Looking to refub older computers for reuse.

[whm1974]

I've been looking at volunteering and putting my computer knowledge to good use, and one the ways I can do this is working with a group similar to Freegeek.org but located in my area. Now while I do know a great deal about building computers and using them, I do have a problem explaining them to less computer savvy users and am thinking about going back to school to take beginners courses so I can pick up those skills.

What are your thoughts on this?

What about starting a local group to do this and teach others how to build and refurbish computers? And I course I would be promoting and installing Linux on these systems.

 

[whm1974]

Did I put this in the wrong place? Maybe I should have put this in Off Topic? No one has any commits about this?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Off-topic would get more replies, but here is fine too.

Being a volunteer Geek Squad in your area might be helpful to people, but that's going to depend on the area and who you can find to work with.

For example there might be some charities that support the elderly and disabled with meals on wheels and other services, that would love having someone to help with fixing computers so they can have a working Gmail account and see their grandkids' photos on Facebook. Or maybe not if most of the grandmas have a smartphone now instead.

There might be charities around you that need help with their own PCs.

I'm not sure about the value of training others to refurb PCs when some off-lease desktop PCs sell for well under $100.

Before going back to school I'd do the legwork to see what the actual needs are in your area.

 

[whm1974]

There are plenty of older computers with a still useful lifespan if fixed up properly. If I keep stuff from ending up in landfills and put to good use, then I'll do it.

 

[DaveSimmons]

There are plenty of older computers with a still useful lifespan if fixed up properly. If I keep stuff from ending up in landfills and put to good use, then I'll do it.

Sure, they're usable if you can find someone who wants them, and if you'll support these one-of-a-kind systems after the donation or sale.

That's why I said to identify your market first. Find people in your area who still want an old Core 2 Duo PC before spending time and money on refurbing 20 of them.

Don't be like VirtualLarry and build a bunch of systems on spec that you then can't get rid of

Brainstorm ideas like my grandma-puters above, charities, youth centers, elder centers, ethnic centers, shelters, whatever is in your area. Talk to them first before building anything to find out what they'd find useful, and budget the time for ongoing support into deciding whether or not to do it.

Don't forget that they may later need to restore the OS after an infection or hard disk crash. If you refurb a one-off with no recovery plan that's much less useful than something where they can run a system restore or return to the manufacturer as a last resort.

If helping a charity with a bookkeeping PC, remember that the old hard drive could crash at any time and get them set up with a USB backup drive. Have a plan for when the PC's disk dies. Look at what you're doing as helping people rather than slapping parts together.

That's all like, just my opinion man

 

[whm1974]

Thanks for the advice. I will be looking into it.