G+_K Branch jr Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 Hey guys, new project with a quick question. Can I just take the hard dive out of a old Hp Desktop , put in a new SSD and install Linux on it with out set up the SSD (new right out of the box Kingston V300)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Akira Yamanita Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 What setup would you expect to need? As long as everything is compatible, it should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Dan Baldwin Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 I don’t see why not, Linux should detect the hard drive and offer to partition it correctly then install itself without any issues. Also giving you the option of the size of swap file you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Michael Larson Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 I’ve done exactly the same. Mine was in a Dell Inspiron with a Centrino Duo with 2Gb ram. Running Ubuntu Mate. Fast boot <1min and fairly snappy for such and underpowered machine. It is my daily away from home driver, word processing, spreadsheet plus Netflix and remote Plex client, and night it does double duty as my OpenKJ Karaoke machine, running 2 displays and sound. I have a second identical machine with an original spinning drive and it is almost unusable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Ben Reese Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 Aside from potential driver issues, I see no reason why your plan shouldn't work. And if you want to test for driver issues first, put in a live boot disk/thumb drive and give it a test drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Daniel Stagner Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 Yes it should work. Try ubuntu or freeBSD first. I have not run into a machine yet that can't run one of the two above os's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_K Branch jr Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 Akira Yamanita Thanks. Ubuntu Desktop, I'm still learning it, thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_K Branch jr Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 Ben Reese that's a good idea. Although, this machine is showing signs of a bad hard drive ..so you know what we do ( SSD PLEASE). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_K Branch jr Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 Thanks to all you guys for such a fast response Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Giligain I. Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 I did a successful SSD HD swap recently. Made the swap, adjusted BIOS to have USB boot first, put USB stick with LIVE Linux and did install routine from there. #nohiccups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Ezar Vasquez Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 Didn't know there is a special SSD setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Dan Baldwin Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 Ezar Vasquez Im pretty sure that I remember back in the day some old bios wouldn’t recognize an ssd Requiring special software to be loaded first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Ben Reese Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 I've never had issues with an SSD working out of the box - though your mileage may vary. I've put them in old (8+ years) laptops and desktops and everything just works. I think Giligain I. was just referring to changing boot order to run the Live USB stick. Most older machines have an option at boot (F10? F12? ESC?) to choose a boot device. If you're just using USB for the initial install, is usually a good idea to switch it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Giligain I. Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 Ben Reese Yes, true, had to change a setting to allow USB to be included in boot order & first. But also, I had to change default to be Legacy so that Linux could be installed...unless I did extra step for nothing. UEFI was the default on this new computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Ben Reese Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 Giligain I. Ah, yes.... That may need to happen depending on the age of the machine. I haven't tested myself, but I believe Ubuntu is UEFI compatible now though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_K Branch jr Posted August 26, 2018 Author Share Posted August 26, 2018 Giligain I. Which settings did you change? When I set up my Linux server. I can not remember how I got it to boot from the thumb drive. But the Bios ( need to update) Did not have that option Side note ; these computer are just setting around. The Bios are outdated .. I just may change out the hold motherboard. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Giligain I. Posted August 27, 2018 Share Posted August 27, 2018 K Branch jr This was a new computer using Dell bios dated 2015. The tabs at top where easy: boot. From there it can get detailed, which I started down, but then thought this should be easy and backtracked steps to not pick a specific file, but instead to [enable] Load Legacy Option Rom. I probably could have tried the file picking, but unsure if bootx64.efi or grubx64.efi were right or which needed. After choice made to [enable] and exiting bios, the computer prompted with startup choices using the GNU GRUB ...Ubuntu based program. If the computer is old enough, I would make a CD or DVD boot loader instead as these older computers always default to these for booting without problems and before HD started using UEFI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_John Moesner Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 It should work just fine with one exception. The SSD probably has SATA pinot. The older computer may not. If the computer has SATA pinot, plug the SSD in and go. If the older computer does not have SATA pinot, you will need to buy a converter module. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_K Branch jr Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 John Moesner thanks , sorry for the late post it's garage cleaned out time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_K Branch jr Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 Ben Reese thanks . I had to stop and clean out the garage what fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_K Branch jr Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 Giligain I. Hey thanks . I will make one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_K Branch jr Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 Dan Baldwin yea this box is pretty old I'm just going to use it for a Linux desktop cento or min thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Tailsthefox Pelissier Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 I use thing's like Apple's Fusion Drives because of space issues in my Computer; but i renamed you always (even on an spinning drive) do an clean install of the OS. That along with the 2 types media rule in 321 back-up is why I hate seeing computer's without BD-RE Drives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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