Laptop without OS?

Lostintheclouds

Hi.

Can anyone recommend a place to buy a laptop (online) without an Operating System already installed.

I want a completely free laptop to start off with as I plan to install a free operating system (Linux). But everywhere I look it seems they come bundled with other stuff - usually Windows.

Secondly, is it actually cheaper to buy one without an OS? As I kind of thought some of the cost would be to pay for the already installed stuff. As of course I think I could just wipe a laptop at the start, couldn't I, or would it already have stuff lurking underneath it all?

debitcardmayhem

Novatech sell without o/s , I believe dell and lenovo are shipping ones with Ubuntu

mrochester

I thought it was technically possible to buy a laptop with windows preinstalled and then retrospectively get a refund when you didn’t agree to the terms of use. I don’t know if that’s still true and what the mechanism is for getting a refund. 

John_Gray

mrochester said:

I thought it was technically possible to buy a laptop with windows preinstalled and then retrospectively get a refund when you didn’t agree to the terms of use. I don’t know if that’s still true and what the mechanism is for getting a refund. 

Too much hassle, I would say - get a laptop with no operating system and you can start immediately.  PC Specialist is another firm when you can choose this option.

Carrot007

Lostintheclouds said:

Can anyone recommend a place to buy a laptop (online) without an Operating System already installed.

I want a completely free laptop to start off with as I plan to install a free operating system (Linux). But everywhere I look it seems they come bundled with other stuff - usually Windows.

Secondly, is it actually cheaper to buy one without an OS? As I kind of thought some of the cost would be to pay for the already installed stuff. As of course I think I could just wipe a laptop at the start, couldn't I, or would it already have stuff lurking underneath it all?

Not worth the effort. And even without an os things can lurk in the bios.

It will never be cheaper. Use it as a good time to buiy a cheaper machine with a movign disk and replace with a ssd if you ask me.

However do look up linux compatibility for what you want to buy, some munufacturers and some hardware certianly make it a pain. Even then don'e expect the same sort of battery life. I remomend going with mint if you have not made a linux choice yet. Mainly becuase it is not ubuntu. Debian is also good.

mrochester said:

I thought it was technically possible to buy a laptop with windows preinstalled and then retrospectively get a refund when you didn’t agree to the terms of use. I don’t know if that’s still true and what the mechanism is for getting a refund. 

Not heard of anyone do it for ages. And even back when they did it it cost them more than the refund to do it. So it's a statement of principle, not of savings.

inspectorperez

As debitcardmayhem has suggested, Novatech have a decent range with or without OS installed

Lostintheclouds

However do look up linux compatibility for what you want to buy, some manufacturers and some hardware certainly make it a pain. Even then don't expect the same sort of battery life. I recommend going with mint if you have not made a linux choice yet. Mainly because it is not ubuntu. Debian is also good.

In your opinion, what advantage does Mint have over Ubuntu?

I haven't made a choice yet. Ideally one that obviously works with the usual stuff - Skype etc, as well as the easiest to use for beginners (That's mainly for a non techie family member who I will be 'introducing to computing and the internet').

I plan to have the same operating system installed on my laptop too so that I will be able to assist better when I receive the inevitable unofficial online help phone calls 

unforeseen

inspectorperez said:

As debitcardmayhem has suggested, Novatech have a decent range with or without OS installed

Novatech only sell their own 'brand' without OS, basically one of their 'custom builds'
You will struggle to find a mainstream make that is sold without OS because the price difference is normally negligible due to the arrangements they have with MS. 
Since you won't get a refund for declining to use Win10 just buy a bog standard laptop of the spec you want and put you own OS on it.
We buy hundreds of laptops a month at work direct from manufacturer, they all come with Win 10 Pro. The first thing we do is rebuild with our own customised Enterprise version. If we asked for no OS then they would work out more expensive as they are effectively customised so wouldn't be coming off the normal production line. 

prowla

https://www.dell.com/support/article/en-uk/sln310553/linux-on-dell-desktops-and-laptops?lang=en

prowla

Lostintheclouds said:

However do look up linux compatibility for what you want to buy, some manufacturers and some hardware certainly make it a pain. Even then don't expect the same sort of battery life. I recommend going with mint if you have not made a linux choice yet. Mainly because it is not ubuntu. Debian is also good.

In your opinion, what advantage does Mint have over Ubuntu?

I haven't made a choice yet. Ideally one that obviously works with the usual stuff - Skype etc, as well as the easiest to use for beginners (That's mainly for a non techie family member who I will be 'introducing to computing and the internet').

I plan to have the same operating system installed on my laptop too so that I will be able to assist better when I receive the inevitable unofficial online help phone calls 

I prefer Mint to Ubuntu - it's the same OS underneath, but it's got a few nicer tweaks to the UI.

I also use Ubuntu, but it feels a bit clunky when I go back to it.

dogmaryxx

Ready-to-use Linux systems.

https://itsfoss.com/get-linux-laptops/