What do you do with your old hardware?

[JoHn87]

keep them and build a computer out of it.

got 2 spare pc atm. both on xp

also I use them for testing etc.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
take it to the tip where cheapskate people like me can "canabilize" it to make servers etc.

Usually you can add for VERY FEW dollars / euros /roubles etc a HDD / SATA card so you can add modern discs to even quite an old mobo.

Typical old Pentium 4 (or even Pentium 3) computers are more than OK for a file server.

Ideal for a cheap file / print / web / email server

You don't even need to connect a screen if you are using this older hardware as a server.

If you can attach a decent size HDD you can use these as a dedicated Music / Video server too.

You'll probably only have 2 memory slots - but you could probably get 2GB / 4GB on a 5 - 6 year old MOBO -- the old DDR memory is REALLY cheap as well.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Orpheous]

Sorry for the very outdated bump here, but I thought that you guys and maybe others might be interested in this: Qimo 4 Kids | Software For Kids
It's basically a Ubuntu derivative for kids, complete with basic educational software.
I've been installing it to any P3's that I find in my garage and will be giving them to my mates who have kids of the right age.

 

[madtownidiot]

I have a basement full of relatively old but working hardware. I don't see anything wrong taking a little time to assemble a ubuntu box to exchange for a non-working box, if someone can't afford the parts to fix it, but really needs a computer. Saves a lot on recycling costs and doesn't cost me anything but a little time

 

[mr pc]

This is what I hate about consumer electronics - so disposable (and sometimes built to have a half-life) and quickly becoming a huge environmental hazard. If we could start using alternatives to petro-chemicals and somehow find a way to successfully and securely recycle the delicate bits for new computers/devices.

So far I have kept my old computers running (OSX and Ubuntu) - so no extra waste. My sisters son's laptop somehow got a smashed screen so I removed it and they use a crt with the it, I call it the "ghetto-top" now. They returned their other computers to Best Buy

Here is one option - there are tons of children or poor families who would kill for an old machine that can get on the net and help with other simple computing/educational needs.

Computer recycling, refurbishing, sales to low income households, individuals and families

 

[whs]

I give it to my computer club who either use it for training or give it to local charitable institutions - e.g. the local dawn center.

 

[Orpheous]

Unfortunately, even with a population of 165,000, there aren't any computer recycling businesses nearby and the local council doesn't provide anything other than a spot in the landfill. The nearest recycling program is 1700kms away!

 

[IownAmoneyPit]

If I buy hardware for my new machine, it then goes into my older machine thus upgrading it also, the parts left over are spare parts till needed.

 

[LiquidSnak]

I work with a company that recycles and reuses old PC's, etc. It's a great thing, and I donate 70% of my obsolete HW to them as well.