How do I avoid installing the prepackaged Windows 10 that came with my new netbook?

Question

I have a brand new Lenovo Ideapad MIIX 300 that comes prepackaged with a Windows 10 installer on the SSD.

I want to make sure that the installer is never run, that Windows 10 never interacts with the computer in any way, then permanently remove every trace of Windows 10 and perform a clean Linux install.

I have a functional live Linux distribution (Manjaro) on a 32GB flash card. I have not tried it in the netbook yet. The computer has never been turned on.

Given these parameters, what is the most straight-forward way to do it?

Answer 1

Obviously this answer is about data destruction, so some processes have a high risk of destroying data. Obviously you should make sure there's no data that you may wish to keep.

I know, you're saying this is a brand new drive, so you have no custom data on it. Let me give you an example: Note that wiping the entire drive may remove not only the Windows 10 installer, but also any recovery options, which may be desirable if you ever need a warranty. This may not be a big deal to you, or it might: I mention this because I'm trying not to unnecessarily make assumptions.

This answer is filled with some generalities. Describing each process would make the answer significantly longer, so if you have questions about a specific process, I suggest starting another SuperUser.com question.

The absolute safest way is to get the storage device (SSD) out of the system, and interact with the SSD using a computer that you are familiar with, knowing how to boot.

The next best way is to be sure to enter the firmware setup before the computer starts to load the operating system. Alternatively, you might be able to get by if you simply use a boot menu that lets you choose how the system boots. (Although, I have found that those menus sometimes surprise me, not working quite as expected.)

Unfortunately, the way to enter such menus typically involves pressing a key, or maybe a couple of keys, and also involves a time limit (which could be 3 seconds or less). The computer may provide you with a prompt, but many times the computers just show a graphical screen (quite possibly the OEM's logo). So if you're really concerned about this, make sure to read up about your computer model specifically. (For whatever it's worth: the last time I tried this on a laptop, I failed and ended up booting up Windows.)

Once you're in the firmware setup, find the section that describes the order where things boot. Make sure the hard drive is below the flash drive. I would also prefer placing the hard drive below Netboot/PXE/etc. That way, if the flash drive doesn't boot, hopefully your system starts looking on the network for a bootable image. Usually systems will do that for some time before giving up on that process, which could give you a chance to power the system off if the flash boot doesn't work as intended.

Once you successfully start up the boot from the flash drive, the rest of the process is likely to be fairly safe. By that, I mean that Windows is unlikely to be jumping out and surprising you (by booting/running).

If you have any interest in making a clone of the drive, you can start with that first. After you're done with that process (which may be instantly, if you simply plan to skip that process), then your next step is removing Windows.

Note: If you're not planning to clone the virgin drive, I speculate that there is probably little reason to be concerned about if the Windows installer happens to start. As long as your system isn't connected to any networks (wired or wireless), the described processes will remove any trace, regardless of what Windows does first.

If you simply delete the partition, that ought to help make sure the system doesn't boot to that partition (in case you accidentally reboot / "power cycle" the system). I would suggest removing all partitions, just to be extra safe.

Next, you should wipe any partitions, and any data on the drive before any partitions. The easy way to do that is to just wipe the entire drive. To do that, you'll need to be root. Make sure the drive is unmounted. Then use dd. You'll want to be a little bit careful to make sure you don't delete the flash drive. (If your bootable operating system allows the media to be ejected, you can probably do that and then the flash drive ought to be safe to boot again. Or, worst case scenario, you ought to be able to just re-image that flash drive if you accidentally nuked the wrong one.)

Once dd errors out (because it tries to work infinitely, and it ends up reaching the end of your drive's capacity, causing it to report an error), your Windows 10 is mostly gone. Then it's just a matter of installing your preferred operating system. Ought to be rather straightforward.

You may also want to check your firmware setup for any trace of Microsoft Windows, such as a key. I would think you may especially want to check for the SecureBoot settings.