Ensure that the machine you are installing Linux Mint on meets the requirements.

Currently for version 18.1 with Cinnamon, the requirements are as follows: 512MB RAM (1GB Recommended) 9GB of disk space (20GB Recommended)

How much space does Linux Mint 18 need?

System requirements: 512MB RAM (1GB recommended for a comfortable usage). 9GB of disk space (20GB recommended).

How much hard drive space does Linux need?

A typical Linux installation will need somewhere between 4GB and 8GB of disk space, and you need at least a bit of space for user files, so I generally make my root partitions at least 12GB-16GB.