Hardware > Buying & Owning Hardware

Accepting Second Hand Computers

By Lasa Information Systems Team

Voluntary and community organisations are often offered second hand computers, and many organisations will accept them without a second glance. We've all been told not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but you don't want to simply be passed on the responsibility for disposing of a junk computer. This article gives a run down of the things to check for when being offered second hand computers.

Companies dispose of their computers for many reasons - sometimes because they aren't up to running current versions of software, perhaps there is a replacement policy that means that PCs are changed every two or three years or some design guru has decreed that a battleship grey PC goes far better with the new furniture than the 6 month old beige box.

Whatever the reason, it means there are thousands of unwanted and unloved PCs out there that could potentially still be in active service. Responsible companies won't just be chucking them into a big skip for you to rummage through though - and from 2006 the wonderfully-acronymed European WEEE Directive (standing for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) won't allow them to do that anyway.  From then on it will be the manufacturers' responsibility for financing the management of consumer electronic and electrical waste. Some will use recycling collection companies to take them away for refurbishing. This means checking them for safety and reliability, cleaning the hard drives, installing new operating systems, upgrading memory and ultimately selling them on to new users.

Where this isn't possible (or economically viable) they will dismantle and reclaim materials (you may have seen mouse mats, coasters made from old circuit boards - see ReActivated if you want to get hold of some of these recycled office goods.

Not everyone will be passing old goods back to the manufacturer for disposal.  Others will be passing them on to employees or donating them direct to pet charities.

Any organisation short of money is going to be tempted by the idea of a free or low cost second-hand computer. If you are currently attempting to run your organisation's administration on a first generation Pentium PC with a 75 Mhz processor, 500Mb hard drive, 8Mb of memory running (or maybe crawling is a better term!), and Windows 95, then replacing this with a used 3-year old machine is going to seem like heaven.

But, before going down this route, it's important to ask yourself a few questions:

• Has the PC been refurbished to acceptable quality and safety standards? Many refurbishers operate to the ISO 9002 quality standard and almost all carry out electrical safety tests.
• Does it fit in with your organisation's IT strategy or the organisation's policies? If you have strong environmental house policies, for example, it almost certainly will - but make sure you're not sacrificing usability for politics.
• Will it run the operating system (OS) that you are using? The more current the operating systems, the greater the system resources required - check with the OS manufacturer for desired hardware specifications.
• Does it come with an operating system and license? It may be supplied with an open source Linux OS which doesn't require you to have a license - but if you want Windows 2000 you'll probably have to pay extra for an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) license which the refurbisher should be able to supply you with - you won't be able to buy an OEM licenses from your usual software supplier, and a full price Windows OS even at charity rates is expensive. If it's being donated to you then make sure it still has the correct Windows OS license sticker on the computer box.
• Is there a warranty or any after-sales service? Some refurbishers will offer up to a year's warranty for parts - with others it may be as little as a month. Accepting a donated machine means there probably won't be any warranty so you'll need to make sure your IT support contractor will support it.
• Are the PCs name brands or "clones"? Some refurbishers only refurbish Compaq PCs and IBM and Dell laptops. With others you'll take your chance on the type of machine…
• Does the PC come with the hardware you require? Will it have a network card to enable you to join it to your network? Do you need a modem?
• Are you able to specify particular needs? If you want to run the machine for certain memory intensive task, can the supplier install 512Mb of RAM, for example.
• Does the PC come with a monitor, keyboard and mouse? Or can you buy the PC without these and reuse your existing kit if you already have them?
• If you want a laptop, can you be sure it's not been dropped down the steps at Bank tube station?

If you can satisfy yourself that these questions have been answered and that the PC on offer will do the job and the price is reasonable, then you probably have a bargain on your hands. If not then think again.

To find a local supplier of refurbished computers anywhere in the UK, contact the Realise IT Network, a partnership project primarily working in the boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth, Westminster and the Corporation of London which aims to minimise the environmental impacts of IT waste, and maximise access to IT resources. They can also advise on the best way of disposing of unwanted equipment (including the old clunker you want to replace!)