I have now done a SMART report…
for some reason I keep getting error when I try to upload Screen shot… (106KB)
and it’s summary is… OK.
I am in the process now of formatting again but in ATA Enhanced Secure Erase…
I will try again in a few hours after that finishes.
Something must be going on with the drive or the formatting. What the quick format does is simply deleting the main file-table sectors and initiating the structure of the drive. However, it does not wipe the data out, which means that files are still dormant in the blocks. A possible error in the clearing of that file-table would still inform the system of those files’ existence.
Therefore, a full erase/format is warranted and you are right to try it.
It got rid of the grub reference but now it wont boot from usb…
I think it’s time to convert my laptop to a Frizbie…
One step at a time, it would seem!
Which app did you use to flash your USB? Also, what brand is your flash drive?
I used ‘Disks’ for everything… The usb is 64GB TeamGroup C185 Generic Flash Disk (8.07).
I tried it in a second computer and it worked fine…
Different ports and systems - at times - see hardware differently. I’ve encountered this difference between two laptops.
Do you happen to have a second USB and try to flash it with balenaEtcher - Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives ?
I will put it in the rubbish. It was working well with ubuntu studio for a long time until September when the update killed it. I have spent too much time and stress trying to resolve the issue. I appreciate your assistance, thank you. It is now time to install what I call the ‘frizbie OS’… It always works…
Thank you again and take care,
Ray
Frisbee OS… 
! It might come in handy if the “peanut hits the fan”!
