Laptop with no OS

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covertalias

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Just wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction to order a powerful laptop with no OS. I want to put my own Linux distro of my choice on it and just run Windows in a local VM.

Thanks for the advice!

-covertalias
 


covertalias said:
Just wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction to order a powerful laptop with no OS.
Click to expand...
Many major vendors that offer a configurator in their online store allow to remove the OS. I think Lenovo and Dell allowed it. Framework Laptops also allow that, if you're lucky to live in a country they ship to.
 
I would be inclined to go down the road of a second hand Ryzen 7 gaming laptop about 2 yrs old hard to find, but there are some bargains out there if you look
 
I bought my latest almost new laptop from a pawn for a very reasonable price (less than 1/2 retail). It had Windows, but I wiped it and installed Linux.
 
You can have a look here - https://cl3technology.com/ I bought a Dell E6410 from them a few years ago and it is still running strong- They only deal in Dell Refurbs

You can also go here - https://frame.work/ to build your own laptop
 
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Same question here. And I'm also looking among the AMD ones. The notebook ones. the small laptops. Any recommendations?
 
My personal opinion is avoid any /all chromebooks, and just search your local market/online and see what is currently available
 
pedro.de.marco said:
Same question here. And I'm also looking among the AMD ones. The notebook ones. the small laptops. Any recommendations?
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Linux is my only OS currently, and laptops are my choice.

I would say look at Framework laptops (I want) and Thinkpads (*). Both of them care for the Linux experience, although not by default --they're Windows machines either highly or totally compatible with major Linux distributions with a few tweaks.

If you're in Europe, Slimbook adn Tuxedo offer Linux machines, and if you're in the US, System 76 machines and the HP Dev One are Linux machines.

(*) I own a T490s, and everything works with absolutely no exception, giving 14 hours of "typing battery".
 
Most decent refurbished laptops will do what you want. Nuking Windoze isn't exactly hard; any Linux distro run from USB as a Live session will do it in minutes.

You'll be quicker doing this than you will be hunting around specifically for one that comes with a blank primary drive. The downside of the latter is often that the manufacturer will charge a premium for the hardware because they can't make it up with an installed OS.....


Mike. ;)
 
FWIW, you can select 'no OS' as a search criteria at NewEgg. They have some pretty handy choices for refining your search. They even have a search within results, which is something so many other sites could do with adopting.
 
I would look for one with Win, but knocked out of action by virii...;)
Bring a test USB which contain at least 2 distros like Puppy and antiX. If they boot pay.
Negociate the deal BEFORE testing !
My nephew got one for 50$, 16G Ram - from a colleague at his work place !
 
LOL. Stay away from Chromebook :D I don't even know what's the point of a Chromebook. I think it's just Android-x86.
just passing in a shopping center I asked a seller some questions. He had no clue about No-OS or OS-less or translation of those words in my language. The answer he gave was unsatisfying He said they have DOS installed. I don't want ANYTHING installed. just like PC.
Here , HP, Dell and Lenovo are available and of course other brands. HP is beautiful and elegant in shape and appearance. Lenovo offers AMD CPU and GPU which I like, but I don't have a good memory of Lenovo. Those cheap meaningless tablets. Dell uses Intel + Nvidia set the most common parts here and they have a reputation of being tough.
 
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covertalias said:
Just wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction to order a powerful laptop with no OS. I want to put my own Linux distro of my choice on it and just run Windows in a local VM.
Click to expand...
As determined as you are to to start with a clean slate as possible, it may not be possible. Why would you not consider running a live distro and just purging the disk?

Well, if you insist, just replace the hard drive with something from the factory. It would be REALLY hard to find something more fresh and empty than that!
 
pedro.de.marco said:
Stay away from Chromebook :D I don't even know what's the point of a Chromebook.
Click to expand...
If I have a friend who lives on limited pension, does only email, web surf, listen & watch media ... I would recommend a Chromebook.
With Extensions the old Chromebooks can do a lot.
With Crostini, Android apps, the new ones can do a lot more.
Beside a Raspberry I don't see anything more economical than an x86 Chromebook.
Shopping around for the better ones is a little bit difficult.
 
ML_113 said:
If I have a friend who lives on limited pension, does only email, web surf, listen & watch media ... I would recommend a Chromebook.
With Extensions the old Chromebooks can do a lot.
With Crostini, Android apps, the new ones can do a lot more.
Beside a Raspberry I don't see anything more economical than an x86 Chromebook.
Shopping around for the better ones is a little bit difficult.
Click to expand...
Used laptop with twice the performance and half the price.
 
New or used? What's the budget?
ebay -- search <laptops +'no os"> then sort with "most expensive" first -- lots there, too.
 
The key word is 'used', I don't like used stuff.
If things work out, fine, if not I hate the headache that come with them. No eBay for me thanks. Friendship broken due to a transaction gone sour ? Not worth it.
I am kind of person who'd rather buy a new Corolla than an old Lexus.
 
I am kind of person who'd rather buy a new Corolla than an old Lexus.
Click to expand...

I'm the kind of person who will shop around and not have to pay the 33% loss of value when a new one is driven off the lot.

@ML_113 -- your choice! (Thay's what GNU/Linux is all about, after all).

Personally, I never had a problem with ebay.
 
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