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When installing Ubuntu on my laptop I can choose from the boot up options:

  • USB device

  • USB device (UEFI)

I will install it on a used laptop (which has Ubuntu 18.04 already installed). As I know UEFI also holds part of kernel on the Boot partition of the SSD.

My goal is to completely wipe the previous Ubuntu installation (since I bought a used PC and don’t trust the installation).

Which boot up option should I choose? Will starting USB stick in UEFI mode preserve GRUB or Kernel on SSD or use it for the boot purpose or will it erase the whole SSD including boot partition?

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  • However you do it, I hope you are aware of the neat ventoy project, which allows you to simply copy an ISO file (or several) to USB without having to reformat it all the time. :)
    – noughtnaut
    Jan 26, 2021 at 21:55
  • Just out of curiosity, is there a reason you go for 18.04 and not 20.04?
    – Arthur
    Jan 26, 2021 at 22:31
  • I was thinking of better support for 18.04 on some software (Sophos antivirus e.g.). But maybe this is not a good idea and I should really go for 20.04
    – BarbaraMa
    Jan 27, 2021 at 10:41

1 Answer 1

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Choose the USB device (UEFI) option. If the BIOS is set up to boot the Ubuntu live installation USB in EFI mode, then you will see the below screen.

enter image description here

You can choose any of the options in the GRUB boot menu, but don't select the OEM install (for manufacturers) option.

Then on the Installation type screen of the Ubuntu installer select the Erase Disk and install Ubuntu option. This will delete all your programs, photos, music and any other files in all operating systems, and install a fresh installation of Ubuntu 18.04 on the disk.

enter image description here

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