Giving away old computers

[laserblazer]

We have a number of old Viglen Contenders that will shortly be surplus to requirement. I don't think the recycling companies will be interested in Celeron 800/900 based stuff, so I wondered about offering them to parents after stripping everything out except the OS and possibly putting Open Office on. They have all recently had a PAT test.

 

They'd be offered on a "no-support" basis but am I still asking for trouble?

[skawarrior]

We've done this the past 2 years its a good way of getting rid of what would otherwise be junk. It also stops any kids using the excuse of not having a PC to work on at home as they are then given a free PC. However you should be prepared for the inevitable return visits after the parents or children break them within a week. Even if you clearly state "No Support" they know where you work.

We've even had a complaint from one parent that they was expecting to have at least a P4.

 

We also limit them to 1 per family

[Domino]

Be careful,

 

most windows licences are non-transferrable.

 

Maybe a linux OS would be a better idea.

 

Also be wary of anything thats had Kids details on it

[mikeymike]

so whats the complete spec of them??

[Hightower]

If the machine comes with an OEM license then it should be fine. We did this many moons ago and it worked well - £99 per PC.

 

Used XP and OpenOffice and AVG - strictly on a no support basis as well.

 

I think we had a few calls asking for help some time down the line but our office staff were stars for explaining that PC World is around the corner.

 

There was one really poor family though that I helped with twice - but other than that we had no come back whatsoever.

[yabbadabba]

I have the same problem at the moment, approx 40 500mhz machines to be disposed of with monitors etc.

Weighed up the pros and cons of giving them away and my personal opinion is to pay for the disposal of them.

My way of looking at is by paying a company to dispose of them this removes all health and safety issues, child protection issues and the return visits with the comments "it doesnt work". It also saves the time put into getting them working, reinstalling an OS etc, etc which in turn saves money and doesnt add too my workload.

 

Harsh I know as throwing away working kit seems wrong.

[sparkeh]

Hmm unfortunately I have to agree with yabbadabba. As nice as it would be for us to give our old machines away I don't think the headaches are worth it.

 

A while ago now, the school where I was working at the time, decided to be nice and donate some old machines to the ptfa, with no support. Unfortunately when they realised that no support meant I wasnt going to set them up and install things for them at the drop of a hat, they binned them. Great. 'No support' wont stop people coming to find you and ask you questions.

 

As said above, recycling (with a reputible company) covers you for all your legal responsibilities.

[ChrisH]

I don't think the recycling companies will be interested in Celeron 800/900 based stuff

 

They will take anything, even if it doesnt work. They will strip it all down to scrap metal if needs be.

[Ex-MGSTech]

What about this?

 

computers4africa.org.uk - Computers for Africa - Home

 

Steve

[aleach2]

These people are very willing to accept donations.

 

Computer Aid

 

We have used them a few times.

[witch]

I have rid myself of two complete IT suites worth of old machines - some to Africa and some to people on Freecycle

It does mean a bit of work - being there and sorting them out but I think that ethically and green-ly it is worth it

This lot: RefurbIT UK - Home have told me that they will pick up school stuff for free - maybe you could check it out.

I wouldn't give kit to parents - not enough time to help them!!!!!

[Andrew_C]

If the machine comes with an OEM license then it should be fine. We did this many moons ago and it worked well - £99 per PC.

I would be VERY careful here. Selling them, even at a nominal sum, could well involve you in a whole world of pain. VAT, sale of goods, Elec safety issues, guarantees etc. Edited November 6, 2008 by Andrew_C
missing ,

[BaccyNet]

We've tried this twice with little success each time. First time round it was to parents with the 'no support' and a linux OS on them. We even explained at the time what the equipment was capable of. Still got the majority back as people tried using them for stuff like video editing:rolleyes:

 

Second time around, offered just to staff. A few have gone but still got a bunch here. We'd love to send them on one of those africa things but all the companies I've looked at seem very specific as to what they want (P4, 2 years old, etc) If it was a decent, 2 y/o P4 it would still be in service:D

[Sylv3r]

About 3 / 4 years ago we offered them to staff Free of Charge, but it was more trouble then it was worth ghosting them with new images etc.

 

So now, we just note the serial numbers, remove from our stock book and lock them away until a recycle company can come and collect them. We used a company I found on here (LCWS) I think they were called and they came and collected our unwanted PC's and Monitors free of charge also.

[laserblazer]

The problem I have is that there is no room to lock them away, so the new suite can't be set up until the old stuff has gone.

 

I guess the other problem with parents/freecycle is that people say they want one but then never collect. I think I'll look at the Africa donations.

 

Thanks for all of your great replies.

[chrbb]

Do you wipe the hard drives? I've found it more trouble than it's worth - firing up an old pc so I take the hard drives and destroy them. It's always difficult getting rid of old computers.

[grumpy_git]

We have a store room in which all kit is dumped when taken off service - some gets put back into use (eg a load of decent CRTs came back recently when a suite was upgraded - sent them out to replace some of the grotty old ones). We tend to offer staff any keyboards, mice or monitors they may want to acquire for home use, then every so often have a big sort out and all the stuff with no possible future use to us is picked up by a reuse/recycling firm; we're on good terms with them so don't get charged!

[MatthewL]

If anyone is struggling to get rid of equipment give me a shout, we have a company that charge us £15 per van load to collect, it used to be several £ per item but because we use them monthly we got an SLA set up with them, also there is a company based in Stoke that will come to site, wipe it all on site, give you a certificate and then give you so much for taking them away.

 

PM if anyone wants any more information.

[AngryTechnician]

We used to offer our old kit to students but recently we've found they've been taking the machines and sticking them on eBay for a quick profit. These days we offer them to staff first, and students nominated by SLT either as deserving or 'hard-luck' cases.

 

We've got rid of most of our old machines this year to our cleaning staff. Most of them are Polish and well-educated (some of them even with Masters degrees), but have come over to the UK for work with very few possessions, so are extremely grateful to get hold of a cheap machine. An upside of this is that our office is now very clean.

 

We make anyone who takes a machine sign a form stating they understand it has no warranty they are never to bring it back on site, ever.