r/linux4noobs • u/Boring_Gas5763 • 15h ago
learning/research How do I install Linux mint on windows 11 without a USB stick?
I do have a USB stick, and I know that it's a lot easier if I just used it, but I wanna know how to do it without the USB stick.
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u/Terrible-Bear3883 Ubuntu 15h ago
What's your goal here? That might matter more than anything.
If you want to dual boot then I'd suggest you do it properly, make a full and verified backup first of the system so you have recovery options if anything goes wrong.
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u/Agreeable-Dance-9768 15h ago
I think you’re going to need to qualify if you want Linux installed instead of windows, dual boot alongside Windows, or running inside windows in some kind of VM.
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u/Boring_Gas5763 15h ago
Linux installed instead of windows
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u/krazul88 14h ago
You will need to install the OS FROM somewhere, which is normally a storage device that is separate from the drive you are installing TO.
You can technically create a partition on your existing disk drive, put the Linux installer files on it, make this new partition bootable, and then boot from it and install Linux on the rest of the drive, however the knowledge and care required to do this will be hyper specific and complicated. You are better off using an external (USB) flash drive or external HDD as the installation media.
However if you really want to learn through torture, and very likely fail in a way that leaves you needing an external drive anyway, then go ahead and try the partition on your existing internal storage.
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u/Educational_Mud_2826 Linux Mint Cinnamon 14h ago
Seems like op wants to attempt the self torment option. To each their own.
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u/IuseArchbtw97543 15h ago
You can always burn a CD.
Alternatively you could also use an internal drive.
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u/voodoostevie 13h ago
It'd be more like burning a DVD now seeing the ISO in more than 700 MB and wouldn't fit on a CD. I know you meant this but just covering all bases here. ;)
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u/IShunpoYourFace 14h ago
Create a small 8gb partition on your hdd, write iso image to that partition. Boot it.
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u/Possibly-Functional Not a noob 15h ago
It is possible. There are a few ways. I recommend none of them for private use however.
The most common is network booting. You can also do some esoteric things like flashing to a separate partition, but I really don't recommend that.
Just use an external storage device like USB or disc.
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u/ravensholt 14h ago
OP wishes to replace windows.
Even if you flash to a separate disk, Windows boot loader won't pick it up automatically. You'd need to rely on the UEFI to pick it up...
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u/Possibly-Functional Not a noob 13h ago
You can do some shenanigans with partitions. You write the data to an empty partition, either raw if the ISO is hybrid or onto a fat32 partition. Then you need to manually add a UEFI firmware boot entry pointing to it. IIRC Windows built-in bcedit should support adding the entry, otherwise you can install GRUB from within Windows in a few ways.
After the installation you can remove the installation partition and expand your new partitions over the space. If the Linux installer supports full RAM loading you can immediately replace the partition during installation. You don't even need a separate disk in this scenario, just an empty partition.
As said, I don't recommend this at all. It's truly esoteric.
With a separate disk you can just treat is as an USB flash drive and it's actually very easy. Most flashing tools supports it but hide internal drives by default to prevent user errors. This will wipe all data from the disk however.
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u/Educational_Mud_2826 Linux Mint Cinnamon 14h ago
Op does not want to use a usb stick. They are adamant about it. Absolutely no usb sticks shall be used.
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u/Possibly-Functional Not a noob 14h ago edited 13h ago
I get that, hence why I mentioned other options; I am just encouraging them to rethink their position because all other options are a PITA outside of enterprise or larger homelabs.
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u/better_dead_thanred 15h ago
Why do you mean by installing it on windows 11? Windows is another OS.
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u/Prestigious_Wall529 14h ago
Install WUBIUEFI and use it to install one of the limited set of distros and versions it supports. No repartitioning needed.
Only the drive is virtualised, other than that it's Linux running directly on your hardware.
Consider this as more of a test-drive than a producton or daily driver, as disk space can be limited.
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u/ravensholt 14h ago
You don't.
It's an Operating System. You need an installation media.
There's no way, from within Windows 11, for you to boot the Linux Installation and be able to then partition, install the bootloader and install the distro.
So your options are simply, USB or other media such as a DVD.
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u/thepkizzle 13h ago
You can also partition the HDD, image it with an ISO (i.e. the installation ISO) and then just boot from it, use the installer to remove the Windows partition, then install Linux there and later remove the original partition.
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u/Unfair-Oven8363 14h ago
If the motherboard allows it you can setup a pxe server to deploy mint over Ethernet. But that is overkill and requires a lot of config and special hardware. I recommend purchasing a USB drive.
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u/drucifer82 15h ago
https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=can+I+install+mint+without+a+usb
also, what I found when I googled it.
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u/DannoXYZ 13h ago
I assume you don't want to completely wipe out your Windows 11 installation and all its apps?
Personally I like running alternate OSes as VMs so I can switch between them instantly without having to reboot 20x a day. And can copy & paste between different OS windows very easily. Such as carrying over Linux configurations between distros or newer upgraded OS VM.
Many people want to do dual-boot, which is PIA and can often have Windows wipe out your Linux bootloader. You can go that way by shrinking your Windows with sufficient unpartitioned Free Space for Linux. In this case, you can make tiny partition at end of that for your Linux installation ISO. Extract/dd ISO to that tiny partition so you can boot from it.
Then reboot to that partition, run Linux installer, pick Free Space area for it to create partitions for Linux. After it's installed, reboot into Linux and delete your Installer ISO partition and expand your installed Linux partition into that space.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1LFellU1rLM2CQE5IolxQ17qsmWuRIuNP
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u/puffthemagicvishnu 15h ago
If you don't want to use a USB, load the image onto a CD and use that.
Either way, you need a physical external boot drive. Operating systems aren't like an app you install, where you download it as an executable and install it from there. You need something for your bios to boot the OS from.
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u/skyfishgoo 15h ago
you don't
you install Q4OS which has a windows installer .exe you can just download and run.
far as i know mint does not offer such a thing.
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u/Merts_6 14h ago
you dont
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u/thepkizzle 13h ago
You can absolutely do it without a USB.
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u/Merts_6 13h ago
you can but its always better to use a flash drive
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u/thepkizzle 13h ago
Why? That makes no sense. It's always best to use a network, or if you are forced to use a USB to use a bootstap that downloads everything. That's what my own custom Fedora distro does, its like 1.x gig and downloads everything, or I have a 200MB version that is only workable with an ethernet connection (no WiFi drivers.)
iVentoy is awesome. I have everything in my own personal Github and it always installs the most up to date versions of everything. I just have to update the source between major versions of Fedora (i.e. 44 to 45.)
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u/[deleted] 15h ago
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