Will hardware upgrade void warranty?

[VCSkier]

My only computer just announced to me that it is on the brink of death (the backlight on my very old laptop is flickering on and off). In my panic, I ordered the cheapest linux compatible system I could find, while still retaining upgrade potential; the Ratel Value. After thinking about my purchase for a few minutes, I wanted to make sure that I would be able to install some hardware upgrades without completely voiding my warranty. I plan on adding a second hard drive, more RAM, and probably replacing the CPU in the course of the next year. Will this void the warranty on my original hardware? Thanks in advance.

[thomasaaron]

No, it's fine as long as you use hardware with the proper specs. We can provide any necessary information in that regard.

There's only room in the Ratel for on hard drive.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[grizdog]

I gather the CPU is a plug-in, and not soldered? Surely replacing a soldered in CPU would void the warranty, no?

[Paul Dietrich]

Hi,
Just before Christmas I bought a Pangolin on a budget (order #9511), haven't received it yet, and am very anxious, but have a question about upgrading:

I got the stock hard drive (250 GB 5400 RPM SATA II), and now that I can afford it, would like to go nuts and get the best I can find, maybe a TB. What are the specs I need to look for? Also, can I request a restore CD (I read that in an online review somewhere), when I get it and put it in, so I can have the factory System76 setup?

The biggest options I see for a hard drive for the Pangolin are:

500 GB 7200 RPM SATA II
or
160 GB Intel X25-M Solid State Drive

Is a TB possible? If not, I'm perfectly content with the 500 GB 7200 RPM SATA II. Thanks for any suggestions.

Everyone says such great things about S76, I can't wait. Thanks.

[thomasaaron]

I'm not aware of any limits on the size of the hard drive for the Pangolin. Just get a 2.5" SATA laptop drive and you should be good to go.

We do not have a custom Ubuntu image. Since live CD images are free to download from http://ubuntu.com/downloads we do not provide them.

[Paul Dietrich]

Ok, so I won't need any additional System76 specifics, just a regular Ubuntu live CD, and I'm guessing I can get the System76 specifics through the normal Ubuntu repositories. Thanks.

[Eldera]

http://knowledge76.com/index.php/Restoring_Your_System

This link gives a few more details about installing the OS. The information is a little out of date, because you would be downloading and installing Karmic, I suppose, but I followed this to install Karmic on a dual boot partition.

(I am still learning and I wanted to practice with Karmic before giving up Jaunty.)

Have a great day, Eldera