Whenever we purchase a new laptop, the old laptop becomes less usable as we tend to use the new laptop instead of the old one. This is our nature. When we do so, we have to make sure the old laptop is also used for something, and there are 7 ideas to put our old laptops to better use as long as they are working fine.
As a home server
Today, there are several opportunities to automate our homes by setting up a home server and a home lab. The old laptop can be perfect for this, but we have to ensure that it can be operational 24/7. If there is no problem running it 24/7, then this should be a good choice.
To store your home CCTV camera recordings
There are different ways in which CCTV camera footage can be saved. Usually, the camera itself can hold a memory card, but it is good to either keep it on a server or in the cloud. We know that the cloud is the best solution, but before going to the cloud, it can stay in a common storage space in the network. For this purpose, the old laptop can be used.
Data backup server
When we usually get our new laptop, we will be interested to move everything to the new laptop. But it is always good to have the data available on another backup place as well. The old laptop can act as a backup server to have a copy of the data and it can be kept up to date.
Try lightweight operating systems other than Windows
The old laptop can now be useful for experiments, where we can either reinstall the existing operating system or try something new or lightweight, anything other than Windows. Only after we start using a lightweight Linux Operating system will we know that there is a totally new world outside Windows, and it is good. I usually prefer Ubuntu as a good alternative to Windows.
For teaching the kids
Kids love digital assets. The new generation kids are fond of electronic gadgets and they are also very fast in learning new things. The old laptop can be used by the kids at home for their explorations or projects or learning purpose. We can spend time with the kids to teach with the help of the old laptop without having the necessity to worry about data loss.
For playing games
When we buy a new laptop that is fit for playing games, we still want to continue using our old laptop or not leave the old laptop. This is when we can move all the productive stuff to the new laptop and use the old one for playing games. This way the old laptop will be used at its full potential and will also be in use.
Dismantle and reuse/sell the parts
The one final option would be to dismantle the entire old laptop and sell the parts for a good price. When I wanted a keyboard replacement for my old laptop, it was very costly to get a new one but if someone was selling it from their old laptop, it would have been a big money saver for me to purchase and use if it was in a good condition. The same applies to other spare parts as well.
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