I don't want to run a dual boot system
 

I have a Toshiba computer with windows 8 on on it, but I want to delete or over write the windows with Linux. How would this be done I have been using Ubuntu in a Dual boot system, but I am unhappy with the dual boot system and with Ubuntu. What others distros are good for newbies on a laptop.

There is OpenSUSE 12.3
but things are done VERY differently than ubuntu

it is a rpm based os but the red hat "guides" will be of little use
bookmark and study the novell suse docs

Hi

When you boot from cd and get to the part about partitioning it will give you the option to use the whole disk for distro.
There are various distros you can use Have a look at DistroReviews in right side pane of this site

As spiky0011 suggested you about installation.

I would like to suggest distro.

You can use fedora or centos which is RPM based and has absolute flavor of core linux.

But if you are searching in a similar way of ubuntu, you can use debian or mint.

I can add Xubuntu and Voyager, they are both Ubuntu based but with a different desktop environment, they use the lightweight Xfce.

I can also recommend Lubuntu, they are Ubuntu based but use LXDE desktop environment

I can recommend you to keep the Windows installed but shrink the partition so dual boot is possible. In the rare event of a hardware failure it can help to diagnose, and if the laptop needs repair, the repair centre does not blame Linux.

Dual booting as such does not make any sense, it is better to install a VM inside your Linux. Boot Windows only in the aforementioned hardware error suspicion.

My problem with "beginner" distros is that often they make installation so "easy" that too many options are hidden and you are not able to get everything working properly. If something doesn't work, then it is awkward enough to find out why. If the OS hides things for you on top of that, the complexity is quadrupled.

Live distros are very good these days. Pick a few based of reviews and try which one works best.

jlinkels

I am always a fan of a free virtual machine. You'd most likely be able to run the original OS an any number of linux within the VM at the same time. It is a very easy and safe way to play with linux.

Tell us what about Ubuntu you are unhappy with, and we will be in a much better position to suggest some alternate. Chances are, what you don't like is more a function of the particular desktop installed (KDE, Unity, Gnome, Xfce, etc.)

The mechanics of totally overwriting Windows is the same no matter what distro you install. How you accomplish those mechanics varies from disto to distro, depending on what the installer prompts/allows you to do. But you only have to do that once. I would not choose a distro based on how easy it is to install to your specifications. You only install once, then you can forget about what headaches you may or may not have had with the install.

With your admitted "newbie-ness", I doubt you really want to (or need to) get into the differences behind the scenes of an RPM based package system vs. an APT/DPKG based system. I'm betting that what you don't like about Ubuntu is NOT that it is Debian based, APT based, DPKG based. Tell us what you don't like and we can suggest something meaningfully different based on your desires.

Answering the first qn, distros usually have a default option that uses all the HDDs it can find and installs over all of them.
They normally warn you before proceeding, just in case.