How to Salvage your Old Laptops?
Computers and laptops are common everywhere and they have a huge demand. When people buy any new laptops or computers, they usually throw away the old ones. Laptops are not eco-friendly as they are made up of toxic components and materials. This is not good for our planet in the long run as it is an e-waste. Therefore, dealing with your old laptop can be pretty confusing. Here are some tips on what you can do with your old laptops.
Firstly, if your old laptop is still working, you can always sell it off to any buyer or any online auction sites. This is a very god way of dealing with old laptops as it will not harm the earth. If you are having trouble finding a good buyer, you can also donate it to some charity or gift it away to friends or families.
If your laptop is broken or damaged, then you can look for key parts inside the laptop and then sell them off. Many parts can be sold off like the motherboard, memory storage, video cards and so on.
Secondly, you can recycle your laptop in exchange for money in mobile recycling units. This is very simple as all you have to do is type in the model name and the manufacturer of the laptop. The website or the computer will simply give you the prices of a working and a non working laptop.
If you are happy with the prices, then you can exchange your laptop for that specific amount of cash. Some recycling units also have free courier services that come to your houses and pick up the laptop.
Thirdly, you can recycle your laptops at any government recycling units. They will make sure that your laptop is disposed off properly and that it will not pose a problem to our planet. However, you will not be paid any money.
Therefore, we can see that recycling or reusing the laptops is a good and eco-friendly idea.
How to Browse Anonymously
What is browsing anonymously or why browse anonymously?
Any PC or laptop that connects to the internet is identified by a unique address, called IP Address or Internet Protocol Address. Whenever you try to access any online information or website, your requests are sent in the form of data packets to the destination server. The requested information is again sent back to your computer in the form of data packets. These data packets will have the source and destination addresses, time and other details, so that your computer and the server from which you’ve requested information can be identified.
Sometimes there are certain parties who are interested in analysing internet traffic, to see who is requesting what kind of information or what sites are most frequently visited and so on. Such kind of traffic analysts can easily track all your online activities and can even use them for their own benefits. This is because the data packets have the source and destination addresses. The thought of being secretly monitored online is quite creepy. Everyone deserves their privacy. Therefore browsing anonymously is essential.
How to browse anonymously?
One of the most popular and FREE tools to browse the internet anonymously is TOR – The Onion Router.
How Does TOR work?
TOR, when installed on your PC or laptop, makes your browsing anonymous. Whenever you request for any online information, the TOR client on your PC/laptop determines a path over which your request will be sent to the destination server. Your requests are also encrypted before they leave your PC/laptop. These encrypted packets are sent via that pre-determined path. The protocol has been so designed that the intermediate servers (TOR nodes) in this pre-determined path will only know the previous server that is sending the packet to it. None of these intermediate servers will know the exact source and destination, or the entire route taken by the packets. Thus, traffic analysis will not be able to track your requests down. Moreover, TOR can be configured to keep changing the pre-determined path after the sending of certain number of packets.
What is Vidalia?
The TOR project also has a GUI called Vidalia, which allows configuring TOR, starting and stopping it, monitoring it and doing other TOR settings.
What is Privoxy?
In addition to using TOR, it is recommended to also use Privoxy, which is a web proxy. This is a non-caching web proxy which enhances privacy while browsing.
How to install TOR?
Download TOR and Vidalia – http://www.torproject.org/download.html.en
Download Privoxy – http://www.privoxy.org/
You should also find instructions to install and make your applications (like your web browsers) to use TOR in the links above.
MAKE SURE YOU READ the WARNING BEFORE You Go Ahead…
http://www.torproject.org/download.html.en#Warning
Once all configurations are done and once your browser is TOR enabled, you’re all set to browse anonymously.
Memory Upgrade – RAM Upgrade
How to upgrade RAM in a laptop?
Laptop memory upgrade is pretty simple. You can do it yourself too. You just need to follow a few simple steps. There are however certain precautions that you should take. They are listed below as well.
Precautions:-
- Every laptop has a limit on the memory capacity that it can support. You need to find the maximum memory your laptop can hold. This should be mentioned in the manuals that came with the laptop. You might also find these manuals stored in your hard disc in the form of pdf files.
- Ensure that your laptop is not already built-in with this maximum memory. If it is, then an upgrade will not be possible. In-order to find this out, check the System Properties as follows:- For Windows XP – Click Start, Run. Type sysdm.cpl . The window that appears, should tell you the size of RAM installed. For Windows Vista/7 – Click Start. In the search box, type system . From the list under Programs, click on System. A window will appear where you should be able to see the RAM installed in your laptop.
- Get a memory module that will be compatible with your laptop. Certain websites (like http://www.crucial.com/store/drammemory.aspx) give you details about memory modules that will suit your laptop, when you enter its make and model in them.
- Memory modules should be handled with great care. Touching them with bare hands can cause damage due to static electricity in your body. Therefore, touch some metal object, before you hold the module.
- When you open out your laptop, if there is no free slot available to place the memory module, you might need to get a higher capacity memory module and replace an existing one.
What you need:-
Compatible memory module with the right capacity.
Tools to open your laptop.
How to upgrade laptop memory…
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1Shut down your laptop and unplug the cables from the mains.
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2Place the closed laptop upside down. For most laptops, the memory modules are located below the battery panel. But for some, there might be a separate flap on the lower side to access the memory. You could refer the manuals for getting more details on where the memory modules are situated in your laptop. In this article, we consider the case where the memory module is located below the battery panel. Therefore, first remove this panel.
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3Use the tools to remove the screws and open the memory flap beneath.
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4Place the memory module carefully in a free slot, aligning the pins properly. Push it into place steadily but gently.
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5Fix the flap and battery panel back into their places.
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6Start your laptop. Check your System Properties to see if the upgrading has been recognised. If not, you might not have placed the memory module properly in the slot. You might have to repeat the process again. Also note that, the laptop will not recognise an incompatible memory module.
How to Change BIOS Boot Order
Once you enter BIOS (visit How to Get to BIOS for this), do the following to change the boot order:-
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1Navigate to the Boot menu on the blue bar on the top, using the side arrow keys.
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2Click “Enter” to enter the Boot menu.
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3Use the up/down arrow keys to move to the required device from which you want to boot your laptop/PC up.
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4Use the + key to move your choice to the top. In case you want to format your laptop and want to boot up from a CD, then shift CD-ROM Drive to the topmost position.
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5Then use the side arrow keys again to go to Exit on the top blue bar.
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6On this Exit screen, hit the Enter key on the choice which says “Exit Saving Changes”. This should be on the topmost position by default. If not, navigate to it using the up/down arrow keys.
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7You will again be prompted with a “Save configuration changes and exit now?”. Hit the Enter key by choosing “Yes”.
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8The booting up will then start. If you’ve chosen CD-ROM Drive for booting up, you might again be prompted with “Press any key to boot from CD…”
Check the following images in order:-
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32-bit 64-bit Operating System?
To find out whether your laptop/ computer is running a 32 bit or a 64 bit operating system, do the following:-
For Windows XP:-
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1Click on Start. Right click on My Computer. Click on Properties OR Click on Start > Run. Type sysdm.cpl and then click OK.
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2In the General tab, under the System heading, you’ll see the following (refer figure below):-
Microsoft Windows XP “edition” Version “year” – indicates 32 bit OS
Microsoft Windows XP “edition” x64 Edition Version “year” – indicates 64 bit OS
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64-bit 32-bit Processor?
Here are 2 simple methods to check whether the processor in your laptop/ computer is a 32 bit one or a 64 bit one:-
METHOD 1
Use CPU-Z tool
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1Download the CPU-Z tool. This tool gathers details about your system components.
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2Install it.
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3Run it.
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4The CPU-Z window appears. Check this location:-
CPU tab > Processor section > Instructions – you should see the following:-
EM64T – In case of Intel 64-bit processor.
AMD64 or X86-64 – In case of 64-bit AMD processors.
There will be no such details in case of a 32 bit processor. Refer snapshots below:-
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METHOD 2
Check the manufacturer site (Not a very techie sort of method! But nonetheless, it’s effective…)
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1Click Start. Right click on My Computer. Click on Properties. (Windows XP) OR Click Start. Right click on Computer. Click on Properties. (Windows Vista)
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2Details about your processor should be displayed on the window that appears, in the General tab, under Computer:. In the 1st snapshot below, the processor used is Intel E7300.
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3Look for the processor details in the manufacturer site (a simple Google search should get you there). In Intel’s website, you should see something like:
Instruction Set – 64-bit
or
Instruction Set – 32-bit
Refer snapshots below:-
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How to Get to BIOS
How to Access BIOS
To access BIOS on your laptop or PC is pretty simple. You just need to be alert to catch the instruction on the screen and to press the required keys immediately. Do the following when you want to update BIOS:-
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1Start your laptop / PC or restart it, in case it’s already started.
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2As and when it is booting up, watch out for onscreen instructions which indicate which key or set of keys to be pressed to enter the BIOS settings.
Note:- Such instructions would typically look like these:-
Press “key” to Enter BIOS Setup or Press “key” to Enter Setup or Press “key” to access BIOS or Press “key” to Run SETUP or “key” = Setup
Here “key” could be a single key like one of the Function keys (F1, F2…) or DEL key. They could also be a combination of keys.
Click on these screen shots for getting a better picture.
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3Press the mentioned “key” and you’ll be directed to the BIOS setup.
Windows Vista Upgrade to Windows 7
Vista upgrade to Windows 7
There are 2 ways of upgrading your Windows Vista laptop to run Windows 7.
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A clean install, where you remove the existing OS completely including all your other files (documents, photographs, other software) and freshly install Windows 7.
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Upgrade you laptop by installing Windows 7 on top of the existing OS. Here your files will not be removed.
To install Windows 7, you can use one of the following:-
- an installation disc if your laptop has an integrated DVD drive, or use an external DVD drive.
- a downloaded copy of the OS.
- the ISO files that’s loaded on a USB flash drive. (Visit How to Format Hard Drive Without CD)
In case you want to do a clean install, then follow the steps given in – Windows XP Upgrade to Windows 7. The procedure is the same.
Upgrade Vista – Windows 7
In case you are going to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 then follow these steps:-
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1Ensure that your laptop atleast has Service Pack 1 of Windows Vista running on it. Else you will not be able to proceed with the upgrade.
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2Backup all data on an external hard drive, or another computer on your home network, or in an online storage cloud, or on a CD/DVD. Though this process will not wipe out your files, it is better to stay safe in case something goes wrong.
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3Connect to the internet in case you want automatic updates during the installation.
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4Slip in your installation disc into the DVD drive or plug in your USB flash drive and the installation should kick-start automatically. Else you’ll have to go to the respective drive from Start > Computer, and then double click on the setup.exe file. In case you have a downloaded copy of the OS, then you can directly double click on the installation file from there.
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5Click on “Install Now” on the Install Windows page.
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6On the “Get important updates for installation” choose the first option, to get automatic updates immediately. This is why you need to be connected to the internet during the upgrade process.
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7After the updates are got, the laptop will restart and will continue with the installation from where it left it. You’ll have to agree to the license terms and then click “Next”.
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8On the next screen – “Which type of installation do you want?” choose Upgrade.
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9The installation then checks if there are any compatibility issues. Follow screen instructions to get things fixed.
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10The laptop then continues with the process and will restart automatically a few times. The process will take a long time to complete.
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11You’ll then have to enter the product key and click “Next”. A few more settings to go and you’ll be taken to the Windows 7 desktop.
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12You might have automatic updates doing their work else, you might have to manually update certain drivers for working with Windows 7.
For more format options visit – How to Format Laptop?
How to Format Hard Drive Without CD
This article also answers questions like – how to format laptop without CD, how to format laptop without CD drive, how to format a netbook, how to re-install Windows (Vista/XP/7) without CD…
In case your laptop or netbook does not have a CD or DVD drive and you want to format it, then you can do this with a USB flash drive too.
Here are the requirements:-
- A USB flash drive with atleast 4GB capacity for Windows Vista and Windows 7; or atleast 2GB for Windows XP.
- A laptop or PC for getting your USB drive ready.
- The ISO image file of the operating system (XP, Vista or 7) you want to install, downloaded on the laptop. [This is available on the internet]
- The UNetbootin tool, which is available as a free download at – http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
To make your USB pendrive, a bootable drive to install the OS, follow these steps:-
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1Insert the USB drive into the USB port of the laptop.
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2Click Start > My Computer for XP [or Start > Computer for Vista]
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3Right click on the USB drive and then from the drop down menu, select Format. (Refer Figure 1)
Figure 1... Click to enlarge
Windows XP Upgrade to Windows 7
XP Upgrade to Windows 7
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Step
1Ensure that your laptop or netbook meets the following requirements for Windows 7 compatibility:-
- at-least a 1GHz processor
- at-least 1GB of RAM (for 32-bit) and 2GB (for 64-bit)
- a minimum of 16GB of hard drive space (for 32-bit) and 20GB (for 64-bit).
- DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM driver model 1.0