This blog posting is a walkthrough on what I would do if I could do things the way it should have been done (in my opinion). This is not what I initially did, and therefore, you will learn from my mistakes. Obviously, if you should have any questions, feel free to ask me. I will be happy to provide some insights. This walk through is for the Framework 16 from Frame Work PCs ( https://frame.work ). The Framework 16 is obviously a 16” notebook PC that is modular and upgradeable. With it being upgradable, it is also repairable. If you need to replace the memory, you can use industry standards SODIMM memory (DDR 5 only). You can also upgrade or replace your storage by using NVME drives which is in the shape of a stick of gum. The longer one is a 2280 drive which is 22mm wide × 80mm long. The second drive is a 2230 drive which is 30mm long. Rather than Frame Work deciding on what ports it thinks the majority would need, they created an open standard system in which the ports are inserted into USB standard slots. They call these accessories cards, but they are not cards, and more likely to be thought of as modules.
I am going to assume a couple of things. First, you would want a Windows computer (although the Framework 16 supports almost any version of Linux), and you would be taking my suggestions as word. I will also assume that you don’t have a supported computer, so this will go into detail with that in mind. With that being said, I would go through what I would do if I was to do this all over again. I had made a couple of significant mistakes that delayed everything else which I am not happy about, but only one issue would be my fault. With that being said, I got the best CPU, 64GB of memory ( 2 × 32GB), a 4TB 2280 NME drive, and a 2TB 2230 NVME drive. For the 6 modules as mentioned, I chosen 4 USB-C, a 1TB Storage Module, and a 1 SD card reader. For the OS, I have decided to order MS Windows 11 Pro from Best Buy, and that is being delivered by FedEx to my PMB. However, according to Frame Work’s website, you can image a Windows 11 .iso file onto a thumb drive (or the 1TB storage module). However, that never worked properly with me using Belana Etcher, and Mac OS. I have been able to properly image a Linux .iso installation, so it’s not the software, but for some reason – Microsoft didn’t send me the complete file. I will assume that you might have the same problem, and would suggest another route (since you still need to pay for the license key).
Requirements
- An Amazon Account
- A Microsoft Account
- A Credit or Debit card with a $4,000 available line
- A USB-A to USB-C dongle
- An Ethernet to USB-C dongle with an ethernet cable
- A Windows Boot Thumb Drive
- A secured address to collect your purchases
- A wired ethernet connection to the Internet
You will need a credit or debit card with access to $4,000. This is a bit high, but I am assuming you are following me word for word. If you decide on Linux, you can save $200. If you already have the dongles you need, that is some savings. You likely don’t need 64GB of memory, and you don’t need 2 NVME drives. There are places you can cut to save money, but to do everything word for word, expect a little less than $4,000. You will also need an Amazon account to get Windows, and the dongles. You can buy a license key from Frame Work, but they will not send you a Windows install drive. Microsoft requires a Microsoft account for the privilege of using the Windows OS that you purchase. This to me is invasive, and if you have a problem with this, your other option is to install Linux (recommend Zorin OS). In which, you would need another computer to burn an .iso of your preferred version of Linux. This registration of a Microsoft account with your install of Windows is the reason you need an ethernet dongle to connect to the internet.
You would need an Amazon account to get the two dongles. You would only need these dongles for the initial installation of the OS, and drivers. The USB-A to USB-C dongle will allow you to plug in the Windows thumb drive. You would need the ethernet dongle because Windows does not support the Wifi card out of the box, and the ethernet connection to the Internet will allow you to get all of the update files you would need to get everything working properly. Once you have been successful with everything, you can put the dongles in the electronics drawer as a just in case you would need them again.
You will need a secured address to receive all of your valuable hardware. If you have someone living at home all day, you can send everything to your home address. If not, and you are allowed, send your packages to your work address. If you are like me, and have a Private MailBox (PMB), then you can just as easily send it there. None of my shipments used USPS, so a PO Box will not work. The most expensive shipment is the computer, and parts.
Ordering
You can get a prebuilt option, but your options are more limited. I would go with the DIY option, and be willing to follow their guide if you need details and images on how to do something in particular. With that, you will go to https://frame.work/products/laptop16-diy-amd-7040/configuration/new. I chose the 7940HS CPU which is the highest one. I would not want to pay to upgrade this module later. For memory, you can go up to 96GB of memory, and if I had the money, I would have done this overkill. Most casual users would just need 16GB. If you are expecting to game on the system, then 32GB. You would know it if you need more. For storage, I will choose 4TB as my primary drive, and 2TB as my second drive. I will go into detail about those later. If you want Windows, you would need a license. However, you will not get a thumb drive if you order through Frame Work. I would recommend another site that would send you the thumb drive in addition to the license key. You will be paying the same amount, and to do something different will require more resources on your part. If you are doing games, video editing, or other graphic intensive projects, then choose the AMD Radeon™ RX 7700S. Otherwise, the standard module will work just fine for you. For your keyboard, choose the appropriate keyboard for your needs and location. Me, I also chosen a number pad which will go right of the keyboard. With that being said, I will have no spacers, and that would be a waste of your resources, as if you choose the number pad, you will likely keep it in the system. For the bezel, you have 3 colors. I decided to be boring, and just chose black. The color has no impact on the system though. If you have a 180 watt USB-C power adapter, then you don’t need this, but if you don’t, then I would suggest that you get one. As mentioned, for the expansion modules, I chose 4 USB-C, a 1TB Storage module, and an SD card reader. There are other modules, so choose the best configuration for your needs. You can also buy more than 6, and simply swap in and out to meet the parameter of needs. No matter what, you need at least 1 USB-C module for charging the system. That module must be in the rear, or middle slots. You could likely save some money by going with Amazon for the memory, and storage, but I would assume you would want everything in one package.
Shipping/Receiving
It took me about a week to get my package delivered to me. I live in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, so that may give you some idea of what you would want to do. Again, make sure you send this machine to a secured location. You wouldn’t want a thief to come by, and steal $4,000 worth of hardware. They were very quick in processing the order, and shipping the system to me. I would imagine the same will be done for you. Once you receive everything, make sure everything is in excellent condition. You don’t want any dents, scratches or cracks. You should get everything you ordered + a screw driver that you would use to enter the system. The screw driver has a flat edge which will be good to push the tabs out, and lift the keyboard out if you should have to pull it out for any reason. The touchpad is on the system, and that would use the flat edge to get that out which needs to be removed to get inside. The keyboards, and touchpad is held in place by magnets, so you should get resistance if you try to take them out.
Going In
In the front corners of the system, there are two tabs. You would want to push those tabs out. This is where the flat edge of the screwdriver comes in handy for. Once you pushed the tabs out, you can remove the spacers and touchpad. Once you done that, you would want to gently disconnect the tab that is in the right middle side of the frame plate. Next, there are 17 screws that need to be loosened. These are captive screws, so they will not exit the screw hole, but they must be out of the screw socket. Just be careful to not thread the screws. Once you done all of that, you should be able to lift the plate.
Once in, you would see a neat and orderly look and feel to the system. You would install the RAM on the top right, and the storage on the bottom left (above the battery). I would do the RAM first. When inserting the RAM, it will only go in one way, so if it feels it doesn’t fit, flip the RAM over, and try the other side. When installing the RAM, install at a 45° angle, and push down once inserted. You should hear a click, and see the metal tabs push inward. Once that happens, the memory is inserted properly.
Now, it is time for the storage. There is a screw for each module. You would want to unscrew the screw when you are inserting that particular module. These screws are not captive, so you would need to be careful to not lose the screws, especially to lose it in the system. You would have to install the smaller of the two modules first. Unscrew that appropriate screw, and set it aside. You may want to get a bowl or cup to place the screw in. You would want to place the module in as straight as you can. In most cases, the label side should face up to insert correctly. As with the RAM, if it doesn’t want to insert fully, turn it over. Once the drive is fully inserted, screw it down into place. Next is the bigger module. Unscrew that appropriate screw and set it aside. You would want to insert this module in at a 45° angle. It would stick up at 45° until you push it down, and screw it in place.
Coming Out
Now that you got the RAM and drives in place, it is now time to come out. Place the plate back over the system. Connect the tab to the motherboard again, and screw the screws in place. Do not over tighten them as they should be hand tight only. Again, you do not want to thread the screws as this will lead to you not being able to enter the system to do upgrades or repairs. Once you done that, take your keyboard, and set it against the left side of the system. Push it back as far as it would go, and set the keyboard down. Test the keyboard to make sure you have resistance. If so, do the same with the number pad – placing it between the keyboard and right edge of the computer. Again, you should get resistance if you try to lift it out of place. As for your touchpad, it will depend on where you would want the touchpad to be. If you want it centered according to the keyboard, you set the touchpad followed by both spacers. If you want it centered to the computer, you would do spacer, touchpad, spacer. The touchpad is magnetically in place, but the spacers are not. Once you have everything in place, it is time to push the tabs back into place, and prepare the machine for installation. If these modules are not properly installed, the system will let you know when powering on.
Now, it is time to install the modules. Make sure you see an orange color where the locking tabs are at for the modules. At least in my perspective, The USB-C modules went to the rear and middle on both sides. On the left front side, I inserted the 1TB module. On the right front side went in the SD card reader. If I was left handed, the SD card reader, and storage module would trade places. Once you have everything in place, you would switch the locking switches to the locked position so nothing comes out. Now the hardware side of the system is complete. Keep in mind, with the system upside down, you would want to reverse the position of inserting the modules so that are on the correct side when turning over the system.
Installation
Now that you got the hardware in place, it is now time to install everything you would need. Since you don’t know how much battery you need, you would want to plug the system in. You would plug in the USB-C power adapter to any of the USB-C ports, and use the dongles for the thumb drive, and ethernet adapter. Even if you bought the Ethernet Module, you would still need the dongle because Windows won’t support the module yet. Plug the Ethernet cable to the router, or to the wall if you have integrated networking in your home (if installing Windows). Turn the system on. It would take a few minutes for it to properly turn on as it is counting the RAM, and recognizing the NVME modules. The system will recognize that you have no OS, and will look for a thumb drive with an .iso image properly imaged to the drive. The installation process for Windows (or your selected OS) will begin. Install the OS to the 4TB drive unless you know that you need a lot of space for personal file (such as video editing). If you are installing Windows, you will need your Microsoft credentials. Install the OS, and set up the basics. Once the OS is installed, you can unplug the thumb drive. Keep in mind that your Windows installation will reboot a few times. This will be normal. You will still need to be connected to the Internet, so you must keep the ethernet cable connected to the PC, and internet.
If you installed Linux, you can skip this paragraph. Once you done that, it is now time to update the system. Go to https://knowledgebase.frame.work/en_us/framework-laptop-16-bios-and-driver-releases-BkeqkVovp, and download the BIOS update and drivers to the system. This will take some time depending on the internet speed. Be patient, and yes – you need both files. Once you downloaded the two files, you would want to install the BIOS update file first. This will eventually reboot your machine, and update the BIOS. Let it do its process, and be patient. Once you log back into Windows, you would then want to install the drivers. Again, the system will reboot at least once. If not, reboot once the installation completes. When you reboot, you should be able to unplug the ethernet cable, and connect to your Wifi Network. If you done everything correctly, you would no longer need the ethernet adapter. You can now use your PC as normal.
What I Do, and Why
For the USB-C ports, I feel that USB-C should have been what USB should have been from the beginning. With that said, I consider USB-A, and USB-B as legacy, and should be obsolete. You can get Thumb Drives that supports USB-C, and if you got the SD card reader module, then you don’t need an adapter for any micro-SD or SD cards. You just need a micro-SD to SD adapter which is $5. I will designate the SD card reader as A:\ considering this is a removable media card reader. It is very much like what a floppy disk used to be. The 4TB drive is your C:\ drive, and where Windows, and any other programs will install to. I couldn’t get Windows to allow me to move my document folders to the D:\ drive because of One Drive, and Microsoft has decided you don’t know what you are doing. If I was to create any documents on my computer, I will have the extra hoop to jump through for saving to my 2TB drive. The E:\ drive which is the 1TB storage module will sit in the PC and when needed, it will be used.