[PLUG] any Linux install W8 gotchas

[Paul Heinlein]

On Fri, 31 May 2013, fred james wrote:

> My old Compaq Evo finally died and I bought a Acer Aspire w/W8 
> installed. I want to rid the machine of W8 without trashing any 
> "system necessary" files that might be on the hard drive.
>
> Anybody know of any problems like that?  Or some place to look?

Chances are, you can't keep those hidden partitions and install Linux. 
If you want to keep those partitions (in case, say, you need to call 
for support or install a BIOS upgrade), you can either

  1. Swap out the factory HD for another, keeping the original in a
     safe place;

  2. Use Clonezilla (or an equivlent) to store a full-drive image
     in a safe place.

-- 
Paul Heinlein
heinlein at madboa.com
45°38' N, 122°6' W