Computer donated to me. What should I check for?

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Chiller449

Member
Hello all, My local college has updated their desktop computers and has offered to give me an old one. My question is, will i have to change anything inside the computer? Since it was only used on their private network im not sure if I will even be able to use it at home.
 
beers

beers

Moderator
Staff member
Hello,

I'd be surprised if it hasn't already been wiped. You should be able to do a fresh install of Windows or Linux on it. If it already has data on the hard drive I'd do a quick format so you don't have any of that other residual data.

Otherwise it should be exactly the same as any other computer.
 
C

Chiller449

Member
beers said:
Hello,

I'd be surprised if it hasn't already been wiped. You should be able to do a fresh install of Windows or Linux on it. If it already has data on the hard drive I'd do a quick format so you don't have any of that other residual data.

Otherwise it should be exactly the same as any other computer.
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How do i format it? Sorry if thats a dumb question im not really a computer guy.
 
beers

beers

Moderator
Staff member
No problem. If you run the Windows installer (like from a bootable USB or DVD) you can just delete the existing partitions and it will install everything fresh.
 
C

Chiller449

Member
The computer im getting has windows 7 enterprise

Also can this computer be upgraded? i might do some light gaming on it. Nothing crazy.
 
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johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Do you have the mini tower, small form factor or the desktop version? Hopefully the system is fresh installed before they give it to you. Otherwise you'll have to purchase an OS and the 740 really only has driver support up to windows Vista.
 
C

Chiller449

Member
johnb35 said:
Do you have the mini tower, small form factor or the desktop version? Hopefully the system is fresh installed before they give it to you. Otherwise you'll have to purchase an OS and the 740 really only has driver support up to windows Vista.
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its the desktop version. (the big one) and they are not doing anything to it. just unplugging it and giving it to me. straight from the school.
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
If you could find an old Phenom 9550 on ebay, you could upgrade the power supply and get a decent video card but to be honest I really don't think its even worth doing any upgrading on as its about 9 years old.
 
C

Chiller449

Member
johnb35 said:
If you could find an old Phenom 9550 on ebay, you could upgrade the power supply and get a decent video card but to be honest I really don't think its even worth doing any upgrading on as its about 9 years old.
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well the thing is im pretty broke so i have to use whatever i can get for free or if its very cheap. all i need to know is that when i plug it in at home will it start up like or normal computer and let me browse the internet or will it stop at a log in screen and say it needs an administator password or something like that.
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Chiller449 said:
all i need to know is that when i plug it in at home will it start up like or normal computer and let me browse the internet or will it stop at a log in screen and say it needs an administator password or something like that.
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Only you can answer that. You said all they were doing is unplugging it and giving it to you. I'm sure they will remove any info from the school or any login info necessary so you can access the default windows account. Ask them first. If you are broke then don't expect getting a new power supply and video card too cheap.
 
C

Chiller449

Member
johnb35 said:
Only you can answer that. You said all they were doing is unplugging it and giving it to you. I'm sure they will remove any info from the school or any login info necessary so you can access the default windows account. Ask them first. If you are broke then don't expect getting a new power supply and video card too cheap.
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my IT guy gave me a free copy of windows 10. so im installing it now. when i turned the computer on it did go right back to the original log in screen just like it would if it was at the school. but i managed to get it to boot off of the windows 10 disk that i inserted after a while. i guess ill see where it goes from there. how long does this usually take?
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Installing windows 10 on your hardware might take 30 minutes. To install 10 fresh you need to delete existing partitions and set them back up again before installing.
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Look at the below image. Click on each line entry and click on delete below. How big is the hard drive? When you have 1 entry that says unallocated then you click on new and leave it as 1 partition or partition it however you like.

clean install.jpg
 
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