But that recovery partition is gone too. Linux doesn't have any special protection for Windows recovery partitions. If you tell it to repartition replacing everything, that's what it does.

Even Windows doesn't have much protection for the recovery partition in the hands of a careless expert. My DELL system at work had a recovery partition. I didn't trust it and (before liveCDs were a clear alternative) wanted some insurance, so I repartitioned, leaving their recover partition intact but also creating a better one of my own design at the other end of the drive. Years later, I was trying to wipe out some problem contents in a usb drive, made a careless error and wiped both recovery partitions on my main drive. My main partition remains healthy, but if I ever need a recovery partition, I don't have one (the computer is now old and its replacement is supposed to arrive today, so problem almost over).

Yes, I can see that!:D

Well, for starters, I think we are going to take the opportunity to ditch Vista! My son loved the interface at first, but it is so quirky and doesn't like a lot of programs yet, that he had asked about going back to XP before this all happened.

I think that dual boot is a great idea. And having Linux would give him something to palaver with his grandpa about (keeping the focus off of his musical taste, long hair, etc...)

The recovery disc didn't work. It looked like it was looking for Windows on the D drive (the recovery partition on HP), but nothing was there, so we need a new install.


Fortunately, my brother-in-law is systems analyst and is going to hook us up with a spare copy of XP.


Thanks for all the great advice and the link to the forums. It is sometimes hard to find a good forum, so I appreciate the recommendation.


By the way, I have a Mac (I do graphic design work). My brother-in-law says that the new Leopard OS is Linux based. Do y'all know if that is true?

Thanks,

Brenda

Yes, I had tried the F10 at boot, so unfortunately, I had already discovered this.:( It was a good thought, though.

Actually BSD based, I believe ... The biggest difference is in the licensing. With BSD, you don't have to share your changes. Closed, proprietary companies like MS and Apple like that deal much better.

Look for Vista +1 to change over to a BSD kernel as well. Kernel maintenance has gotten too big for any one company, even one as big as MS to manage. That's why Linux has gained so fast on MS and Apple for the last few years.