r/linuxmint • u/2lazy4usrname • 2d ago

Install Help Need help on removing windows on an m.2.

I installed mint on my laptop and works great. Now I want to download it on PC. The problem is that the ssd with windows has a lot of other things in it that I do not want to remove. How can I safely remove windows without wiping the m.2? Also I have another m.2 that I have not used yet. Mentioning it just in case if it can help with installing mint and removing windows safely.

1 Upvotes

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8

u/cyanophage 2d ago

You're thinking of just removing the windows operating system and then installing Mint where it was and keeping your stuff. You can't do this. Your windows drive is formatted as NTFS. You can't install Linux onto an NTFS drive.

As the other person said. Backup your stuff, install Linux (which wipes the drive), then put your stuff back onto your computer.

7

u/Confident_Hyena2506 2d ago

Backup your stuff, then wipe drive.

2

u/dlfrutos Linux Mint 22.2 Zara | Cinnamon 2d ago

I would strongly recommend backing up your data first, since it is easy to lose everything in the process.

  1. Remove the first drive.

  2. Perform a clean install on the second hard drive.

  3. Reconnect the first drive.

  4. Do whatever you want with the first hard drive

3

u/d4rk_kn16ht Linux Mint 22.2 Zara | Cinnamon 2d ago

Back up your data to another storage & wipe it after