At some point in our lives I think everyone faces this question in one form or another. In many cases the answer is obvious and in others it is very complex. With PCs and servers the answer tends more toward the complex end of the scale. We need to first find the reason for asking the question. Is the computer performing poorly? Is it not working at all? Does a new application call for higher specifications? Many questions immediately come to mind when faced with a broken or poorly performing computer. How old is the system? Has something recently been added that may have caused the problem? How is the system used? Is it a home computer used for email or games or is it used to generate income?
Poor performance may not indicate that a system is ready for retirement. Performance can be affected by a number of factors including malware, fragmentation, or even the number of icons on the desktop. When you consider that replacing a computer will require reloading of all programs and restoring data, it makes sense to first attempt to do the same to your existing computer. Most PCs now come with recovery disks that will wipe the system out and restore it to the original factory condition. You may even find that when you start to reload your programs there are a number that you no longer use. Restoring the system to factory condition will ensure that files are not fragmented and any malware that may have been present will be eliminated. This is also a good time to make a copy of your data to store in a safe place.
If restoring the system to its original state does not make enough of a difference then it may be that current operating system and software demands are too high for your hardware. This can happen because newer software and operating system updates are often more demanding on resources. At this point you have reduced your system to only the bare necessities and have gathered and tested all of your applications by doing the earlier restoration. Make a list of your applications to have available when you look at new PCs to make sure there are no compatibility issues.
In some cases a system is too old to even consider restoring to its original state. If you are running an operating system earlier than Windows XP or Server 2003 then you are due for a replacement. Systems this old are at risk of hardware failure and most are also very large power consumers. CRT displays are also more power hungry than their flat panel equivalents, which also provide clearer and brighter images.
How a system is used is another factor to consider. With malfunctioning hardware on a business PC or server, it would be wise to consult a technician to estimate the cost and time involved to repair a system compared to replacing and restoring it. The reduced cost of down time combined with potential productivity gains can often outweigh the expense of repairing a failed system. Home PCs are usually not as critical although some would argue that point. A home PC that is used for video games would benefit from newer and faster hardware, where a system that's used mainly for email and web browsing would not see as much. I should also touch on the cost of data recovery when a hard disk fails. If you don't have a current backup of your data you can expect to pay anywhere from $900.00 to $3000.00 to have data professionally recovered and even these services are not always successful. Once again I can't stress enough how important it is to backup your data on a regular basis.
On a final note, some may have noticed that there was no blog posted last week. Ironically my home computer failed half way through writing my blog (about computer failures) and I lost my current work. Fortunately I was already preparing to replace my system and had the new one almost configured. Of course I also had a current backup to restore my data from.
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