So you have a computer with Windows 7 installed and you want to install openSUSE instead. How do you get rid of the Windows partition? Windows disk manager won’t let you nuke it. Do a Google search and you’ll find a lot of different advice, most which want you to download/buy a partition management program. As long as you have your Windows 7 installation media, killing all the partitions is fairly easy without having to download anything extra:
[FONT=arial]Step 1[FONT=arial]Insert your Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive, and then reboot the computer.[/FONT]
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[FONT=arial]Step 2[FONT=arial]Launch your computer’s boot device menu. The key combination varies among different computer manufacturers, but it displays briefly on the screen, so watch carefully for it. Dell is F2. F12 is common in some others.[/FONT]
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[FONT=arial]Step 3[FONT=arial]Select your DVD or USB flash drive from the boot list as the first bootable device and restart your computer.[/FONT]
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[FONT=arial]Step 4[FONT=arial]You should either boot directly to the selected device OR you will be asked to press a key to boot to the device[/FONT]
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[FONT=arial]Step 5[FONT=arial]Press any key if/when prompted.[/FONT]
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[FONT=arial]Step 6[FONT=arial]Select your language and preferences on the “Install Windows” page, and click “Next.”[/FONT]
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[FONT=arial]Step 7[FONT=arial]Accept the license terms and press “Next.”[/FONT]
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[FONT=arial]Step 8[FONT=arial]Choose the “Custom” installation type when prompted.[/FONT]
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[FONT=arial]Step 9[FONT=arial]Click “Drive Options (advanced).”[/FONT]
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[FONT=arial]Step 10[FONT=arial]Delete all partitions on Disk 0. When complete, you should see one entry for Disk 0, which is labeled “Unallocated Space.”
Done. You can now just abort the Windows setup and remove the media. Now put in your openSUSE DVD and get the installation started. When you come to the partition section, make sure it’s not suggesting to shrink the Windows partition. If it is, do some custom partitioning and select use the entire disk. Finish the installation and you’re set.[/FONT]
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