Re: question re: removing all traces of Windows ME OS
On Mon, 2004-10-04 at 13:25 -0400, Chris Moffa wrote:
>
> Folks,
>
> I've a 3-year-old laptop, IBM iSeries ThinkPad with Celeron
> processor. I'm considering completely removing all traces of anything
> Windows-related prior to installing Debian and open-source
> productivity software. I'd like to see what the computing experience
> is like devoid of Microsoft products as much as possible.
>
It seem to me that "as much as possible" is the operative phrase here.
I've been using linux for over five years, debian for the last four, but
I still retain a minimal windows install.
First, because some commercial entities I (and maybe you) deal with will
not provide 'standards based' access. A case in point is my ISP, which
(in my mind) provides superior service, but also provided a CD that
required windows to set up the service. Once I was registered with the
ISP, I could access it from linux. Another is my bank, which, although
windows centric, provides services that I _will not_ do without.
The second reason is hardware support. This may not be relevant to your
laptop, but what will you plug into it? Debian, with discover,
read-edid, udev, hal and related software is much better at providing
out of the box hardware support these days. Still, the fact is that
hardware manufacturers build with windows in mind. Sometimes simply
being able to boot to windows and install the windows drivers will
provide you with the info you need to make the hardware work under
linux.
So, with the above two points in mind, I would recommend that you
repartition your hard disk with as little as you can applied to windows
with basic internet access in mind (4 gig should be enough, I would
think), reinstall a minimal ME, and then install debian sarge.
A basic rule of life is never burn bridges behind you. Retreat is often
a tactical necessity.
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