Create Your Own Storage System:
Imagine being connected to the entire storage network. Sounds good.
This is actually a very convenient thing you can do with your old laptop. In this way, you can keep all your data in one storage and access it from all your devices.
Storing data in the cloud is very common. You can now save your data to your personal network storage.
Most importantly, it can be accessed from anywhere on any device.
FreeNAS is the right choice. You can share files online and locally using the media streaming feature.
Is that a good idea?
Convert It Into A Range Extender Or Wi
I am quite sure you have never imagined this when you bought your laptop. But yes, this is one way to give your laptop an extended life span. By converting it into a Wi-Fi hot spot for your home.
Most of us use a router and an extender to cover areas of our home/office that are outside the range of the main router. If you havent got one, you may not need to as you can use your old laptop to accomplish the same. It can be stationed in the attic, the basement, and even the sitting area on the lawn where you spend a lot of time. It can be configured to share a wired or wireless connection by creating a wireless hotspot for other devices to connect to.;Take your old laptop and positioning it in such an area to extend the Wi-Fi coverage of your home then use the following steps from Microsoft to turn your laptop PC into a mobile hotspot.
Things To Do With An Old Computer: Sell It
Selling your used electronics saves the environment because you are;recycling the electronics that you dont use anymore. And believe it or not, theres a solid market for old tech. Between eBay and Craigslist, you should have no trouble finding someone to take an unwanted computer off your hands.
If you have a broken or even a fully functional old laptop, there are many companies online who are willing to buy your old device from you. These companies include HP, Best Buy, Target, eBay and Gazelle. There are plenty more companies who offer these services, so do a little research to see which is best for you.
Additionally, before you sell a digital device to someone you dont know take a few precautions to protect your privacy. You dont want bank account info, personal images or your browsing history lingering on your old computer.
When reselling an old computer or laptop, youre best off removing the hard drive. If you dont want to remove the hard drive, you must do more than just deleting the files,;you must wipe the hard drive so it cant be retrieved by anyone else.;The website;ifixit.com;offers tear-down tutorials to walk you through the process, and the only tool youll need to do this is a screwdriver.;There are also free downloadable softwares that will overwrite your data.
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Turn It Into A Chromebook
Welcome to Chromium, old laptop!
What is a Chromebook but a regular laptop with limited processing power and a Google-powered interface that doesn’t need a lot of processing power?
Thus, your old laptop should be more than up to the task of running that OS, which is called Chromium. Why choose that over Linux? In part because it runs nimbly on even the most modest hardware, and in part because it’s through-and-through — a fact that might appeal to Android users and others who partake of Google’s ecosystem.
Indeed, if all you want from your old PC is a web browser and cloud apps, Chromium might be your best bet. And there are at least two free and easy ways to get it: Cub Linux and Neverware’s Cloudready. I’m partial to the latter, but it’s very easy to try both.
Where To Recycle Your Laptop
You can recycle your laptop by bringing it or mailing it to a reputable electronics recycling company like GreenCitizen that can either repair and reuse it or dismantle it in an environmentally-responsible way.
San Francisco Bay Area residents dont have to look far. In our effort to make every day Earth Day, GreenCitizen offers free laptop recycling, with every machine or component being reused or recycled safely.
You can avail of our convenient drop off,;business pickup, or;IT Asset Disposition services that help us all stay green.
If youre outside the San Francisco Bay Area or you’re far from our Eco Center in Burlingame you are also welcome to mail in your notebook to us. Check out our mail-in electronics recycling page for more details.
You can also find other electronics recycling centers near you using our Green Directory.
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Turn It Into An Experimental Software Platform
Ever wanted to try your hand at terminal or go over to the dark side ? Do it with your old PCit doesnt matter if you break it! In case you ever wanted to dip your toes in Linux, Ubuntu is an easy-to-pick-up open source operating system thats heavily GUI-based, so dont worry about being buried in scripts.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of other simplified distros to ease your way into Linux, such as the lightweight Bodhi Linux or child-friendly DouDou. If you’re looking for a bigger challenge, you could dive into Arch, a distribution made for Linux power users.
Building your own Hackintosh has also become incredibly easy with this step by step guide, and Apple typically puts out its big OS updates for free, which is a nice perk.
Turn Your Old Pc Into A Media Center Pc
An old gaming computer is the perfect machine to turn into a home theater PC. You wont have to buy a new wireless keyboard and mouse to operate it either; Kodi has been refined into a simple, polished media center application that organizes all your movies, video, and music into a remote-friendly library. It’s a seamless app that runs on top of Windows, Linux, or OS X. Users wont have to look for video codecssoftware that lets you watch types of videoas the latest 17.6 “Krypton version downloads everything on its own.
A younger but perhaps even more popular home theater solution is Plex Media Center. Plex is another free, multi-OS option with a living room friendly interface and a great library system that will download all of the metadata for your TV shows and movies and organize them for you.
For anything you cant watch with Kodi or Plex , Zoom Player, VLC, and Media Player Classic – Home Cinema are very robust video players.
You can also turn your old PC into a makeshift Steam Machine by having it run Big Picture Mode, and even if its several years old, it should be able to play some of our favorite living room games. If youre building a new gaming PC, you can also set up your old rig for Steam In-Home Streaming using our guide.
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Youre Not As Safe As You Think
In 2013, a study by BSIA reported that incorrect disposal played a part in 66% of data theft cases. The results were obtained by sampling a group of UK healthcare professionals. Carelessness too often plays a role in the disposal of electronics containing personal and confidential data, leading to data breaches and identity thefts.
Where Can You Recycle Computers And Electronics
If you live in the US, check out the website of the Environmental Protection Agency for your nearest electronic recycling facility. Please dont just put your unwanted PCs and laptops into general household waste for disposal to landfill. In the UK, recycling is carried out by local councils. Not all civic amenity sites accept electronic waste, so check with your local authority to find the nearest appropriate facility.
This article is accurate and true to the best of the authors knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.
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Turn The Hard Drive As An External Hard Drive
If your hard drive of the broken laptop can still work, but the machine is unusable, you can take the disk out of your laptop and use it as an external hard drive. Or, you can install the hard drive of the damaged laptop to a desktop and let it be a second storage disk.
Tip:
Computer Recycling & Disposal
Computers play a huge role in modern life. As technology continues to advance, consumers are replacing their laptops, computers, and tablets much more often.
But when its time to upgrade, how do you handle computer disposal? Laptops and tablets are made from electrical components, plastics, glass, and chemicals, that can harm the environment if not properly thrown away. Unfortunately, many waste management companies do not accept electronics with their regular trash collection.;
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Taking Your Tech Back To The Manufacturer
Though manufacturers used to run their own consumer recycling schemes, most have since partnered with Mobile Muster and the NTCRS. It makes sense, after all, consolidation is easier for the consumer and manufacturers can let professional e-cycling organisations handle the work. But some still run their own programs as an alternative.
- Apple: you may also get credit towards the purchase of another Apple product, depending on the age of the device you’re trading in.
- Dell: offers home e-waste collection services which incurs an item collection fee of $13 – $15 and a delivery fee of $10. Drop-off points operate in Melbourne and Sydney as well, which charge $8.50 per item.
Try Selling Parts To A Computer Repair Or Rebuild Shop
Many communities have a repair shop where computer experts can fix common issues or send computers away for major repairs. These stores sometimes also buy computers that are overall non-functional but have functional parts.;
You may not get much cash for these items. However, selling them does declutter your home, and they may be willing to give you advice about discarding the rest of the computer safely. They may even take the whole thing off your hands and use it to fix other computers in the future.
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Make Your Own Surface Computer
If you have a coffee table or side table with glass top, you can turn your old laptop into a surface computer. This only works if your laptop can open flat, with hinges that goes up to 180 degrees. You will again need to fashion a carriage or mount for the laptop in order to keep the screen as close to the underside of the glass top as possible. This will also require a wireless mouse that works on glass like the Logitech MX Master or Logitech MX Anywhere and a compact wireless keyboard. You can choose to hide the rest of your laptop leaving only the screen if you want to make it look sleek. This also works on a big desk, again with glass top for users to be able to see the screen flat on the surface and to share your view.
Convert It Into A Gaming Server
If your old laptop is still running, you can convert it into a gaming server. What is a gaming server? Usually, when youre playing multiplayer games online, you connect to a server managed by the game manufacturer, which handles connections with many other players. With your own dedicated gaming server, you and your friends can play your favorite multiplayer games the way you want, with better performance and stability, rather than connecting to a potentially faulty server from a game developer.
To do this, connect the laptop to the internet and connect it to your gaming PC. If you are playing games that require a gaming server, you can set the old laptop as your server.
Take note, youll need to check if your old laptop can run programs such as Counter-Strike, STEAMCMD, and ARK. If your laptop is too old to run these, then its most likely that you cant use it as a gaming server.
For additional guidance, this video shows you how to turn a laptop into a Minecraft server.
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Ideas To Do With Your Old Laptop
Weve looked into many different options and did a lot of brainstorming sessions to come up with the best 10 tips to present to you. Some of the tips make more sense than the others, and youve probably had some of them in your mind, but one thing is for sure you will be surprised with some of the tips.
What Can You Do With A Dead Computer
Here are four environmentally-friendly ways to get rid of an old computer.
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Tv Recycling Is Possible
Televisions are larger electronics, so it might take a bit more elbow grease to get the job done, but don’t let that intimidate you. As with donating and recycling phones and laptops, there are a few things you need to know about getting rid of an old TV. If the set still works, consider donating it to a secondhand store.
If you’re able to restore it to factory settings, do so for smart TVs that are likely to contain personal information. Unplug everything, bundle the cords neatly and tape them to the unit. Use a dolly and be careful while you’re moving the TV — the potentially toxic materials in the TV could release into your house if you drop it.
A Google search will show a number of local recycling and donation centers that accept larger electronics. Best Buy, for example, allows customers to drop off their TVs in-store to be recycled for;$30 per item. Best Buy will also pick up TVs for recycle from your house for $30 when a replacement is being delivered by Geek Squad or Best Buy Home Delivery. If there’s no accompanying delivery, the pickup will cost $100.
Never throw old phones in the trash.
Change This Setting On Your Webcam:
Another good thing about cameras is that they become CCTVs in your home.
Does anyone want to use CCTV for free at home? It will be converted to a webcam.
All you have to do is download iSpy, an open-source Windows video surveillance application.
The laptop then becomes a surveillance camera and can be used to monitor anywhere in the house.
iSPy is free to use locally. However, if you use it elsewhere, you will have to spend $ 7.95 per month as a service cost.
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What Should I Do With My Old Computer
Getting rid of an old computer can be harmful to the environment if not handled properly. If the device still works, here are some other useful things you can do instead of throwing it out:;
- Donate unwanted laptops and tablets to local schools, charities, or other nonprofit organizations.
- Recycle it at a local recycling facility.
- Scrap it for parts.
- Gift it to a friend or family member.
- Use it for gaming.
- Set it up in the living room as a communal computer.
- Sell it online or to a friend.
- Use it as an experimental computer.
- Convert your old computer into a home server or network-attached storage unit.
Just because your computer is old, doesnt mean it doesnt have value. There are a ton of ways to make use of your old computer – and most of them keep e-waste out of landfills.;
How To Repurpose Your Old Tech
An aging desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet may be lacking the grunt required to meet your daily demands. But old equipment can still be useful for jobs that require a little less processing power.
Smartphones and tablets often find new life as a universal remote to control smart devices, and their various apps, around the home. You can also use them to play music and video from streaming services or a home server and cast to compatible devices.
It’s not uncommon to see an old iPad attached to the wall as a digital calendar or family planner either, and you can save a bundle on baby monitors by mounting a phone/tablet with a monitoring app above the bassinet instead.
If you have an old Android device with an IR blaster , it can make a fantastic universal remote. Using a free app such as Sure, Peel, or Anymote, you can set up your smartphone to control your TV, media centre, soundbar, even the lights in your home, all from the one app. Alternatively, you can install relevant apps for all your smart devices on an old phone or tablet, provided the operating system is compatible.
An older smartphone can be repurposed as a digital music player, which can save storage and help preserve the battery life of the phone you’re currently using. If you prefer streaming music, throw in a cheap, data-heavy prepaid SIM and stream songs without worrying about going over your limit or use the device as a Wi-Fi hotspot in your car and on the road.
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