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I'm a newbie to Linux (I installed it about a month ago) and there are some other distributions that I would like to run on my old computer (specifically Linux Mint). I've tried everything and I can't seem to install it to where I can select the OS on boot-up. When I burn the .iso Disk Image to a DVD R/W (which I've done multiple times) and use it, it unarchives the file instead of running it as an installer.

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There is a detailed guide on how to burn ISO images on windows or Ubuntu here.

After you have successfully burned the image, put the disk in the DVD drive and reboot your PC. Now you have to choose the boot device to boot from. There is a default boot order set in the BIOS. This is the order that BIOS searches different drives and devices, and then boots the first bootable OS that it finds.

In most cases the first bootable device is your HDD drive so your Ubuntu installation will be booted. To boot from your newly burned DVD disc, you have to select the DVD device. On different BIOS-es the key that opens the boot menu varies, but in many cases it is F12, another F-key, esc or del.

So after you reboot start repeatedly pressing F12 (or other key) before your system is booted. If you succeed you will see a prompt with a list of devices.

Boot menu

You should select your CD-ROM/DVD drive and then you will be presented with options of the new distro (depending on how you created your DVD disk available options could be Try Ubuntu without installing or Install Ubuntu). You can select one of them and proceed with the installation.

Note that installing many distros on the same machine for testing purposes is not a very good idea. If you want to completely replace one distro with another it is ok, but if you want to have two or more distros at a same time I suggest you download VirtualBox from Ubuntu Software Center and install other operating systems in virtual machines. You can install as many distros you like on this machine and test them without the risk of messing up your system or having to delete and repartition each time you decide you do not like this distro.

Edit

To permanently change the boot order you will have to enter the BIOS setup page. To do so reboot your PC and press F2 or on some BIOS-es DEL several times before the OS boots.

This will bring you a blue screen with BIOS configuration. From the top menu go to Boot section and there you can see the available Devices and their order. You can change this order with enter and Up/Down Arrows. You can bring your CD drive at first place, so it will aways boot from CD if it is present.

Bois Setup

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  • Thank you! Is there a way to have a boot menu that will automatically come up without spamming f12?
    – user396043
    Apr 8, 2015 at 14:51
  • @user396043 You can permanently change the boot order, so if CD is present it will always boot from it. I have updated my answer, see Edit part :)
    – Sh1d0w
    Apr 8, 2015 at 14:55

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