Tip for live CD/DVD boot of HP laptops

[Noah Tellin]

I recently installed the Ubuntu-derived Linux Mint 17 Quiana on an old
HP 620 notebook, alongside Windows 7 Home Premium in a classic dual
boot setup. I had not used the machine so long that the previous Mint
was unsupported and I had forgotten the password anyway.

At first I could not get it to boot from the DVD, which was able to
boot my Lenovo just fine.
All BIOS settings were correct on the HP, but it refused to start, or
even get past the first part of the boot sequence.

After some digging around, I found a thread that contained a solution.

With at least some HP machines, you have to insert the media while in
the boot options menu, then continue with the boot normally. Putting
the DVD in before the boot starts will just cause the system to hang.

1. Power on
2. Press Escape key to enter the configuration options
3. You may need to select the boot options (F9?), if only to check the order
4. Insert the live DVD
5. Select Continue

That worked for me on an HP 620 with a DVD of Linux Mint, but judging
by the thread I read, it applies to other HP machines as well.

Hope that helps someday!