I regularly use bootable USB drives for Linux Mint MATE 21.3 and MX Linux 23.1 to make fresh installations on donated laptops (which are then given to a local charity).

The drives are always pre-partioned as dos for Legacy boot using GParted.

I noticed on 2 occasions that when I used Mint, the installations stalled (black screen) before even reaching the “Install Linux Mint” icon.

I replaced Mint with MX Linux on these 2 occasions and the installations proceeded without a hitch.

I am just curious to know why this happened because normally Mint is so reliable.

Does anybody have any suggestions as to the possible cause?

My first thought is that the computer is not up to Mint — that it hasn't enough RAM or even is only 32-bit. The best test is to run Ubiquity in a terminal using the live Mint disk to see it it leaves any messages when it fails.

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Aside from the good advice given by DavidMcCann, I'll also suggest it could be video related. You could try installing in compatibility mode, and/or play with the nomodeset option in GRUB:
https://linuxmint-installation-guide...er%20to%20boot.

DavidMcCann & TB0ne,

There is plenty of RAM (4GB) and it is 64-bit.

It is possible that nomodeset may help. I will wait to see if this occurs on another installation.