You've just laid down the bucks for a brand-new, state-of-the-art PC with a warp-speed processor and all the trimmings. You have oodles of RAM and a hard drive with storage space that extends to the horizon. Now, what about the PC it replaced? Do you toss it out, donate it to a charity, or just let it gather dust? How about none of the above? That old computer can make itself useful, especially if you have a home or small-office network.

In PC World's September 2002 issue, Kirk Steers provided some general guidelines in "What Should You Do With Your Old Computer?" This month, we cover the how-to of using your old PC for specific tasks.

Many common computing chores don't require a cutting-edge machine. Practically any old PC can act as a network file server, a network print server, or a sharing point for an Internet connection. A 133-MHz Pentium-based system with 32MB or 64MB of RAM has plenty of power for basic network tasks. And Windows 98 SE and Windows Me have sharing capabilities built in. You just need to enable them.

For some projects, you'll need more power--a faster processor, more RAM, and perhaps a hardware upgrade. But the bottom line is that reusing your old PC can add functionality to your computing experience, while making you feel good by keeping hard-to-recycle products away from the landfill.

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