What to do with my old computer?

What should I do with my old computers? It seems like a shame to throw them away!

- Joe

This question was answered on January 6, 2005. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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Every year, after the holiday season, there is a surge in the number of questions from readers about what to do with their old computers.

Most are looking for a way to get rid of it, but there may be several reasons why you may want to actually hang on to it.

Under no circumstances should you dispose of computers by throwing them in the trash They are chock full of toxic waste and need to be dismantled and recycled properly

As far as the donation option, my favorite organization here in Arizona is Az StRUT (Students Recycling Used Technology – www.azstrut.org).

Not only will they turn your donation into a usable computer for needy charities, they will also make sure that any unusable components get disposed of properly through their relationship with a recycler.

For those around the country, there are hundreds of organizations that provide recycling services Start by checking with local and state agencies as well as schools to see if there are sanctioned donation programs.

There are a number of national recyclers (including HP) that you can find through your favorite search engine, but many charge a small disposal fee for each item ($5 to $25).

No matter where it ends up, make certain that you securely remove any personal data files (home accounting, old tax programs, documents and spreadsheets, etc.) from the system before doing so My favorite program for scrubbing data from computers is called Eraser, available for free at www.snapfiles.com.

There are a number of possible uses for an old computer, however, that you may want to consider before getting rid of it.

If you are as much of a music fanatic as I am, you may want to consider turning it into an MP3 jukebox that can connect to your home stereo By wiping the drive clean and reinstalling Windows (any version), you can relegate the rest of the space and processing power for the simple playback of music A great MP3 player for older systems is Winamp (www.winamp.com).

For those that have a large collection of digital pictures, you can make the old system a simple ‘file server’ for other computers on your home network or as a backup of your critical data.

If you are the inquisitive type, an old system is the perfect way to play around with Linux, the operating system alternative to Windows You can get dozens of free versions of Linux at www.linux.org.

If you have kids, it is nearly impossible these days to do homework without access to the Internet Surfing the net and checking e-mail does not take much processing power, so an extra Internet connected system always comes in handy in families with more than one child.

One final thing to keep in mind; most old computers actually spend a year or two in a closet collecting dust before they get donated, which decreases the chances for them to be useful for a charity As this will not likely be the last time that you are faced with this decision, try to get it donated as soon as you determine that you have no use for it.

About the author

Posted by Ken Colburn of Data Doctors on January 6, 2005

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