Replacing Linux with Windows OS

[Ross Carthy]

I'm looking for a new laptop. However I've realised that almost all laptops come with Windows, and that Windows ups the price significantly.

Could I buy a Chomebook, or other Linux based Laptop, and install my own copy of windows afterwards? Or will there be compatibility issues?

 

[getochkn]

Chromebook, no. That aren't made to run windows.

 

[ESPclipse]

Chromebook hardware is locked to Chromebook software, and there aren't really any successful workarounds right now. However, any old generic laptop will likely run Windows, as the kernel is pretty comprehensive. That being said, if you get a laptop that does not run Windows and install Windows on it, then you have to pay for a Windows license key, thus pretty much negating the premium for Windows on the laptops with Windows preinstalled.

 

[photonboy]

Windows does NOT increase the price significantly.

If you compare apples-to-apples (similar CPU, drive space) there's not much cost difference. Some of the Chromebooks can be cheaper by having only a small amount of onboard FLASH (say 32GB) and no other drive at all which makes installing Windows and updating it impossible even if the hardware supported it otherwise.

Lack of System RAM is another serious issue as I consider 2GB the bare minimum especially if you open up several browser tabs.

Windows is even given to manufacturers for FREE on the cheaper mobile devices ($200 and below?), but I believe it only costs at most $35 to the manufacturer for most laptops.

It would cost a lot MORE to buy a laptop without Windows then buy your own copy. For example, let's say a particular laptop was $400 with Linux and a similar laptop was $440 with Windows 10. If you bought Windows 10 for $120 (possibly cheaper) you're looking at $520.

*I strongly recommend looking for a Windows 10 laptop in your price range that has enough customer feedback to determine roughly if the quality is okay.

**Also note that Windows 10 currently has a few issues such as freezing for some people. If you decide to go with a Windows 8.1 system that's okay too, but then you may have some issues upgrading some drivers. I've upgraded a few and mainly had issues with IR drivers (remote), card readers and a few pieces of software.

While upgrading to NVidia drivers went okay on the new desktop and old laptop (9600M GT), lots of people wouldn't know how to even do that much as the upgrade from W7 to W8 in that case was really sluggish due to basic Microsoft drivers being installed (I recommend the Geforce Experience utility in that case).

***Finally, some laptops switch between an iGPU and dedicated GPU so you need to have that setup correctly (such as NVidia Optimus) though a budget laptop should use an AMD APU or an Intel CPU (with iGPU) only.

(Get drivers for video from NVidia, AMD, or Intel as appropriate. Intel for example has a tool you can install to scan for updates.)

 

[jsmithepa]

Windows ups the price significantly.

How do you know this? Name 5 similarly hardware'd laptops running Windows/No-Windows.

End user pay retail$, OEM... probably get a bulk discount.

 

[Ross Carthy]

Windows ups the price significantly.

How do you know this? Name 5 similarly hardware'd laptops running Windows/No-Windows.

End user pay retail$, OEM... probably get a bulk discount.

Put it this way. On the Dell Website in Ireland (where im from) they sell an Inspiron with Ubuntu. They sell the EXACT SAME laptop with windows for 80 euro dearer. There are several places online where I've seen the exact same laptop being sold cheaper when it has Ubuntu, therefore it stands to reason that the extra 80 or so quid is for windows, as it is literally the only difference between them

 

[USAFRet]

Windows ups the price significantly.

How do you know this? Name 5 similarly hardware'd laptops running Windows/No-Windows.

End user pay retail$, OEM... probably get a bulk discount.

Put it this way. On the Dell Website in Ireland (where im from) they sell an Inspiron with Ubuntu. They sell the EXACT SAME laptop with windows for 80 euro dearer. There are several places online where I've seen the exact same laptop being sold cheaper when it has Ubuntu, therefore it stands to reason that the extra 80 or so quid is for windows, as it is literally the only difference between them

And a new copy of Windows is.....how much?
Add that to the price of the laptop.

 

[jsmithepa]

Put it this way. On the Dell Website in Ireland (where im from) they sell an Inspiron with Ubuntu. They sell the EXACT SAME laptop with windows for 80 euro dearer.

Oh then go for it. I highly doubt they are selling you custom hardware.

The only warning is... laptops tend to come with very specific applets for that laptop, such as a driver for hotkeys. You don't get that from Microsoft. So as long as the vendor have such drivers for you to download, you should be OK, and don't wait too long, because once the laptop discontinues, they may pull the drivers off their website.