How you do this varies according to the system. Stop the boot-up process and get to your PC's UEFI or BIOS settings during the reboot. Next, you place your disc or USB stick into your PC and reboot. I've found this to be very handy, and there's always at least one live Linux stick in my laptop bag. This way, you can carry Linux and use it as a walk-around operating system for hotel, conference, and library PCs. You can store your programs and files on the stick.

With persistent storage, you essentially have a computer on a USB stick. You can also set Mint up with a USB stick with persistent storage. Over the years, I've had more problems with running Linux and installing Linux from DVDs from bad discs than all other causes combined. Check your newly burned disc for errors if you're using a DVD. Once you've installed the burner program and have the latest Linux Mint ISO file in hand, use the burner to put the ISO image to your disc or USB stick. So, if you have a computer collecting dust in the closet that you want to get some use from, go for it. But, I might add, Linux Mint will run on pretty much any PC that hasn't turned 10 yet. You can run Linux from a DVD, but it's very slow. Unless you're using an older PC that won't boot from a USB stick, I strongly recommend using a USB flash drive for your test drive.

How to install linux on windows