Is it worth purchasing a second hand computor?

Question

As you dont know what type of person has the computor before you. How do you know when you purchase a second hand computor that there is no junk/illegal things on it? Is there anyway of checking or having it cleaned so its a new computor in your name?

Answer 1

Yes you can format the harddrive before purchasing. Its best to get a new one if you want to use it for a long time. Else if you want it for ur business then a second hand will be ok. But be sure whether the components are functioning well. The basic things to check.
1. Booting - switch it on and see whether it boots up without any unwanted sounds other than beeps

2. Ram - While booting the screen shows the RAM capacity. Check the capacity and type

3. Check whether power is supplied to ll drives. CD ROM/ DVD ROM, Floppy drive etc.,

4. Open the cabinet and check the fans of SMPS and the processor are running properly.

5. Check whether the processor is OK by opening the cabinet. If any foriegn substance found over the processor its not advisable to buy it.

6. Do not remove the processor and check if the system is running properly.

7. Check whether all components are genuine as mentioned by the seller.

8. Have a professional by your side whom you can trust.

Answer 2

In terms of value for money, it can be well worth while purchasing a second hand computer. It should come with an operating system installed, so I suggest you do not wipe the hard disc as someone suggested. However it is worth getting it from a reputable source or getting someone with appropriate expertise to check it out before buying it.

Answer 3

New PC's are fairly cheap these days - with warranty & service included.

Second hand PC's cost nearly nothing - but will need a complete reinstallation to 'be sure'.

You CAN get full systems for £20 or £30 (eg. PIII 900Mhz 15" monitor etc.) but with no operating system from most PC recyclers.

Answer 4

Take it to a shop and get the memory cleaned if you do. You may have a second hand computer from Garry Glitter and end up in Prison

Answer 5

I'd not buy a second hand PC, I might considering a re-conditioned one from someone who knows what they are doing.

PC's aren't that expensive these days if you just want the basics, try the supermarkets or eBay.

Answer 6

There really is no point unless you have a very small budget - you can pick up a brand new base-system for around £290 - upgradable at a later stage.

Answer 7

when buying a p.c you should insist on a clean windows system as most people will sell you a p.c clean but there are a few systems sold with info still on the hard drive
a p.c shop will format your drive and re-install windows on it ,but if you have a copy of xp its quite easy to do it yourself
i wont write it know but if you need instructions on how to install xp...please e-mail me and i will kindly give you a step-by-step instructions in how to do the installation
good luck

Answer 8

when buying a second hand computer although i would not reccomend it. when turning the computer on press f10 when prompted to set the computer back to factory settings although it is said yo be system restore do it. you can then set up your computer agian as if new, you can register your own name and change the sttings to how you prefer them. good luck, hope it works out.

Answer 9

hmm.. i'd say play around with a computer first. any computer with serious problems shows it pretty quickly, other then that a reformatting and reinstallation of OS can solve most problems.

But remember that no one sells a good computer without a good reason

Answer 10

You can get them new on the Hewitt Packard site on eBay. They are very reasonably priced. I would never chance getting a second hand one. It's not worth it.