Before using the installation file (.iso), we need to make sure that it is safe to use. A safe file is:

  • From a verified source
  • Is not corrupted
  • Has not been tampered with

This verification process is done by comparing checksums.

Check installation .iso checksum

Open the emn178 SHA256 checksum tool.

  1. Click on the Input box and select the linuxmint-22.3-cinnamon-64bit.iso file.

  2. Click the Hash button. The hashing process may take a while.

  3. Copy the generated hash text string from the Output box.

    The three steps of adding an input file, hashing, and copying the output string from the emn178 SHA256 checksum tool.

Compare with expected hash

Open the Toolsley hash comparison tool. to compare the output text with the expected hash.

  1. Paste the output from the .iso hash into the first value field.

    The Toolsley checksum tool showing a matching result for the first and second value fields.

  2. Open the sha256sum.txt file you downloaded.

  3. Copy and paste the expected hash into the second value field. This is the string of text before whichever version you downloaded.

This process can also be completed using other other hashing tools, such as the Bitakit hash comparison tool.

Failed integrity check

Double check that you are:
Using SHA-256 checksumsNot other types such as SHA-128, SHA-512, MD-5, etc. These are different types of encryption and will yield different results.
Comparing with the correct expected hashThis value varies depending on which version you downloaded (ex. Cinnamon vs. Mate, or v22.3 vs. 22.1).
Hashing a complete download.iso files are several gigabytes, and there is a possibility the download was interrupted. In this case, download the whole file again.


If the actual and expected hash outputs do not match:

  1. Delete the existing .iso and sha256sum.txt files from your computer.

  2. Re-download the Linux Mint .iso and SHA256sum .txt files.

  3. Go through the integrity verification steps again.

Signature verification

The official Linux Mint guide goes through a more thorough verification process using a downloaded GnuPG tool, and also checks the signature authenticity of the sha256sum.txt file. In the interest of brevity, this guide only covers the hash comparison step.

Last updated 23 Jun 2026, 16:10 -0700. history