How to Install Linux Mint 21 with manual partitions
If you’re a Linux Mint fan and want to know how to install the latest version of Linux Mint with manual partitions, this is the guide for you. Follow along as we go over how to set up Linux Mint 21 with manual partitioning.
Please note that to install Linux Mint 21, you will need a computer with at least two cores and 2-4 GB of RAM. You’ll also need a removable USB flash drive.
Downloading Linux Mint 21
Before installing Linux Mint 21, download the latest Linux Mint 21 ISO file from the official website. Then, head over to the Mint website. Once there, select the white “Download” button to go to the Linux Mint download page.
After selecting the “Download” button, you’ll be asked to choose an edition. We recommend selecting the “Cinnamon Edition,” as it is the best. However, there are other options available as well.
Once you’ve chosen your edition, select the “Download” button underneath it. When you select the second download button, you’ll get download options for the edition you’ve chosen. Next, scroll down and select a download mirror closest to your location.
Creating a Linux Mint 21 installation USB
You must create an installation USB to install Linux Mint 21 on your computer. To create an installation USB, you must download the Etcher application. Why Etcher? It is a cross-platform tool that works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Download and install Etcher here.
Once you’ve downloaded Etcher, launch it and follow the step-by-step instructions below to create a Linux Mint 21 installation USB.
Step 1: Find the “Flash from file” button inside the Etcher application, and click on it with the mouse. Then, select the downloaded Linux Mint 21 file to add it to Etcher.
Step 2: Find the “Select target” button, and click on it with the mouse. Then, select your USB flash drive to use with Etcher.
Step 3: Find the “Flash!” button, and click on it with the mouse to start the flashing process. This process will take a bit to complete, so sit back and be patient.
When the process is complete, reboot your computer and access the BIOS. Then, configure it to load from USB so that you may install Linux Mint 21.
How to Install Linux Mint 21 with manual partitions
After booting up the Linux Mint USB on your computer, follow the instructions below to install Linux Mint 21 with manual partitions.
Step 1: Once the Linux Mint live disk boots up, double-click on the “Install Linux Mint” icon to start up the installer.
Step 2: Select your language in the selector, then click on the “Continue” button to move to the next page in the installer.
Step 3: You must choose your keyboard layout. Using the picker tool, select the layout you prefer. Click on the “Continue” button when done to move to the next page.
Step 4: You’ll want to select the “Install multimedia codecs” button to install proprietary music/video codecs on your new Linux Mint 21 install. After checking the box, click on the “Continue” button.
Step 5: After clicking on the multimedia codecs “Continue” button, you’ll be brought to the “Installation Type” page. Find the “Something else” button, and click on it to enable custom partitioning.
Step 6: Upon selecting the “Something else” option, you will see a partitioner tool, followed by all available storage devices. In this example, we’ll be installing Mint on /dev/sda. Your device label may differ.
Select your drive in the partition tool, then select the “Free space” area. If your drive does not have free space, select the “New Partition Table” button first, as it will clear the drive so you can start fresh.
Step 7: After selecting “Free space” with the mouse, click the “+” button to create a new partition. Then, in the “Create partition” window, set the size to “4096 MB.” Set the type to “Primary,” and set “Use as” to “swap area.” This partition will be what Linux Mint uses for virtual memory.
Step 8: Select “Free space” once again, and click on the “+” sign to create a second partition. Set the “Size” to “512 MB,” set “Use as to” EFI System Partition.” and click “OK.” This is what Linux Mint will use for the EFI bootloader.
Note: if you do not use EFI, skip this step.
Step 9: Find the “Free space” area and select it a third time. Then, click the “+” button to create a third partition. For size, use the remainder of the space available. Set the “Type for the new partition” to “Primary,” and set “Use as” to “Ext4 journaling file system.” Be sure also to set “Mount point to “/.”
Step 10: Once everything looks like the picture below, find the “Install Now” button and click on it with the mouse to install Linux Mint to your computer using manual partitioning.
