I would like to get a cheap laptop and put linux on it.

I would like to avoid getting one with windows on it,
because I have to pay for windows. Maybe that is so
cheap though that I should not care. I have not
recently tried to figure out how much Windows adds
to the cost of a machine. Anyone know?

Anyone have a recommendation in what I should look for?


I notice quite a few laptops with Chrome operation system,
which uses a linux kernel. I wonder if there would be
any problem using one of those machines and just loading
linux on it. Anyone done that?

sometimes jokingly called "the microsoft tax", because it is almost impossible to avoid.
machines with linux preinstalled exist, but they're hardly cheaper.
although i think dell has some options there.

if i may suggest: it is best and cheapest to get a slightly matured laptop (at least 1 year) and install linux on that.


yes, it's been done.
some research will show you that it's usually very tricky.
btw, chromeos is essentially android. android is NOT gnu/linux.

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I'd say get one with Intel electronics, especially the video. I bought a Samsung laptop with Via electronics and I had to use a special trick to get the screen to wake up after hibernation. I never did manage to get it to do that after sleep. Also avoid Broadcom wireless cards; they need special firmware to work.

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A used Thinkpad (like this; has libreboot!) or Dell (web-research Linux compatibility before buying)
64bit (&Vt-x); maybe pre-uefi (Win7 2010-12 era), for $100-300.

I read that M$Win10 license for crippled-small $60-$199 new PC with a soldered-in max 2G ram + 32G mmc 'disk' is FREE to oems!!!

Check out pre used laptops, most will be old enough that almost any Linux distro will work on it.

Best way to find out is to boot from a 'live' media, (CD/DVD/Pendrive), if it boots up into a desktop & you can get the wifi working, it's a good 'un for Linux.

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I always assume $100 windows/microsoft tax.

And I always assume $100 intel tax.

There are a few subsidized laptops that microsoft waves that tax. The hp stream series was supposed to be a chromebook killer. I got 2 of the 11s, one was $200, one was $162 (display model + relatives employee discount). One died 18 months later, but worth the cost. My most recent laptop is the hp 15-ba053nr from office depot for $280. No longer available, but the hp 15-bw053od is basically the same specs for $399. As long as you're savvy enough to work around wifi issues with firmware and antennae quirks (ant_sel=2), they're a good value. I like HP's since they're pretty linux compatible, and you can spam ESC to get to the boot selection menu (closest key to the power button). They are not that durable IMO, and I don't like a few of the things about the company, but I mostly use my laptops as desktops with built in UPS's hooked up to an external display. There's a few SBC laptops that are relatively cheap, although not always a good value for the specs. Pinebook, pi-top, and probably some others.

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Check out Dell's "For Business" store. Several of their business laptops (most notably the Precision series) are available with Linux instead of Windows for approximately $100 savings. These aren't the "cheapest" laptops, but because they are high quality and have a good warranty, they are arguably a good "value." Dell Outlet has good deals on refurb/scratch-and-dent models.

Here is a list of laptops certified to run Ubuntu Linux: https://certification.ubuntu.com/desktop/

And here is a list of laptops certified to run Red Hat Enterprise Linux: https://access.redhat.com/ecosystem/...ategory=Laptop

A final thought, if you are just looking for something "absolutely dirt cheap" check out the HP Stream. It costs under $200, is available at stores like Walmart, and runs Linux pretty well (though not very quickly, of course, given its low hardware specs). The only hardware that didn't work for me 100% out of the box was the wireless, but that was easily solved by downloading the driver on another computer and transferring it using a thumb drive. I was pretty happy with my Stream 11 for the year I owned it. (I gave it away when I bought my Dell.) Don't worry about paying "the Windows tax" on a sub-$200 computer; Microsoft is basically giving away Windows on these low-end laptops to take a bite out of the Chromebook market.

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Search ebay for any descent laptop, change the hard drive.

Or look for a friend who has a new laptop with the Windows OS and is bloated it will be very slow. Take it, reformat or change the hard drive.

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Agree with JJJCR, look on ebay at refurbished Thinkpads or Dells. I bought two Thinkpads (an X200 and a T410), in excellent condition for about £80 and £200 a while ago. I think they've come down in price since I got them. Both of them run Linux perfectly.

Some great comments, thanks to all. I did the
ebay used root, got a Dell that had ubuntu
installed on it. I think it was T540 model,
not sure, and don't want to go back and check
just to get it right here. Whatever it was it
was on the Red Hat list of those verified to
work with linux.

T540? Sounds like a Thinkpad.
If it is a Lenovo Thinkpad, check out Thinkwiki, a site with lots of info about running Linux on Thinkpads:

https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki

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