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| Another Enviromental-ish Computer Tip; Save both money and landfill space, | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 1 2009, 01:43 PM (431 Views) | |
| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 1 2009, 01:43 PM Post #1 |
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When a computer breaks down, instead of throwing away the whole thing, open it up and salvage what you can. Sometimes all you need to do is replace one part, but other times the only things you might be able to save are the CD drives and the case. If you have information on your hard drive you want to keep, and it still works (even if it has the "click of death" -- it can be salvaged), keep it -- otherwise, break it up with a sledgehammer, as you (or thieves) can get information off even physically damaged drives. Well anyways, it can't hurt to try. As long as you have an idea what you're doing, 'cos jamming a screwdriver into the motherboard won't help.
Edited by Aimee Wilbury, Feb 1 2009, 01:43 PM.
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| iscreamer1 | Feb 1 2009, 02:46 PM Post #2 |
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Baking Fairy Cakes
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Good tip Aimee. In this throw away society that is America it is important to remember that you can reuse parts of things. Thx |
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people - Victor Borge | |
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| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 1 2009, 03:40 PM Post #3 |
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And even if you can't rebuild the computer yourself, you can sell the good parts. You could probably make some good money out of that. Also send your printer cartridges back for recycling ![]() About the recovering files from physically damaged hard drives -- there's a few ways to do it. One of the most used ones is to freeze the HDD -- you can get it going for about 10 minutes per freeze, or enough to get the term paper off of there. And also the slap test -- bang it against the table, (or the old "technical tap") I can't quite remember how it works but it sometimes does. And one person got his going by boiling the HDD. And if you can't get it going that way, you can always send it to a recovery company and they can open it up in a clean room and get your data that way. Just a word of warning, don't do anything unless you know exactly what you're doing or you might mess up things worse. And never underestimate the power of threatening electronics. Edited by Aimee Wilbury, Feb 1 2009, 03:47 PM.
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| Deleted User | Feb 1 2009, 05:27 PM Post #4 |
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I have never had a computer completely break down on me before I replace it, but I donate the old ones to patients at the UVA Lynchburg Dialysis Center, where I have been a patient since 1990. I started doing that when I realized that my computers were only worth about $100 when I replaced them. I have donated three so far. |
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| beatlechick | Feb 1 2009, 06:34 PM Post #5 |
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In Paul's Arms!
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We have E-waste here where any of your broken down electronics can be take. They then get taken and broken down to be used for parts. |
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| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 1 2009, 07:23 PM Post #6 |
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The problem with E-waste is that I don't think they even try to salvage the usable parts. So in the end, it's even more waste. At least that's how it works here. Donating computers is a good idea too. Edited by Aimee Wilbury, Feb 1 2009, 07:23 PM.
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| beatlechick | Feb 1 2009, 07:26 PM Post #7 |
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In Paul's Arms!
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But they do. They get remade to other products, even as computers. We have several companies out here that do that. |
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| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 1 2009, 08:53 PM Post #8 |
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Yes, but suppose you have a working CD drive. Breaking it down and rebuilding it to another CD drive is more a waste than just reusing the working one. |
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| maccascruff | Feb 2 2009, 01:37 AM Post #9 |
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Sing the Changes
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Have the same here, Cathy. I did have Rick take a sledgehammer to the hard drive before it was recycled. |
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| beatlechick | Feb 2 2009, 01:45 AM Post #10 |
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In Paul's Arms!
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No it isn't Aimee. If it is broken down to something else, where's the waste? Don't forget that Ewaste recycling isn't just computers. It's all electronics. |
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| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 2 2009, 03:02 AM Post #11 |
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Yes, but if you break it down and then rebuild to same thing, you waste labor. |
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| bluemeanie | Feb 2 2009, 03:51 AM Post #12 |
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is now a happily married woman x
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I'm currently getting my computer upgraded and re-vamped saving me loads of money |
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Jayne x is loving life and is so happy xxx | |
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| Queenbee | Feb 2 2009, 07:27 AM Post #13 |
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Moderator
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I know someone who took a sledge hammer to his computer. His mother died and he never had the chance for closure. He decided to compose a letter to his mom on the computer. He finished the letter and was about to print it but the computer/printer weren't working. After too many attempts to print, he walked to the storage shed, took out the sledge hammer, went back to the house, and smashed the shit out his computer. He felt much better. :-) |
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PEACE and love to my friends, Judy When the Power of Love over comes the Love of Power, the world will know Peace. -Sri Chinmnoy Ghose Till me meet again ~ I Love you Mike! You were one of a kind. | |
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| beatlechick | Feb 2 2009, 07:31 AM Post #14 |
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In Paul's Arms!
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Aimee, you don't get it. A) most new computers come with the cd rom and dvd rom anyway so why would you want to keep something old, the ewaste gets recycled and put in for different items or gets donated to other agencies for their use.
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| Bill | Feb 2 2009, 08:44 AM Post #15 |
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I've got half a dozen CD burners and another half dozen CD-ROMs going begging if anyone wants them. I hate the idea of them being thrown out when they still do what they were designed to do, but when you can get a dual-layer DVD burner for $50, who wants a CD-ROM? If anyone wants to pay shipping, they're yours. Edited by Bill, Feb 2 2009, 08:52 AM.
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| Put a puppet on it. | |
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| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 2 2009, 12:53 PM Post #16 |
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If I'm right, a few older OS's can't even use DVDs. In my Windows 98, it has a DVD-ROM drive but I can't get it to run any DVDs, whether its a movie or file one. Although the number of people using these older OSes is debatable. Edited by Aimee Wilbury, Feb 2 2009, 12:53 PM.
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| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 2 2009, 12:55 PM Post #17 |
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I know of at least three people who destroyed computers out of rage. One of them had a Dell, one of them had a Windows ME, and the third had a Dell laptop with Windows ME. Figure it out yourself. |
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| Deleted User | Feb 2 2009, 06:25 PM Post #18 |
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It's impossible to give components away because people that can afford new computers want the latest technology, but there are lots of people who would love to have an old computer to hook up to the internet by Dial-up that don't care which crappy components come with it. |
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| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 2 2009, 08:13 PM Post #19 |
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I know people who build their own computers. It's more common now, espescially with gamers, because you can pick the exact components you want, while with prebuilt you can't. It's probably less wasteful to buy the individual parts and assemble than to get a prebuilt and upgrade and toss the old parts. Then again, it's not such a good idea to do this if you're not keen on electronics, I've heard of one guy who was working on a PSU while it was plugged in and they got zapped.
Edited by Aimee Wilbury, Feb 2 2009, 08:14 PM.
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| Deleted User | Feb 2 2009, 11:28 PM Post #20 |
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I know people who own computer repair stores and they won't even take components that are more than a couple years old. Technology changes too quickly and they prefer to sell you brand new items, not older components that are worth $10-20. |
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| beatlechick | Feb 2 2009, 11:57 PM Post #21 |
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In Paul's Arms!
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I have a Dell Dimension E510 that I bought reconditioned and with exactly the parts that I wanted installed. With Dell you have a choice on what you want to have put in. Mine, new, would have cost about $900 but since it was technically reconditioned, I think there was supposed to have been a scratch, it ended up being about $500 including tax and shipping with 3 year warranty, and about 18 months with Norton. It is what they call a media center with gaming ability on it. The only problems I have had is that I occasionally get a virus, okay........once, otherwise it runs great! I gave my old 486 to my brother who can't figure out how to use it. Says he's to smart to use a computer but kept asking for one. |
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| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 3 2009, 01:01 AM Post #22 |
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The repair shop thing -- that's why it's a good idea to teach yourself how to open up a a computer and replace the parts. Make sure to remove the HDD before switching it on in case something bad happens. Dells are good for the everyday average user, but from what I've heard, they don't have much of a reputation among geeks and gamers. (I'm a bit of a gamer, so that's why I keep mentioning it.) And I know people who have built decent machines for less than that. I think about $200-300. This is the PSU (power supply), the CPU (processor), the GPU (graphics card), the sound card, the mobo (motherboard), CD/DVD drives, HDD (hard drive), and some other components I probably can't think of right now. The monitor tends to be expensive, though, but you can reuse them since most of them are plug and play. And we all know the mouse and keyboard. Aha, found a list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_hardware |
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| Deleted User | Feb 3 2009, 01:39 AM Post #23 |
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I bought this Dell Optiplex GX620 for $600 and it has a Pentium 4 CPU 3.4 Ghz with 1 gig of RAM, which I really need to double. I haven't added a combo drive yet and I probably won't now since I just won a Apple Macbook that already has one. |
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| beatlechick | Feb 3 2009, 06:59 AM Post #24 |
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In Paul's Arms!
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My Dell came fully equipped and with a warranty. You will find in your life that warranty's are like gold. If I'm going to spend a $100 or so, I want that warranty. I do know how to build a computer and have done it but I don't have the time to go searching for the parts. The 486 I gave my brother, I kept that running. I replaced the parts on it but that was when I was unemployed. My HDD is 160 or 180 gigs (not sure, it islate for me and I am tired) that came with my computer. I already had a monitor but want to get another one. |
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| beatlechick | Feb 3 2009, 07:04 AM Post #25 |
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In Paul's Arms!
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But getting back to the original topic, ewaste recycling is more than just taking your old computer in to be recycled. It's taking in any electronic that has seen better days like an old microwave oven, mp3 players, telephones, tv sets, stereos, any thing that is electronic. |
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| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 3 2009, 12:28 PM Post #26 |
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Unfortunatly, I accidentally voided my warranty when I opened the computer up to dust it out. I didn't know what that sticker was for! And then there's the guy who fixed his dead iPod by hurling it off a third-story balcony. If your warranty's run out, what is there to lose? About eWaste: yeh, not everyone is an electronics engineer. Actually, I read in some cases if you accidentally touch the insides of a monitor, you can fry yourself. I think if you're wearing one of those anti-static wristbands. Edited by Aimee Wilbury, Feb 3 2009, 12:32 PM.
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| maccascruff | Feb 3 2009, 02:38 PM Post #27 |
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Sing the Changes
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Both of my computers are Dells. Never had a virus. Very happy with both. I got the PC tower last summer to replace a HP that wouldn't work any more. I was able to specify that I wanted Windows XP. |
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| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 3 2009, 02:51 PM Post #28 |
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Actually, the hardware has nothing to do with viruses -- it's the software/OS. Unless your BIOS gets infected and thats extremely rare (it usually happens when you're flashing the BIOS) and then you have to either reset the BIOS or install a new mobo. So if you only use the BIOS to boot from a CD or to disable hardware, you'll probably be okay.
Edited by Aimee Wilbury, Feb 3 2009, 03:03 PM.
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| Deleted User | Feb 3 2009, 09:49 PM Post #29 |
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I have always wondered what 'flashing the BIOS' meant. They say it like it's something most people can do themselves. Could you briefly explain what that means and what the reasons for doing it are? Thanks! |
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| Aimee Wilbury | Feb 3 2009, 09:54 PM Post #30 |
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Flashing the BIOS is basically updating it, usually for more features. Since it's in a chip on the motherboard, you can't just install it like a regular program, you have to use a flash utility. You can do it yourself if you're computer-proficient. Few articles: http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/biosflash1.html http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1605 http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Hardware-Guides/Why-and-How-to-Flash-Your-BIOS/ And what NOT to do when flashing a BIOS: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=357 Edited by Aimee Wilbury, Feb 3 2009, 09:58 PM.
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the ewaste gets recycled and put in for different items or gets donated to other agencies for their use.

6:55 PM Jul 11