Despite everyone’s assumptions, the geek inside
you is not always privy to the latest and greatest
technology. If you’re stuck with an old, slow,
crappy computer, there are a few things you can
do to make the best of a bad situation. Whether
it’s a desktop computer or a laptop, whether or
not it’s broken, and no matter how old it is, it can
still be useful to you.
1. Sell The Working Parts
You can dismantle your entire broken computer or
laptop and sell the working parts online. Hard
drive, RAM, A/C adapters, motherboards, graphics
and audio cards, and even an intact case will get
you some cash. It might not make your old laptop
useful, but you may be able to save up some
extra money to buy those cool headphones you’ve
been eyeing for months.
2. Install a Light Weight Operating System
If nothing seems to workout, one of the best
things you can do is install a new operating
system altogether. It’ll definitely shake up your
workflow, but with enough commitment, you can
use one of the many Linux-based OS to give your
computer a major speed boost. If you are already
familiar with Linux, we will recommend ArchBang,
otherwise Ubuntu or Chrome OS might work well
for you.
3. Turn it into a Wi-Fi Hotspot
Well, this one of the best things you can do with
your old laptop. Turn your laptop into a hotspot
for sharing an Internet connection via Wi-Fi.
There is a step-by-step guide on Windows XP or 7
and there is also the option of using 3rd party
software. Specifically, Connectify. If you’ve
already got a router with Wi-Fi, run Ethernet on
the laptop and with Connectify you can create a
secondary network using the same Internet
connection.
4. Use it as a Digital Photoframe
If your laptop’s screen is fine, you can use it to
build a cheap digital photo frame. With a working
wireless connection you could even make it show
your latest photos. There are loads of DIY
instructions available online. So, go ahead and
experiment.
5. Create an External Hard Drive
If parts of your laptop or desktop computer
hardware are broken, you can salvage the working
parts. So if the hard drive is still working, you can
dismount it and transform it into an external and
portable hard drive for your new computer. You’ll
have to invest in a USB caddy, which can be
bought online easily.
6. Use it as a back-up machine
Lets face it, in this digital world we are struggling
with information overload. The floods of
gigabytes have taken over our lives, be it
professional or personal. This is where your old
laptop can be useful for you. Use it as a back-up
machine where you can save your photos,
documents and video.
7. Home server for file sharing
Heard about network attached storage? It is like a
server for your home or small business network,
used for storing files that you share with all the
PCs on a particular network. If you’ve got an old
PC with lots of storage drive space, you don’t
need to buy a NAS, you can make one. FreeNAS is
a software program for doing just that, and it’s
then accessible by any OS on your network.
FreeNAS will also stream media to mobile
Operating Systems like iOS and Android and you
can even control the user access.
8. Turn it into a guitar amp
You can turn your laptop into a guitar-ripping
audio workstation. Using an older laptop that
might not have the fastest processor will work for
basic MIDI programming by connecting an audio
interface and controlling a virtual amp.
9. Home Surveillance
If that laptop has an integrated webcam (most of
them do), you can put it for a good use. Reinstall
Windows XP or higher and grab a copy of iSpy.
Use it to monitor the house, employees,
babysitters, kids, pets, and more. You can
covertly or overtly watch the goings-on via a Web
page or apps on iOS and Android.
10. Turn it into a Media station
Load all your music and videos onto this
computer, if necessary, supply it with an external
hard drive. You can now set up your favorite
media player, listen to Last.fm, install a TV tuner
card, record movies, record music from radio
stations, download MP3s, stream music
throughout the house using wireless speakers
