14 Ways to Make Good Use of Your Old Computer Again

14 Ways to Make Good Use of Your Old Computer Again

1. Create a Digital Photoframe: ...
2. An External Portable Storage. ...
3. A Second Display. ...
4. Sell It to Fund the Next One. ...
5. Donate and Bring Smiles to Faces. ...
6. Contribute with Your CPU time To Distributed Computing. ...
7. Build Your Own Super Computer. ...
8. For All the Software You've Been Wanting to Try.

1. How do I make my old computer work again?
2. What is the best thing to do with old computers?
3. How do I use an old computer?
4. What can I salvage from my old computer?
5. What do you do with old computers that don't work?
6. Can I refurbish my laptop?
7. How do I wipe my old computer before recycling?
8. What can you do with old Apple computers?
9. Does removing a hard drive delete everything?
10. Can I use an old PC as a NAS?
11. What should I do with a second computer?
12. What parts of an old computer are valuable?
13. Can I sell old computer parts?

How do I make my old computer work again?

Your wallet will thank you!

1. Free up and optimize hard disk space. A hard drive that's nearly full will slow down your computer. ...
2. Speed up your startup. ...
3. Increase your RAM. ...
4. Boost your browsing. ...
5. Use faster software. ...
6. Remove pesky spyware and viruses.

What is the best thing to do with old computers?

What to Do with Old Broken Computers and Laptops

• Use dual monitors if the display works. ...
• Turn an old hard drive into an external hard drive. ...
• Donate to the local school's computer science teacher. ...
• Try selling parts to a computer repair or rebuild shop. ...
• Sell it for cash online. ...
• Find a good e-cycling location near you.

How do I use an old computer?

12 Things To Do With An Old Computer

1. Convert it to a NAS or Home Server. ...
2. Donate it to a local school. ...
3. Turn it into an experimental box. ...
4. Give it to a relative. ...
5. Dedicate it to 'Distributed Computing' ...
6. Use it as a dedicated game server. ...
7. Use it for old-school gaming. ...
8. Make it a Secondary Computing Server.

What can I salvage from my old computer?

The same as the answers already mentioned, the parts I think is worth salvaging are:

• Hard drive - it is important that you save the hard drive so you can protect your personal data. ...
• Memory modules - You can use it on another PC. ...
• Optical drives - Still usable to other PC. ...
• Monitor - if still in good working condition.

What do you do with old computers that don't work?

If It's Still Working, Give Away or Sell Your Old Computer

You can either try to sell it or you can donate it free to someone who needs it. In some countries, giving your computer to a charitable cause is an allowable tax deduction. If you're willing to donate, check out your local goodwill and charity stores.

Can I refurbish my laptop?

It is entirely possible to refurbish a laptop for as little as $10 or less if you have the cleaning products to hand. However, if you're handing it over to a family member or friend, spending a little extra on memory or a new hard drive is definitely something I would suggest.

How do I wipe my old computer before recycling?

What does computer disposal mean?

1. Create A Backup. Before going for any kind of recycling, one thing that needs to be done is saving important data. ...
2. Clean The Hard Drive. ...
3. Wipe External Drives. ...
4. Delete Browsing History. ...
5. Uninstall Programs. ...
6. Encrypt All Files. ...
7. Put Yourself To Test. ...
8. Destroy drives.

What can you do with old Apple computers?

What is Apple Trade In? It's our trade-in and recycling program that's good for you and the planet. If your trade-in device is eligible for credit, you can offset the purchase price of a new one. If it's not eligible for credit, you can recycle it for free.

Does removing a hard drive delete everything?

No. Removing hard drive doesn't erase anything. In order to erase data from a hard drive, you need to either delete all data from it or you need to format your hard drive. ... This will erase all data from the hard drive and make it as new hard drive for use.

Can I use an old PC as a NAS?

Put it to use by installing FreeNAS. FreeNAS is a free, open-source operating system that will convert old PCs into network-attached storage devices. Use your NAS as a central file storage or backup location for every PC on your network.

What should I do with a second computer?

10 Things You Can Do With An Extra PC

1. Extra PC. If you only have one primary computer in your home (or a few), and find yourself on the PC a lot, you may simply want to consider adding an extra PC to your home. ...
2. Media Server/File Server. ...
3. HTPC. ...
4. Backup PC. ...
5. Storage PC. ...
6. Donate/Gift. ...
7. Children's Computer. ...
8. Parts PC/Plan B.

What parts of an old computer are valuable?

Computer CPU's (processors) have the most precious metal value by weight, followed by Memory (RAM) & Circuit Board Fingers / Connectors / Pins, then Circuit Boards (Motherboards), then cables / wires, with hard drives & whole computers being last.

Can I sell old computer parts?

If you don't want to wait around hoping that someone will find/take interest in your Amazon, eBay or Craigslist posting, you can opt to sell your components through a trade-in site. These sites give you a quote for your component and help you ship it to them.