? about buying a barebones w/o harddrive?

i hope this is right section to ask question. my question is if i buy a notebook without harddrive, what would i need to do install os when i recieve laptop? is it pretty standard and easy for someone who's done a million clean windows 2000 installs, or is there some roadblocks i might run into? i ask because i've never done a clean win2000 install.

another question. i could save about $20-$150 if i buy my own cpu. i've never done this before and am very interested in applying arctic silver compound. how hard are both of these installations?

any other suggestions about not buying from reseller and buying my own components? i'm under the impression it's better to at least have the optical drive installed by reseller in case i run into any problems not easily solved by an average joe like me. i know the pros of buying your own optical drive are saving money and getting the brand you prefer, but it seems from my research this would be the hardest install process for me.

thanks for the replies in advance.

 

None of it is too hard. But it does involve some pretty small screws.

Generally the hard drive and RAM are easily accessable. You just remove a few screws and plug them in. You need to be sure you get the correct interface, but that's pretty simple too. The CPU is a little harder, but still nothing too difficult. Depending on the machine the CPU may have a simple cover to remove under the bottom, or you may have to take more of the laptop apart and access it underneath the keyboard. In either case its just a matter of a few screws and plastic tabs to remove, then dropping in the CPU, applying heat sink paste (if the CPU or heatsink already have some installed, you have to scrape it off and remove it with a cleaning compound before applying artic silver) then you screw on the heat sink and put it all back together.

I'd compare it all to about the same difficulty as an oil change. Just about everyone is capable of doing it, but a lot of people don't care to get involved or figure it out.

If you are buying a whitebook (designed for users to install all the components themselves) its really simple. You may even find a guide or two with step by step pictures by someone who has done it before.

Once you have all the hardware in place you just boot it up with the windows CD in place and go from there.

It may help to have a 2nd computer online in case you do hit a snag, so you can real quick look it up online.

If you know the make and model you are looking at building, you can search in that specific manufacturers section for detailed instructions. If you aren't sure yet, there's a thread for asking what laptop works for me. Building your own isn't always a sure way to save $$$, but it can help.

 

Well, if you know what to do then do it. Buying a barebone could save you some couple of bucks, depending on which model you choose.

Are you talking about Asus barebones?

it's pretty easy to install, most laptops has the same alike kind of hardare installation , I think it's easier than desktop because I don't need to worry about plugin wires. All you do is put DVD drive HDD, CPU, RAM Wireless card, boot them up and install the windows.

You might need to know which F keyto press in order to boot to CD rom , which your OS cd is in there.

About install windows, you can look at Dell's thread over Dell forum here and follow the instructions. They should be the same kind of procedures. Remember to have a CD or USB drive that has all the drivers of the hardware that you install to the laptop.

- Audio
- LAN
-WIreless
-MOdem
-Sound
-.... may be other parts.

 

no, i'm thinking about buying a compal hel80 or more specifically a chembook model. i want to get a laptop from dell, but this option of buying barebones really fascinates me. so what you're saying i can buy a 100 gig 7200 rpm harddrive from whereever and just pop it in the optical drive? windows xp is bootable and able to format the drive off a cd?

 

Yes on both accounts.