Where to buy a laptop without Windows

[Angtagapagligt]

I agree! Linux (wheter Linux Mint or another Distribution) is running just perfect on my Dell Latitude E5500.

[Garvan]

In SE Asia it is common to find computers for sale with no OS. A Toshiba laptop I bought for my wife last year in Bangkok had no pre-installed OS. She choose to install Windows 7 starter, which I quickly realized was a mistake (I could not change the wallpaper - and then I read networking was limited), so I purchased a legal copy of Windows Home Prem 7 (Activation Restriction: distribution and required activation must occur in Southeast Asia) for B4300, about $130. My Hp mini, also purchased in Bangkok, was an Asian edition with free dos installed. The store sent it away to their technician to check before giving it to me, and it came back "checked" with a illegal version of XP installed. I put UNR on it once I got home. My desktop here in Cambodia was purchased with no OS installed, but they understood that I really did not want windows installed, and gave me 24 hours to set up Linux and test the machine myself.

Garvan

[chiefjim]

All things said and done buy the system that best meets your expectations. My vendor of choice is Newegg, Months ago they had an Acer laptop at a ridiculously low price. Of course it came with Win 7. My choice was to make the system dual boot. Considering the low price of hard drives these days another valid option would have been to swap out the hard drive completely. All said and one still cost effective overall.

[grey1960envoy]

I purchased an eMachines at Walmart just before the win7 came out and within a few days I wiped the HDD and replaced it with Linux Mint, to this day my wife enjoys this unit while I went on to a Dell Inspiron 1525 and by using 3 separate hard drives I run a Hackintosh, Windoze 7, Linux Mint 9, and #!. as well as a couple of test distros whenever I find something interesting which happens about twice a week

[xenopeek]

A good list of websites for this is over at http://linuxpreloaded.com/

[Rudemeister]

I would just buy a refurbished one off of eBay. There are plenty there with factory warranties and cheap.

[Jacol]

Can you help me to find some laptop without Windows in Ireland. Maximum price for me is 380 euro, I know that is not much but I need PC only for internet, work and somethimes simple games like.

[xenopeek]

Can you help me to find some laptop without Windows in Ireland. Maximum price for me is 380 euro, I know that is not much but I need PC only for internet, work and somethimes simple games like.

Check the Linux Preloaded website I shared above, and look for vendors that ship to your location. Even if not listed as such, most in the EU will probably ship to your location if contacted. Consider a refurbished laptop? http://www.ukclearancecentre.co.uk/

[SciFiDude79]

You should be able to get computers online, directly from the manufacturers, without Windows on them. Most computer companies will sell these, but you can't find them by searching through their online stores. They don't list them so that people who don't know what they're doing won't buy them and then find out once they get it that it doesn't have an OS installed. What you have to do is go to their website(s) and start searching the stores. If a helpful chat window from a sales associate comes up and asks if they can be of assistance, respond that they can and ask what you can get without Windows. Some even offer computers with Linux, but most won't. (IF they do, it will probably be Ubuntu) However, you should be able to get a "barebones" system with just the hardware and BIOS loaded and you can then install whatever OS you want. You should also pay less than you would for a comparable computer with Windows installed because you won't be paying for the OS license.

[Jacol]

Thanks for help SciFiDude79. You're from Ohio, have you some job for me there hehe .

Dell is sellings laptops with Ubuntu but I don't want ubuntu anymore. Ubuntu with Gnome is something like Mac now, my friend told me: "oo i love ubuntu", another funboy... It's software not God, i don't understand him...

[bimsebasse]

I guess that what I'm trying to say is that getting hung up on whether Windows is included isn't that big a deal.

Vehemently disagree with this. Every time we buy a Windows laptop we add a 1 to Windows sales figures and a 0 to laptops that come with a Linux OS. And as long as Linux have low sales figures and Windows high there will be no incentive for manufacturers to provide Linux drivers or enhance Linux compatibility. If every single Linux user bought either non-Windows or Linux products it would make an impression - as it is now, we're niche, and so we have niche hardware support, niche software support, niche funding and niche attention. Not being able to afford a non-Windows laptop is a perfectly valid excuse, but it certainly is "a big deal" as the massive Windows OEM presence is the single thing that keeps Linux distros in the shadows. Imagine going to the hardware store and you just know your printer will work flawlessly with Linux because it would be commercially harmful for the manufacturer if it didn't, just as a printer not working well with Windows is bad for business. The best way not to get to that point any time soon is to buy Windows computers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFKxlYNfT_o

[Pierre]

I would just buy a refurbished one off of eBay. There are plenty there with factory warranties and cheap.

I just got a bunch of Laptops from a local Auction house.

Ex mining sector:- was Vista basic, came with 1.6Ghz cpu, 4Gb ram, 160Gb hdd - wiped clean, naturally

- now has Mint on them all

[Pierre]

- Abstract thought here:-

if you did buy a new PC + the Tax - and upon first startup - you hit the "do not agree" icon,
- what happens ??

- would I be right in assuming that the PC - would just re-boot & start all_over again?.
ie:- there is no_where , to go-to, if you do "reject the EULA" . . . .

[SciFiDude79]

As far as I know, if you reject the EULA, it will simply shut down. I know that's one of the fastest way to abort a propreitary software installation.

Thanks for help SciFiDude79. You're from Ohio, have you some job for me there hehe .

If that's supposed to be a joke, I'm not laughing. I've only been able to get a part-time job in the past few years and I've had to move back in with my parents to make ends meet.

[Garvan]

<snip>
hello...i think its more practical to buy a laptop that has a pre-installed windows on it...

Many people do not like paying for something they do not want. If you use windows, then fine, but why waste $100 on windows if you are going to delete it? We all know that it is more practical to waste the $100, but we are not happy with it.

Garvan

[Pikachu6708]

How 'bout straight from Dell? I mean if you mail-order a laptop from them, you have the option of not having an OS installed on it.

[animaguy]

i actually like dell laptops. they nevee overheat.

[jamvaru]

I like the post with the video link showing Linus Torvalds; it is important to NOT buy a computer with windows on it; if you have to, buy a used one, though techinically that supports the previous owner's proclivity to purchase windows computers, so NO... lol

if you really want to be serious there are a few options
1. find a manufacturer that sells new computers/laptops with Linux or NO operating system at all (the windows license is like $3 for the oem, but it is the principle that matters!)
2. buy a used (or refurbished) computer with linux or NO operating system at all (ebay has vendors selling systems pre-loaded with linux)
3. make your own; there are laptop barebones kits you can buy; not cheap, though; you get the basics, you install your own hdd, memory, maybe even processor
4. last resort: any laptop with windows is easily reformatted by linux, even saving original windows in smaller partition (shrinkage)

you are better off buying a new or refurbished laptop; the value of older laptops does not match their price

here is a quick price scan for cheap laptop on newegg.com, just for fun:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834200627
price is $159
... really, you would rather pay 2x for a better computer than have 2 of these, so save your money, or maybe not, lol; i could see giving two to children, say 10-15 years old? this computer will barely play facebook games, but it will, lol
oh, wait, this is for linux, well, same difference i suppose ;]

[gingertom5005]

Amazon do a series of laptops without an operating system, the Zoostorm series. I haven't personally used one but they look an interesting possibility. NOTE: If buying from Novatech, their laptops are excellent save for one thing, their wifi isn't Linux compatible meaning you may need a USB wifi to get wireless connection.

[3fRI]

I recently bought a System76 Pangolin Performance laptop and I couldn't be happier. As a test, during the past 2-3 weeks, I've installed LM Xfce and Cinnamon, Manjaro, and CrunchBang on the HDD and they've all run fine out of the box (nota bene: the first time I installed #!, I did it via a USB drive and experienced numerous system freezes, but since reinstalling via a DVD, it's run like a clock).

It wasn't as cheap as buying a refurbished or a cheaper OEM PC at a box store, but the specs and performance certainly beat those of my old MacBook, which I bought some 6 years ago and which cost me several hundred dollars more! FWIW, I'd buy from System76 again, even though they only ship with Ubuntu installed. One thing I know for sure is that I'll never buy another Mac or OEM Windows box. Who needs the unnecessary complications of dealing with EFI or UEFI issues?