I recently installed Linux Mint 22.1 on my new LG Gram 16" laptop and discovered that one of my 1TB hard drives (specifically the partition nvme1n1p3) is encrypted with BitLocker from a previous Windows installation. Since I have no intention of going back to Windows and don't need any files from that drive, I'm wondering if I can format this partition using gparted without having to reinstall Linux Mint. Will formatting it this way allow it to work properly with my OS afterward, or would it be better just to reinstall Mint?
4 Answers
Gparted is definitely a solid choice for this. You can wipe that partition without too much hassle, but keep in mind that sometimes it might affect your boot setup depending on how your drives are configured. If you're worried about that, a reinstall could solve a lot of potential issues altogether.
You're right that you can format the partition directly with gparted, and using ext4 should work perfectly. Just make sure you’re selecting the correct partition, and it should integrate smoothly with your system afterward. It's a common way to handle this!
I think Windows might be confusing somewhat, but to be fair, partitions are often called drives in many contexts, not just Microsoft. It's just how it's been understood for a long time.
If you're new to Linux, just go ahead with Gparted - it's user-friendly. But don't forget to double-check which partition you're working on before you wipe anything, as it could be a little tricky if you're not used to it!
You may also want to consider whether you need to backup anything before formatting, just to be safe. But since you mentioned not having important files, it should be hassle-free!
Thanks for the tip! I just formatted it with ext4, and everything seems fine now.