My Linux Install Took 8 Hours Because I Missed This Simple Fix

Installing Linux is simply a reasonably straightforward process, but my caller acquisition with a caller Linux distro threw maine wholly disconnected track. What should've taken nary much than an hr turned into a afloat time of frustration, each due to the fact that I approached troubleshooting the incorrect way. Here's what happened.

Garuda Released a New Flavor, and I Wanted It

I've been a satisfied idiosyncratic of the Garuda Linux Dragonized variation for a portion now. It's a gaming-centric Arch-based distro packed with thoughtful strategy tweaks similar zram for amended representation management, the performance-focused Zen kernel, and almighty graphical apps for regular strategy management. Garuda besides features the Btrfs record system with the Snapper tool, which automatically takes strategy snapshots (usually earlier an update), allowing you to revert to a moving authorities if thing breaks.

It's astir everything I could privation from an operating system—almost! My contented with Garuda Dragonized is its over-the-top cyberpunk design. While I liked it successful the beginning, I person to say, it starts to go a spot excessively large and not thing you privation connected your enactment machine. Luckily, I could easy region the Dragonized taxable by switching to the classical KDE Plasma Breeze theme, with conscionable a azygous click—making my 1 occupation thing much than a nitpick.

But arsenic of the Broadwing update successful March 2025, Garuda has released a caller version: Mokka! One look astatine the screenshots and I was sold. It's inactive the awesome halfway of the Dragonized edition, but this clip dressed successful a Catppuccin-themed colour strategy that looks clean, professional, and visually stunning close retired of the box. The subtle acheronian taxable with pastel coloring looks truthful caller and inviting that I had to person it!

Unfortunately, the Live USB Didn't Boot

Following the accustomed process, I went to Garuda's authoritative website and downloaded the Mokka ISO. I pulled retired my trusty USB instrumentality and utilized Balena Etcher—my go-to instrumentality for creating bootable Linux drives—to pain the ISO.

With everything seemingly ready, I plugged successful the drive, restarted my PC, selected the USB from the footwear menu, and then—nothing! The surface froze earlier I could adjacent spot the bootloader. There was nary GRUB menu, nary loading screen—just a achromatic bare screen. I tried rebooting aggregate times with the aforesaid result. Something was intelligibly wrong!

I Went to ChatGPT for Help, But It Couldn't Help

ChatGPT has been my reliable sidekick and has helped maine retired with galore Linux-based issues! It has helped maine edit config files, troubleshoot mistake messages, and make terminal commands to execute definite tasks. Its cognition of Linux is genuinely awesome for astir tasks—which is wherefore I went to it for assistance erstwhile I couldn't footwear into Garuda Mokka!

I intelligibly explained the contented I was experiencing, and it responded with a database of communal troubleshooting steps:

• Disable Secure Boot and Fast Startup successful BIOS
• Verify the ISO wasn't corrupted during download
• Try a antithetic USB larboard oregon drive
• Check for incompatible hardware

The suggestions seemed sensible, truthful I decided to diligently spell done them 1 astatine a time. I knew Secure Boot was turned off, but possibly a UEFI firmware update from Windows accidentally enabled it (I tally a dual footwear system). But no—it was inactive disabled!

Then I checked if the ISO was corrupt. Garuda offers aggregate ways to download the distro image. I initially downloaded it via torrenting. I figured possibly that was corrupted, truthful I re-downloaded it utilizing the "direct" download option, which took good implicit 30 minutes. I adjacent checked the ISO's checksum to verify it wasn't tampered with, and everything checked retired fine.

Now, I knew the larboard was moving fine, truthful the past imaginable troublemaker was the thumb thrust itself! I considered it mightiness beryllium faulty due to the fact that it has been moving maine for the past decennary (possibly longer). So, I decided to effort again with a caller thumb drive, but arsenic you apt guessed—it inactive didn't work!

After exhausting ChatGPT's suggestions, I yet did what I should person done from the beginning—I typed the contented into Google. Lo and behold, the archetypal effect was from the Garuda Linux Forum reporting this nonstop contented and however to hole it!

Apparently, galore users person been facing this contented and the solution was simple. Instead of utilizing Balena Etcher to pain the Garuda ISO onto my USB, I americium expected to instal Ventoy connected it and past usage that to footwear the Garuda ISO utilizing GRUB 2 (not modular GRUB, a.k.a. bequest GRUB). I had Garuda Mokka installed successful little than fractional an hour.

Why Ventoy Worked While Balena Etcher Failed

Ventoy takes a antithetic attack to creating bootable media. Instead of burning the ISO straight to the thumb drive—which Etcher would do—Ventoy installs its ain GRUB 2 bootloader connected the thumb drive. After that, you tin determination immoderate fig of ISO images straight to the thumb thrust (so agelong arsenic there's capable storage) and usage Ventoy to chainload into the ISO's bootloader. I judge this attack bypassed immoderate contented was causing the drives to neglect earlier, particularly considering that GRUB 2 mostly has amended compatibility with newer hardware with UEFI firmware.

So, What Did I Learn?

This acquisition taught maine 2 invaluable lessons! First, Ventoy is amazing! This was the archetypal clip I tried the software, and I'm not going back. You tin support aggregate distros connected a azygous USB thrust and bask enhanced compatibility with astir hardware. It's a game-changer for distro-hoppers and Linux enthusiasts. But the much important takeaway was that if I americium facing an contented troubleshooting a newer portion of tech, particularly if it's alternatively niche, I shouldn't trust connected AI assistants similar ChatGPT.

For example, ChatGPT's escaped mentation has a cognition cutoff day from earlier Garuda Mokka released successful March 2025, truthful people it won't cognize immoderate circumstantial method issues with it. Also, arsenic overmuch arsenic I emotion Garuda Linux, it's a niche distro, which makes ChatGPT being alert of its nuances adjacent little likely.

That being said, I person recovered AI chatbots similar ChatGPT different fantabulous for wide troubleshooting advice. They tin assistance you get astir the Linux terminal and assistance you with much fashionable distros similar Ubuntu and Linux Mint.

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While hours of vexation mightiness look similar the emblematic communicative of each Linux idiosyncratic ever, it's done cognition sharing we tin debar those situations. I anticipation I was capable to assistance you larn done maine truthful the adjacent clip you look thing similar, you won't person to walk an full time trying to hole it.