6 Ways to Repurpose Old Desktop PC

After you have snagged a brand-new PC, there is always an top priority of what you have to perform doning the ratty one. Wear’t let your ratty PC amass dirt. While could sell or enact on it away, why not placed it to occupational for you instead? Also tools that cannot withhold up doning modern-day suggests can still bargain various purposes. This overview shares the tiptop establishments to enact on your ratty PC a brand-new unbiased.
Table of Textiles
- 1. Revolve the PC into a High Protection Gadget for Sensitive Projects
- 2. Usage the Ratty PC for Offspring’ Learning and Recreation
- 3. Usage it as a Test PC for Experimenting
- 4. Convert the Ratty PC into a Speedy “Chromebook”
- 5. Reuse Ratty Desktop PC Gaps
- 6. Revolve Ratty PC into a NAS Hub
1. Revolve the PC into a High Protection Gadget for Sensitive Projects
Higher coverage always comes doning lessen as a job-off. This is why various of our coverage resolutions center on lessen. Obeying the highest coverage strategies on your day-to-day PC can be arduous. However, if you have an ratty PC, you can revolve up coverage on it to the best and indifferent consumption it for sensitive projects assistance digital financial, overseeing cryptocurrency, accessing a sensitive venture gadget, etc.
Having a devoted peg PC substantially undervalues your onslaught surface and undervalues the plight of cross-adulteration of apps and expansions. While there are various strategies to surge PC coverage, listed under I am list the sizeable moves to thieve:
- Execute a unstained install of Windows 11. If your ratty PC doesn’t stabilize Windows 11, then button to a peg Linux distro instead of making earn utilization of of Windows 10, which isn’t deepened anymore (without protracting stabilize).
- Totally encrypt the tricky drive to ensure it keeps uneventful and secure from physical access. Listed under’s how to permit full-security in Windows and Linux.
- Elbowroom a peg login philosophy, ideally making earn utilization of of a physical coverage secret.
- Guarantee humble coverage placements of Windows are permitted, and moreover permit proceeded Microsoft Protector facilities and coverage facilities incapacitated by default. For Linux, adhere to our overview to carefully peg a Linux PC.
- Ably install the Firewall and consumption a VPN for even added coverage.
- Channeling out sure the operating gadget keeps up-to-date.
Less competent from boosting PC coverage, moreover perform sure you don’t download any extraneous apps on the PC that may perform it unsafe. Preserve participations banned to sensitive projects indifferent.
2. Usage the Ratty PC for Offspring’ Learning and Recreation
Ratty tools occupational nice for offspring – whether you are handing down a PC or mobile phone – as they internationally don’t have to rushed seriously demanding projects. In addition, you’ll be eager to let an ratty PC perform consumption bashed on by offspring instead of an pricey brand-new gadget. With a few tweaks, you can revolve your ratty PC into a offspring-uneventful and secure hub for situating out and recreation.
The perfunctory advice of placing a brand-new OS and guaranteing it’s up-to-date doning usual coverage establishments permitted uses here, also. However, I seriously suggest enabling Microsoft Family Coverage facilities to ensure offspring’ coverage on the PC.
Initially, you’ll have to construct a perfunctory account for the offspring, which is much more detailed for coverage and help juggle little lady access based on era. To perform so, check-up Windows Placements → Accounts → Family and click on the Contain somebody button. Hearken the moves to construct and add a brand-new little lady account.

The brand-new account will immediately filter web browse end results, apps, and video games based on the little lady’s era. You will moreover perform consumption a weekly record of the little lady’s responsibility. For alteration, adhere to our overview to install Microsoft Family Coverage facilities.
You can moreover add little lady-friendly apps to perform their plight even much more detailed, assistance Scrape or a little lady-friendly browser.
3. Usage it as a Test PC for Experimenting
Having a PC that you can install anything on and reset at any time substantially accumulations your prospective to constrictions checkup and position out added. As a author who consistently consultations uncommon apps and gadget-corrupting hacks, my checkup PC has come to be an indispensable part of my workflow.
You can consumption your ratty PC as a checkup PC, permitting you rushed treacherous consultations previously using them to your main PC. Listed under are some usual wears of a checkup PC.
- Test various Linux distros previously opting the proper one for your main PC. It’s nice for decontaminating twin-boot arrangements as faultlessly.
- Sprinted treacherous Computer system system registry hacks and gadget-matching tweaks to discover their brunt without obstacles.
- Sprinted and track creepy apps’ responsibility to ensure they are uneventful and secure for consumption.
- Test and position out equipment alteration contraptions, assistance overclocking or undervolting contraptions.
Merely perform sure you don’t log in doning relevant accounts on the checkup PC and try to withhold it divided from the home network making earn utilization of of the leaseholder network center of the router.
4. Convert the Ratty PC into a Speedy “Chromebook”
If your ratty PC is also slow-moving to be administered for anything justifiable, you can install ChromeOS Flex on it to breathe brand-new spiritedness into it. ChromeOS Flex is a light operating gadget especially acquired for ratty PC to perform them rapid for humble consumption. It’s the uncomfortably same to the OS on Chromebooks that jobs substantially in the cloud to have limited brunt on the equipment.
You can browse the web, rushed web apps, and rushed some Linux apps doning qualified pace even on ratty equipment. It moreover doesn’t hamper over time, as every little thing forecloses place in the browser or the cloud. Indistinguishable to inflicting a Windows bootable USB, you’ll have to construct a bootable USB doning ChromeOS Flex and consumption it to install the operating gadget.
Download theChromeOS Flex installer image and then consumption Rufus to construct a bootable USB drive.

5. Reuse Ratty Desktop PC Gaps
Most of the ratty PC’s percents can be recycled in your newer PC builds or occupational as substitute percents if something goes against in your main PC. While RAM, CPU, or GPU may not occupational, there are some percents that continue to be savage throughout builds. Listed under are some usual PC percents well worth reusing:
- Storage hole Drives: most PCs have voids for multiple storage hole drives. You can consumption your ratty PC’s storage hole drive in the brand-new PC for added enclosure. Also if it’s slow-moving, it can still occupational as added enclosure for media and to archive files.
- Wires: various PC cables continue to be the uncomfortably same throughout most builds, so you can consumption them as replacements if essential. This contains power cables, SATA cables, motherboard cable television, and CPU cable television. Merely perform sure the connectors match, or review the manual for cable television standards.
- PSU: if your ratty PC has a excellent PSU, it can be administered for the brand-new PC if it strengthens the warning. More recent textiles are internationally power-favourable, and internationally don’t surge in basic power warning. So even an elder PSU can occupational doning brand-new textiles.
- Brandish: the ratty PC’s display sterilize can be administered as a second display sterilize for the brand-new PC. Listed under’s a overview to install a second display sterilize on Windows.
6. Revolve Ratty PC into a NAS Hub
Instead of obtaining an pricey Synology NAS, you can revolve an ratty PC into a Network-Attached Storage hole (NAS) hub to store front and access files over the network. NAS has various wears, assistance a main endorse-up treatment for family tools, a media web server, CCTV storage hole, and a erection added. Listed under’s how to share the ratty PC’s storage hole drive over the network on Windows:
Right-click on a drive in your PC and choose Estates. Footfall to the Sharing tab here and click on Proceeded Sharing.

Listed under, review the Share this folder checkbox, click on the Assents button, and choose Complete Readjust. Apply the matches, and the drive will be reciprocatory over the network. Recur the uncomfortably same moves for other drives if obtainable.

To access the reciprocatory drive, amenable Documents Explorer and kind twin backslashes (\) doning your PC’s tag. For example, my PC tag is Karrar, so I’ll kind \karrar to access the network reciprocatory drive. You’ll have to consumption your borrower account clarifies to access the drive. If you are on Linux, you can review out these NAS corrects for Linux instead.

Preserve in psyche that your ratty PC will have to continue to be on for the network drive to be delightfully available. So perform sure you maximize it to eat less power and ensure it doesn’t check-up rest.
If you are transmitting to a brand-new PC indifferent offered that your ratty PC is also slow-moving, then try these pointers to pace it up initially previously overhauling. Also, if you have an ratty tablet computer system lying around, then try these strategies to repurpose an ratty tablet computer system and placed it to excellent consumption.
