Repurpose an Old Laptop for a Kid 💻👦👧 DIY in 5 Ep 147

Опубликовано 28 мая 2021, 17:00

Got a kid and an old laptop laying around? Before you start looking into recycling your laptop or sticking it in the junk closet, why not bring it back to life for your mini-me or other family member? Repurposing an old or recently replaced laptop is a great way to pay it forward and make sure it gets the most usage.

Hardware Evaluation
First check that the laptop is still working. If you encounter any issues, like a dead battery or faulty motherboard, it’s unlikely that the device will work without some sort of professional repair. Some companies may be willing to buy the laptop, but if you are looking to repurpose it for your kid, you’ll want to make sure any hardware issues are fixed.

Factory Reset
Anytime you are gifting, selling or otherwise handing off your laptop to someone else, you’ll want to reset it to its factory settings. This will completely will erase your personal data, so make sure you backup any files from that old device you’d like to keep and save them in a new location. Kingston makes some great USB drives and external storage solutions if you are looking for an easy backup method. Once all your files are secure, then you’ll be able to move on to the next step, the factory reset. Going through with a full factory reset removes any programs, files, accounts and settings you may have set on the device and resets it to it’s original settings.

Windows Factory Reset
To perform a factory reset on Windows 10 devices, simply type “factory reset” into the Cortana search bar, click on “Reset this PC” then choose “Get Started” underneath where it says “Reset this PC.” Choose the “Remove Everything” option. At that point Windows will ask if you want to “clean the drives, too” At this point, you’ll want to choose “Remove files and clean the drive.” This process takes longer but it’s the best option before you give the device away.

Mac Factory Reset
To perform a factory reset on a Mac, the process is a bit different whether you have an Intel processor or Apple silicon.

Intel Mac
For Intel-based Macs, hold down the power button, then choose restart from the pop up menu. While the computer is restarting, hold down Command + R until the Apple logo appears. At this point, you can let go of the buttons and the Mac will boot into Recovery.

M1 Mac
For Apple Silicon, you’ll need to turn the computer off completely first. Then hold down the power button to turn the Mac back on again and hold that power button for several seconds, at which point you should see “Loading startup options.” Select “Options” from the startup screen and you will enter macOS Recovery.

Final Steps for Macs
Once in recovery, you’ll be asked to sign in with an administrator account and password, then select “Disk Utility” to wipe the hard drive titled “Macintosh HD” under the internal heading. Click “Erase” at the top, keep the name as Macintosh HD and be sure the format is set to APFS for M1 and or Mac OS Extended (journaled) or APFS for Intel, depending on the model. Click “Erase Volume Group” or just plain “Erase” if that button doesn’t show up to wipe the drive and repeat this process with any other internal drives. Exit out of the Disk Utility window to go back to the Recovery screen. To reinstall MacOS, now that you have wiped the drive, be sure the laptop is plugged in and connected to the internet. At the macOS Utilities screen, click Reinstall macOS and follow the instructions.

Upgrades
After your laptop is reset, if it doesn’t work as well as it used to, you may want to consider a hardware upgrade. Increasing your computer’s memory and storage are both simple ways to bring a slow computer back to life. Adding memory will ensure the laptop can juggle more tasks at once and give you faster recall speeds. Upgrading an old hard disk to a solid state drive will give you an immediate speed boost and upgrading your storage capacity will give you more space for files and applications. If you need help installing new memory or storage in your device, check out the pinned comment below.

Install New Software
At this point, you’ve got a like-new laptop to pass on to the next generation. You may want to consider loading the device up with programs your child might need access to or you could even prep it to be a starter gaming laptop if that’s appropriate for your situation. Also, depending on the age of the intended recipient, you may want to add parental controls by either creating a child’s account or through security settings or third-party software.

With so many of us using devices like these to connect for schooling, work and social gatherings, being able to repurpose older devices is so important. If you have any questions about repurposing old devices not mentioned in this video, leave a comment and the team here at Kingston will do our best to help.
#kidlaptop
#kidscomputer