Comment 7 for bug 1229488

This bug also effects Mint 18, removing the USB that Linux was installed to causes host to drop into grub prompt at boot time!

Thankfully typing `exit` will cause system to boot to OS on host's internal drive... for now...

However, attempting to install Linux to a second USB has resulted in no-joy.

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General steps used to install Linux to USB;

- Make installer USB (sdb) from ISO
- Reboot Win10 while holding shift
  - Select boot from USB
- While booting press [Esc] key
  - Then select compatibility mode from boot menu
- Once booted into Live session disable screen-saver, and other display blanking stuff
  - Use GParted to format second USB (sdc) that'll be targeted for installation
  - Use installer application to install to second USB
    - Select something else option
    - Select second USB (sdc) for installing boot stuff and OS to

I've tried this both with and without internet enabled on the installer Live USB (sdb), and though everything selected within the installer's options where targeting the other USB for installation (sdc), for some reason the internal host's drive was touched (sda)... in a very bad way!

What's really funky is that attempting to install onto a second USB (with the intention to replace the previously used media), causes the system to boot into grub shell too... for some reason the host is only happy when the USB from first install attempts is plugged in; without it or with only the other installed to USB plugged in I'm greeted with a grub prompt.

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So far the best advice that I've seen is from a relatively recent guide on the subject...

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=287353

... that mentions either removing the host's internal drive (sda), or removing various flags, or (probably the easiest) using Virtual Box to load up the installer ISO so that it never sees the host's internal drive(s).

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If anyone's has gone through this and figured out how to un-bork the host's boot records I'd certainly appreciate some tips, because I don't relish the idea of re-installing Win10 just to get things booting without a specific USB plugged-in.

Additionally if someone would be so kind as to point me to the repo for the Installer application, I'd be happy to poke around a bit and experiment a little with getting it to do as it's told... at the very least it would be nice to have the installer pop a warning that states sda was detected and not chosen, but will be touched anyways, perhaps with some kind of message that tells users to figure out how to remove the drive or use VBox.