63 Computers Update

63 computers Update week 4
For me anyway, 63 is a lot. I know I’m down to fewer, with the broken ones. Let’s say 50, and maybe 20 I’m not going to work on because they are a bit older.

I have 20 computers that are, in themselves, refurbished. I have 3 laptops and 2 mini computers, and a small form factor computer ready for a new home. A very nice woman from Medanales gave me 10 power cords, which brings me up to 16 which is how many I needed immediately, so that’s great.

I found a third monitor in my office, which was good, and I found a couple of mice and keyboards. I still need about 10 more mice & keyboards, and 12 monitors, just for the current batch I’m working on. I’m getting there. If you just need a new computer and already have the keyboard/mouse/monitor, let me know.
​
These are generally 8th generation core i3 computers with 8gb ram, 256gb solid state drives, and not necessarily WiFi, but definitely ethernet. WiFi will be another purchase and I’ll probably start ordering some small USB WiFi adapters.

See below for last week's article.
​
After opening all the computers and plugging about half of them in, I’ve been able to recycle some of the broken ones, and segregate the newer/better ones I want to start working on. I have 15 Small Form Factor (SFF) computers that I am buying memory for, plus I have 2 mini-computers and 3 laptops, needing memory and hard drives which I have also purchased.

Most of these computers are Core i3/8th generation which will run Windows 11 24H2, which is the latest version.

I have installed Windows 11 on all 20 of those computers, and one I have already given away. The mini computers and laptops all need power supplies, for which I bought 3, and another one is on order. I have been given several keyboards, some mice and four monitors! I bought video adapters for the desktop computers as they are almost all Display Ports, which isn’t very common, so they need to convert to HDMI or VGA.

After these computers are done, I will consider working on the 8 or so Core i3/7th generation desktops. While a tad older, they are still quite capable and can seemingly run Windows 11 24H2. I had a problem with one 7th generation laptop and redid the OS to version 23H2, so, last year's Windows 11.  Still very good.
​
I need standard desktop power cords, keyboards, mice, and monitors, if you can help out. Thank you.
 
Brian

(last week's article below)

​A blessing and a curse
By Brian Bondy
 
If you were a fan of Monk, then you might recognize that phrase as something he seemed to say on every show. Last week, someone gave me 63 computers. 52 desktops and 11 laptops. I am actually thrilled, as I like working on computers.

That said, none of the computers had memory, and only 15 had hard drives. I am starting with those that have hard drives. I had a couple of sticks of memory that would work well enough for me to test them, and install Windows 11. I also have a monitor and 2 keyboards to test with, so I could sort of do two at a time, by sharing the monitor.

I’ll need screens, keyboards, mice for all of them. I ordered some memory, but I’ll need more, and most of them do not have WiFi. So that’s what I’m asking your help with. If you have any USB keyboards, mice, or any monitors that you aren’t needing, please consider me. I’ll also need some desktop and laptop DDR4 memory, if you happen to have any of that laying around.

So far I’ve found 6 computers out of the 63 not working, so those will go to recycling. Another 25 or so are older and I may recycle them as well, since there are so many. Another 8 or 10 are good enough to keep, but they don’t have memory or hard drives, so that gets more expensive to re-deploy them, we’ll see.

If you can help me out, I’d appreciate it. I’d like to give these away as they are decent computers with some more life in them. Let me know what you have. I’m at [email protected], or you can text me at 5059013300.

Thank you!
Brian

Note from Carol:   Brian has been refurbishing computers and giving them away for sixteen years.   Although he stopped keeping track he's given away over 500 computers, almost all in Abiquiu and surrounding communities - giving old a new life and keeping them out of the dump.  Computers are always free except if he replaces parts and then there is a nominal fee.  His time is all donated.   All equipment deemed too old is taken to electronic recycling.​