Where do your old computers go?

[sandyd]

I normally just drag them into the basement and leave them there.

Normally, the old ones have some sort of faulty part or something, so I actually have a log of which computer has what problem. I convinced my supervisor to let me "steal" from the ones they are throwing out (for too expensive/hard repairs such as motherboards .etc.etc) and now I have an extra 20 in my basement.

I havent gotten to listing all of them on the log yet, but when I finish, I shall put all the computers back into working order (by swapping parts to create a frankenstien PC) and donate them to goodwill or anyone that asks for one.

[sudo-i]

I too take my to the basement. My wife calls it the computer graveyard....
I have every carcass I ever owned (with the exception of the CoCo 64... may it rest in peace)

several crates with cards that are now sooooooo dated, they need to be melted down for the platinum/gold/silver in the chips.

laptops? sure.... we got laptops...... but no luggables.

anyone need CRTs?

[Palanthas]

+1 for the frankenstien PC!

Any that I get tend to sit next to my desk in my home office until I get a chance to part them out and add the various parts to a spread-sheet/parts-list. The only thing I haven't figured out what to do with yet is the cases. I give/sell parts to friends and co-workers as they need them or when I work on other's PCs but usually don't have a need for the cases.

To bad I am not near you, I might would take a look at some of those PCs your giving away... ;)

[Psumi]

Sell or give away to a resale store like Savers, Goodwill or the coming soon Pawn America.

[TheNerdAL]

If I do have an old computer. I usually try to upgrade the parts to make it seem brand new. Right now I'm using a old computer. It had Windows XP on it and I completely installed Ubuntu on it to make it a bit better. I'm going to upgrade the video card and add more ram. I might upgrade it some more if needed.

[Cope57]

Rebuild it.

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.th.jpg (http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.jpg)

[TheNerdAL]

I too take my to the basement. My wife calls it the computer graveyard....
I have every carcass I ever owned (with the exception of the CoCo 64... may it rest in peace)

several crates with cards that are now sooooooo dated, they need to be melted down for the platinum/gold/silver in the chips.

laptops? sure.... we got laptops...... but no luggables.

anyone need CRTs?

I think my old tv needs that because it turned off one day. D:

[lisati]

Rebuild it.

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.th.jpg (http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.jpg)

Interesting looking machine(s)......

[ubunterooster]

My father insists we keep 3.5 floppies and drives, 5.5 floppies and drives, video cards for slots that are inexsistent, RAM of freakish types, old 12mb hdd..."just in case". I say a lot of it is to old to do anything other than throw away. Of course, he thinks we do not need a new computer now while the MOBO fails to see USB in 94% of boots. Aaagh! reboot, reboot, reboot... It takes bout an hour to get a good boot last time I tried. It's been on for 3 months now. When it dies, it too will likely be kept "just in case"

[Rainulf]

I give mine away.. with Ubuntu in it! ;)

Rebuild it.

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.th.jpg (http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.jpg)

lol nice.

[renkinjutsu]

Rebuild it.

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.th.jpg (http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.jpg)

What are you running to make that cluster work? I'm interested in building a cluster myself, for educational purposes


back on topic.. There are no obsolete computers in my house.. if there's a gadget, someone claims it.

[NoaHall]

What are you running to make that cluster work? I'm interested in building a cluster myself, for educational purposes


back on topic.. There are no obsolete computers in my house.. if there's a gadget, someone claims it.

I have CentOS on mine, switched from Fedora.

[renkinjutsu]

Are you using the luci/ricci configuration? it's pretty much broken on my Fedora 12

[TheNerdAL]

Rebuild it.

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.th.jpg (http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.jpg)

I'm a newb to Computer components and all that stuff, but are those Motherboards clustered into where? Router?

[paydaydaddy]

I don't really have any old computers, but I do have a lot of parts that I keep in a large closet upstairs. There is a pretty good new and used computer parts store locally that I have donated a few pci cards and monitors to over the years. I have put together a number of "Frankenstein" systems and given to nieces, nephews, friends, etc. I am actually a little short on cases right now. I try not to let too much stuff just sit around. If I don't have a foreseeable use for it, I try to figure out a way to get it out of the house.

[CharlesA]

I'm a newb to Computer components and all that stuff, but are those Motherboards clustered into where? Router?

This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_%28computing%29) might help.

As for mine, they usually get freecycled or recycled if they don't work.

[TheNerdAL]

This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_%28computing%29) might help.

As for mine, they usually get freecycled or recycled if they don't work.

Sweettt!!!! Also, what is a person called who knows a lot about computers and programming and stuff? I Want to get into that kind of stuff. :D

[lisati]

Sweettt!!!! Also, what is a person called who knows a lot about computers and programming and stuff? I Want to get into that kind of stuff. :D

Short answer: TheNerdAL

You might be surprised with what you actually DO know and what you can bring to the forums, and how quickly you'll learn what you need to know.

[TheNerdAL]

Short answer: TheNerdAL

You might be surprised with what you actually DO know and what you can bring to the forums, and how quickly you'll learn what you need to know.

Awesome, lol. I want to be in the Linux team as a part of one of my careers. I want to know about computers and how they work, because I love recycling and reusing old computers and I Want to cluster old computers with upgraded hardware and use that like for something. :P

[madhi19]

You remove one side of a computer case and it make one nice metal box. That what I did when I striped bare an old celeron and used the case to hold my car tools!

[TheNerdAL]

You remove one side of a computer case and it make one nice metal box. That what I did when I striped bare an old celeron and used the case to hold my car tools!

What did you do with the components? You better not have thrown them away!

[NoaHall]

Awesome, lol. I want to be in the Linux team as a part of one of my careers. I want to know about computers and how they work, because I love recycling and reusing old computers and I Want to cluster old computers with upgraded hardware and use that like for something. :P

"The Linux team". Explain what you mean by that?

[oldsoundguy]

The State of Oregon has an electronics collection system. Most computer stores and electronics shops will take anything from boxes of isa cards .. cables .. towers .. telephones .. televisions .. anything that contains valuable precious metals.

The state then picks the stuff up at regular intervals and then it is transported to a recycle center that process the items in a "green" fashion.

It made several millions of dollars that went back into the state coffers.

[aldld]

I donate my old computers to FreeGeek Vancouver (http://freegeekvancouver.org/), so that they either recycle them or reuse them. And the best part is, if they end up reusing them, they install Ubuntu!

[TheNerdAL]

"The Linux team". Explain what you mean by that?

I read somewhere on Wikipedia that people get a Linux degree or something like that. I want to get that.

[airbag]

i have been building my own computers for a while. i feel like i like building them more than using them. i have several old laptops and desktops that i have collected over the years. the ones i built before i graduated high school are still at my parents in a closet probably. the rest are here at my house or wherever else i can store them, some are at my shop, and others i gave away.

[TheNerdAL]

i have been building my own computers for a while. i feel like i like building them more than using them. i have several old laptops and desktops that i have collected over the years. the ones i built before i graduated high school are still at my parents in a closet probably. the rest are here at my house or wherever else i can store them, some are at my shop, and others i gave away.

You should cluster them.

[witeshark17]

My oldest computer will soon go to recycling. :KS

[sandyd]

I read somewhere on Wikipedia that people get a Linux degree or something like that. I want to get that.

http://lpic.org. I got a LPIC-1 and 2, but I havent found time to get to 3.... there is also the ubuntu certification classes you can take online.

[TheNerdAL]

http://lpic.org. I got a LPIC-1 and 2, but I havent found time to get to 3.... there is also the ubuntu certification classes you can take online.

Thanks and yeah that one.

[sandyd]

Thanks and yeah that one.

oops. wrong link... should be http://lpi.org

[ubunterooster]

Those classes sound like a good idea, but lets try to keep things more on topic :) Else threads get closed, and I've seen this way too often in the past two weeks. (perhaps partly due to the Mite leaving?)

[lisati]

oops. wrong link... should be http://lpc.org

Typo? The one I was redirected to looks like a political site.

[sandyd]

Typo? The one I was redirected to looks like a political site.

typing on a cellphone is hard. I rest my case. <back_on_topic_please?>

[lisati]

typing on a cellphone is hard. I rest my case. <back_on_topic_please?>

Ah that's better! Looks like I've found the page you meant now - it looks interesting. Thanks. (I sometimes find I press the wrong thing on my phone too.)

[chessnerd]

Well, I try to have the old computers go to work. However, in the creation of the FrankenPuter desktop in my sig, two computers have been gutted, so there are technically two non-working computers in my possession, one in the basement and one in the garage.

I'm going to try to combine the two gutted desktops into a server or firewall machine this summer. So then I'll have a working machine and one even more gutted machine. However, if I find someone who really needs a desktop computer, I'm planning on turning that server into a Linux box with a personally configured version of Lubuntu 10.04 on it (cause I'm just that nice :)).

My basement has 2 older working desktops that see regular use. The one in my sig is from 2001, then there is one I got a couple of weeks ago from my aunt that's from 2004. There is also a semi-working desktop (from 1996).

The "semi-working" computer is running a crippled Windows 95 install. I'm thinking of putting a Linux CLI only install on it so I can learn the command line, although if I can find something smaller than DSL with a GUI I might put it on there. However, I fear that the system may be too old to be of much use...

[Barrucadu]

I hang on to them, storing them in my rather small bedroom; most have had some sort of hardware failure, but I have few enough of them to know which computers have what problems (without needing to keep a log).

The next time my school does a site-wide computer upgrade (perhaps this summer), I'm going to investigate getting some of the old computers. They're not bad machines, but not brilliant either. I mostly just want a load of components so I can build a small beowulf cluster for fun.

[fela]

In my room I have 6 old computers. Only one of them is in working order, the rest are from the 90s and are mainly just carcasses.

What do I do with old computers that work or have a chance of getting working again? I dunno, right now the working one below my desk is doing nothing...I already have a server so there's no point making it into that.

[RandomJoe]

In my poor-college-student past, when I was scavenging spare parts from anywhere to build my contraptions, by the time I quit using something it was truly worthless. Usually it had completely died on me.

Now I'm far better off financially, so my "unused" stuff is still reasonably decent (I still tend to keep computers much longer than most) and I have several friends/family who are unable to afford newer kit that are happy to take donations! :)

The latest round of upgrading will see me giving away the newest kit yet - a couple of 2.4GHz P4 systems with plenty of RAM and HDD. I'm working on home energy efficiency, and machines that run 100+ watts at idle just don't make the cut, when I can replace with machines that perform as well or better and use 1/4 the power. So my old servers (really just desktop systems) will soon become a friend's upgrade.

[Frogs Hair]

My city has a recycling pickup point for a company that extracts the metals for reuse . Some companies
have been caught shipping computers and cell phones to 3rd world countries to be dumped. Electronic
products contain many toxins that pollute ground water sources .

[gjoellee]

They become m seedboxes

[NoaHall]

http://lpic.org. I got a LPIC-1 and 2, but I havent found time to get to 3.... there is also the ubuntu certification classes you can take online.

A Ubuntu certification is worthless for those who want to work for real, big companies.

[ubunterooster]

Is there a directory of places that recycle them?
@Noahall: please stay on topic

[oldsoundguy]

call your local waste disposal agency. They will let you know if and where there are pick up stations.

As I pointed out in a prior post, the State of Oregon has bins in every computer shop, be they retail or repair only. And they take anything and everything electronic.

In California in the bay area there is a commercial outfit based out of Gilroy that recycles. Not sure how they go about pickup, but if you live there, worth a call to almost any computer shop and JUST ASK.

(oh.. and there is a kit to turn an older Mac into a desktop aquarium . but you still have to get rid of the stuff inside the case!)

[cascade9]

My old computers get used for parts- sometimes they are in 'storage' (under the house, etc) for a while but sooner or later, 90% of my live parts get reused, then the systems given away to friends, relatives, or just donated to some sort of charity.

In part because I hatev seeing good stuff go to waste, in part because of where they go if you throw them out.


My city has a recycling pickup point for a company that extracts the metals for reuse . Some companies
have been caught shipping computers and cell phones to 3rd world countries to be dumped. Electronic
products contain many toxins that pollute ground water sources .

They arent dumped, normally. Instead, they get pulled apart to get all the bits of gold/cadmium/lead/copper/etc out of them...in pretty horrific ways. Watch a doco called 'maunfactured landscapes'-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufactured_Landscapes

As far as I know, china is where the vast majority of the worlds 'recycling' of dead computer parts goes on. I'm pretty sure that the US has some laws against exporting dead computers, but it gets bypassed all the time.

[audiomick]

I don't have a lot in the way of old machines, but the two I had here got passed on to someone who was interested in the old Mac himself and scavenged the old PC and distributed the parts to people who could use them. I have a laptop here that has a possibly terminal fault, but I don't know if I want to try and fix it or get rid of it. If I do, it will go to be recycled.

[gemmakaru]

I always tend to give my fourth oldest away, either without a hd or I stick whatever Linux I am using at the time on it so the new owner can at least use it. </big fat grin>

[PC_load_letter]

A Ubuntu certification is worthless for those who want to work for real, big companies.

Kind of agree, but what would be a good Linux certificate then, RHEL's?

[PC_load_letter]

As for the OP's question, what you're doing is great but I myself don't have the time to restore these old PCs to a good working shape again so I just recycle them. Where I live, BestBuy is the place to recycle computer peripherals, I just found out actually, I have an old hp PC and scanner that need to go there.

[dnairb]

... silicon heaven, of course!

(I can't believe no-one has responded with this answer. Um.. actually that is probably a reference only Brits who watched Red Dwarf would get anyway)

More realistically, I "butcher" old machines, reuse parts where possible, give away bits I don't/can't use, or take them to our local household waste site, where old electronics are collected and recycled.

[xpod]

I`m a bit of a late starter but old computers have been part of my life since i began using the things just over 4 years ago now.
My first, second and third computers where all the old Desktops of family & friends and it was those old, very messed up Windows machines that gave me a taste for the things and indeed it was those first 4 months with wonky Windows that made it all the more pleasing to discover that there were in fact alternatives to Windows.
Things might have been so so different had i started this adventure with a brand new, problem free Windows machine. My own stubbornness prevented that ever happening thankfully.

I eventually bought the parts and built my first new Desktop a couple of years later and by that time i`d went through quite a few other old machines, upgrading with Ebay along the way and providing our older kids, as well as other people, with their very own machines.
The kids all eventually got their own new machines of course but the old ones still kept/keep coming.
Most i have set up, configured and passed onto others along the way but i personally still like an old one or two lying around to mess about with.

I`ve probably had about 30 unloved machines given to me along the way. Desktops,laptops and even the odd netbook.....with many being taken as payment for fixing the people in questions newest machines, the ones they needlessly bought to replace the supposedly broken ones with that i end up with.
They mostly all end up going to good homes though, that`s the main thing.

[ubunterooster]

everybodies' old computers go to NASA. lol

[NightwishFan]

Computer Valhalla..

Actually my old hardware that still runs I salvage for something. I had a 128mb machine (until recently) that I used for random file server. It had a newer disk. I installed puppy on it and then donated. My other machine was very modern, with 1gb of RAM I donated to a family I know needed a computer. It is running Ubuntu Karmic 64-bit. I give them free support of course. ;)

Ubuntu is epic for school work and multimedia. I customized their install with a bunch of free software and games (since they do not have the internet yet). I added Shiki Colors, Audacity, and they have legal mp3 support with Fluendo.

[6SPEED]

I decided to clear out some of my old pc stuff. So I built 3 computers from all the parts and just gave them to family and friends that didn't have a pc. Everyone should have a pc, even if it is only a Pentium II 450MHz.

[Dayofswords]

Rebuild it.

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.th.jpg (http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3073/clusterfullsize3lg.jpg)

OOOMMMGGG

what do you have that baby do?!

also i keep every pc i've owned

[cascade9]

OOOMMMGGG

what do you have that baby do?!

also i keep every pc i've owned

Honestly? (no offence Cope57)- impress people and not much more that a a modern quad-core wont do faster. It looks to me like 10 x P3s on Intel 810/815 chipset motherboards, looks cool but has less power than you might guess...

[Dayofswords]

Honestly? (no offence Cope57)- impress people and not much more that a a modern quad-core wont do faster. It looks to me like 10 x P3s on Intel 810/815 chipset motherboards, looks cool but has less power than you might guess...

impressed none-the-less by the setup

[The Real Dave]

They come to my house and become young again :)

[Endomancer]

Iv only ever bought one computer, about 5yrs ago and I'm still using it, right now in fact. Although I have replaced all the peripherals and given away the old ones as they were replaced except the ATi card I replaced earlier this week.

My other computer "the dinosaur" which is even older, my mum rescued from someone's throw out pile. The monitor is getting ready for the big decompiler in the sky, but the rest got a new lease in life when I put a puppy in it's disc drive

[sdowney717]

they goto Africa
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7543489.stm

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44893000/jpg/_44893853_cablesburning466.jpg



Goal posts

Agbobloshie may well be leading in the competition to find 101 uses for an obsolete PC.

A game of football is under way in a clearing and upturned computers provide a seat for a bored goalkeeper.


My research shows that about 90% of the computers are just junk
Environmental journalist Mike Anane

PCs even provide rickety stepping stones over a toxic bog in one area of the rubbish dump.

As people tip-toe across the "crazy paving" of obsolete monitor casings, they balance bags of recyclable computer innards on their heads.

They are heading for the fires where bundles of computer cables are thrown.

Thick black smoke blows across the site seven days a week. In order to retrieve the valuable copper from the cables, the plastic coating is burnt off and old car tyres are thrown on to the flames to keep the fires burning.

You are fortunate that the internet does not provide you with a sense of smell because Agbobloshie is a real test for the nostrils.

In addition to the toxic e-waste, the discarded rubbish and the acrid smoke which blows over the suburb, it is also a huge open air toilet.

People work there seven days a week, taking showers after a brief visit, and the water runs black down the plug hole.

[Cope57]

Honestly? (no offence Cope57)- impress people and not much more that a a modern quad-core wont do faster. It looks to me like 10 x P3s on Intel 810/815 chipset motherboards, looks cool but has less power than you might guess...

None taken,

Ten years ago it was a beast, but computers today are super computers compared to then. I recycled it about four years ago, maybe I will build another one with more modern parts when my money situation improves.

[Khakilang]

Dissect it and use whatever part is working and build another computer running Ubuntu or any Distro that is comfortable with the hardware. The rest of the parts will be sold or give to recycling.

[Rasa1111]

my old computers also get fixed up and given away to whoever wants them.
unless they are beyond what my hands/mind can do, then I gut them and use/share the good parts. lol

[Maarek Stele]

Franken-Ubuntu-server.

[Tig3rzhark]

I try to install a linux distro that will run it. If I can't sell it for a cheap price, then I'll donate to someone that could use a computer.

An example: I have a Gateway Pentium 4 that's sitting in my living room that I rarely use. I had ubuntu on there but it was running pretty slow, so I installed xubuntu in hopes that that distro would run a lot faster.

Only problem is, that sometimes, it crashes if you leave it idle for too long. Even after I maxed out the memory, it still doesn't help. It probably needs a new P4 chip or worse, a new mobo.

[tom66]

All my old computers are under my bed.

But they all still work if you give them a HDD & PSU (they are mostly motherboards and cases.)

[Zoot7]

In my case they invariably either become Home Theatre PCs or Torrentslaves.
Or if it's a more up to date machine, sometimes I'll sell the parts to a friend or someone else who would have use for them.

[tica vun]

If they're too ancient to be sold, I take them to the trash bin. Otherwise, sell them.

I don't attach sentimental value to machines.

[handy]

I keep on using the same full tower case (No.2. these days). It was an AT, I converted it to ATX. Whenever it eventually comes time to upgrade I'll pull the motherboard & associated plugins out & stick new bits in.

The old motherboard & associated bits (if still working) will go into another case that I have laying around & do whatever I require.

[Pikestaff]

They go into my closet. I drag them out and play with them sometimes when I'm feeling inspired.

[Jordanwb]

Frankenstein computers for the most part. If they're really old I just junk the case, keep the screws and the mobo standoffs and give the PCB's to a teacher that recycles the parts and gets money for it.

Anyone want a AMD K6 processor?

[eriktheblu]

If I have a purpose for the hardware, I employ it.

Memory chip here, sound card there, NIC in case I want to build a server.

In many cases I will re-purpose an entire machine. With my most recent acquisition, my old machine became a DVR (with Mythbuntu). When a part ceases to be useful, I toss it.

My machine before that was re-purposed to simply run a browser (on Ubuntu to protect my XP machine from the evil internets)

I think my ex took the win95 machine.

[samalex]

We're having a house built which should be ready in a month, and having sold our house in February we're crammed into an apartment. While getting ready to move I had to clear out my computer collection so most of my stuff went to Goodwill.

I wish I would've had time to put some of it on EBay or find a better home, but all my older Tandy systems, a full IBM 5150 system (with monitor and keyboard), and lots of older 286, 386, and 486 systems all went ... and probably just got recycled. I did keep my Tandy Color Computer 2 and 3, Commodore Amiga 500, Mac Classic, and Apple ][ which are in storage until we get settled into the new place. I want to setup a workshop either in a shed in the back (if I can ever get one built) or in the garage, so we'll see.

As for computers that are still somewhat modern and just have no need for, I normally pass them off to folks in our LUG.

Sam

[suyashpandit]

donated to my friend

[Maheriano]

I also take mine to the basement, I have 9 now. One day I'll set them all up with their respective operating systems and get them all working as they once were to create a computer museum. I think it'd be fun to see some kids start at one end with the Commodore64, try to play some games or print a letter. Then move up through DOS, Windows 95/98 and eventually to Windows 7, all running on their respective hardware from the period.

[lonewolfandcub]

My favourite passtime is Frankenstein-ing computers that others would reject. Right now I'm running Ubuntu 9.1 on an old PII with a cpu that runs 350 mhz, and a whopping 381mb of RAM. Right beside it is an old Mac G3 that I managed to ressucitate with a lot of help from Apple support. As for Windows- it's gone from my life!:P