I plan to install Ubuntu on a friend's computer on a new hard drive but don't want to break their existing setup in case I can't get it working or they don't like it.
I want to
- unplug and replace the existing (small) HD containing Windows XP with a new clean HD
- install Windows and then Ubuntu on a separate partition (dual boot) all on new HD
Then, if something goes wrong... if I simply unplug the new HD and replace with the old Windows HD, will the computer still boot as before? Or, when I install grub2 on the new HD are the computer bios settings changed that will prevent the old HD from booting when it is put back?
BTW: the computer is more than 10 years old (DELL) and can't boot from USB and I failed to boot Ubuntu from a Live CD, despite it working on my own PC.
Thanks