I have an old laptop, that I wish to rejuvenate. I need to completely wipe the hard drive as well as reformat it and install a new Operating System. I have decided to move to Ubuntu, and no longer use my MS products at all.
This does leave me with some questions. If you could assist I would be most grateful.
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I intend doing a 6 stage "zero & one" wipe, this would hopefully leave the hard drive completely clean, but that would then leave me without any drivers or the ability to reformat the drive. So would loading Ubuntu from the CD drive work, or would I then have a problem not having drivers for the mouse, harddrive, CD player etc.? Also will I get halfway through the load to find a driver search that leaves the machine useless? Will I be able to format the hard drive after the Ubuntu load?
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Is the BIOS kept on the HDD or is it installed on the Motherboard, if I wipe my HDD will I still be able to access the Bios to instruct the boot from the CD?
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My machine specs are as in the link. Would it be better to load Ubuntu "Desktop" or Ubuntu "Notebook" on this type of spec?
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Are there any other surprises I need to be wary of, before I go ahead with this?
Best Answer
If your hardware is not too exotic ALL hardware drivers will be included. It is best to test Ubuntu from a live disc (instructions on how to make a live CD/DVD or Live USB can be found here) to make sure everything works. When installing you can simply select "erase everything and install ubuntu" and the disc will be formatted before installing, however formatting using other methods first should not affect installation
The BIOS is on a chip on your motherboard. Wiping the hard drive will have no effect on the BIOS. For additional information have a look this guide on my website for details and a video on accessing and using BIOS. (if it helps let me know so I can post the details here)
With only 512mb Ram you would be best off using Lubuntu 12.04 since it is less hardware hungry.
You don't need to worry at all. Just read all the Installation Instructions carefully, and you'll be all right. However, there are several problems that people encounter mostly because they don't follow the instructions correctly. If you encounter any problem, search the web. Most of the problems are already answered.