Written 9 Sep 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card.

Wipe, then make the USB

A Marketplace PC and a boot stick are one weekend job. Wipe first with the cable out. Write the ISO with Etcher or Rufus. Then install.

The long walks stay split: wipe a Marketplace PC, then make a boot USB. This page is the order so you do not plug the house cable into someone else's Windows.

Order

Cable out. Wipe with the installer. Detail: wipe a Marketplace PC.
Write Ubuntu Server or Debian onto a stick. Detail: make a boot USB.
One-time boot menu. Brand keys: boot from the USB stick.
Install as in your first weekend.

Cards if you want the idea first: wipe lesson, boot-USB lesson. Tick Lab plan after the wipe is real and the stick actually boots — the quiz is not the job.

What next

OS pick: what OS to put on it. Rooms: how the three sites fit.

Skip

Skip joining house Wi-Fi on the previous owner's login.
Skip dragging the ISO into a folder and calling it a boot stick.

Sources

Wipe a Marketplace PC. Make a boot USB. Path contract: start-path.json.

Also on this topic

Wipe a Marketplace PC before you installCable out until the last owner's disk is gone. Make a boot USB for the installEtcher or Rufus. Don't drag the ISO. When the quiz is not the jobGreen cards are not ticks.