What do you do with old computers?

You've got a new computer, now what do you do with that old one?  Luckily there are a few options for those who are looking to dispose of an old computer!

You could hand it over to your child/children to use and then setup some rules and guidelines for your younger children on proper use of the computer, Internet safety if you so desire to connect to your home network, install their favorite game(s) for fun, and have it setup so they can use it for their homework when needed.  My child, when in elementary school, every once in awhile needed to use his computer for homework - even when he was in second grade.  Of course, remove any programs or saved files of yours that you don't want your children to have access to. 

Image source: ubuntu.com

What I usually do is sell it on eBay!  You should completely erase your hard drive and install a fresh operating system going this route.  If you provide the computer with Windows you will have to be sure to include the proper product key and/or COA.  Before I sold my computer I would download the Ubuntu operating system, which is a free Linux-based OS, have it reformat my hard drive, repartition it and then install the operating system.  You may or may not make a lot of money from selling it but a $100 or more isn't too shabby for some extra spending money.  Also make sure you include any documentation the new owner might need, especially if you create a temporary "administrator" account and password protect it.  Nothing would annoy your buyer more than powering on their new-to-them computer and can't login due to a password.

Another option you can do is recycle it.  There are many businesses out there you can take your computer for recycling and some do it for free and some may charge a small fee.  Go to your favorite Internet search engine and search for "computer recycling near me" for a list of locations.  I haven't used a recycling program for a computer so I can't really recommend a specific company and since this is a blog that is viewed my an audience in multiple countries it doesn't seem to make sense for me to recommend one when it might not be available to someone in Germany.  I will recommend if you are a person who is very concerned about someone else accessing your old data.  Yes, even if you reformat your hard drive it is still possible to recover some old data, unless you use programs specifically created to securely wipe the drive. 

I have seen suggestions in the past where you can

Image source:.mypctechs.com

open your computer case, remove your hard drive and if you have a drill put two or three holes in it - making sure to completely through it. This will guarantee, unless the NSA gets a hold of it, no one is going to access that data!  Yes it is pretty extreme, but for those who have a LOT of concern about it, this will take care of all the concerns.  Doing it this way, you don't even need to bother erasing it.  Then you can send your computer off for recycling and have a good night sleep.