So about Nerd Perk Level 5 then. TA! :D

If you want to write a bootable ISO to a USB drive, I've had good luck with Rufus.

Distros running on top of low-spec hardware are usually minimal, aside from having to be tailored to particular architecture like Pi. There's already quite a number of them, but you won't be able to use anything other than lightweight desktop environments which might not suit to your artistic taste, I suspect. If you're interested in all-around experience, you may try one of the full-fledged distributions from the live media

Okay-
>decided to reinstall mint
>get to select language and keyboard but something comes up, abort install
>not thinking I yank off the USB drive
>oh shit moment..... maybe it won't get corrupted I think seeing I don't know how to do a simple install
>later that evening boot up my laptop get black screen saying somethings missing
>insert USB drive..... everything is okay now, reboot again to test
>black screen again saying to press tab for more commands and grub
>okay..... boot USB, try reinstall
>says no available disk space, can't install!
>order a live disc from Linux with 2 day shipping
>now I wait and when I get home I'll tinker with it some more

Maybe it's me, but could you describe the problem a bit more orderly? Have you installed Mint before? Which OSs you have on your machine?

Btw, you may safely ignore all the error messages occuring after the failed installation, they're perfectly normal for this scenario. And start installation from scratch, possibly informing us of the exact installation error should it happen again.

Have you ordered already or was it a joke, can't tell? Anyway, you reall don't need that. Make a bootable USB or use a rewritable DVD if you have one at hand.

First time with mint and it's cinnamon. Had windows 10. Will tinker with it some more and let you know what it says but this is what is popping up when I turn my laptop now.

Minimal bash like line editing is supported. For the first word, TAB lists possible command completions. Anywhere else TAB lists possible device or file completions.

Like I said, this is expected given the way installation failed, but as we don't have any info on the actual error and this is your first time, it is best to start the installation procedure anew. Format the partition, either from the live media or the install wizard itself, then follow the rest of the on-screen instructions. If you encounter errors, write them down. Good luck.

How do I go by doing that? I finally got mint to load from the USB (before it was a black screen) but now I get this: MDM could not write a new authorization entry to disk. Possibly out of disk space. Error: no space left on device.

Anything I can do with the command screen that says press tan and grub? If so what commands?



Edit: also says-

Could not start the X
Server (your graphical environment )
Due to internal error.
Please contact your system administrator or check your syslog to diagnose.
In the meantime this display will be disabled. Please restart MDM when the problem is corrected.

Do you mean how to start the installation again? Boot from live USB like you did the first time, make sure you allocate enough space for your installation partition when asked (I can't give you any specifics if you don't tell me what is the current layour of your hard drive).

Yes you can, but it would be pointless to explain because it is infinitely more simple to just forget this messed up configuration left after unsuccessful installation attempt. Don't entagle yourself into command-line recovery and repair process without prior experience.

Not working, won't load. Same blue screen with that text in previous post. Even tried the compatability mode.

You can't boot from live USB?

No at least I think I can't. That's why I ordered the CD just in case I screwed up the USB. It worked perfectly before I yanked it out in the install.

Yes, that probably corrupted it (don't worry, not physically) :) You can make another live media (the same USB, regular or rewritable DVD) if you have access to a usable system.

Another reason why I ordered it. Only have one system and I know the libraries here don't let you download stuff. Also guessed it wasn't physical because.....well... it's not a brick. I didn't delete system 32 or Linux equivalent and I still have the option to boot (try) the OS but it's a no go for now. I just hoping there was a work around but I really don't want to mess with the commands because I have no clue what they do and searching via by mobile sucks.