Ask HN: What do you do with your no-longer-in-use hardware?

7 points by simon1573 5 years ago | 10 comments

What do you do with replaced hardware that still works perfectly fine?

During the holidays and sales many of us might snag or be gifted a new laptop, phone or similar even though the current hardware works perfectly fine. In my case I got a nice laptop (i7, 16gb RAM) that was replaces recently, but I feel bad that it just lays here and age.

What do you do with your no-longer-in-use hardware? Projects? Gifts? Charity?

speedgoose 5 years ago |

It goes in the closet. After a few years it goes in the basement. There it stays for many years until it goes to the trash because it has no sentimental value anymore.

killtimeatwork 5 years ago | |

Lol that's precisely my process as well. However, I don't store if for sentimental value, but as a backup in case my main machine stops working.

ksaj 5 years ago |

I used to host geek yard sales that were all about unwanted tech devices and parts. The best thing is that they always turned out to be half swap-meet. A lot of trading went on because everyone has different, often opposing ideas of "unwanted" and "desirable."

Of course 2020 and probably 2021 are not good years for that kind of activity, but by summer '22 I'm probably going to have no choice but to throw another sale.

giantg2 5 years ago |

Usually keep it for projects and keep my old phone as a spare if it still works (they usually just get very slow). I may end up recycling or giving old stuff away at some point, but that will be a while with my cycle times - my hardware tends to be quite old by the time it gets replaced. I think my desktop is 8 years old, laptop is 12, phone is the newest at 3 years old.

runjake 5 years ago |

- With Apple stuff, I try to trade it in or dispose of it, due to the non-user-replaceable lithium ion batteries inside them.

DO NOT KEEP UNUSED APPLE EQUIPMENT IN YOUR HOUSE.

I used to keep my Apple gear around, but I had an old iPad in my dresser drawer and one day discovered that the battery had expanded to dangerous levels and was close to bursting.

I don't feel like having my house burn down, so I get rid of old Apple stuff ASAP.

- With PC gear, I tend to keep it around and use it for Linux stuff until the usefulness vs wattage no longer makes sense.

Aheinemann 5 years ago |

have old pc hardware mostly.

get an WD Green 120 GB SSD for about 20 - 25 €.

Have a teenager / child come over with their parents and we build their first pc from the parts up.

The kids install the windows license which came with the pc because school requires windows programs for homework.

Kids are proud, most of them would not be able to get a computer of their own otherwise.

computers are to slow for gaming, just useful for libre office... to bad...

the kids will get an introduction to google and how to use youtube the right way (you either waste your life on youtube or you will get on a path to better grades - your choice) and a stern warning to stay off facebook, tik-tok and the ilk.

hardware lasts until 8th - 9th grade usually, by then they have cheap smartphones of their own.

one interesting note: i was a proud owner of an Commodore PC 10-III (msdos, 4.77 MHz, 640 KB RAM) and my own legal (!) copy of turbo pascal 4.0. i did a lot of things with that beast.

None - Not even one - of the kids who could have visual studio community, lazarus, haskell, whatever on their machines will ever try their hands at programming (while having a virtual tutor on youtube !).

They wouldn't even scratch (oh the pun indeed) the surface of cs...

lukaszkups 5 years ago |

I put it into my no-longer-in-use hardware shelf. It tends to "light the darkest hour" for me (e.g. on unexpected failure of my new daily drivers)

AnimalMuppet 5 years ago |

I take out the hard drive, punch three holes in it with a masonry drill bit, and then take it to Best Buy for hardware recycling.

tubularhells 5 years ago |

Sell on the secondhand market, or if I don't need the money I post it to a charity who is a working with kids in poor households.

chaganated 5 years ago |

Usually keep one as a spare. Anything over that is given away. Somebody always needs a computer.