10 Useful Things To Do With Your Old Laptop

PARUL RITVIK SOOD

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.