Make Your Old Computer Ready for Its Next Owner
By Kirk Steers, PC World
Are you expecting a new PC in your stocking this year? Then it's time to think about what you'll do with your old system. Repurpose? Recycle? Donate? Pass it on to a friend or relative? Here are ideas on how to prepare your PC for giveaway.
MOVING DAY
Transfer your files: To move your personal files from the old PC to your new one, install both systems on a network, or connect them directly with a file-transfer cable (browse to find.pcworld.com/54960 for instructions). Or use the free Pando online service (www.pando.com/beta) to e-mail all your files to the new PC. Pando uses BitTorrent peer-to-peer technology for fast transfers that bypass size limits on e-mail attachments. (The files are stored on Pando's servers for 14 days.)
Wipe your old data: Once your files are on the new PC, erase them on the old system if you don't plan to keep it. A hacker or identity thief won't be deterred by your simply deleting the files, or even reformatting or repartitioning the hard drive. If you want to leave Windows and your installed software intact, use Webroot's $30 Window Washer utility, which eradicates personal data, history files, log files, and so on, but leaves your operating system and apps in place (go to find.pcworld.com/54962 for the 30-day trial version). To erase the hard drive completely (the OS, applications, and all), overwrite it repeatedly with a disk-wipe utility such as the free Active@ Kill Disk Hard Drive Eraser (find.pcworld.com/54961).
Collect your docs: If you're handing down your system, include all of its manuals, OS and application CDs, and registration or license numbers, The motherboard or system manual is especially important for adding more memory often the cheapest way to extend the life of an old PC--because it identifies the motherboard and compatible RAM, If you can't find your manual or access one on the PC maker's Web site, the flee Belarc Advisor (find.pcworld.com/54965) will identify the motherboard's model number.
Give it one last tune-up: Give your old PC a final checkup and cleaning as a courtesy to its next owner. See "Complete PC Preventive Maintenance Guide" at find.pcworld.com/54966 for instructions.
Find it a new home: Most donation programs take any working PCs and monitors, as well as some nonfunctioning systems. Visit find.pcworld.com/54967 for more information on donating a PC.
Goodwill Industries (http://www.goodwill.org/) is one of several charities that take all PCs and recycle those that can't be reused. (They may charge a small fee. For example, Goodwill's program is free only in Michigan; San Francisco, California; Austin, Texas; and certain other areas. Check with your local Goodwill office.) Don't dump it: Many recyclers charge from $10 to $40 per PC or monitor, but free recycling services abound, such as the Goodwill programs mentioned above and government-sponsored recyclers. Go to find.pcworld.com/55534 for more on Dell's free recycling program, which accepts equipment from all vendors.
A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING
Wondering what to get the gadget geek on the go? How about a place to stash all those shiny, expensive gizmos? ScotteVest (http://www.scottevest.com/) offers a line of jackets and other clothing designed to conceal and comfortably store PDAs, cell phones, MP3 players, and even laptops. The SeV Fleece 4.0 jacket (find.pcworld.com/54988)--about $140 at this writing--has 12 connected pockets that keep my usual digital payload well out of the way, but easily accessible when I'm on the road. I can even run earphones from any pocketed device through the jacket up to the collar, where loops hold the earbuds in place (see FIGURE 1).
MOVING DAY
Transfer your files: To move your personal files from the old PC to your new one, install both systems on a network, or connect them directly with a file-transfer cable (browse to find.pcworld.com/54960 for instructions). Or use the free Pando online service (www.pando.com/beta) to e-mail all your files to the new PC. Pando uses BitTorrent peer-to-peer technology for fast transfers that bypass size limits on e-mail attachments. (The files are stored on Pando's servers for 14 days.)
Wipe your old data: Once your files are on the new PC, erase them on the old system if you don't plan to keep it. A hacker or identity thief won't be deterred by your simply deleting the files, or even reformatting or repartitioning the hard drive. If you want to leave Windows and your installed software intact, use Webroot's $30 Window Washer utility, which eradicates personal data, history files, log files, and so on, but leaves your operating system and apps in place (go to find.pcworld.com/54962 for the 30-day trial version). To erase the hard drive completely (the OS, applications, and all), overwrite it repeatedly with a disk-wipe utility such as the free Active@ Kill Disk Hard Drive Eraser (find.pcworld.com/54961).
Collect your docs: If you're handing down your system, include all of its manuals, OS and application CDs, and registration or license numbers, The motherboard or system manual is especially important for adding more memory often the cheapest way to extend the life of an old PC--because it identifies the motherboard and compatible RAM, If you can't find your manual or access one on the PC maker's Web site, the flee Belarc Advisor (find.pcworld.com/54965) will identify the motherboard's model number.
Give it one last tune-up: Give your old PC a final checkup and cleaning as a courtesy to its next owner. See "Complete PC Preventive Maintenance Guide" at find.pcworld.com/54966 for instructions.
Find it a new home: Most donation programs take any working PCs and monitors, as well as some nonfunctioning systems. Visit find.pcworld.com/54967 for more information on donating a PC.
Goodwill Industries (http://www.goodwill.org/) is one of several charities that take all PCs and recycle those that can't be reused. (They may charge a small fee. For example, Goodwill's program is free only in Michigan; San Francisco, California; Austin, Texas; and certain other areas. Check with your local Goodwill office.) Don't dump it: Many recyclers charge from $10 to $40 per PC or monitor, but free recycling services abound, such as the Goodwill programs mentioned above and government-sponsored recyclers. Go to find.pcworld.com/55534 for more on Dell's free recycling program, which accepts equipment from all vendors.
A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING
Wondering what to get the gadget geek on the go? How about a place to stash all those shiny, expensive gizmos? ScotteVest (http://www.scottevest.com/) offers a line of jackets and other clothing designed to conceal and comfortably store PDAs, cell phones, MP3 players, and even laptops. The SeV Fleece 4.0 jacket (find.pcworld.com/54988)--about $140 at this writing--has 12 connected pockets that keep my usual digital payload well out of the way, but easily accessible when I'm on the road. I can even run earphones from any pocketed device through the jacket up to the collar, where loops hold the earbuds in place (see FIGURE 1).
FIGURE 1: KEEP YOUR GADGETS In reach--and earshot--via ScotteVest's fleece jacket.
posted by James at 10:37 AM
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