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I tried to change my user password but it said it does not exist so I wanted to do a hard reset making it brand new but how. The last time it was used was /2014, Denver co. delete everything and restart new is what I mean as hard restart

DillonKeyes
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    What do you mean by "hard reset"? DO you mean a full reinstall, or just a way to reset the password? A full reset would just be installing the latest Ubuntu on top of whatever's on disk and overwrite anything there. If the password is a BIOS level password then tha'ts a different issue. – Thomas Ward Jan 15 '20 at 19:19
  • erase everything and restart new – DillonKeyes Jan 15 '20 at 19:33
  • Just set up an Ubuntu installer on a USB stick from another system, then boot to the USB stick on the old machine and choose the "Erase disk" option when installing. That'l wipe everything on the system and replace it with a fresh Linux install. – Thomas Ward Jan 15 '20 at 19:34
  • can I get the boot drive from any computer – DillonKeyes Jan 15 '20 at 19:36
  • You can create a bootable Ubuntu installer USB stick from any other computer, yes. Then boot to the USB stick in the old computer (if it supports USB boot) – Thomas Ward Jan 15 '20 at 19:37
  • also, how do I get to the boot screen is it threw f11 – DillonKeyes Jan 15 '20 at 19:37

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Your Presario CQ57 no longer meets the requirements of Ubuntu 18.04, but other supported Ubuntu derivatives do. I'd suggest visiting http://ubuntu.com/downloads/flavours to select a less demanding version, which would install the same way as standard Ubuntu, as the esteemed Thomas Ward explained above.

Download the ISO file for the 'flavour' of your choice from https://ubuntu.com/download/flavours . The ISO file you use to create a LiveUSB should be checked for download errors by https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-how-to-verify-ubuntu#0 .

Installation, as per Canonical, Ubuntu's publishers, is typically done following these instructions on another Linux PC https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-create-a-usb-stick-on-ubuntu#0 or on a Windows PC https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-create-a-usb-stick-on-windows#0 .

Once you make a LiveUSB, install it following these steps https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-install-ubuntu-desktop#0 and in step 6. Allocate drive space choose Erase disk and install Ubuntu (Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Kubuntu, et al.)

And, to access your BIOS/firmware settings, as per HP:

  • Notebooks manufactured after mid-2011 (most likely): Turn off the PC, press the power button, and then repeatedly press the Esc key until the Startup Menu opens. Press F10 to enter the BIOS Setup Utility.

  • Notebooks manufactured between 2008 and mid-2011: If a Compaq or HP splash screen displays after the computer starts, press Escape when prompted to enter the Startup Menu, and then press F10 to enter the BIOS Setup Utility. Some models might support pressing F10 immediately after powering on the notebook to enter the Startup Menu.

Your manual has more detail on the process, starting on page 81.

K7AAY
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