Done. All the client’s files were transferred from the old Windows XP machine to his brand new shiny Windows 7 machine. As we finished up, the question came up as to whether I could remove any pertinent information from the old PC so that he could donate it to a family that didn’t’ have a PC. The best way, I suggested, was to use the recovery disks that came with the machine, and restore the PC to the condition it was in when he bought it six years ago. This process formats the drive, removing anything on it and rewrites the original image back onto the drive. (Yes, if you had a supercomputer, some specialized software, time and money, it might be possible to recover some of the data.) But for our purposes, a format and reinstallation of the original operating system will work just fine.
With the original software restored, the old computer will start up. There is even an old version of Internet Explorer on it and an old version of Outlook Express. The games that ship with Windows XP are there but that is about it. Some websites out there will not even display properly in our old version of IE but for the moment it will do. It is unlikely that the family receiving this PC can afford software that would add utility to this machine. Consequently, the PC will be of limited usefulness. Unless……
What can we do to stretch out the life of this PC just a little bit longer? Loyal reader Melinda asks this very question, “How can we get the most out of our computers before they hit the junkyard.” Keep in mind, that software is expensive. For example, a good Antivirus program will set us back $40 or more depending on bells and whistles and Microsoft’s Office Suite is over $200.
One method of filling our software needs is to find and install pirated software. There are a few problems with this method, above and beyond the fact it is theft of someone else’s livelihood. Many pirated software programs are “broken” copies of functioning software. Consequently, there will be some feature or parts of the software that will not work. In addition, most software manufacturers today require “activation” of the software or it stops working after thirty or sixty days. Once software has been activated it can’t be loaded on another machine and activated again. An example is a new sealed box containing Windows XP that I purchased, installed and when I tried to activate it, it said to call Microsoft. I did and they told me that copy of Windows had been activated before. Fortunately, after explaining where I purchased it, and that it was an unopened, sealed container, they gave me the activation code and the program operated properly. There is a way to fulfill our needs without worrying about the FBI.
Let’s determine what software we might need to take this old PC a few more years into the future. Since most of the software we are going to add is not available in stores, but can be downloaded from the internet the first thing we need is an ISP. (Internet Service Provider) Ask a friend to go to www.juno.com and download the software for a free (Martha, did he say FREE?) dial up account. Obviously, free means some limitation, which in this case is a limit of ten hours per month online. But ten is better than none and you get an email account.
Yeah! We are on the Net. We are now a Netizen. (citizen of the net) This requires that we install some types of protection from marauding, dangerous viruses, malware and spyware. Travel to www.avast.com, download Avast! 4 Home Edition FREE, and install it. It works, it is FREE and requires only a modest amount of maintenance to keep it up to date. Or we can surf over to www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/mse.aspx and download Microsoft Security Essentials a FREE antivirus program from our friends at Microsoft.
Next download and install all the Windows updates available. One of these will be the newer version of Internet Explorer. With an XP machine the latest version of Internet Explorer we can load is Internet Explorer 8. Other browsers are also available for FREE such as Chrome, Firefox and Safari just to list a few. Surf’s up!
Finally, it would be nice to be able to write letters, open documents that are emailed to us, maybe create a spreadsheet or a database of Christmas card recipients. For this we can go to www.openoffice.org and download OpenOffice.org 1.1.5 which is a complete office suite. It has a word processor, a database, a slide presentation and a drawing program. OpenOffice.org may require a friend with a high speed ISP to download and burn to a CDROM for us; remember we only have ten hours a month on the Web. And once again, it is FREE. The other possibility is to use Google Docs which is a FREE online office suite.
If it is pictures we want to manipulate, there are a few different programs we can download and try, again for FREE. Download Windows Photo Gallery from explore.live.com/windows-live-essentials-photo-gallery-get-started. Or we can download Picasa from picasa.google.com. Both of these programs can help us edit pictures, organized them and e-mail them if we wish among other features.
If the old Outlook Express e-mail program is not to our liking, don’t be afraid to use webmail. This avoids having to load any software on to our second life computer in order to send or receive e-mail. But we can also download e-mail clients such as Thunderbird or Windows Live Mail if we like the idea of our e-mail actually residing on our PC.
There it is, a functional PC with no outlay of hard earned cash. Yes, some of this may be less than ideal, but it works and can tide us over until we can move up to something a bit newer and pricier.
Finally, since we are donating this PC to someone that may not be able to afford one otherwize, it might also be a generous act to include a copy of Grumbles From The Keyboard or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love My Computer. This will give them hundreds of how to tips, tricks and just good computer user advice on staying safe and having fun with their new computer. While your at it maybe another copy for you as well. It is available by clicking on the Buy Now button to the right or from www.grumblesfromthekeyboard.com or amazon.com or barnes and noble.
I still hear coins jingling in my pocket.
 | Grumbles From The Keyboard: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love My Computer |
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