When you have some free time, maybe during these Christmas holidays, you can dedicate yourself to putting some old things on purpose. For example, you can decide what to do with the old computer, which should never be thrown into the bucket as it is.
There is a lot of rubbish out there and there is no need to increase it.
Furthermore, even if a new fixed or portable PC can be bought at low prices, the old computer can be converted and used in different ways and, even, it can be re-evaluated, recycled and revitalized .
An old computer becomes an opportunity to create or learn something new .
So let's see the 7 best things you can do with an old computer and how you can convert it to new functions.
1) Update it by changing 5 important parts (as better described in another post)
To reuse the old Windows PC, fixed or portable, it must be formatted by installing the always green Windows XP operating system.
You will be surprised at how fast and quick it becomes again after reinstalling Windows XP from scratch, even if the PC was 4 or 5 years ago.
If then you were willing to spend some money, you could also give new life to the computer by updating some pieces .
In particular, the addition of 1 GB of RAM may already be sufficient to be able to use current programs without slowing down.
If you wanted to do more, you could buy a new graphics card or a new processor and the computer would be usable for almost any job.
In another article, some tips for getting the old laptop bought a few years back to speed
2) Format the hard disk and install Linux .
It could be a good opportunity to learn how to use Linux which, I remember, is an open source operating system and always free even for business or professional uses.
Linux is a bit like the rest home of old PCs and it doesn't matter how old they are.
Unlike Windows, in fact, there are Linux distributions, complete with a graphical interface and programs, which work efficiently even on computers older than 2005.
In particular, if the PC was older than 6 years ago, installing Linux, it could only be used to download Torrent files, to experiment with programming or to create a storage server.
If it were newer, a computer bought 3 or 4 years ago with Linux would be as fast as one bought today with Windows 7 and could do anything, even watch videos in HD or streaming.
As for the Linux distribution to be installed, Ubuntu certainly remains the top, especially for those coming from Windows.
If the PC does not support Ubuntu, distributions such as Puppy Linux or, better still, Lubuntu could be used.
3) Attaching the desktop PC or laptop to the TV and creating a media center and home theater system is the best thing you can do.
The computer (without monitor) can be placed under the TV, where the video recorder was once held and where today there is the DVD player, perhaps hidden in the cabinet.
Most people, especially mom or wife, don't want a computer in the living room, especially if it's ugly or loud.
However, you can find a way to hide your Media Center PC in a closet and connect it to the television with a cable even 10 meters long.
This computer can be easily connected to the TV with a VGA or DVI cable.
If you have a very recent TV, which has an Ethernet (LAN) network card, you can even watch streaming video from your PC to the TV (in DLNA).
There are good free programs to create an internal network with TV, both for Windows (TVersity) and for Linux (uShare).
If you don't have a new TV that supports DLNA, but there is an Xbox 360 or PS3, you can stream the video to the console and the video can then be released on the TV!
An old computer can certainly reproduce any type of Divx video and film, AVI or, in some cases, even in high definition.
If the computer was connected to the internet it could become better than any TV on demand, perhaps paying a subscription to a streaming service like Megavideo where everything is found.
4) Create an internet station for children, guests or for themselves .
If you have only one computer at home, the use of which is shared between several people in the family, it will immediately become messy, with scattered files, unnecessary programs installed and a high risk of being infected by viruses.
Needless to insist on those who cannot understand what it means to "surf safely", being careful where you go and what you download.
It is better to use the newer PC for serious things, for work and to save photos, videos or important documents.
The old one instead could become the computer to surf the internet freely, without too much fear of catching viruses and therefore without any concern of losing important data.
You could even leave it without antivirus or other security programs that weigh down the system.
A program that protects and cancels the changes made in this way could be enough. If the PC becomes infected with the worst viruses and freezes, everything is correctly restored on reboot.
You can think of this PC as if it were the location of an internet point, perhaps with a protected configuration and separate profiles, so everyone can go to their Facebook page, play flash games, chat on their Messenger and so on (avoiding the online bank site or those, such as RyanAir or Paypal, where the credit card is to be used).
Again, you can use Linux (Ubuntu!), Which is very fast for surfing the internet, or Windows XP.
5) Create a server reachable, via the internet, all over the world, for music, for a website, for streaming videos, for storing photos and so on.
There are several ways to easily create a server but the easiest that comes to mind is with the use of the Opera Unite program.
Using a computer as a server means being able to use this PC, without a monitor, leaving it always on and always connected to the internet.
In this way, all resources shared through the program used will be visible and usable from any other PC on the internet.
6) Create a home NAS or file server .
In the old computer one or two new and inexpensive hard disks could be mounted so as to be able to save all the data and files inside them and be able to use them from the other computers connected to the network .
Creating a home network is very simple if all the computers mount Windows and you can use the old computer, without a monitor but connected to the network and always on, as a computer archive in which to store the thousands of photos taken, the films, the videos, the documents etc.
It becomes like having an online backup only that you can access it only from your home PC and not from the outside.
A NAS is basically a collection of hard drives connected to a LAN.
With disk sharing it is possible to use hard drives placed inside the old PC as easily accessible backup units.
The easiest way to make a NAS would be with FreeNAS that you download and install on a USB stick or as a LIVE CD.
7) Dismantle the computer, dismantle it, recover the good parts and throw away the rest .
If you can't or don't want to recycle your old computer, discarding the idea of giving it to some friends, you have to throw it away.
Before throwing it away, you can have fun taking it apart, to see what's inside and take out or unscrew the good pieces, in particular, the RAM memory, the hard disk and all the cables.
The hard drive can be converted to an external hard drive by purchasing a USB case.
Processor and graphics card are probably outdated by technological evolution and it is not convenient to keep them.
Laptops are much more difficult to disassemble and, sincerely, it is not recommended to update it by changing its parts, or to keep some of it.
Before throwing a computer with a disk inside, you need to format the hard disk and permanently delete all data.
You cannot throw a computer in a normal bin, you must take it to a collection center, also called an ecological island, specialized in the disposal of electronic devices.
For example, for Rome there is the AMA website where to find the collection center closest to home.
A laptop, if it works, should never be thrown away ; you can give it away, keep it or sell it on sites like Ebay Announcements or Subito.it for no less than 80 Euros.
