5 Tips To Benefit From Old PC Or Laptop

by Karan Goel

So you finally bought a new computer and your old one sits in the corner and is collecting dust. That’s too bad because there are a number of things you can do with an old computer. Whether it’s a desktop computer or a laptop, whether or not it’s broken, and no matter how old it is, it can still be useful to you or someone else.
So if you still don’t have any idea what to do with it, you might find some inspiration in this article.

1. Create a Digital Photo Frame

If your old laptop screen is OK and if either the hard drive or CD/DVD drive are working, you can use it to build a cheap digital photo frame. With a working wireless connection you could even make it show your latest Flickr photos.

You’ll find detailed instructions all over the net. Repair4Laptop.org provides an extensive list of instructions sorted by laptop models. Unfortunately, some links are outdated. If you have a spare G4 Powerbook, try this article at Instructables, and for the digital photo frame connecting to Flickr, Mike from PopSci used an old IBM ThinkPad T21 and Slickr, as described here. Shuttertalk has instructions using a LCD monitor and laptop.

2. Create an External Hard Drive

If parts of your laptop or desktop computer hardware are broken, you can salvage the working parts. So if the hard drive is still working, you can dismount it and transform it into an external and portable hard drive for your new computer. You’ll have to invest in a USB caddy, which can be acquired cheaply through eBay, Amazon or your local hardware dealer. Be sure to get the right format and connector for your hard drive. For a laptop hard drive, you’ll need a 2.5″ IDE or SATA caddy. For a regular hard drive, generally a 3.5″ IDE or SATA caddy is in order.

3. Make Someone Happy

The next best way to use your still working old computer is to make someone else happy!

You could offer the computer on your local FreeCycle.org group or ask friends, family, and people in your community whether anyone needs a computer for simple tasks. Alternatively, you could donate your laptop or computer through an official organization, such as Computers with Causes.

4. Donate CPU Time

If you would rather donate to something bigger, such as science, you could hook up the old computer to the internet, install a program such as SETI@home or Proteins@home, and run these programs all day and night.

The computer could sit in a dead corner of your house and would require a monitor only occasionally. You would invest as little as a bit of electricity and bandwidth.

5. Set up an external Firewall or Router

Separating your firewall from the PC you are using, and running it on a standalone computer that sits between the internet and your actual operating system, is a powerful way to protect your data. With Linux as the firewall computer’s operating system it’s almost perfect.

Lockup has a guide on how to turn your old PC into a NAT firewall router. At Associated Content, you will find an article that explains how to use free software to set up a first class firewall. And finally, Instructables has a guide on how to build your own gateway firewall.

Can you think of even better ways to use an old computer or laptop? Let’s hear!