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Hi, Linux newbie here, have a question about something I want to do. My friend got a new laptop and I talked him into giving me his old one (it's ...
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  1. 02-14-2007 #1
    PontiacGT
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    reformat question

    Hi, Linux newbie here, have a question about something I want to do.

    My friend got a new laptop and I talked him into giving me his old one (it's an old slow pos) and I want to completely wipe the hard drive and install linux fresh (something small, maybe damn small linux or something). Anyhow, my question is, if I completely wipe the hard drive, will it mess up the boot sequence? Will I then not be able to boot from a CD if the hard drive is completely blank?

    I'd like to remove all of windows and stuff so I'd really like to reformat and start fresh bt if it's gonna mess up the booting sequence or something then I can't do that.
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  2. 02-14-2007 #2
    antidrugue
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    Quote Originally Posted by PontiacGT
    Anyhow, my question is, if I completely wipe the hard drive, will it mess up the boot sequence? Will I then not be able to boot from a CD if the hard drive is completely blank?
    No problem there. The boot sequence is controlled by the BIOS, and is entirely independent of the hard drive.

    Quote Originally Posted by PontiacGT
    I'd like to remove all of windows and stuff so I'd really like to reformat and start fresh bt if it's gonna mess up the booting sequence or something then I can't do that.
    Just pop in any Linux distribution CD and you will have the option of doing a clean install, thus whipping clean the hard drive.
    "To express yourself in freedom, you must die to everything of yesterday. From the 'old', you derive security; from the 'new', you gain the flow."

    -Bruce Lee
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  3. 02-14-2007 #3
    devils casper
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    hi !

    boot sequence is managed by BIOS only and it has nothing to do with Operating System. Select CD Drive as 'First Boot Device' in BIOS, boot up from Linux Installation CD and start Installation. select 'Use Entire Disk Space' option in Partition Section. Installer will *wipe* your Harddisk and create new, default partitions.


    EDIT: antidrugue is fast.



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  4. 02-14-2007 #4
    PontiacGT
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    thanks for the help.

    Also, I've never actually installed a Linux OS yet so, I boot to the desktop, then click on the Install icon, then the partition section comes after I clicked on the Install icon correct?


    I thought the BIOS was something separate, just had to double check.
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  5. 02-14-2007 #5
    devils casper
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    Also, I've never actually installed a Linux OS yet so, I boot to the desktop, then click on the Install icon, then the partition section comes after I clicked on the Install icon correct?
    Correct !
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  6. 02-14-2007 #6
    Sam Liu
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    What distro are you using, ubuntu? To my knowlege, you cant install damn small...or can you? I'm using an older version anyway..
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  7. 02-15-2007 #7
    PontiacGT
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    I think I'm going to try Feather first when I get ahold of the laptop. I didn't care for the looks of DSL, it looked like something you'd see before windows 3.1 but a step up from DOS lolz.
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  8. 02-15-2007 #8
    devils casper
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Liu
    What distro are you using, ubuntu? To my knowlege, you cant install damn small...or can you? I'm using an older version anyway..
    Damn Small Linux has install option.





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