Yesterday, 12:49 PM
You might still be able to boot RC7 from a USB drive even without a CD-R. Since your Dell Optiplex is over 12 years old and uses legacy BIOS rather than UEFI, the key is making sure the USB is created in a BIOS-compatible format.
Try recreating the USB using a tool like Rufus or Balena Etcher. In Rufus, choose MBR as the partition scheme and set the target system to BIOS (or UEFI-CSM). When prompted, try writing the ISO in DD Image mode, which sometimes works better with older systems. Also make sure Legacy USB boot is enabled in the BIOS settings.
On many Dell desktops, pressing F12 during startup opens the boot menu so you can manually select the USB drive. If it still doesn’t work, try a different flash drive, since some older BIOS versions are picky about USB devices.
Another option is using a multi-boot tool like Ventoy, which can sometimes boot ISOs that fail with standard methods.
Try recreating the USB using a tool like Rufus or Balena Etcher. In Rufus, choose MBR as the partition scheme and set the target system to BIOS (or UEFI-CSM). When prompted, try writing the ISO in DD Image mode, which sometimes works better with older systems. Also make sure Legacy USB boot is enabled in the BIOS settings.
On many Dell desktops, pressing F12 during startup opens the boot menu so you can manually select the USB drive. If it still doesn’t work, try a different flash drive, since some older BIOS versions are picky about USB devices.
Another option is using a multi-boot tool like Ventoy, which can sometimes boot ISOs that fail with standard methods.