Yesterday afternoon, while I was out for a short while, Dad answered a phone call from a neighbour who was asking for me.
I wasn't in a hurry to get back to him because it usually means he's buggad up his computer and wants me to sort it out for him.
I eventually called him and listened to a tale of woe. In all honesty, it's very difficult to get a coherent description out of him as to what the problem is and how he got there.
I managed to distill enough from the explanation to fear that he'd somehow contrived to wipe the entire drive but I refrained from saying anything.
When I went to collect the laptop, I asked exactly what he'd been doing immediately prior to the thing giving up. 'Installing
Remix OS' says he.
I assumed that he'd wanted to install it alongside Windows but somehow managed to obliterate it instead.
I attempted to restore Windows but the machine just said that the hidden partition was missing so 'no can do'.
It's an Asus laptop and it's possible to obtain a recovery disc from the company. I don't know how much it will cost but the neighbour knows that all is not lost.
He's getting on in years, so in a way it's good that he still has a sense of scientific inquiry, but there's a fine line between experimenting and meddling.
He hasn't yet learned to recognise it.