How to 'Download' Your Old Computer to the Highest Bidder

When you think trash, you're probably not thinking about your old, trusty personal computer. But that is exactly what happens to it when you make the inevitable move toward your next laptop or desktop computer. And, yes, buy a new computer is inevitable, considering the pace at which computer technology zips along. Think about a handful of years ago, a fast microprocessor for a laptop was at 233 MHz. Now you're looking at about at least 2 GHz! It's Giga, with G.

So ultimately, you will have a computer that can handle the latest software, the latest games and the latest interactive web sites, and then you have to throw out your old computer, right? Wrong. Try to sell your used computer instead. Throw your computer is one of the worst things you can do. For one, your computer may be useful for someone out there, even if just for scraps.

Trashed computers and other digital equipment also represents one of the fastest growing and most dangerous, new trash "categories" out there in your neighborhood landfill. On the one hand, computers are generally bulky and made of plastic and other materials that will not break down in a landfill for the next few million years. What is more, other materials in your old computer are highly toxic to the environment, like mercury, lead and cadmium. They are so toxic that they actually name the waste management field is "Toxic."

You need not be a techie or a scientist to understand the danger in that-or the benefits of selling your computer. On the Internet there are numerous auction and classifieds sites, some better than others, where you can "download" your computer to a worthy buyer.

Before you start your replacement laptop or high-performance PC, however, be sure that you read and calculate the following tips. These tips will help you avoid crashes and shutdowns to outdo the computer seller who does not do his homework first.

Maintain all operating system and software manuals that came with your old computer. This will increase the value of your sales, not to mention it will make you a trusted vendor to offer up these useful books to the buyer.

Delete all personal data from your hard disk. And we're not just talking about just putting things in the "trash." It is extremely important to clean all data from computer memory repository, even from invisible backup files on your hard disk. If you are not sure how to do this, ask your IT expert at work or a techie friend for advice. You do not want the next user can access your bank accounts, old e-mails and other private information, do you?

Uninstall a program from the disk as you would like to use on your next computer, keeping the installation disk and software, serial number for yourself. When it comes to software manufacturers ensure that you never really own software, you have license for it. So you do not get free reign to keep software on multiple computers. You get only one license, so you need to bring your licensed version with you to your new computer.

Do your homework on your computer worth. Just as you would for a car, you must navigate other classifieds and auction sites to see what other people selling your brand and model.

Be sure you really want to get rid of old faithful. You may be able to repair your old laptop rather than buy a new $ 2,000 Centrino model. Or you may be able to add RAM memory and a new hard drive to your four-year-old desktop rather than invest in a new $ 3,000 multimedia masterpiece. In other words, a thorough cost analysis of what it would take to rebuild your old computer, versus what it would cost to sell it and buy a new one. And check your heart too. You will be surprised how attached you are to your old faithful.

When you go through these steps, you are ready to make your move and sell, sell, sell. And then, of course, you will be ready to begin a whole new list of step-by to buy a new computer.