Avoid the Trash Heap: 15 Great Uses for an Old PC

Do you like to try new things? Nothing will seem newer than a freshly installed operating system on your old PC—even a downright elderly computer will feel brand new.

Most alternative operating systems (translation: not Windows or macOS) are based on Linux, which comes in a variety of options called "distros." Popular examples include Ubuntu, Mint, elementary OS, PinguyOS, and Manjaro.

You'll find interfaces similar to Windows, and they come with software packages, like LibreOffice (a free, open source equivalent to Microsoft Office).

Most work pretty great on PCs with 4GB of RAM or more, but check the specifications needed.

You might want to try creating your own version of a Chromebook—a computer that's essentially running Google's Chrome browser as the OS.

Sadly, Google doesn't give Chrome OS away, or even sell it.

There is, however, the "open source" (but still Google-controlled) Chromium OS project based on the same code.

Even that's not simple to download and install.

Consumers are told to buy a Chromebook laptop.

However, CloudReady: Home Edition, which is free for individual use, is an installer that can help you create a ChromeBook or ChromeBox.

All you need is a USB thumb drive to install it.

You can read a big list of other alternative OSes for real gearheads at MakeUseOf.

A network-attached storage device is a server for your home or small business network used for storing files you share with all the PCs on the network (or externally via the internet).

Prices vary from a pittance to the hundreds.

But if you've got an old PC with lots of storage drive space, you don't need to buy a NAS: make one.

• FreeNAS is open-source software for doing exactly that.
  
  It's accessible by any OS on your network—Windows, macOS, Linux, you name it.
  
  It's a perfect way to make a shared backup of your many devices.
  
  FreeNAS will also stream media to mobile OSes like iOS and Android; you control which users get access.
  
  You need at least 8GB RAM and a 64-bit chip in the PC to run it properly.  
  

• Tonido is a different kind of storage—it turns a PC into your own private cloud, where the PC becomes a storage site for accessing files from anywhere, on any device.
  
  Use it at home over DLNA to stream media, or remotely from a smartphone.
  
  Tonido suggests you put it on your primary computer, but if you install it on an old, secondary computer, it's instantly part of your backup routine.
  
  Note that Tonido is not an operating system in and of itself—you'll still need Windows, macOS, or a version of Linux on the PC to use Tonido.  
  

Other software you can try to make your personal cloud include Rockstor and XigmaNAS.

Everyone has that one family member who just can't handle the tech.

Worse, they can't handle it and ask for your help.

All the time.

You may not even live in the same state.

Or the same country! Troubleshooting over the phone is for the birds, so what do you do?

Take your old laptop, nuke the drive, and reinstall Windows 10.

Then lock it down so the person you're giving it to can't install any software without your permission.

Go into Settings > Accounts > Family & other users, and click Add someone else to this PC.

The goal is to make an account for you, the Administrator, and one for your loved one, who will be a Standard User who can't mess with settings (much).

Set the User Account Control for the account (type UAC into the Start menu to launch it).

If UAC is off, the Standard User can act like an Admin.

Turn it up too far and all the warnings can get annoying.

You have to set the balance.

To really limit your family member's activity, literally treat them like a child.

Under Family & Other users,click Add a family member, and you get the option to Add a child.

(Even the child account needs an email invite for some reason, but you can create a quick one for them on Outlook.com.) Give your phone number for password backups in case your user (child or not) forgets.

Turn off the advertising and promos, and you're almost set.

Visit account.microsoft.com/family/ for an overview of what everyone on your Microsoft Account has been doing.

Here, you can block websites, select games and applications, and more.

Want to really lock it down? Set up a feature on the account called Assigned Access, which puts Windows 10 in Kiosk Mode—you know, like when you encounter a PC at a public place that can only do one thing.

For example, set the user account to only have access to a browser.

That's pretty limiting, but better than answering tech support questions!

Before you send that PC off to live with your loved one, install a remote-control program like TeamViewer or GoToMyPC so you can occasionally take over the system to perform updates (makes sure the antivirus and anti-malware is always up to date).

Better yet, use it to show your family on their own screen how to perform basic functions they can't fathom.

When using the computer remotely, make sure to create restore points for future restoration of the PC when it inevitably gets screwed up.

Everyone's worried about privacy.

There are many tools to make your working computer into a more anonymous workstation for surfing the web, but if you've got a long-in-the-tooth PC that needs new life, turn it into a dedicated privacy PC with The Amnesic Incognito Live System, or TAILS.

Based on a Linux distro called Debian, TAILS can run off a USB flash drive, SD card, or DVD so you can take it with you.

It routes all your internet traffic and requests though the Tor network. All the integrated applications come pre-configured for security, including the office suite, IM client, email software, and of course the web browser.

Other privacy/anonymity focused Linux distros include Whonix and Qubes OS (featured in the video above).

Nothing is worse than limited wireless network access.

So turn that PC into a hotspot for sharing an internet connection via Wi-Fi.

Naturally, you'll need a PC with Wi-Fi capability.

To be honest this is probably a job better left to a router.

But the option exists via Connectify Hotspot.

If you've already got a router with Wi-Fi, run Ethernet to the laptop and with Connectify, create a secondary network using the same internet backhaul connection.

Connectify Hotspot Pro costs $35 for lifetime use on one Windows-based PC; there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

It is also possible with Windows 10 to turn the PC into a hotspot that shares your home internet without extra software.

Depending on the size of your old computer, be it laptop or desktop, it might be just right to sit out of sight for occasional use only.

Say, when you need a recipe on screen in the kitchen, or when guests are spending the night and need to look something up.

A lightweight Linux distro like Zorin (in the video above) could be just right for this setup, as it mimics the look of Windows and macOS quite well, so there's not much of a learning curve.

Older PCs can generally handle older games, and there are plenty of ports of old titles that work on the PC, as well as work with your nostalgia.

With a fresh install of Windows 10, you'll be ready to turn an older PC into a dedicated gaming system.

Where do you get old games? Steam is always an option, but GOG.com also has plenty for you to choose from (like the original 1994 Warcraft!).

If you run into problems, read How to Run Old Games on Your Modern PC. Grab an emulator for old game systems like the Nintendo 64 to get up and running with really old games.

For a full explanation, read How to Play Retro Video Games.

Have some mad DIY skillz you want to put to the test? Take a down-on-its-luck laptop apart and convert it—into a "tablet." Depending on the system, you're not going to get a touch-screen-quality experience, as the smarts of the system typically still reside with the keyboard, which you'll have to tether to the screen in some way.

Take a gander at the website Instructables, and you'll find many step-by-step lessons on how to pull it off, including one that will turn any screen into a touch screen.

Honestly, it's probably cheaper, and definitely easier, to simply buy a tablet...but where's the fun in that? (Image via mkarvonen at Instructables.)

This is for a select few, the proud, the string-strummers.

Turn that ready-to-be-abandoned PC into a guitar amplifier.

You'll need a special cable to hook the guitar up to the PC via a USB port (try Ubisoft's Rocksmith Real Tone Cable Trilingual, which works not just on Windows and macOS PCs, but also game consoles) and a downloaded a demo copy of Guitar Rig 5, an amplifier modeling program.

It has 17 cabinet emulations, or you can pay $199 for the big guns Pro version that does it all.

A laptop or desktop can be dedicated to one function, like video conferencing. A fresh install of a Windows 10 will do the trick—Microsoft-owned Skype is included there and is accessible via the desktop or the browser, but any browser works with services like Zoom Meeting or Google Hangouts.

MacOS users also have FaceTime to talk to people on iOS or iPadOS devices.

Either way, you get instant access to everyone's face.

If that old laptop has an integrated webcam—and most of them do—or you've got an elderly desktop with a stray webcam you can attach, put that extra eyeball to use.

Reinstall Windows and download a copy of iSpy.

Set the PC up and let it run—you'll get remote access on the webcam to view whatever's in view (and if you've got a microphone, whatever is said).

Use it to monitor the house, employees, babysitters, kids, pets, wildlife, and more.

You can covertly or overtly watch the goings-on via a web page or apps on iOS and Android.

It's free to watch locally (in your own home) with ads; remote viewing will cost you $7.95 a month, more if you set up multiple computers.

It's not as subtle as buying one of our top home security cameras, but it's a lot cheaper.

If you've got an old-school desktop tower/mini-tower PC, this is a good opportunity for you learn what it takes to build a PC.

Take it apart.

Put it back together.

See if it still works and try to figure out why.

Better yet—buy a new motherboard and some components and Frankenstein that old PC into something new and aliiiive.

You're essentially using that old chassis rather than buying a new case to save all of $100, but the learning experience could be worth it.  

Even the oldest, crappiest PC has plenty of computing power going unused in its idle moments.

Distributed computing projects—where software ties together a huge number of internet-connected PCs to work on computationally massive problems—can put those cycles to good use.

For example, you've probably heard of [email protected] (the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence), a distributed computing project that went back to the 1990s.

It was spawned at Berkeley and used volunteer PCs to analyze signals from space.

SETI no longer needs our help, but other projects do.

You can visit the page for the software BOINC, which is the backbone for several projects.

The one we recommend most however is the [email protected] crowdsourcing project, which can be set up to help researchers fight the novel coronavirus causing COVID-19.

Set it up on that old PC (to fight COVID, select "any disease" when you pick an illness to fight) and let it run in the background.

Do you like to try new things? Nothing will seem newer than a freshly installed operating system on your old PC—even a downright elderly computer will feel brand new.

Most alternative operating systems (translation: not Windows or macOS) are based on Linux, which comes in a variety of options called "distros." Popular examples include Ubuntu, Mint, elementary OS, PinguyOS, and Manjaro.

You'll find interfaces similar to Windows, and they come with software packages, like LibreOffice (a free, open source equivalent to Microsoft Office).

Most work pretty great on PCs with 4GB of RAM or more, but check the specifications needed.

You might want to try creating your own version of a Chromebook—a computer that's essentially running Google's Chrome browser as the OS.

Sadly, Google doesn't give Chrome OS away, or even sell it.

There is, however, the "open source" (but still Google-controlled) Chromium OS project based on the same code.

Even that's not simple to download and install.

Consumers are told to buy a Chromebook laptop.

However, CloudReady: Home Edition, which is free for individual use, is an installer that can help you create a ChromeBook or ChromeBox.

All you need is a USB thumb drive to install it.

You can read a big list of other alternative OSes for real gearheads at MakeUseOf.

A network-attached storage device is a server for your home or small business network used for storing files you share with all the PCs on the network (or externally via the internet).

Prices vary from a pittance to the hundreds.

But if you've got an old PC with lots of storage drive space, you don't need to buy a NAS: make one.

• FreeNAS is open-source software for doing exactly that.
  
  It's accessible by any OS on your network—Windows, macOS, Linux, you name it.
  
  It's a perfect way to make a shared backup of your many devices.
  
  FreeNAS will also stream media to mobile OSes like iOS and Android; you control which users get access.
  
  You need at least 8GB RAM and a 64-bit chip in the PC to run it properly.  
  

• Tonido is a different kind of storage—it turns a PC into your own private cloud, where the PC becomes a storage site for accessing files from anywhere, on any device.
  
  Use it at home over DLNA to stream media, or remotely from a smartphone.
  
  Tonido suggests you put it on your primary computer, but if you install it on an old, secondary computer, it's instantly part of your backup routine.
  
  Note that Tonido is not an operating system in and of itself—you'll still need Windows, macOS, or a version of Linux on the PC to use Tonido.  
  

Other software you can try to make your personal cloud include Rockstor and XigmaNAS.

Everyone has that one family member who just can't handle the tech.

Worse, they can't handle it and ask for your help.

All the time.

You may not even live in the same state.

Or the same country! Troubleshooting over the phone is for the birds, so what do you do?

Take your old laptop, nuke the drive, and reinstall Windows 10.

Then lock it down so the person you're giving it to can't install any software without your permission.

Go into Settings > Accounts > Family & other users, and click Add someone else to this PC.

The goal is to make an account for you, the Administrator, and one for your loved one, who will be a Standard User who can't mess with settings (much).

Set the User Account Control for the account (type UAC into the Start menu to launch it).

If UAC is off, the Standard User can act like an Admin.

Turn it up too far and all the warnings can get annoying.

You have to set the balance.

To really limit your family member's activity, literally treat them like a child.

Under Family & Other users,click Add a family member, and you get the option to Add a child.

(Even the child account needs an email invite for some reason, but you can create a quick one for them on Outlook.com.) Give your phone number for password backups in case your user (child or not) forgets.

Turn off the advertising and promos, and you're almost set.

Visit account.microsoft.com/family/ for an overview of what everyone on your Microsoft Account has been doing.

Here, you can block websites, select games and applications, and more.

Want to really lock it down? Set up a feature on the account called Assigned Access, which puts Windows 10 in Kiosk Mode—you know, like when you encounter a PC at a public place that can only do one thing.

For example, set the user account to only have access to a browser.

That's pretty limiting, but better than answering tech support questions!

Before you send that PC off to live with your loved one, install a remote-control program like TeamViewer or GoToMyPC so you can occasionally take over the system to perform updates (makes sure the antivirus and anti-malware is always up to date).

Better yet, use it to show your family on their own screen how to perform basic functions they can't fathom.

When using the computer remotely, make sure to create restore points for future restoration of the PC when it inevitably gets screwed up.

Everyone's worried about privacy.

There are many tools to make your working computer into a more anonymous workstation for surfing the web, but if you've got a long-in-the-tooth PC that needs new life, turn it into a dedicated privacy PC with The Amnesic Incognito Live System, or TAILS.

Based on a Linux distro called Debian, TAILS can run off a USB flash drive, SD card, or DVD so you can take it with you.

It routes all your internet traffic and requests though the Tor network. All the integrated applications come pre-configured for security, including the office suite, IM client, email software, and of course the web browser.

Other privacy/anonymity focused Linux distros include Whonix and Qubes OS (featured in the video above).

Nothing is worse than limited wireless network access.

So turn that PC into a hotspot for sharing an internet connection via Wi-Fi.

Naturally, you'll need a PC with Wi-Fi capability.

To be honest this is probably a job better left to a router.

But the option exists via Connectify Hotspot.

If you've already got a router with Wi-Fi, run Ethernet to the laptop and with Connectify, create a secondary network using the same internet backhaul connection.

Connectify Hotspot Pro costs $35 for lifetime use on one Windows-based PC; there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

It is also possible with Windows 10 to turn the PC into a hotspot that shares your home internet without extra software.

Depending on the size of your old computer, be it laptop or desktop, it might be just right to sit out of sight for occasional use only.

Say, when you need a recipe on screen in the kitchen, or when guests are spending the night and need to look something up.

A lightweight Linux distro like Zorin (in the video above) could be just right for this setup, as it mimics the look of Windows and macOS quite well, so there's not much of a learning curve.

Older PCs can generally handle older games, and there are plenty of ports of old titles that work on the PC, as well as work with your nostalgia.

With a fresh install of Windows 10, you'll be ready to turn an older PC into a dedicated gaming system.

Where do you get old games? Steam is always an option, but GOG.com also has plenty for you to choose from (like the original 1994 Warcraft!).

If you run into problems, read How to Run Old Games on Your Modern PC. Grab an emulator for old game systems like the Nintendo 64 to get up and running with really old games.

For a full explanation, read How to Play Retro Video Games.

Have some mad DIY skillz you want to put to the test? Take a down-on-its-luck laptop apart and convert it—into a "tablet." Depending on the system, you're not going to get a touch-screen-quality experience, as the smarts of the system typically still reside with the keyboard, which you'll have to tether to the screen in some way.

Take a gander at the website Instructables, and you'll find many step-by-step lessons on how to pull it off, including one that will turn any screen into a touch screen.

Honestly, it's probably cheaper, and definitely easier, to simply buy a tablet...but where's the fun in that? (Image via mkarvonen at Instructables.)

This is for a select few, the proud, the string-strummers.

Turn that ready-to-be-abandoned PC into a guitar amplifier.

You'll need a special cable to hook the guitar up to the PC via a USB port (try Ubisoft's Rocksmith Real Tone Cable Trilingual, which works not just on Windows and macOS PCs, but also game consoles) and a downloaded a demo copy of Guitar Rig 5, an amplifier modeling program.

It has 17 cabinet emulations, or you can pay $199 for the big guns Pro version that does it all.

A laptop or desktop can be dedicated to one function, like video conferencing. A fresh install of a Windows 10 will do the trick—Microsoft-owned Skype is included there and is accessible via the desktop or the browser, but any browser works with services like Zoom Meeting or Google Hangouts.

MacOS users also have FaceTime to talk to people on iOS or iPadOS devices.

Either way, you get instant access to everyone's face.

If that old laptop has an integrated webcam—and most of them do—or you've got an elderly desktop with a stray webcam you can attach, put that extra eyeball to use.

Reinstall Windows and download a copy of iSpy.

Set the PC up and let it run—you'll get remote access on the webcam to view whatever's in view (and if you've got a microphone, whatever is said).

Use it to monitor the house, employees, babysitters, kids, pets, wildlife, and more.

You can covertly or overtly watch the goings-on via a web page or apps on iOS and Android.

It's free to watch locally (in your own home) with ads; remote viewing will cost you $7.95 a month, more if you set up multiple computers.

It's not as subtle as buying one of our top home security cameras, but it's a lot cheaper.

If you've got an old-school desktop tower/mini-tower PC, this is a good opportunity for you learn what it takes to build a PC.

Take it apart.

Put it back together.

See if it still works and try to figure out why.

Better yet—buy a new motherboard and some components and Frankenstein that old PC into something new and aliiiive.

You're essentially using that old chassis rather than buying a new case to save all of $100, but the learning experience could be worth it.  

Even the oldest, crappiest PC has plenty of computing power going unused in its idle moments.

Distributed computing projects—where software ties together a huge number of internet-connected PCs to work on computationally massive problems—can put those cycles to good use.

For example, you've probably heard of [email protected] (the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence), a distributed computing project that went back to the 1990s.

It was spawned at Berkeley and used volunteer PCs to analyze signals from space.

SETI no longer needs our help, but other projects do.

You can visit the page for the software BOINC, which is the backbone for several projects.

The one we recommend most however is the [email protected] crowdsourcing project, which can be set up to help researchers fight the novel coronavirus causing COVID-19.

Set it up on that old PC (to fight COVID, select "any disease" when you pick an illness to fight) and let it run in the background.