The system is rotten: Russians refuse pre-installed Windows

Sysadmins told why “empty” laptops are bought more often

A few years ago, the standard option for buying a new laptop was a configuration with a pre-installed operating system. However, for a couple of years now, the situation has begun to change, and this year it has reversed: buyers have become much more likely than before to choose “bare” machines, on which they then “roll” operating systems to their liking themselves or with the help of masters. Why this happens and under what conditions a pre-installed system is needed now, and in which it is contraindicated – MK found out.

The statistics of software distributors working with stores – cited by Izvestia – is as follows: in January-April of this year, “bare” configurations accounted for more than 20% of laptop sales in the country, despite the fact that at the beginning of 2022 only 9 were sold in this form. % of portable computers. Machines with Windows began to be sold 18% less than a year ago, sales of laptops with Linux and MacOS decreased by about a quarter, and most of all – by 56% – sales of laptops with the Microsoft DOS system (in principle, the same “bare” machines , but supposedly better ready to install Windows).

In a large chain of consumer electronics stores “MK” confirmed that laptops without any pre-installed operating system are in demand. “But here we must understand that a “naked” laptop will require the intervention of a specialist; if you do not have experience installing Windows modern versions, you are unlikely to be able to do without technical support, ”the store noted.

According to sales consultants, the process of installing and especially registering the operating system (without which it is now inoperable) has become much more complicated since the 2000s. Then, for the sake of savings and out of necessity (the systems of that time often “flew off”), many learned how to reinstall the OS on their own, but since then everything has become more complicated.

“Of course, I myself will buy the laptop that suits me in terms of price and configuration, and it doesn’t matter what system is installed on it,” says Igor Kalinov, a computer repair and tuning specialist from Moscow. – But in the last couple of years, cars have often been brought to me with requests to “reinstall”. Moreover, people with all platforms have problems. Somewhere synchronization does not work due to blocking, and you need to connect to the server via VPN – but how can a regular user install a VPN if there is no operating system? Somewhere branded app stores are blocked, more precisely, payment through them – there are also ways to bypass them, but not everyone knows about them and knows how to apply them.

According to the system administrator, the tendency to refuse to buy modern OS and versions of the main packages was in Russia even before 2022. In particular, the clients of the MK interlocutor asked not to install the latest ones – working only by subscription, without the possibility of a final purchase – but slightly older, but full-featured versions of office and graphics packages. When subscription became not only ruinous, but also difficult to implement due to payment sanctions, this was the last straw for many.

“Perfection has long been achieved in office suites, in general, if you don’t take into account the problem of format compatibility, you can work on any version released in the last twenty years,” Kalinov explains. – And format compatibility is achieved by a simple agreement. At the same time, new formats are unlikely to appear now, just as they did not appear in the latest versions of branded packages: there is a trend to work in cloud services, based on browsers. The most convenient services – from Google – have been on the verge of blocking in Russia for a year now, but that’s another story.

The system administrator of one of the city departments told MK that there is another weighty argument in favor of buying “clean” computers: government agencies are now strongly advised not to use Western operating systems and other software in order to avoid “bookmarks” and malware. Therefore, it is actually forbidden to purchase such devices for organizations – only “naked” or with a pre-installed domestic OS.

“But there is a nuance: for many who do not have specific applications or do not work with state secrets or state registers, the usual “windows” are enough, and we install them,” the MK interlocutor said. – Of course, we download the distribution kit from torrents, but in general, everyone has a backup disk with all possible distribution kits. We don’t pay a dime for them, of course.

For third-party clients (not employees of the organization), installing the system will cost 2-3 thousand rubles, the system administrator said. In general, if you take a fairly convenient distribution kit (they are on torrents) and follow the instructions exactly – in particular, choose the correct boot type in the BIOS and clearly follow the “treatment” sequence after installation, then installing a working system is quite easy. At worst, more competent colleagues will help.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29083 dated August 2, 2023

Newspaper headline:
I demolished my Windows…