computer crash

[nigel273]

my laptop computer crashed and i took it to local computer shop they said it needed a new hard drive and windows 7 putting back in ,but because they could not read the code they said i would have to pay £100 pounds for a new one plus £50 pounds plus vat for hard drive . i have bought a new hard drive and linux mint cd but dont know how to get rid of windows so i can load linux . i am told it would have to have windows 7 removed before i can load linux . can any one help me please with details on how to go about setting it all up , i have removed old hard drive and refitted it so putting the new one in would be no problem. i would need step by step instructions please .   can anyone help me please . many thanks nigel

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Hi nigel273, and welcome to the forum

You were told wrong .. At some point during the installation routine you'll be offered this screen (though it will say  Mint rather than Ubuntu)

If you want to ERASE Windows and install ONLY Mint .. just choose the "Erase disk and install Mint" option


Here is a link to the Ubuntu 12.04 installation instructions (with screenshots):
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/help/install-ubuntu-desktop

The instructions (and screens)  for Mint will be pretty much the same, as Mint 13 is based on Ubuntu 12.04

[SeZo]

my laptop computer crashed and i took it to local computer shop they said it needed a new hard drive and windows 7 putting back in .........
 i have bought a new hard drive and linux mint cd but dont know how to get rid of windows so i can load linux

Just curious as to why there is a need to remove windows 7 from your new drive?
Unless you are referring to the old drive with broken windows on it.

[salparadise]

With some possible exceptions (based on probability) computer shops will rip you off left, right and center. Massive overcharging for hardware and bare faced rip offs for physical work. Find a friend who can, join a computer club, teach yourself (with online help) and always remember...

...there are few things that need doing to a pc that a one armed, half blind monkey couldn't be trained to do. So when the man in the shop shakes his head and quotes a triple digit number, tell him to stuff it where the sun don't shine and come back here for some reality.

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Hey, I'm a half blind one armed monkey .. though I was well trained, every time I fix a PC a banana drops down the chute .. not that I always see it, and sometimes have problems peeling it

[salparadise]

...there are few things that need doing to a pc that a one armed, half blind monkey couldn't be trained to do

 
Hmm. A tad OTT perhaps.

But if the average punter knew how much actual work went into swapping a graphics card over, or installing a new optical drive, there would be some red faced computer shop owners and some very angry customers.

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Couldn't agree more .. though most things in life are easy "if you know how", so it's more a case of being bothered (or having the time/inclination) to learn.

But then I would say that .. I'm "in the trade" as it were, though not so much a shop for the general public

I think the red faces would come from the amount shops charge for such easy jobs that require little skill .. but a capitalist society charges what the market will bear, so pricing rarely correlates with skill level 

I'm not defending it .. just saying that's the way it is .. we pay a car mechanic to change a lightbulb, or a plumber to change a washer .. some of that may be so we have someone to blame if things go wrong, but most is just time saving.

Most people charge a business more than an individual for the same service .. this has nothing to do with the job itself, it's priced on what it's worth to the customer, a home user can do without his PC for a day or two, a business can't, so you can sell things like "priority" to a business along with skill level. I mean a business can shop around for someone who charges less to do a simple job like change an optical drive but they tend to call "their computer guy" because his skill level is a known quantity and it's sometimes cheaper to get someone over qualified that's on speed-dial, than to waste time shopping around.

It's a crazy old world