Where to get a free computer

Please post how to get a free computer. Free as in no hidden charges, no obligation, no signing up for phone/email solicitation, etc. Just plain free. Or practically free but nothing hidden or comes-back-to-haunt-you.

I read in another post someone doesn't have a computer at home. Well, maybe that's by choice but just in case anybody's needing a pc for home or just wanting a better pc...

I've built a few pretty awesome PC's lately and upgraded one of my own by getting parts from my town dump. It's not like I'm stepping over the rotting lettuce with the seagulls either. There's a special box trailer labeled for computer/monitor/tv recycling. Just last week I picked up an awesome Dell P780 monitor, which is a nice Trinitron 17-inch flat CRT monitor with better resolution capability and refresh rate than a monitor I had been using.

I also got lots more RAM, a zip drive, and another IDE hard drive for an old Pentium3 box that I wanted to turn into a Linux server. And I loaded the old RedHat 9 onto it. (Gotta find a new favorite free Linux) Works great now!

I put together an old Mac I found there for a friend who mentioned she wanted a computer to write letters and maybe do some web surfing. Built her one with decent RAM and a decent screen like the one above. It ain't something to run a corporate website on, but it's perfect for her use plan.

For $25 which technically isn't free but close I bought my dad's old ("former", not really old) Compaq Presario EN from his work when they did an office-wide upgrade. Came with a 15" LCD monitor too. That now belongs to my 3 little boys.

Anybody got other places/ideas to get a free computer?

I've found old PCs thrown by the curb from time to time. Very often they were thrown away because the hard drive failed and the person didn't know enough about computers to fix it. Some of the machines are fairly decent. While not technically free I usually throw about $25 worth of parts from eBay (RAM and sometimes a processor) into the machines, use one of my spare hard drives, and have a spare PC good enough for things like Internet browsing. I've even found a few 15" monitors in working condition to use with these PCs.

If you're lucky enough to know a person who upgrades frequently and doesn't keep his/her old equipment that's another good source for free or low-cost PCs. I got two of my machines that way (I only had to put in extra RAM and a hard drive).

It is now illegall to dump old computers in some states. There are seriously toxic compounds in some parts of the boards and components. The recycling of old systems is going to hurt building from scavenged parts but will keep some small amounts of crap from leeching into soil and/or water around dumps.

Does put another middle man in the build from scrap computer business, though.

Monitors should definitely always be recycled. There's really nothing user serviceable in those anyway. When I find a monitor by the curb it either works or it doesn't. If it doesn't, I put it out next time with trash, which kind of bothers me. New York State really needs to get into recycling old electronics more. I have a few electronic things which don't work but which I'm hestitant to throw away for the reasons you mentioned.

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chmsam said:
It is now illegal to dump old computers in some states. There are seriously toxic compounds in some parts of the boards and components.

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That must explain why my town has a separate drop-off place for that kind of stuff. Didn't make sense to me, because the printers are usually inoperable, most of the PC's are already stripped, and most of the monitors are just too old. So why not just have it thrown in with the rest of the trash? OK I get it. And it's not like they were going to be melted down and recycled, nor reused for schools or the needy (I once gave an older computer of mine to a local school and they were very grateful -- even gave me a tour just for that like I was a VIP or something. Sad state of things, I suppose.) I wonder what's done with that old stuff that has less detrimental impact on the environment.

eBay is funny. I sometimes wonder whether folks strip the PC's at the dump and head back to eBay it as like certified RAM or low-mileage hard drives or something.

Garage sales are good. You can turn on the computer and check the system. They often have upgrades like video cards in them.

I recently took an old computer to the dump. It worked fine, it was just old and I had no use for it anymore. I couldn't find a place that would accept it as a donation, either. It was a 166MHz Pentium. Anyway, I took out the hard drive but left the RAM and everything else in it - had no use for it - and took it to the dump. A good find for someone who might have been looking. (had modem, LAN card, upgraded video and sound, nice sturdy Dell Optiplex case, tape backup drive, etc...)

The monitor, on the other hand -- it's still in my living room. I don't know how to get rid of it. The garbage men won't take it, the dump wouldn't... it's crazy.

I use to get worse of the worse from a guy who was in the MARS program. Most of it was junk and did not work. I did manage to make 2 computers with monitors out of countless pieces of junk that did not work.

Maybe Craigslist?

you would be surprised to see what i get from the curb.
got a compaq 2.8 p4 a few days ago.had the 17" lcd and restore cd's with it.
it was loaded with spyware and trojans.a restore made it as new.1 phonecall and it found a new home and fattened my wallet a bit

[ QUOTE ]
snakebite said:
you would be surprised to see what i get from the curb.
got a compaq 2.8 p4 a few days ago.had the 17" lcd and restore cd's with it.
it was loaded with spyware and trojans.a restore made it as new.1 phonecall and it found a new home and fattened my wallet a bit

[/ QUOTE ]

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That's amazing! I guess I should start trolling! The next town up has curbside pickup (in ours we need to haul our trash to the dump ourselves). I wonder if somebody would care if they saw me pickin' out something from their trash. Guess if were in their position I'd think "take it... then I won't need to pay to have it picked up."

Wow, I should get your contact info for some blind organizations. It is amazing what one can do with a computer with speech output software. The software alone is 795 bucks.

Hey Cobb,

What is your condition? I recall reading in another thread that you were blind. I am legally blind myself and the condition is getting worse and at some point I will probably be completely blind. I have gyrate atrophy which is similar to RP. I haven't done it yet but I really need to get in touch with some blind organizations while I can still see.

Mutie

I have a muscular disease marfan www.marfan.org it causes problems with my whole body. So, am legally blind, that is why I carry a flashlight and use it indoors and what not. Helps me see better.

Right off the bat I would say www.nfb.org www.afb.org

My local dump has a good-stuff building and a monitor/TV dropoff section. I've gotten all sorts of great stuff there. If it can be made, I've found it. Every type of item of any age and value. You wouldn't believe some of the deals I've gotten.

Fastest computer I've seen there (which a friend got) was a Compaq Athlon 900 with a DVD-R drive. I've gotten similar computers, but not quite that good. Most of the time they needed hard drives or software reinstalls. Found one with a satellite internet card once.

I have seen computers at thrift stores such as Goodwill industries. Not free, but you might get lucky and find a good one for cheap.

And talk about finding good cast-offs. If you live in a college town, just take a look at what gets thrown out at the end of the semester outside the dorms. It is unbelievable.

I just scored a brand-new HP InkJet printer (900 series)! It was next to a dumpster, on a chair. Came to me complete with power adapter, and clogged ink heads. A little "rubbin' 'n scrubbin'" and it's working like a charm! Wohooo for freebies like this.