Actually, I wanted what I thought was called a "frugal Linux" OS installed and I chose to go with a flavor of Puppy called "Lucid Puppy." The reason is that the OS and its programs will only will use up around 3G on an 8G hard drive. No way I could fit Windows 7 or a popular Linux OS (like Mint or Ubuntu) on that drive. All I would use it for, or try to sell it as, is something to use to connect to the internet outside the home.
I don't remember exactly what I said originally, but the HD that is in the mini laptop is shot and needs to be replaced. That's why I assume I'd have to format the new one. Maybe. This particular model originally came from the factory with either XP or a Ubuntu flavor installed. So depending on what the guy did when he wiped the drive, I may or may not have to format it for Linux. But I would not know until it shows up and I plug it in. But unfortunately, formatting a solid state hard drive for Linux is just a little too over my head right now. So I'm setting that mini laptop (or should it be called a legtop?) to one side for now.
And Sir... I'm already a convert. I have a dual boot computer with Windows 7 and Linux Mint on separate partitions. I only cruise the 'net using Linux. Much safer, since the vast majority of malware is written for Windows. I also use Linux to do a low level wipe of hard drives for the same reason. Plus it's much more convenient, since some of them don't work and I don't have to restart the computer every time I come across one that doesn't.
Edit: The drives are solid state hard drives, and about the size of a credit card. Formatting them is a little different than the conventional IDE or SATA platter-style drives. At least for Linux that is. Not sure about formatting them for Windows, haven't looked into that.
Bookmarks