We’re used to throwing our PCs away when we buy a new one when they’re fully functional, however, continued disuse of a system can cause it to suddenly seem like it has stopped working. And what happens many times when we turn it back on? Well, it looks like he’s completely dead. That’s why we are going to teach you how to revive a pc on an old pc.
Have you ever needed to revive an old PC that you still have at home to recover the information on its hard drive? In this case, we make it simple by disassembling it in one and mounting it in the other, either in one of the bays of our new tower, or in an external box. However, in this case we are referring to the full use of the retired PC. You may want to lend your old computer to a family member to use. In this case, a simple configuration is usually enough and it will cost you dearly.
How to revive an old PC?
Well, it depends on the type of computer we have, but in general, the devices, the chips, usually have a very long lifespan; however, if we talk about analog electronic components, it is when we find that these can fail in a very common way. In case you want to revive an old laptop, we may find that the battery has already exhausted all the cycles and you need to change it for a brand new one. If your computer is not very old, you can ask the manufacturer or the technical service to sell you a brand new one, which is much more reliable than buying a used one.
The other point is the power supply, it is another component with a limited lifespan and that is why it is better to look for a manufacturer approved source that is compatible with your laptop. If you are using a tower computer, you can just get a new one from any store, it doesn’t need to give more power than the old one. Of course, if your PC is pre-built with a unique design, the power supply may be too. This is why we never recommend the purchase of these computers.
Also don’t forget the hard drive, its mechanical parts are what make it the first thing to fail, that’s why we also recommend buying a new hard drive, whether you’re using a laptop or office and with a capacity greater than the one you already had. Either way, our recommendation is an SSD, SATA, or NVMe.
Clean and fix your computer
This is extremely important, because leaving a computer abandoned in a corner can mean that dirt accumulates and components deteriorate.
- Thoroughly clean your computer, to the last corner of it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a laptop or a tower and arm yourself with patience for it. Remember that the accumulated dirt ends up generating heat inside and that is fatal. Also, don’t forget to clean the connections. So if necessary, unplug the components, clean the corresponding sockets and put them back in their place.
- Check the capacitor outputs on the board, graphics card or other components that use them. If you see that they are broken, then that’s a bad sign, since the liquid they contain may have corroded the tracks of the plate. If so, throw it away. Of course, if you have advanced knowledge of electronics, you can save it.
- Don’t forget to update the thermal paste and check that the fans are working. If the system used an AiO liquid cooling system, it is better not to complicate your life and change it to a new one that we can place in our PC.
What if my computer is too old?
You may find that the computer you want to recover is too old and you need to replace it with new parts. In that case, welcome to the world of vintage computing. Unsurprisingly, there are people who are responsible for restoring these systems using parts still available in inventory. So one of the reasons not to throw away your old PC if you don’t plan to use it is to resell its parts on second-hand sales platforms. Oddly enough, someone lost in the middle of Alabama may end up buying that RAM from your old computer, graphics card, or processor, so you can still make some money.
You can therefore also do the opposite, in any case it is up to you to decide if it is worth making this investment to revive your old PC or if it is cheaper to resell the parts and repairs. buy a more advanced computer for yourself or a third party.
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