A Refurbishing Experience:
How I Made a 12-Year-Old Computer Useful Again

by Howard Fosdick  © 2025 RexxInfo.org  --   Share this under the open source CC-BY-ND license. (Please do not alter contents.)

A friend offered me an old desktop computer she stopped using several years ago. I dropped by and hauled it out of her basement.

Many old computers can be brought back to useful life. It's not hard -- you can easily do it yourself.

This article tells you how. It's a hands-on example of what I discuss in my companion article The Ultimate Guide to Computer Refurbishing.

Why Refurbish?

Why refurbish an old computer? First off, it's fun! If you've ever wanted to learn a bit about hardware and software, this is a great way to do it.

Plus, refurbishing gets you a free computer. Build it yourself from cast-offs and parts!

(If you want to know more about how and where to get free computers, I've written a whole article to tell you the secrets.)

Another benefit is that refurbishing is good for the environment. Many discarded computers end up in landfills. That's a disaster, given all the toxic chemicals they contain.

Or, they get "recycled" to developing nations where they are scavenged for saleable parts by people working in unsafe, unsanitary conditions.

By keeping a computer in service longer, instead of buying a new one, you're reducing the amount of electronics waste that has to be managed.

Multicore PCs were introduced in big numbers during the Windows 7 era. Tens of millions have been discarded since then because they can't run newer Windows versions. Yet they're still capable, working computers!

It's wasteful and just plain stupid to discard perfectly good computers just because they don't fit Microsoft's strategy of planned obsolescence.

This article tells you what you can do about that.

Cosmetics

I hauled the computer back to my place and set it on a card table in the basement. The photo on the left shows what I got.

It looks pretty terrible, right? Actually, the only problem is that it's missing its front panel, the plastic covering that makes it look pretty.

I looked on the back label and determined that this is computer is an ASUS M11BB-B07. A quick web search showed that it looks like the image on the right side when properly concealed.

It's not unusual for junked computers to have comestic problems like this. Or disconnected or missing parts inside.

I figured the chances of finding the unique front panel for this old computer were nil.

One solution would be to use this computer only in a child- and pet- free environment where no one could stick their paw into it. Place it somewhere inaccessible, like on a high shelf or in a closet.

Or, you could make a front panel.

Using a sharp knife, I cut a thick piece of shipping cardboard to cover the exposed parts of the front. I attached it very securely. I left the I/O ports at the top and the fan opening exposed.

It's not pretty, but it certainly looks better than what you see in the photo. More important, it's safe and functional. Problem solved.

Cleaning

Cleaning the machine's insides is vital. Heat kills electronics, and dust increases heat. Therefore: dust kills old computers.

A lot people get rid of perfectly good working laptops because they mysteriously shut down. 98% of the time this is due to their overheating.

If you want a free laptop, just fix that overheating. It's often as simple as:

• Clean the insides thoroughly
• Ensure the fans all work (and replace any defective fan)
• Set the processor speed to produce less heat in the Configuration Panels (explained below)
• Install a temperature program to monitor heat going forward
• Consider buying a $20 or $30 USD cooling pad and using the laptop on top of it

If that doesn't fix it, click here for more tips.

When you work with computer hardware, you have to ensure that it doesn't shock you, and that you don't shock it.

Ensure you don't get shocked by always turning OFF and unplugging any device before you work on it.

Avoid shocking your computer by grounding yourself. Frequently touch a metal object before you touch the computer's insides. Or, buy a $5 anti-static wrist strap.

If you don't do this, you could give your computer's circuitry a shock from static electricity so small that you can't even feel it, yet you could damage it.

Don't rub the electronics with a rag to clean them. That could generate static electricity. Instead, use a can of compressed air or a fine-bristled brush.

Assessment

With the insides all clean, now I read the labels on the computer case, disks, memory, motherboard, and everywhere else. I write it all down for later reference.

Here's what I learned this computer contains:

• 320 gigabyte Western Digital hard disk drive
• 500 gigabyte Seagate hard disk drive
• 3 memory sticks, with the fourth slot open
• A wireless card inserted in one of the add-on card slots

Here's how to decode the memory labels. The photo shows that the memory generation is PC3. That's also known as DDR3.

Generations span from PC (oldest) to PC5 (newest). (In other words, from DDR to DDR5.)

Notice the notch at the bottom of the stick. Each memory generation has its notch in a different physical location. This ensures that you don't accidentally put the wrong generation of memory into the motherboard.

Notice also the stick's speed, organization and manufacturer.

The labels showed that my rebuild has memory of two different manufacturers, organizations, and speeds.

Normally you can mix memory in this manner as long as it fits the motherboard slots. But not always.

The easiest way to find out is simply to try it. It won't hurt anything as long as the memory physically fits the slots.

Or you can look up exactly what memory your computer accepts using the free memory tools at either:

    * Kingston Memory
    * Crucial Memory

For photos and more details about how to insert memory, click here. For more about memory compatibility, click here.

Connecting Everything

Identification completed, I scanned the computer's insides for any obvious problems. All parts appeared to be present.

But the two disks were unplugged. For each, I connected a data transfer cable from the back of the disk to the motherboard. Then I plugged in each disk to the power supply. It took just seconds to fix this. (For more details on how to connect disk drives, click here).

I verified that the memory was seated properly, that the fans were plugged in and appeared functional, that there were no loose parts or dangling wires left over, etc.

I identified all the plugs on the back of the computer. I decided to use the DVI plug for my display, and the PS/2 style plug for the old style keyboard that came with the computer.

I used a black USB 2.0 port for connecting the mouse. This preserves the two much faster USB 3.0 ports for devices that need faster data transfer rates. These ports have blue plastic inside that identifies them.

There's a BIG speed differential between different generations of USB ports. You want to save the faster ports for devices that really need them, for example, to plug in an external disk or fast USB thumb drive.

Boot Into the Configuration Panels

With all parts seemingly present and intact, it was time to start the computer up and get into its Configuration Panels.

(People also call these the Startup Panels, Setup Panels, the UEFI, the UEFI/BIOS, or the BIOS.)

These panels give you more information on the computer hardware. You can also alter your computer's configuration parameters. In most instances the panels include diagnostics you can run to verify that all components work.

You access the Configuration Panels by pressing a key while the computer boots. Which key you press depends on the manufacturer.

In my case, while booting the computer told me to:

If your computer doesn't tell you which key to press, see this chart.

What if your computer won't boot at all? This discussion will you help isolate the problem and fix it.

Once I got into the Configuration panels, I was able to verify that the computer recognizes both the disk drives and all three memory sticks. Be sure that the computer recognizes 100% of the memory, not just some portion of it.

In this case I could see that all three memory sticks were recognized at their full capacity of 2 gigabytes each. I could also verify that the fan was working and that the temperature was fine (no overheating). Checking the temperature and the fans is especially important with laptops.

From the configuration's "boot panel" seen in this photo, I could also set parameters like:

• The boot order
• Whether the computer would boot from a USB thumb drive
• Whether Secure Boot is OFF or ON
• Whether the computer boots according to the older legacy BIOS standard, or the newer current UEFI standard.

In this panel, the Setup Mode of CSM (Compatibility Support Model) means that this computer will boot with the older legacy BIOS.

So when a I create a USB memory stick to boot from, I should create it for the older BIOS standard -- not the newer UEFI protocol.

(Or alternatively, if I want to boot from an UEFI-formatted USB stick, I must alter this configuration parameter to match.)

Test the Hardware

Now I want to test all components and ensure they work. This is vital because this is an unknown computer that was discarded. It could have broken part(s).

I need to test everything:

• CPU and Motherboard
• Memory
• Disk(s)
• Peripherals (USB ports, sound, mouse, keyboard, wifi card, etc.)

Some Configuration Panels include testing tools. This computer's setup panels do not. So I'll download one of these free testing suites:

• Ultimate Boot CD
• Hiren's Boot CD
• System Rescue CD
• The Inquisitor

These tools all run off bootable USB memory sticks (often referred to as Live USBs). Here's how to create a Live USB.

If you run into a problem in booting from your Live USB, here's how to fix it.

Testing All Computer Components with the Ultimate Boot CD    (Courtesy: UltimateBootCD.com)

Run all the tests. Some take a long time. Do a thorough job and let them run! If you miss a problem at this point, it could cause you a lot of time and grief later.

In my case, I found that the second hard disk drive was functioning but reported many errors. I decided it was too unreliable to use. I took it out of the machine, hit it with a hammer to render its data inaccessible, and recyled it.

Prepare the Disk

I've verified that my 320 gigabtye Western Digital hard disk is working properly. Now if I want to use it, I must be wipe all the data off that disk.

You must do this because the disk could contain illegal software, films, music, pornography, stolen information, or who-knows-what.

Since this is my computer now, I could be held responsible if any of that bad stuff remains on the disk. The only way to be certain I've gotten rid of it all is to thoroughly wipe the entire disk clean.

Of course, that will wipe Windows from the disk as well. That's good.

You can't use an obsolete Windows system because you'd be plagued by malware. So erase it because it only wastes disk space.

Run a tool like DBAN to wipe the disk. You can download it directly from here.

(DBAN and similar wiping tools are also available in those testing disks we mentioned earlier, such as the Ultimate Boot CD and Hiren's Boot CD.)

I used DBAN's "autonuke" function because it thoroughly erases the data. This takes a good while, so I let it run unattended overnight.

(WARNING -- if your computer has a solid state disk (SSD), instead of a hard disk drive (HDD) like mine, you need a different kind of tool called a secure erase. Regular HDD erasure tools will not erase an SSD!).

(Some computers come with an secure erase utility in their UEFI/BIOS. All you have to do is access the boot configuration panels to run it. It will usually be labelled something like "ATA Secure Erase."

(The other option is the website of the disk manufacturer. Many offer free downloads of secure erase utilities for their SSDs.

(If the vendor doesn't provide a secure erase utility for drive, your only option may be to purchase a tool like Parted Magic for $15 USD. Or, find another disk.)

Select and Install and OS and Apps

My hardware all works and the disk is clean. Now it's time to select and install an operating system and applications. Fortunately, many Linux products (or "distributions") bundle both.

So it's one simple install. It's all free and it doesn't force you to mess with activation keys or face licensing hassles.

The hardware you have may factor into which Linux distro you choose to install. I gathered information about my build from three sources:

• The hardware labels
• The Configuration Panels
• The manufacturer's documentation I downloaded from the manufacturer's website or from one of the several websites that freely offer manuals (like Manuals.com or Manua.ls)

I learned that my computer is an ASUS M11BB-B07. It was probably manufactured in late 2013 and shipped with Windows 8.

Here's the hardware of my build:

• AMD A10-6700 processor = 1 cpu, 4 cores, 4 threads
• Radeon HD 8670D integrated graphics
• 1 320 gigabyte hard disk
• 6 gigabytes of DDR3 memory
• Keyboard with a PS/2 style plug and a mouse with a USB plug

With a multicore processor like this and 6 gig of memory, you can run almost any Linux distribution you choose. I've had good experiences with Linux Mint/XFCE on mature computers, so I'll install that. There are many other Linux distros from which to choose.

(If you have less than 4 gigabytes of memory or a dual-core processor, you might try a lightweight Linux distribution like antiX or Puppy. My experience has been that both can restore computers all the way back to 20-year-old single processors.)

To install my distribution, I downloaded it from the Linux Mint website and created a Live USB. In my case, this was a legacy BIOS-bootable USB. I double-checked the Configuration Panels to ensure that the computer would boot from this.

Then I USB-booted and installed Linux Mint with all its applications. Voilà!

Improving Performance

The restored computer works great. It capably performs all the typical tasks the home computer user needs.

I did discover one area for improvement. The hard disk drive is slower than people using current computers expect. Modern SSDs and M.2 disks run much faster.

This is most noticeable during disk-intensive operations. For example, I see it when loading a big program from disk, such as the LibreOffice suite, or a browser like Firefox or Chromium.

To get a better understanding of performance, I tested booting the computer with all the same software residing on an HDD versus an SSD. The HDD booted in 2:30 minutes. The internal SATA-attached SSD took exactly half the time, at 1:15 minutes.

Solutions? Some Linux distros -- for example, antiX and Puppy -- offer the option to fully load themselves into memory. So the hard disk is rarely used after the operating system loads itself into memory. This leads to performance comparable to SSD speeds.

Another solution: I could add a solid state drive. These sell for less than $20 USD for the lesser capacities.

This offers a couple benefits beyond speed. First, it would increase the total amount of disk storage. The existing 320 gig drive is fine for home office use. But it's a bit skimpy if you wish to store large files, such as video, audio, or high-definition images.

Plus, I could use then employ the HDD as my backup device for the OS and my personal data.

I decided to buy a 128 gigabyte SATA III internal SSD for $15. Now disk operations fly, and my HDD serves for media storage and data backup.

Faster Web Surfing

The manner in which you web surf can make a BIG difference in performance. You may want to optimize this if you use an older computer.

So here are a number of performance tips to speed up your web surfing:

• Block ads and trackers. On many websites these consume over half resources required by the webpage.
  • Offload this chore to your virtual private network (VPN) if at all possible.
  • Otherwise, enable the blocker in your browser, or install an add-one ad/tracker blocker.
• Run only a single browser at once.
• Don't open many browser tabs.
• Disable autoplay for videos, animation, and flash.
• Don't slow down your browser by installing add-ons or extensions beyond the minimum required. De-install those you don't use.
• Actively manage your browser by manually starting and stopping processing in specific tabs. For example, have a background tab load your next webpage while you're reading the panel in the foreground tab.
• Toggle JavaScript OFF and ON. Only turn it ON when it's required. (This mainly helps when webpages have poorly-written JavaScript.)
• Ensure the browser renders text before graphics.
• Don't run background tasks while web surfing.
• Set the browser to clear cookies and cache upon shutdown. These ensures more efficient operation.
• If you're really resource-constrained, run a lightweight browser like Dillo, NetSurf, Dooble, Lynx, or Links.
• Here's a complete list of minimalist browsers you can experiment with.
• If you're running Linux, you don't have to run real-time anti-malware (this consumes an entire CPU thread on multicore Windows PCs).
• If you think your internet connection is slow, here's how to diagnose and fix it.

Final Words

I already own several computers, so I gave this one away to a friend. He's got a large family and not every child has his own computer. They've been happily using it for months.

Anyone can refurbish a computer. It doesn't require hardware experience. I hope this article has given you the information you need to succeed.

If you don't have a computer to work with, check out my article How to Get a Free Computer. If you know how to go about it, in many places in the U.S., you can get discarded computers for free.

I've written several related articles on fixing and refurbishing computers that you might want to read below.

If you get a chance to post a link to this article on your favorite social media, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you.

Related Articles

More on refurbishing --

Linux articles --

Other topics --

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