Linux Mint is a nice distro that’s based on Ubuntu. This feature allows Linux Mint to enjoy the support from one of the largest Linux communities of all. Moreover, as it’s based on Ubuntu, it’s stable and fluent. Now, on top of Ubuntu, Linux Mint comes up in different desktop environments. The Cinnamon desktop is a unique one by nature.
Would you like to try out the popular Linux Mint OS on your Windows computer or netbook? Here’s how you can do it even without a CD/DVD drive with the Mint4Win installer.Linux MintLinux Mint is an increasingly popular distribution of Linux, and many users have found it more user friendly and convenient than other versions. Mint is based on Ubuntu, and as such includes an excellent installer that lets you install it directly from Windows. You install it just like a standard Windows program, and can uninstall it from Command Prompt.
The installer is only available in a ISO disk image file, though, so it can still be difficult to install on a computer without a CD/DVD drive such as a netbook. But, with a little trick, you can use the Windows installer for Mint on any PC, no DVD drive required! Setup Virtual CloneDriveLinux Mint is only available as an ISO file, so we’re going to mount the ISO file in a virtual CD Drive. We recommend for this, so if you don’t already have it installed, download it ( link below) and install as usual.You may be prompted to install drivers during the Virtual CloneDrive setup; click Install to complete the installation.For more information about Virtual CloneDrive, check out our article on.Install Linux Mint in Windows with Mint4WinNow download the latest version of Linux Mint from the link below.
Select the i386 Live CD edition.Choose a download mirror near your location, and save the ISO file to your computer.Once the download is finished, right-click on the ISO and select Mount (Virtual CloneDrive).Now, browse to Computer, and open the virtual DVD.Run the mint4win program located in the CD image.In Windows 7, this installer worked fine, but in one test on a Vista system we received the error message below. If you see this, simply click Continue as the installer still worked fine.When the installer opens, click Install inside Windows.Please note: DO NOT click Demo and full installation, as this will not work correctly if the CD is simply a mounted ISO file.Select where you’d like to install Linux Mint, your preferred language, username, and password, and the Installation size you want.Note: that Linux Mint is installing as a normal Windows application, so it will not overwrite any of your files. Click Install when everything’s entered.Linux Mint will now be extracted from your disk image and setup on your computer. This may take a few minutes depending on your computer’s speed.When the install is finished, you’ll be asked to reboot your computer. Save any work you have open, and select Reboot now.Finishing Linux Mint SetupWhen your computer reboots, you’ll notice a new screen showing options for Windows and Linux Mint.
Windows will load by default, but to finish setting up Linux Mint, press the down arrow on your keyboard and select Linux Mint. Press the Enter key to continue.Linux Mint will detect your hardware and set it up.It will then finish installing the OS and setting everything up.
This took about 15 minutes in our test. Once it’s finished, your computer will automatically reboot; remember to select Linux Mint at the boot screen again.Getting Started with Linux MintLinux Mint is a nice looking Linux distro that makes it easy to get up and running. It includes popular programs such as Firefox and Pidgin, and supports multimedia codecs and Flash Player directly after installation.The first time you run it, you can quickly learn your way around Linux Mint from the startup dialog. This includes links to tutorials, features, and more.Linux Mint is very easy for Windows users, as the main Mint menu is quite similar to the Windows 7 Start Menu. You can search for programs and more directly from the Mint menu, just like in Windows 7 and Vista.Mint automatically detected our WiFi network, so we just had to click on the network icon in the system tray and select the network to log on.Unfortunately, it didn’t include drivers for our Nvidia graphics card, but when we tried to enable advanced graphics effects, it automatically found and offered to install them. Click Enable and enter your administrative password, and the drivers will install and let you take full advantage of your hardware.This works similar to the way you install proprietary drivers in Ubuntu, so you can check out our article on for more info.Linux Mint is easy to use, so have fun and try out what you can do in Linux Mint!Changing Boot OptionsBy default, Mint4Win will leave Windows as the default operating system, and will give you 10 seconds at boot to choose to boot into Linux Mint.
To change this, boot into Windows and enter Advanced system settings in your start menu search.Here click Settings under Startup and Recovery.From this dialog, you can select the default operating system and the time to display list of operating systems. You can enter a lower number to make the boot screen appear for less time.Or, if you’d rather make Linux Mint the default operating system, you can select it from the drop-down menu.Uninstall Linux MintIf you that you don’t want to keep Linux Mint, you can easily uninstall it just like you would any other program installed in Windows. Open Control Panel, select Uninstall a program, and then browse to the Linux Mint entry. Click Uninstall/Change in the toolbar.Confirm that you want to uninstall Linux Mint.
The uninstall process is very quick, and once it’s finished your computer will be back the same as it was before you started.ConclusionLinux Mint is an easy to use version of Linux that is great for beginners. If you’re used to using Windows, you may have an easier time finding your way around in Linux Mint than in other distros such as Ubuntu. Since you can install it just like a normal Windows Program, it’s quick and easy to give it a try and even remove if you don’t like it, and no DVD drive’s required.If you’d rather try out Ubuntu on your Windows computer, check out our guides on and how to.Links.
Linux Mint 18.3 'Sylvia', a stable release, with.Up to 2014 there had been two releases per year, about one month after the Ubuntu releases they were based on. Each release was given a new version number and a, using a female first name starting with the letter whose alphabetical index corresponds to the version number and ending with the letter 'a' (e.g., 'Elyssa' for version 5, 'Felicia' for version 6). There is also an OEM version for ease of installation for hardware manufacturers.Releases are timed to be approximately one month after releases (which in turn are about one month after releases and two months after releases). Consequently, every Linux Mint release comes with an updated version of both GNOME and X and features some of the improvements brought in the latest Ubuntu release.
Support for most releases is discontinued two months after the next release, but since the mid-2008 v5 every fourth release has been labelled a (LTS) version, indicating that it is supported (with updates) for longer, three years for v5 and v9, and five years thereafter.Linux Mint 17 'Qiana' LTS was released on 31 May 2014, remaining current until the end of November 2014 and supported until April 2019. In mid-2014 the successor to 17 Qiana was announced to be 17.1 Rebecca; the development team said that from a technical point of view Linux Mint was no longer tied to the Ubuntu schedule, so it could be released at any time, although the six-month cycle provided rhythm, leading to a late November 2014 target. Linux Mint 17 LTS would be the first release of the 17.x series, and for two years applications would be backported to 17.x, with security updates until 2019.The latest release is Linux Mint 19.1 'Tessa', released on 19 December 2018. As an LTS release, it will be supported until 2023, and it is planned that future versions until 2020 will use the same package base, making upgrades easy., not compatible with Ubuntu, is based on and updates are brought in continuously. MGSE: Mint Gnome 3 Shell Extensions (providing a desktop environment similar to GNOME 2)'Version history of common programs These are the versions with Linux Mint as released. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
Cite web requires website=. ^. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014. Cite web requires website=. Retrieved 10 May 2016. Cite web requires website=.
Retrieved 3 June 2013. Cite web requires website=. Written by Clem on 12 July 2013. Written by Clem on 21 July 2013. 30 November 2013.
Retrieved 30 November 2013. Cite web requires website=. 30 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013. Cite web requires website=.
3 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018. Cite web requires website=.
^. Retrieved 18 September 2018. Cite web requires website=. Cite web requires website=. Clem (29 June 2018). Cite web requires website=. Smith, Jesse (2 July 2018).
Cite web requires website=. Ljubuncic, Igor (9 July 2018). Cite web requires website=.
Clem (7 September 2018). Cite web requires website=. The Linux Mint Blog.
19 December 2018. Updated cumulatively. Updated cumulatively. Updated cumulatively.
Retrieved on 21 October 2011. Updated cumulatively. Updated cumulatively. Updated cumulatively. Updated cumulatively. 4 December 2015.
Cite web requires website=. On a fresh install, running the command '$ xdpyinfo grep version' Output:'version number: 11.0X.Org version: 1.19.6'. On a fresh install, running the command '$ xdpyinfo grep version' Output:'version number: 11.0X.Org version: 1.19.6'External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to.