Businesses and many well-off individuals like to keep their PCs up to date with the latest software, which usually means that they have to replace their computers every two or three years in order to make sure the hardware is capable of running the latest version of Windows or MS Office. So every year millions of old computers need to be got rid of.

PCs which are a few years old are usually perfectly serviceable for most people’s needs, but because of the way the computer industry is designed to keep selling businesses newer models, these old machines are practically worthless. Unlike cars, old computers don’t have a lot of moving parts which become unreliable over time – with a little care most PCs can run for several decades.

Where can you find a free PC?

The most obvious place to look for a free computer is in the classified ads. Freecycle is an international website where people list items that they wish to give away at no cost so that others can make use of them, so this is a really good place to start. Alternatively, other classifieds websites such as Gumtree and Loot also have sections listing free items.

There’s an even better place to find free computers – local businesses. As we discussed earlier, businesses usually upgrade their computers every 2-3 years and most companies of any reasonable size will almost always have a few old machines lying around that aren’t being used.

Here’s what most people don’t know about these old PCs: you would actually be doing the company a favour by taking them off their hands. Businesses are legally required to recycle old equipment responsibly, which costs them money – so if they donate a PC to a good cause, they don’t have to pay for it to be recycled.

There are better ways to recycle an old PC

Try writing letters to some of the different companies with offices in your area asking if they would be willing to donate an old computer. It’s important that you tell them you don’t want any software and you are happy for the hard disk drive to be completely erased – software licensing is a tricky issue for businesses, and they wouldn’t want to risk accidentally giving you a hard drive with sensitive business information still on it.

Don’t worry about how the computer will work with its hard drive completely wiped, we will look at free operating systems and other free software in another article.

When you write to the business, explain your situation (are you unemployed, a low paid charity worker, a student, struggling artist, etc) and if possible offer to do something in return for them, such as washing cars, spending a day or two doing odd jobs around the office, etc. The chances are that they won’t want you to do anything in return, but it’s a good idea to show that you’re willing to earn your free PC.

You may get a few rejections, but remember that literally millions of computers are replaced every year by businesses, so keep plugging away and you’re sure to get lucky sooner or later.