Old Computers whats your take

Wife's laptop
My Laptop
My Desktop
Maria's Desktop
Angela's Desktop
Gina's desktop....the only other one hooked up to the router because she got good grades:D
Lisa's Laptop.....

And that is enough!!!!....till xmas anyway. Dell usually has a really lkow price on a lap and desktop about 2 weeks before xmas....we shall see
 
Rob, installing Ubuntu is a great way of prolonging a computer's life. Just last week I installed version 10.04 on one of my old laptops. It seems to be rock solid and works pretty fast. Some people even compare it with Windows 7. I am still learning the OS but it is very intuitive and user-friendly. On the other hand, availability of softwares for Ubuntu is whole different issue.

Thanks for this info Mohammad I been contemplating the same thing with an old laptop too nice to hear it worked for you. This is one i am going to try.:thumb: Thanks to the others that have mentioned their experience with Ubuntu too.


I'm in the computer industry (30+ years) and I throw lots of good stuff out every month. I'm responsible for over 300 computers and 100 servers at my location and we cycle them every 4 years no matter how good they are.

My suggestion is to take the hard drive out of any computer you're about to recycle. If you have an arbor press - use it and smash the drive flat. If not, drill a hole through it or run over it with your car/truck. In other words destroy it before recycling it.

I'm a little paranoid about data getting out so every drive we recycle is put in an arbor press and smashed before leaving. Helps me sleep at night.

Oh i am as paranoid as you Antonio. That was the one thing i took out of them before i even put them in the basement for storage. Just in case.

Brent i was thinking of saving these for the very thing you describe. Sometime i am gonna pay a visit to Jonathan and then we gonna have something to shoot at. I will probably put Microsoft logos on the front of them and get my own back for all the versions of software i had to live with blue screens on.:rofl::rofl: while we practice.

I've found I can run either VMWare or Sun's VirtualBox for any Linux or older Windows software that needs a specific OS, so I don't mess with old hardware much anymore.

VMWare systems also work great for re-trialing software over and over. Just make copy of the system image before installing the software, then when the trial ends, copy off any data files, replace the image with the backup copy and install again. Doesn't work for all trials, but works great for a lot of them.

Thanks for this tip Darren i think you just managed to push me over the edge. They going to the recycling depot.:thumb::)

Like Antonio, I have been doing this for so long . . . a coworker and I were realizing the other day that neither of us has EVER bought an operating system. I have NEVER bought a new computer; my work has always supplied new ones and let me get not-very-old units for a few bucks. Laptops I have that cannot survive as fully functional PC's end up as Internet radio receivers or get passed down to someone who wants to play solitaire or free cell or who has nothing. There is always the condition of NO SUPPORT offered to anyone I pass a unit down to, I don't have the time or patience ;-)

Glenn aint this a standard issue. If someone knows you know a thing or two about computers you suddenly become the free technical support guy.:) Thats why mine are going to the depot.

Thanks all for your input i appreciate hearing the different views. Somehow seems one is never alone on all these issues.

The waste just seems very sad. But its universal and there is far bigger wastes than a few computers out there. :eek:

I think i have settled on them going to the recycle depot. Saved a single good powersupply out of one just in case one of my existing ones packs up and also save a floppy drive, dont know why "just in case" i guess.

Hey the horder had to keep something back.:rofl::rofl:
 
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