How Do I Prep A New Second HD For Installation Of Linux Mint
 

I currently have an HP desktop computer with 200GB hard drive with Windows XP installed. I also installed a second 500GB HD that I want to install a copy of Linux Mint - Cinnamon to. My question is what if anything do I need to do to prep the second HD so that I can download the Linux OS to it. I installed the OS once already and was unable to run it. Every ones help is greatly appreciated in advance.

There's no special preparation, though, if you wish, could use something like gparted to partition and format the drive.

All you need to do is download the *.iso for Mint, create the installation media (either CD or USB), then start the install. When it asks you where to install the software, point the Mint installer at that hard drive and let it create and format the partition(s) to receive the install.

Linux Voice has posted a video of the Mint installer; it might help. It's the second one on at this link.

Downloading the iso file is the first step. When you are at the download site, check the md5sum for the version you are downloading which should be on that page. Either burn the iso as an image to a DVD to make it bootable or use software installed on xp such as unetbootin (windows version) or pendrivelinux to create a bootable flash drive from the iso. The link below has some information on partitioning and a pretty detailed how-to for installing Ubuntu 14.04. It's installation is almost identical to Mint as Mint is derived from Ubuntu.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/u...all-guide.html