I have a laptop that I want to reformat with a fresh install of Linux. The problem is that I don’t know the Windows or Linux login credentials. How do I go about doing this using Balena Etcher. I am a total amature and need detailed instruction.
Welcome to the balena forums @altenuta and thanks for your question.
Your question sits outside what we can cover here in the balenaEtcher category.
Etcher writes an OS image file to a USB drive or SD card, and verifies that the write was correct.
You’re asking about booting the laptop from the drive, changing the BIOS or UEFI settings, wiping the internal disk, and running the Linux installer.
The community of the Linux distribution you picked is the better place for this. Most of them have forum categories for how-tos and first steps.
We’re happy to help you further if the trouble is with Etcher itself, or if you’re actually flashing balenaOS. For Etcher, post the exact error and we’ll look at it. For balenaOS, tell us the device type, the image you are using, and what you have tried so far.
Best regards Harald