how hard to switch to Windows? How much might it cost to hire someone to get Linux to Windows, or can I do this on my own easily and free?
430382
you need to buy a copy of windows. using an external disc drive you set the bios to boot from drive 'd' and the disc will instruct you how to load windows.
92826
Unfortunately not, I bet you could troll around google and find some drivers but it doesn't come with any and Windows is clueless. As always, the cheapest solutions turns out to be the worst one :)
1743703
This one comes with Ubuntu Linux operating system. But I believe you can get a similar system with windows at a slightly higher price.
2053269
The hardware should be compatible. The biggest variable will be the OS. If you are using Microsoft Windows, it'll work. Linux would depend on the distro / configuration (you should be able to get it to work with any of them, but the process is likely to be harder, and getting the burning to work may be non-trivial).
999530
It is off the shelf hardware. It should work with Linux distributions AFAIK. You can build your own for slightly cheaper, but not too much cheaper. For the extra money, you do get warranty support on the hardware as well as having it tested and burnt in. That was worth my mine for having the piece of mind. Search for the free as mini reviews and you can get a breakdown of the hardware to check compatibility.
639535
Yes but why would you want to as Windows 8 is a very buggy program. I put Linux on mine.
1083807
My concern was to get Windows 7, 64 bit. As far as the rest, I don't really know, but I have downloaded for free anything I have wanted to add.
711433
I've had it working on Windows xp/Vista/7/8/8.1 so far. Unsure about Linux at this point.
878271
Yes - right out of the box for windows. With Linux you'll need to re-partition the drive. The process in detailed in my review. Hope this is helpful.
1891160
I do not use Linux but it does work perfectly with Windows XP and Windows 7. There were no problems installing it and still use it on one of my computers.
960193
I just saw that it's Windows 7 you want to go to. It's the same procedure basically. You need to get your data off that system if possible. You'll also need a Windows 7 install disk.
509119
I installed Linux (Fedora 18), can't find the install CD at the moment but there is a printed sticker on the computer with the license key. The Windows install CD/DVD appeared to be something I could use on some other hardware if the need arose. I chunked the Windows stuff somewhere - sorry.
1968084
I have not tried, but that is an option I have considered. I definitely think Windows 7 would work better than 8 on this machine because 7 is a "lighter" operating system (doesn't take as much to run it). I think Linux would be even better, I am just not sure if Linux has all the drivers.
463102
Have you tried "classic shell" yet. Makes it operate like win 7, but faster. Also boots into desktop vs metro crap. I have not seen thAt metro screen in the 5 months i've had classic shell. But if you still need to go to win 7 you will need a key ($100) and a install disk or usb.
2166809
BIOS. Yes you can run linux on it easily. Now if you went with windows 8 or 8.1 it'll be a bit tricky.
1517901
Yes. You might have to format the drive though. It should be fast enough to run Linux without any issues.
2277810
I don't know but I don't see why not. It is a standard USB device. Windows sees it as an external drive but I don't know what is under the hood in windows to make that happen. There is no driver disk or application to load, you just plug it in and Windows knows what to do. Like everything Linux... If you have, or can get, or can write the driver, it will work.