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Your Computer: Upgrade or Toss?by Barbara Moore All of us like to believe that the equipment we use everyday – cars, furnaces, televisions, hair blow dryers, etc. – will keep working as well as the day we bought them. But that is a daydream. We know at some time we will face the decision of whether money to have the equipment repaired would be well-spent or better used toward replacing it. Making that decision can be stressful. Well, maybe not so stressful if it's your blow dryer that conked out. This decision even can be harder to make when it comes to your computer. In addition to the repair or replace question, you face the task of transferring programs and data from the old computer to the new and getting rid of the old computer. Consider the following information when your computer starts to slow down or is not as reliable as it once was. Fast Fixes for Slow PCs A slow computer may be an easy fix. Check for spyware. Spyware are small programs that "hide" on your computer, working in the background to gather information, usually for advertising purposes. They slow down your computer. Two free programs you can use to get rid of spyware are Ad-Aware SE and SpyBot - Search & Destroy. Both can be downloaded from download.com (www.download.com). Another inexpensive way to speed up your computer is to install more memory. Check to see how much memory your computer has by clicking on Start then Control Panel then double-click System. (If you don't see System, click first on Performance & Maintenance.) In the General tab you will see the amount of memory on your computer displayed such as "256 MB of RAM." If you have less than 256, add more memory. Memory comes in different types. You need to buy the type that works with your computer. A salesperson at a computer store can help you. Or go to crucial.com or kingston.com and type in your computer manufacturer and model to determine what type of memory you need. These web sites also have step-by-step instructions on how to install the memory. Memory typically costs between $40 and $80. When It's Time to Buy a New PC If your computer's age is three years or older, or does not use the Windows XP operating system, you may be better off buying a new computer. The average life cycle of a computer is three to five years. Win XP is more stable than older operating systems. Programs usually install and run better with Win XP. A green Start button in the lower left corner of your screen tells you that your computer uses Win XP. You may also want to buy a new computer if you use your computer for video or photo editing, or playing high-end computer games. These activities require larger hard drives, more memory, high-end graphic cards and larger monitors. If you primarily use your computer to send e-mail, surf the Internet, write letters, keep spreadsheets, and store photos and music, an inexpensive computer (less than $500 without a monitor) will work for you. Be sure to buy 512 MB of memory and at least 80 gigabytes (GB) of hard drive storage. Buy even a larger hard drive if you plan to store lots of photos and music files. Also buy a combination cd-rom reader/DVD burner drive. You can store more information on a DVD and prices are reasonable. If you purchase a laptop, consider getting the extended warranty. Laptops are more expensive to repair and more likely to be damaged than desktop computers. Make a list of all the programs and data you need to move from your old computer to the new one. Data may include text documents, spreadsheets, photos, music, e-mail messages, address books, and browser favorites. The store where you bought your computer may help you set up the new computer and transfer data from the old. Or you can hire a computer tech person to do this. Don't get rid of your old computer right away. Keep it until you are sure there is nothing on it that you need. Then delete all data, including passwords and banking information, and "scrub" the hard drive. Scrubbing is a process of rewriting deleted files with meaningless data so that no computer-savvy person can read the deleted files. Go to pcworld.com and search by "erase files" for scrubbing programs. Stash It or Trash It? Most trash companies and landfills will not accept computers, so getting rid of your old computer will take some effort. Just because your computer still runs, does not mean that a local charity or organization will want it. The same is true for a computer reseller. Because computers become obsolete so quickly, they are difficult to give away. You may need to pay a fee to a computer recycle business to take your computer. Included is a list of local businesses you can contact about your old computer. If you are like me, you may have a corner in your basement where you place all your old equipment and other unused items. We believe that one day we will haul everything out to the driveway, have a garage sale and with the profits take a winter trip to Florida. Yes, we all like to daydream. But ultimately, those dollars may be best invested in fixing or upgrading your computer. Where to take your old computer Charlie McKernan, of Rochester Computer Recycling & Recovery, estimates that only five percent of all the computers people want to get rid of are worth passing on to somebody else. He states that the age of the computer, which determines what programs it can run and the hardware it can support, is more important than whether the computer runs or not. "You do a non-profit organization no favor by dropping off an old computer on its doorstep," he said. "They probably do not want the computer and it will cost them money to get rid of it." To donate your computer for education, contact: Micrecycle - Computer Recycling for Education To sell your computer, contact: Computer Renaissance To recycle your computer, contact: Rochester Computer Recycling & Recovery Net Results, LLC |
