# Your Computer Dies: What Parts Do You Save? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215 "2015-05-17T03:23:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/1 "2015-05-17T03:23:07Z")
Suppose your computer permanently dies. What parts do you save for possible reuse later? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/2 "2015-05-17T03:28:35Z")
Always the hard drives. I make them slaves on my new machines or external backup drives. RAM or PSU if they match my new machine. Any PCI/PCI-E cards I can use on the new machine. If not, sell it all. ---
**Author:** ![txswimdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@txswimdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txswimdad)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/3 "2015-05-17T03:28:38Z")
Unless you are extremely well versed in building computers from scratch, the only thing that might be useful in the future may be the hard drive…for its data. Everything else is likely to be obsolete if it is more than about a year and a half old. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/4 "2015-05-17T04:06:37Z")
In general the case, power supply, hard drives, the video card, sound card (if applicable) and other peripherals like blu-ray burners/drives are usually easily transferrable to a new computer. Sometimes you can transfer RAM if your computer is new enough, but in general the processor and motherboard aren’t going to transfer because they’re sort of like the keel in a ship. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/5 "2015-05-17T04:09:08Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Always the hard drives. I make them slaves on my new machines or external backup drives. . . . I was figuring the hard drive is the most likely component to fail. There’s so much physically going on – the motor turning all the time, the micro-motors moving the read/write heads – damn thing is so busy. My current system is about four years old. If it crashes irreparably, I’d probably just buy an entirely new one. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/6 "2015-05-17T04:28:08Z")
My computer is 12yo, so nothing worth saving. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/7 "2015-05-17T05:03:24Z")
Pull the data off the hard drive, keep my blu-ray burner, everything else gets put up for sale on eBay. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/8 "2015-05-17T06:28:42Z")
When my company upgraded all their computers (circa 1998 or so) and threw out all the old ones, I rescued a stack of old 101-key keyboards, which I still have, and still use. I loathe, detest, and hate the damn Microsoft-dictated keyboards with the extra Windows and Menu keys on the bottom row. I am always poking them by accident, and they are very disruptive when that happens. I have heard or read of others making the same complaint. Those keys simply aren’t meant to be used very often. They should have been off to the side or along the top of the keyboard, like all the other extra keys that various keyboards have. I will continue to save and hoard all the 101-key keyboards I have. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/9 "2015-05-17T09:01:22Z")
I just replace the parts that died. But then I build all my own PCs anyway. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Angry\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@The\_Angry\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Angry_Badger)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/10 "2015-05-17T10:22:46Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I just replace the parts that died. But then I build all my own PCs anyway. Likewise. I haven’t actually bought a complete system since about 1998 or so. If something dies or becomes too slow/small for the purpose, I replace that component (and anything that relies on it). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/11 "2015-05-17T12:24:40Z")
It’s a laptop. It goes in the trash and a new one comes home. I keep the external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Although with the war against Bluetooth mice and keyboards, I may be forced into a different connection style and hence new input devices for the next laptop. If there even \*is \*a next laptop. Back in Ye Olden Dayes I’d save PCI cards from one desktop to the next. Back in about 2005 I threw away a box of totally obsolete early PC stuff. RLL HDs, Hercules graphics boards, 1200 baud modems, 1 **M** B memory sticks, etc. None had been used past the second PC since the part was new, and many had never been used after being removed from their original PC. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/12 "2015-05-17T12:52:19Z")
Ditto: Whatever isn’t dead and can be used in the new machine. (Sometimes memory and/or processor wouldn’t be compatible with a new mother board, for example.) I’ve been doing this from the beginning. Started with an XT clone and incrementally upgrading it ever since. The last upgrade cycle finally encouraged me to finally remove the 3.5" floppy drive. Which was the first upgrade I ever added. (The _same_ drive, btw.) It hadn’t been connected in a while anyway. In a Ship of Theseus way, I have 25+ year-old computer that I use everyday. Even when forced to replace several parts due to a bad MB or something, I scrounge around the cheapo computer parts places for a replacement and then take the old parts and put them in a secondary machine that needs an upgrade. Since computer speeds haven’t changed much in quite some time (outside of added cores), a really old computer can be quite speedy if you avoid crapware. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/13 "2015-05-17T13:42:53Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > When my company upgraded all their computers (circa 1998 or so) and threw out all the old ones, I rescued a stack of old 101-key keyboards, which I still have, and still use. > > I loathe, detest, and hate the damn Microsoft-dictated keyboards with the extra Windows and Menu keys on the bottom row. I am always poking them by accident, and they are very disruptive when that happens. I have heard or read of others making the same complaint. > > Those keys simply aren’t meant to be used very often. They should have been off to the side or along the top of the keyboard, like all the other extra keys that various keyboards have. > > I will continue to save and hoard all the 101-key keyboards I have. You can just us a screwdriver to pry out the keys you don’t like. Personally, I always chuck the “Insert” key as soon as a buy a new keyboard. I remove the CapsLock key too, sometimes, if it gets on my nerves. I see it as a form of keyboard discpiline. “Did you see that?”, I ask the other keys. “You screw up, the same thing will happen to you.” I have very obedient keyboards. ---
**Author:** ![Recusant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@Recusant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recusant)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/14 "2015-05-17T13:55:47Z")
I’m surprised that no one has yet asked the obvious question: what died? Most people probably don’t know how to fix and replace individual parts, true; but I think it’s an oddly narrow range of knowledge to not know that, but know how to salvage pieces. > [@Senegoid](#): > > I loathe, detest, and hate the damn Microsoft-dictated keyboards with the extra Windows and Menu keys on the bottom row. I am always poking them by accident, and they are very disruptive when that happens. I have heard or read of others making the same complaint. You do know you can disable those, right? You’ve always been able to do that. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/15 "2015-05-17T16:30:29Z")
> [@Recusant](#): > > :::: snip :::: > You do know you can disable those, right? You’ve always been able to do that. How? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/16 "2015-05-17T16:33:16Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > How? :eek: Easy way is to pry the keys off. Or do like I do and be hopeless at touch-typing so I have to look at the keys. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Angry\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@The\_Angry\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Angry_Badger)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/17 "2015-05-17T16:39:16Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > How? :eek: [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/216893](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/216893) The right button is a little trickier, but you can use something like autohotkey to disable that. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/18 "2015-05-17T17:22:55Z")
If the bin of obsolete computer parts in my closet is any indication: All of it. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/19 "2015-05-18T02:25:41Z")
If it’s my laptop, I just sell it on eBay as broken for parts and let someone else deal with it. If it’s my desktop, I figure out what broke and replace that part. ---
**Author:** ![Lowdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Lowdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lowdown)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215/20 "2015-05-18T19:26:47Z")
Monitor, mouse and keyboard if I really like them. Maybe the case if I want to reuse it. All of my por…family photos, music, etc is backed up on an external drive. (Can this board not do strikethrough? I can’t seem to get it to work.) Chances are pretty good though that I’ll use it as an excuse to buy new everything, because new computer! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-computer-dies-what-parts-do-you-save/720215.md?page=2)