On Tue, 26 Jan 2016 19:46:40 +0100
Edward Bartolo <edbarx@???> wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> Call me paranoid but I am noticing big companies like Microsoft making
> it very difficult to buy a computer or laptop without Windows
> installed.
>
> Are you experiencing the same difficulty and what do you do when you
> need to buy a new machine?
>
> Edward

Here's how *I* handle it...

For desktops, I just buy the mobo, CPU and RAM from one vendor, to
avoid finger pointing. In these days of Windows 10, by hook or by
crook, I need to make sure the mobo bios (or whatever it's called these
days) allows me to turn off secure boot, otherwise I can only use
Ubuntu, Redhat, Debian, and all the other distros I would never use.

For laptops, of course, I *could* buy from system76 or
penguin-computing and the like, thereby guaranteeing Linux
compatibility. But I don't want to pay Apple prices for PC hardware.

So what I do instead, and I've done this about eight times, is go to
Costco, with their 90 day, no questions asked guarantee (please ask at
the counter to determine your exact store's exact policy). Using
techniques garnered from the people at the ##windows IRC channel, I
shrink the Windows partition, make a new partition out of the free
space, and slam Linux on it. DO NOT DELETE ANY OF THE EXISTING
PARTITIONS!!!!

It's absolutely for sure that both wifi and UEFI boot
will be a challenge: It will take awhile. But so far I've been able to
do it every time except one (and that one was meant to be my child's
Windows machine anyway).

If you absolutely can't make the machine run Linux, use the restore
partition to put the machine back the way you got it, return it to the
store for your money back, and when they ask, tell them you can't use
it because it can't run Linux.

You notice I leave the machine as a dual-boot, which is much harder
than wiping and (if the mobo allows) doing a simple MBR style Linux
install. Keeping Windows is a necessity during the warranty period,
because when you go to RMA the laptop, custy service will walk you
through a series of Windows-only tests to determine the hardware
problem. True story, I had a bad battery such that the instant I pulled
out the power supply, the computer turned off. They wouldn't send me a
new battery until I did a series of Windows tests.

Personally, once my manufacturers warranty expires, I wipe out Windows
and go 100% Linux. But that's a couple years after I buy the box.

SteveT

Steve Litt
January 2016 featured book: Twenty Eight Tales of Troubleshooting
http://www.troubleshooters.com/28