Wiping hard drive for clean install
 

I am totally new to linux, and I want to get a clean install. Right now, I have an old computer free to do with as I wish, and learing to use linux seems to be the best thing to do with it. The computer currently has windows 2000 installed, and I figure that I just want to wipe the hard drive so I can get a clean install. Anyone know of any good tutorials to do that sort of thing? I have looked around a bit, but mostly have found only how to partition, not wipe and install.

I just did it without reading anything and hoped for the best :D

Otherwise try www.tldp.com. Thats the linux documentation project. They might have a HOWTO there.

Yeah, if that's all you want to do, that's a piece of cake. The harder task to install without losing stuff - installing while meaning to lose stuff is a breeze. :D Just go through whatever install process you choose and don't bother to save anything already on the drive. Act like it's clean and it'll be installed like it's clean. :)

i think i might consider keeping win2000 in a dual boot arrangement-2000 works ok and sets up stuff so it's there when you want it,and meanwhile you can jump over and fool around in linux until you get up to speed. biggest thing will be to repartition-squeeze 2000 down-and leave it on the first partition(bootable) and then make a /,a swap and a /home(so if you change distros or mess up the / partition, you can reload / without your stuff in /home being lost) partition to install linux to. i would install lilo to the start of the / partition, but i've always had the windows bootloader pick up the linux system and offer it as "unknown operating system" so i could choose which to boot. if you do this, i would read around some first, so you get more and better advice than mine as to how to do this if it works for you. i have an old slow box with win2000 and mandrake on it, and i find it useful for games and trying things out.

If you wanna clean ur hard drive and install ONLY Linux, just boot up with a boot disk, when u get to command prompt type

format c:

then say 'Y' and itll format, put in ur linux CD, disk 1 and ur set... you might have yo go into ur BIOS and make it boot from CD-ROM first, some computers try to boot from all of them though, I dunno how urs works..so yea, do that, then install, very easy & simple.

And usualy, when u install a distro of linux, they have the option to earase ur HD and do a clean install, I know mandrake does, and so does redhat, im sure some other do as well.

Linux Will Firmat and partiton your disk for you dureing install.
windows 2000 uses NTFS or FAT partitons.... linux uses EXT2 / EXT3
so you dont need to worrk about windows files being left over after install :)

tutorial are good, but i recomend learning by doing.

Tincat2 has the right idea. You'll learn more trying to set up a dual boot
plus you have nothing to lose. If this comp is going to be your primary
connection to the internet you may also run into trouble getting linux to
connect and you could still use the win side to get help.

Thanks for the help, I didn't know about the linux file system. Anyway, this isn't my primary computer, and the hard drive is too small (2 Gigs) for a dual boot if I want to be able to use both easily. I just want to get aquainted with the operating system itself, before I try anything more advanced.

Just the Facts Mam
 

After you Fdisk use a dos boot format. Your hard Drive probably C: and install Linux to the same drive. Just like they said before Linux will prompt you for another format and clean install. Just play with it. If you have to do it again..... so what, do it again.. you don't have anything to loose right?