bit ISO's (16.3 Core) to a second PC and used Etcher to create a bootable USB drive (8G). Thinking I'm all set, I put it into 1 of 2 the USB ports of the target laptop and rebooted to see which keys to hit to change the boot order.

On boot up, the boot splash screen offers these options:
ESC-Enable startup messages
F1-startup information
F2 - System check
F9-Change boot device order
F10-Bios setup options
F11-System Recovery.

I've been able to get into the bios to change the boot order using F10 which is now

USB Diskette on key
USB hard drive
Internal CD/DVD ROM drive
Notebook hard drive

Letting this run will yield these results -a string of files fly by as my PC says "Windows is loading files" followed by a few flashing green or blue boxes, then nothing and the Windows boot continues.

When I try to use F9 during start, my USB options is not there and my options are

1. Internal CD/DVD ROM Drive
2. Notebook hard drive

I had to use RUFUS to reformat my USB as it was no longer visible in Windows and couldn't be changed/formatted through Disk Manager- perhaps because it was a boot drive or it may not have been formatted in FAT32?

Target laptop is an HP G60, running 32-bit Windows Vista. Specs are:
CPU - AMD Turion 64-bit ML-44 Dual Core
GPU NVidia M8200 on MB
RAM 3 GB

VIsta OS is 32 bit, but the CPU is 64 bit - thought I could try it. Should I try the 32 bit ISO and might I need to burn to a disk? Will Etcher work properly for an older PC file system? I feel like the PC has a fail safe secret algorithm to protect VISTA

I am wondering if whilst the CPU is 64-bit the motherboard only supports 32-bit or the hardware (video, sound etc) drivers only have 32-bit support? Can you check in the BIOS if there are any 'fast boot' options and turn them off? If there is anything in there that has 'Windows Boot Manager'- disable it. Also anything which states 'Secure Boot' under any Security tab, disable that too. Zorin has never had a 16! I suspect you meant 12.3? I would use Rufus in Vista and use the 32-bit .iso. Also, have you ever upgraded the BIOS? Sometimes in previous iterations of Zorin, it would not boot unless the machine's BIOS had been updated to the last update created for the particular machine. You will need to boot into BIOS to check the version number and date, then go to HP Support and check you have the latest firmware.

I've read through the entire parts manual and there is no discussion of 32- vs 64-bit components, MB, etc. I know the Turion is 64 bit, and I would think the MB would be also else the socket configuration wouldn't be compatible, but I know just enough to be dangerous. I think the on-board Nvidia M8200 is also 64-bit capable.

I do know for sure that there is no secure boot or fast boot options in the current bios, but it's not been updated since originally purchased. I will check to see if there is a bios update and if so, flash the bios, then try again. I've downloaded the ISO files for 32 and 64 bit Zorin Core, and will try burning to DVDs from my Win 10 laptop. Maybe the USB boot only works from a specific USB port (there are 3) or from a drive or floppy, so I'll try booting from the optical drive and see if I get any farther. I'll give it another go this weekend when have time and see if I can make it work. I'll report back with results. P.S. my mistake on the Zorin version - I believe the ISO says it's v 15.1. I gues I got the 16.3 from the most current version of Mint I was looking at. Thanks.

savage1159 wrote:I do know for sure that there is no secure boot or fast boot options in the current bios, but it's not been updated since originally purchased.

Fast boot did not appear til Win7

savage1159 wrote:I will check to see if there is a bios update and if so, flash the bios, then try again. I've downloaded the ISO files for 32 and 64 bit Zorin Core, and will try burning to DVDs from my Win 10 laptop.

I would shoot for Zorin LITE if I were you. Vista? That machine is pretty old. I think Zorin 15 Lite (Using the 5.3 fraggin kernel) may even be too much for it.
You might head over to Sourceforge and nab a copy of Zorin 12.4 Lite as your best bet.

savage1159 wrote: Maybe the USB boot only works from a specific USB port (there are 3) or from a drive or floppy, so I'll try booting from the optical drive and see if I get any farther. I'll give it another go this weekend when have time and see if I can make it work.

That is EXACTLY what I would do. Grab the .iso and burn it to a dvd disk and then boot from Optical. You are much more likely to get better results.

Well folks, it was an arduous process but I am typing this reply using Firefox on Zorin Core 64. I went through a few trials and tribulations - downloading a number of various distros in 32 and 64 bit systems and installing to bootable DVDs. USB boot doesnt work for this PC.

I first tried Linux Mint MATE 32 bit and it ran great - thought I wa golden. Then after installing NVIDIA drivers, it worked up till the next reboot. Then on restart I would get a CLI and had no idea how to get back to a GUI interface. Thinking it was a MINT issue or a problem with 32 bit in a 64 bit machine, I tried Zorin Core 64 - similar experience but I never got to the GUI - it installed fine, but when it told me to reboot and remove installation media, I only got through the Zorin and Nvidia splash screens, followed by a frozen grid of dots and a jerky pointer. Went back to 32 bit, but this time using Zorin Lite 32 bit and it seemed to work WITHOUT INSTALLING THE NVIDIA DRIVERS! So I tried 64 bit Zorin Core again and deselected the option to install 3rd party apps and everything went without a hitch. I hope to learn more now that I have a system to play with. Thank you so much for your assistance and ideas.

Glad you got sorted. Team Zorin decided to include the nvidia drivers at point of install as they were being flooded with complaints by users who have more money than sense on overpriced, humungous nvidia cards that would be capable of creating Pixar movies!

Unfortunately, Linux drivers are only available for the standard geforce 8200 or the mobile 8400M, but not for the 8200M, and those are for 32 bit Linux. Guess I'm stuck with software rendering unless the open source server nouveax drivers would help. But runs great otherwise.

Swarfendor437 wrote:Glad you got sorted. Team Zorin decided to include the nvidia drivers at point of install as they were being flooded with complaints by users who have more money than sense on overpriced, humungous nvidia cards that would be capable of creating Pixar movies!

Hi again - unfortunately, when I used the update manager, it borked my system - I think it auto updated to the "recommended" NVIDIA drivers that wont work with my GPU. not sure as I did not see a NVIDIA splash screen on reboot - but after the login screen, I got a blank screen with pointer and no way to enter commands, Not sure if there was a way to get to terminal, but I wouldn't know what to do with it if I could. I tried using a live session with install DVD to use boot repair to no avail. I conceded defeat and installed Linux Mint MATE 64-bit and all is well. It wont auto install any GPU drivers, so everything seems to be working great on day 2. I appreciate the assistance I got to at least have a few days playing with Zorin OS. Thanks.

savage1159 wrote:

Swarfendor437 wrote:Glad you got sorted. Team Zorin decided to include the nvidia drivers at point of install as they were being flooded with complaints by users who have more money than sense on overpriced, humungous nvidia cards that would be capable of creating Pixar movies!

Hi again - unfortunately, when I used the update manager, it borked my system - I think it auto updated to the "recommended" NVIDIA drivers that wont work with my GPU. not sure as I did not see a NVIDIA splash screen on reboot - but after the login screen, I got a blank screen with pointer and no way to enter commands, Not sure if there was a way to get to terminal, but I wouldn't know what to do with it if I could. I tried using a live session with install DVD to use boot repair to no avail. I conceded defeat and installed Linux Mint MATE 64-bit and all is well. It wont auto install any GPU drivers, so everything seems to be working great on day 2. I appreciate the assistance I got to at least have a few days playing with Zorin OS. Thanks.

At least you are sorted out. Feel free to stick around, anyway. Your experience may help Zorin Team to examine the updates.

Aravisian wrote:

savage1159 wrote:

Swarfendor437 wrote:Glad you got sorted. Team Zorin decided to include the nvidia drivers at point of install as they were being flooded with complaints by users who have more money than sense on overpriced, humungous nvidia cards that would be capable of creating Pixar movies!

Hi again - unfortunately, when I used the update manager, it borked my system - I think it auto updated to the "recommended" NVIDIA drivers that wont work with my GPU. not sure as I did not see a NVIDIA splash screen on reboot - but after the login screen, I got a blank screen with pointer and no way to enter commands, Not sure if there was a way to get to terminal, but I wouldn't know what to do with it if I could. I tried using a live session with install DVD to use boot repair to no avail. I conceded defeat and installed Linux Mint MATE 64-bit and all is well. It wont auto install any GPU drivers, so everything seems to be working great on day 2. I appreciate the assistance I got to at least have a few days playing with Zorin OS. Thanks.

At least you are sorted out. Feel free to stick around, anyway. Your experience may help Zorin Team to examine the updates.

I think we have lost him to Mint Mate mate! Can't remember if I advised not to check install 3rd party drivers at point of install in manual.