Your used computer can be a treasured gift
Cox News Service
January 6, 2008
Sometimes the best thing you can do with a computer is give it away.
If that sounds familiar, it's because I say it around this time every year. Many of you got computers for Christmas, which means you may have a surplus machine sitting around. The worst place for an extra computer is an attic or basement, where it will just take up space until dampness or critters destroy it.
|
More "Technobuddy" |
Let someone use it instead.
It could go to a member of your extended family, or to a friend's family. Or you could check with your church or synagogue, a civic club you belong to, or a school.
Young people enjoy messing with computers. And, for old people, the Web and e-mail enable travel to places where legs will no longer go.
A computer that was cruising the Web, writing letters and e-mails, and helping create documents before the holiday season is still capable of doing all that, probably for quite a while to come.
I enjoy finding someone who would enjoy having the old computer. But there are also organizations that take old computers and refurbish them. I live in Atlanta, and the group closest to me is called Tech Corps Georgia. You can find information on making a donation at this Web address: www.techcorpsga.org/donate/freebytes.htm. If you live in another area, just use Google and type in this search: donate computer
Many of you want to give a computer away but worry — with good cause — about the information it contains. You've been around long enough to know that merely erasing, or even reformatting, the hard disk isn't a surefire method of getting rid of data.
Here's what I do with a computer that I plan to donate: I open the case and remove the hard disk. Some people physically destroy the hard disk, and there's nothing wrong with that. I simply stick the hard disk in a drawer.
That way, if I need some data from the old computer and can't rely on my backup data, I can retrieve it by temporarily installing the hard drive as a second hard disk in the new computer. That's an easy task. I'll include a link here that will offer some tips on doing that: www.pctechguide.com/tutorials/HardDrive1.htm.
In some cases, you can give the computer away without the hard disk. Other organizations may want a fully functioning computer.
There are two ways to go if you're in that boat. You can buy another hard disk — it's easy find one for $50 or less. Or you can use a program that reliably removes data. For a discussion of that process the names of various programs — including a free one — that claim to do it safely, check out www.pcworld.com/article/id,110338-page,1/article.html.
So if you have a computer that isn't being used, go ahead and have some real fun with it. Give it away.
