My noob installation questions - plz dumb-it-down for me

[artaq]

good day folks! I have my aging parent's Windows Vista laptop that I'm trying to get working for them...password forgotten, and I can't get into it...nothing on it that needs to be kept. I am thinking of just wiping the HD and installing a Linux product.

my noob question is:

can i just wipe the HD with D-ban, burn Linux to a disc or USB and then pop it into my parents old laptop and it will install?

thank you in advance for dumbing it down for me - art.

 

[captain-sensible]

just re-read your post

..password forgotten,

that might be a problem if booting from usb is not enabled . usually you can access the bios using maybe the esc key. For a short time before Windows boots up , the info to access BIOS and also boot menu is displayed on the screen.

Regarding wiping the drive- if you install a Linux OS , if you choose "use whole drive" during installation then everything that was on the hd would be wiped clean anyway.

you might try some likely linux distro candidates onto a "ventoy" formatted stick .

The advantage of ventoy is that you can just "drag and drop" linux os .iso files onto the specially formatted stick. here's a example of what i have on one stick :

(06-26 21:57)
ventoy
├── ISO
│ ├── debian-live-10.9.0-amd64-xfce+nonfree.iso
│ ├── endeavouros-2021.04.17-x86_64.iso
│ ├── linuxmint-20.1-cinnamon-64bit.iso
│ └── neon-user-20210325-0946.iso
├── Mint-persistence.dat
├── persistence.dat
└── ventoy
└── ventoy.json


There are versions for both Windows and linux https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html


There is also a thread on this site about ventoy


The advantage of a linux OS running from a usb stick is that it uses the OS from the usb stick; but makes use of hardware from the PC from which the usb is attached to. Thus it gives you an idea of how things would work out IF you installed that OS to the hd on the PC


i'm guessing your PC mught be 32 bit- lubuntu might be worth a try

Get Lubuntu

Download lubuntu, a fast and lightweight Linux operating system. Lubuntu uses LXDE/LXQT and a selection of light applications. It focuses on speed and energy-efficiency. Because of this, Lubuntu ha…

lubuntu.net

So basically don't wipe anything yet. Get a usb stick something like 16gig. have a go using your windows and ventoy Windows version to format it. Once formated you won't see anything visually different. But drag a linux iso on stick and then boot from stick .


Take it step by step.


to confirm whether its 64 bit or 32bit you have to poke about in menu and somehow arrive at system info ; somewhere there will be a mention.
you need this information because there for instance are both 32 and 64 bit versions of Lubuntu



you can try this old hack : hit window icon key on keyboard + R key.

type in where it says run the text , msinfo32


or read : https://www.l3harrisgeospatial.com/...cles-Detail/ArtMID/10220/ArticleID/18933/4040


Any questions ask away ...

 

[Brickwizard]

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Bwiz

If you give your make and model I can tell the capabilities of their machine, we usually recommend installation by usb but as its a vista machine in may not be usb boot enabled.
There are over 300 current versions of linux some more friendly to new ex- windows users , My personal recommendations will depend on your equipment

 

[artaq]

Any questions ask away ...

thank you so much!!! not quite dumb enough for me, but i think i can decipher it well enough

much appreciated, I'm sure i will be posting some questions in the days ahead.

have a wonderful day / evening - art.

 

[Deleted member 108694]

If you have the Windows Vista DVD insert it and restart now select the DVD to boot first - wait for the Install Windows screen to appear - select Repair your Computer - Once the DVD finds your install usually C: Highlight it and select Next - Under the System Recovery Options select Command Prompt
Now enter the folowwing commands

copy c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe c:\

copy c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe c:\windows\system32\utilman.exe

answer yes to overwrite - now remove the Windows Vista DVD and reboot - when it reboots and you get to the login screen look for the little blue icon at the bottom left corner now open command prompt with it. Now we are going to use the net user command to change the password

net user USERNAME PASSWORD

- the USERNAME and PASSWORD can be whatever you want after you should see command completed successfully - close command prompt - now login - you may need to reboot if you can't login then login you should be able to get into Vista if you need to save some files

 

[darry1966]

Welcome aboard

 

[captain-sensible]

Welcome aboard

cheers darry1966 i sometimes forget my etiquette of things like hello, welcone and jump straight into the meat of things

 

[Condobloke]

G'day artaq, Welcome to linux.org

I see the guys have given you enough to chew over for a day or three.

Have fun....that is what it's all about.

When you get stuck....Just ask away!

(everybody.....that is everybody gets stuck)