How to Make Money Disposing Your Old Laptop

Things You’ll Need:

• Old laptops
• Internet Access
• Packing Material
• Nearest Postal Service

Step1

First pull that laptop off the shelf you stuck it on and dust it good!

Step2

Make a note of the basic information about the laptop like model number, serial number, and other identifying features.

Step3

Make a note of the laptop’s status. For example, my USB Serial ports stopped working. Since they were all attached to the motherboard (Thank you Dell computers!), I needed to replace the motherboard in order to get the USB ports working again! After getting several quotes all in the hundreds of dollars, I simply bought a new laptop. The friend I asked to transfer my data off the hard drive for me destroyed the hard drive in the process but did manage to get all my data off first. The LCD screen, battery packs (that I couldn’t use in anything else I had), and keyboard were all still good. Since I’m not computer savvy, I felt certain there were probably other parts that I didn’t know about that was probably still functioning well, too. So, I made a note of all of these positive qualities.

Step4

Search the internet to see if there is a reputable company buying old, used and dead or non-working laptops. I recommend Laptop Service. (See resources section for a link to Laptop Service’s website).

Step5

Check the company out! Make sure the company is real and not some online rogue. One thing I always do is check out a company's "last updated" statement at the bottom of the website. I research the company via the internet by googling "laptop services reviews". Then I called the number on the "Contact Us" form. To assess Laptop Service's timeframe to respond to customers I sent them and email. I received a response within 24 hours. I then completed their "Laptop Estimate" form and sent all pertinent information about my dead Dell laptop.

Step6

Check your email for your estimate. I received an estimate back within 24 hours stating they would pay me $100.00 for the laptop but I would have to pay the shipping cost. They included the address as to where to ship the laptop and explained their payment process.

Step7

Securely pack the laptop and ship it. Yes, you are taking a chance by sending the goods before getting paid, but remember you were going to throw it out anyway! So what, you lose the shipping cost at the most – skip a trip to McDonalds and make up for it. I sent the laptop and all of the other odd batteries, and CD ROMS that I had accumulated over the years. After all, I previously tried selling these on Craigslist and EBay and didn’t even get a hit. Pack the laptop carefully, you don’t want the working parts to be damaged by the time they reach Laptop Service.

Step8

Go shopping! A week later, I received my check from Laptop Service for $100.00. Now, I’m still skeptical (No, I don’t trust easily. I’m an auditor from 9 to 5 - what do you expect!). I deposit the check in my account and wait to see if it clears. As of today,(more than 2 months later), I have not had any problems with the check. So, I just took my junk and turned it into $100 minus shipping cost ($18.00).

Step9

Now, isn’t this better than tossing that dead laptop in the trash?

How to Transfer Data on an Old Laptop to a New One

Things You’ll Need:

• Blank CDR/CDRW
• Portable Flash Drives
• E-mail

Step1

Blank CD-R/CD-RW can be used to burn your smaller files. From My Computer, drag your files onto your CD drive. Write those files to the CD. Once it is done burning, you can transfer the files to your new laptop.

Step2

A Portable Flash Drive works the same as a CD, but can be a much faster process. Insert your Flash Drive and drag your files onto that drive (in My Computer). You can transfer larger files depending on the capacity of the drive.

Step3

E-mailing files as an attachment is a simple way to transfer smaller files to a new lap top. Compose an e-mail and attach the documents, photos, videos, etc. that you would like to transfer. From your new laptop, download and save the attachments.

Step4

There are online storage databases, but they can take time to upload files. Also, you most likely would have to pay to store your files temporarily. https://mozy.com/ will store up to 2 GB for free.

Step5

If you have a massive amount files and you are willing to spend the money, then you can purchase an external hard drive. Prices vary depending on the size of the drive. Here is a link to Best Buy external hard drives. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=abcat0504003&type=category

How to Save Yourself Before Your Computer Crashes

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer
• External hard drive (at least 100GB, more is always better)
• Several recordable CDs or DVDs
• CD/DVD folder or other media storage
• CD/DVD-safe permanent marker or labels
• An online storage account (See Resources)

Step1

Pick a day of the week to perform your backup activities. Set aside about a half hour to backup your computer.

Step2

Identify the data you want to back up. This may include work documents, photos, music and the like.

Step3

Create a folder on your external storage device or hard drive and label it with the date and "Backup." For example "04152007Backup".

Step4

Copy all the important folders you identified in Step 2 over to this folder on your external hard drive.

Step5

Insert a recordable CD or DVD into your computer's disk drive.

Step6

Using your favorite disk burning program, burn the folders you identified in Step 2 to the CDs or DVDs using the "Create Data Disk" or similar feature of your program.

Step7

Label the CD or DVD with the date and "Backup" using a label or a CD/DVD-safe permanent marker and store in your CD/DVD folder or other media storage.

Step8

Sign up for your choice of online storage sites.

Step9

Back up all the folders you identified in Step 2 to your online storage site.

Step10

Do this weekly.

How to Eject a Stuck DVD/CD Drive

Step1

First, check to see if it miraculously will open. Try to push the eject button while pushing the disk tray in or even sliding your fingers across the tray from left to right.

Step2

Next, carefully pry the tip of a butter knife into the top of the disc tray. Once in place press the eject button and carefully, simultaneously pull the disc tray out with the butter knife.

Step3

Repeat step 2 with the screw driver if the knife didn't work.

Step4

If this still does not work, try to pry open from the bottom

Step5

If you are able to get the tray open just a little, use a little more force to pry all the way open. If you do not want to add more force, use the flashlight and tweezers to remove the disc.

How to Digitally Label Your USB Flash Drive With Your Information?

Step1

Open your USB drive. And Right click on empty space.

Step2

Go to New, and Click on 'Text Document'.

Step3

This wil create new text file on your usb drive. Open the text file and write down following:

[autorun]
label=Your Name (###-###-####)

(Write your name and phone number, or whatever information, you want to put here)

Step4

Go to File, and click 'Save As'. In 'File name:' box, write down 'autorun.inf'. (Check video.)

From 'Save As Type:' box, select 'All Files'. Click Save.

Step5

This will create autorun.inf file on your usb drive. (Make sure that you create this file in the root directory or your usb drive, not inside any folder.)

Step6

You can right click on the autorun.inf file and go to properties. On the General tab, check box of 'Hidden' and 'Read only'. This will hide the file, so it is not visible to anyone unless they have 'Show hidden files and folders' enabled, which most people do not have. (This is not shown in video tutorial.)

Step7

So, Now whenever you plugin the USB into any computer, it will show your information in the 'My Computer'.

This is fairly easy tip, but it can reap great benefits if you ever lose your USB drive!

Step8

You can eve put your photo as an ICON for USB flash drive!

Step1

Open your USB drive. And Right click on empty space.

Step2

Go to New, and Click on 'Text Document'.

Step3

This wil create new text file on your usb drive. Open the text file and write down following:

[autorun]
label=Your Name (###-###-####)

(Write your name and phone number, or whatever information, you want to put here)

Step4

Go to File, and click 'Save As'. In 'File name:' box, write down 'autorun.inf'. (Check video.)

From 'Save As Type:' box, select 'All Files'. Click Save.

Step5

This will create autorun.inf file on your usb drive. (Make sure that you create this file in the root directory or your usb drive, not inside any folder.)

Step6

You can right click on the autorun.inf file and go to properties. On the General tab, check box of 'Hidden' and 'Read only'. This will hide the file, so it is not visible to anyone unless they have 'Show hidden files and folders' enabled, which most people do not have. (This is not shown in video tutorial.)

Step7

So, Now whenever you plugin the USB into any computer, it will show your information in the 'My Computer'.

This is fairly easy tip, but it can reap great benefits if you ever lose your USB drive!

Step8

You can eve put your photo as an ICON for USB flash drive!

How to Stabilize Vista and Run a Memory Test

Step1

Press your Start button (the Windows icon in the lower left corner of your screen) to open up the options menu.

Step2

In the text box that says "Start Search", type in memory. This should immediately bring up a link to the Memory Diagnostics Tool Click on it (or just hit ENTER).

Step3

Your computer will ask you if you want to run the test now or later. NOW means an immediate reboot. LATER means the test will start up the next time you restart your computer.

Step4

The diagnostic test will run in normal mode on the next start-up, which is recommended. However, you can press F1 to access advanced options, if you're that sort of user.

Step5

Be patient. The test takes quite a few minutes to run, and at times, may not appear to be doing anything.

Step6

On your next reboot (Yeah...sorry...another restart), the Memory Diagnostic Test will either give you a "No problems" indication, or will provide a detailed trouble report.

Step7

If memory problems are found, they can be a severe source of Vista instability. Follow the steps given to resolve any issues that are identified.