Giving away your old computer 6 - Bonus Additions

by Adam West | More from this Blogger

18 Mar 2006 03:00 PM

Before you dump your old computer off on a friend or family member, it is a good idea to take a little time and clean it up. You can also set up the computer so its a functional machine that can at least check email, browse the Internet, edit digital photos, listen to digital music, and type a letter or two. If you are feeling really generous, or are giving the computer to a child for college, you may want to spend a little extra time and money before giving away the computer. This last blog is a series about giving away your old computer will cover some "it would be nice" additions to an old computer before giving it away.

In case you missed the first five parts of this blog, here they are:

Deleting files

Erasing files

Transferring ownership of software

Installing security software

Installing application software

New hard drive

Hard disk drives are one of the most likely computer components to fail with use over time (check out a blog I wrote about this). If you are giving away an old computer, one assumption is that the hard drive is at least a few years old. If this assumption is true, you may think about replacing or adding another hard disk drive to the system before giving it away. If you check the weekly advertisements from popular electronics stores such as Best Buy or Circuit City (both available online), you will be able to find large hard drives for cheap. A 200GB hard drive, for example, can easily be found for under $100. The advantage of a new hard drive is two fold. One, the new hard drive is newer and less likely to quickly fail due to its age. Two, the new hard drive is most likely larger than the original, adding more storage space for audio and video files, as well data backups.

Fresh Windows install

Regardless of your decision to insert a new hard drive, a freshly installed version of Windows will help the computer function at its best. If you install a new hard drive, you can install Windows on it. If a new drive isn't installed, after backing up any important files, you can reformat the hard drive and re-install Windows. A fresh installation of Windows also resets all of the default settings, thus giving the new owner an opportunity to customize the computer settings according to his or her own desires. After you install Windows, be sure to install the security and application software that we discussed in earlier blogs (see links above).

Related manuals, paperwork, and discs

Since you are giving away the computer, you probably won't need the manuals and paperwork for the computer and its related components. Gather all of the manuals, installation guides, and paperwork you can find and send them off with the computer. Try to include any installation discs too so the new owner has access to needed files and information if any questions arise.

Learn more about Adam West

Adam is avid computer and electronics hobbyist. He and his young family call central Texas home. His love of the application of multimedia and electronics has lead him to Families.

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Nicole Humphrey (15757) 19 Mar 2006 12:33 AM

Adam, great posts. I loved the whole series. Very informative!