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4425
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12/5/2011
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Edited Date/Time
5/9/2012 7:23am
Ok, so I have an old laptop and I removed the Hard Drive from it and put it into a Ext HD case.
Currently it is basically the same computer as it was before, with the Windows OS on it and everything.
Im in the process of switching all my PC's over to Linux and I want to do the same with this Ext HD. I have all the data backed up on SD cards. So is the process as simple as reformating the hard drive?
Can someone please walk me thru the process. Ive done some searches on the net but they get a lil complex when explaining.
For starters, I dont need this Ext HD to operate like it is its own computer, I'd prefer it to simply be no different than say my SD cards. Just a place to backup and store files. Is this even possible or must the hard drive have some sort of operating system loaded onto it?
Currently it is basically the same computer as it was before, with the Windows OS on it and everything.
Im in the process of switching all my PC's over to Linux and I want to do the same with this Ext HD. I have all the data backed up on SD cards. So is the process as simple as reformating the hard drive?
Can someone please walk me thru the process. Ive done some searches on the net but they get a lil complex when explaining.
For starters, I dont need this Ext HD to operate like it is its own computer, I'd prefer it to simply be no different than say my SD cards. Just a place to backup and store files. Is this even possible or must the hard drive have some sort of operating system loaded onto it?
So you just want to wipe it clean? easy to do.
Go to control panel / administrative tools / computer management (new window opens)
in the new window, in the left hand pane see the tree? go to storage / disk management. It will look like this:
See that "data disk 2" in the above pic? that is my ext. Right click on that drive in the lower pane (below the blue barr) and choose "format". That will wipe it clean. It will ask you what format you want it in etc. You want to go NTFS. I dont recall what other options it gives you right off hand, its 2:30am and my brain is fried lol it is pretty basic though.
You got my email, shoot me a msg if you get stuck.
Make sure you choose the right drive
im going to reformat the netbook first. and try and install linux.
ive got everything backed up on the external hd (that still has windows) and ive backed up everything on SD cards. once the computer has been redone in linux, then im going to reformat the ext hd (and then bring everything from the SD cards back onto the ext hd)
After the external hd has been reformatted, then what? Will it simply be a blank memory card so to speak or will I need to install a OS?
I didnt get an email from you OC.
What Linux OS do you recommend? It's for a netbook and I dont have a CD drive. Do I have to have a CD drive to boot from and install the OS? Or is their a way to download a Linux OS via the net?
I was looking at Linux Mint but Im not sure how to install it via the net.
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and yea, i have been meaning to get back to ya on that. Will tomorrow.
No worries on the 2:30am, im an insomniac, and it has been bad the last few nights.
I rarely sleep before 3 or 4 am unless Ive just worked myself into the ground at a sport and in the gym that day.
Taking any juices out of my diet during dinner and also not eating any carbs or sugar filled foods from the afternoon on has also helped a bit but I honestly dont think the problem has been my diet. I was an insomniac even when I was strictest with my diet for a 5 year period.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/20079/install-linux-mint-on-your-windows-computer-or-netbook/
Cant I just download a Linux kernal to a USB flash drive and boot and install from that?
The one thing that Im unsure of is if it will remove the old Windows OS from the computer? I want to remove Windows and basically start from a clean slate.
As far as a clean install of mint? (and ditching Win all together) i bet you will find the answer here:
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewforum.php?f=46
That is about as much help as i can be with Linux, ill have to give it a try someday.
The old HD has been partitioned. How do I remove the partition?
Theoretically I should be able to plug that Ext HD into my Macbook to get files off of? Ive used a USB to go back and forth between a PC and Macbook in the past.
Now if I could just figure out how to do the Linux deal on the netbook. That Linux forum is full of information but it isnt exactly written for dummies like me.
But after having tried it for a month or so, I wiped the hard drive and put Windows on the machine. I see no point in having everything on the computer a second-rate, homemade application that isn't totally compatible and does things that are almost the same as what they need to be.
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