Have you recently upgraded to a newer model computer? Wondering what to do with your "old" computer?
When we bought a super-powered new Dell Dimension 8400 computer, the question was what to do with our old HP Pavilion...
It still worked fine, and still had quite a bit of space to store programs and run basic tasks, it was just too slow and bogged down for his day-to-day work.
Extensive research revealed the following great ideas for anyone who's wondering what to do with an "older" computer. After all, if it's 3 years old (or older), then you'll barely get more than $50.00 if you choose to sell it at a yard sale or on eBay. So selling it is not an exciting option. There are some other interesting options, however.
Try these on for size...
- Trade it in for credit toward another computer. HP has a trade-in program and they will give you a free quote for your old computer online. After sending in your old computer, you have 30 days to buy a new HP or Compaq unit. After you fax in your proof of purchase, you get a check from HP. IBM has a similar trade-in program.
- Donate it to a local or national charity.
Places like the National Cristina Foundation are well-known for their acceptance of old computers that no one else wants. You can also find computer donation centers in your area. - Use it as a file or print server.
This is the option we chose. Simply tuck it away in a small hutch with doors to hide it away and run the proper cables to network this computer with one or more other computers in the room. You can even get a special adapter to view the contents of your "old" computer from -- if you don't want to use the old computer's monitor (to save space). This option enables you to create your own home network, linking one or more computers with a printer and Internet service so you can easily share files, play games, and print documents between machines. - Listen to tunes from it.
Your old computer can be used to download and store mp3's and other music files that usually take up a lot of hard drive space on your personal computer. Keep the speakers attached, and you have a "computer jukebox" that can be accessed in your home office that becomes part of your home entertainment system. You can also use it to burn CDs for saving your favorite tunes, or tune into online radio stations to listen to sports programs or your favorite music channels. - Watch TV from it.
Simply install a TV tuner card and you can record TV shows onto your old hard drive. If you have (or buy) a newer monitor with TV viewing capabilities, then you have a brand new Digital Video TV/PC. Or purchase a scan converter which changes your computer's VGA monitor signal to a regular TV signal so you can watch TV from your old monitor. - Create a "live" weather station.
If you're in need of a new hobby, you could become a weather geek. Simply purchase some software weather programs and sensors, then keep the computer on at all times to track and monitor the current weather conditions. Offer your data to local TV stations or as a complimentary service available to visitors of your web site. - Store digital photos on it.
Dedicate your old system to storing, retouching, and printing pictures from your digital camera. - Create a work station in the kitchen or dining room.
Place your old computer in a room near the kitchen, and install cooking and recipe programs (such as MasterCook) on it. This makes it easy to to access recipes while you're cooking, as well as a cinch to create and print shopping lists. You could also hook this computer up to the Internet, making it easy for family members to a access their e-mail and browse the Web from this convenient location. To conserve space, purchase a flat screen monitor and hide the computer box in a cabinet. - Designate the living room as the family workstation.
Purchase a wireless keyboard and mouse, and use your large TV screen as a computer monitor. Store the hard drive in a bookshelf or behind a piece of furniture. - Turn it into a work station for visitors.
Travelers like to check their e-mail and browse the Internet to find interesting things in your area. If you set up your old computer in the guest bedroom, your guests will be able to do a little work, have a little fun, and kill some time should they ever be left in the house alone for awhile (when you're working, for example). - Set it up solely as a data center.
Consider setting up your old computer in the garage, basement, or bedroom and using it solely as a place to jot notes, write letters, or update lists. Every computer doesn't need to have Internet and print capabilities. Instead, save your work to a floppy disk to transfer it to your main PC later. - Use it as a "live" web cam or security camera.
Buy a web camera and use your old computer to beam live pictures out on the Internet. You could also use it as a security camera (to see inside your house while you're at work, for example). - Turn it into a firewall or router.
Your old computer can serve as a firewall or router. All you need is a working motherboard, two network cards, and a floppy drive. No CD-ROM or hard drive are required. - Create a mobile computer.
If you're out and about more than you're at home, then you might consider using a 12-to-120 volt inverter to power your old computer in your RV, van, or boat. - Use it as an experimental PC.
For the wannabe computer geek, use your old computer as a learning tool to try new things on. You can practice doing things to your old computer that you'd be too scared to try on your new computer -- like reformatting a hard drive, reinstalling an operating system, installing memory or a new hard drive. You might even want to experiment by installing a whole new operating system, like Linux.
See what your old computer is worth ...really.
Need more ideas?... Check out these fun ways to repurpose old computers.
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You could use it to work in donating your idle computer time to science projects as well, and at the same time you use it for any of the different purposes above.
See, for instance: http://boinc.berkeley.edu/
Great ideas. What about using an old monitor as a fishtank? The ideas ofr this are on the web somewhere. And what about using the old computer as a cooking book in the kitchen. Store all your recipies and turn to a recipie from your old computer installed right on your kitchen bench? Connect to the Internet for other recipies.
In fact I've done a number of the above things.....
Initially, I decided to just use the old computer as a file/download server, so wacked in a 300GB HD (since added a another HD so have over 600GB in a spanning RAID config)
Now its being used as a FTP server, file server, for music back-up, connected to the TV via audio and S-video to watch films (controlled by a nintendo DS like a Wifi remote control! - google Win2DS), dedicated video conversion box, also as a Unreal Tournament 2004 server and soon to have web services running as an experiment.
In fact I spend so much time logged into it via remote desktop that my new custom built PC is simply acting as a super fast dumb terminal!!!!
That's some pretty cool stuff you've got there Alan.
Make a clock out of the hard drive :)
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~umparekh/hard_drive_clock.html