Having trouble changing Distros.
by The Xunil Bypass from LinuxQuestions.org on (#4QH31)
I tried a few Distros on USB sticks and a few that I managed to install onto external USB hard drives and finally settled on Enso OS to install on the internal SSD drive in my Dell Inspiron.
I gave it a try for a couple of weeks and then decided I'd rather use KDE Neon but couldn't install KDE Neon in place of Enso OS. No matter what I did Enso OS on the internal SSD would boot the Dell and I could never get to an alternate Linux Installer USB stick to replace Enso OS or to wipe the internal SSD and start from scratch. I'm not overly familiar with PC BIOS but there seems no way I can change the boot order to get the internal SSD to be 2nd on the list and let an external USB stick installer get to boot.
I tried GParted but could see no way to erase the SSD.
I then removed the SSD from the Dell, installed it into an external USB case and rebooted off an external USB stick with another Distros, but couldn't get GParted to see the SSD in the external case.
I then switched to macOS Mojave, which sees the external SSD in the USB case, initialises and verifies it fine but errors when I try and reformat it to start from scratch. I am not sure now whether the SSD drive still contains Enso OS.
My ultimate goal is to install KDE Neon Plasma 5 onto another smaller 500Gb Samsung 850 EVO SSD and put that back into the Dell as the OS. Then to reuse the original 1Tb Samsung 860 EVO SSD inside my MacBook Pro and install macOS Mojave or Catalina on it.
I am not sure where I have gone wrong. Mojave's Disk Utility reports the SSD as not encrypted/not bootable/not writable but otherwise OK. Has Enso set something else so it can't be overwritten?
I await the advice of someone more knowledgeable than I, which is anyone really! :)
I'm really itching to get into Linux!!! Thanks for any help.
I gave it a try for a couple of weeks and then decided I'd rather use KDE Neon but couldn't install KDE Neon in place of Enso OS. No matter what I did Enso OS on the internal SSD would boot the Dell and I could never get to an alternate Linux Installer USB stick to replace Enso OS or to wipe the internal SSD and start from scratch. I'm not overly familiar with PC BIOS but there seems no way I can change the boot order to get the internal SSD to be 2nd on the list and let an external USB stick installer get to boot.
I tried GParted but could see no way to erase the SSD.
I then removed the SSD from the Dell, installed it into an external USB case and rebooted off an external USB stick with another Distros, but couldn't get GParted to see the SSD in the external case.
I then switched to macOS Mojave, which sees the external SSD in the USB case, initialises and verifies it fine but errors when I try and reformat it to start from scratch. I am not sure now whether the SSD drive still contains Enso OS.
My ultimate goal is to install KDE Neon Plasma 5 onto another smaller 500Gb Samsung 850 EVO SSD and put that back into the Dell as the OS. Then to reuse the original 1Tb Samsung 860 EVO SSD inside my MacBook Pro and install macOS Mojave or Catalina on it.
I am not sure where I have gone wrong. Mojave's Disk Utility reports the SSD as not encrypted/not bootable/not writable but otherwise OK. Has Enso set something else so it can't be overwritten?
I await the advice of someone more knowledgeable than I, which is anyone really! :)
I'm really itching to get into Linux!!! Thanks for any help.