Buying a cheap used laptops does have risks associated. I don’t recommend getting a laptop older than 4 years. There is just too much risk of things like the screen breaking down rendering it useless.

Also don’t expect a long battery life. I’ve my own laptop since new and the battery life has slowly decreased from 2 hours down to about 1 hour. However I hardly ever use the battery so I don’t really care. The battery is only really used when I want to carry the laptop from one room to another without shutting it down.

If you buy a popular model you should be able to buy a new battery for your laptop if you need to use your laptop on battery power.

Used laptops have small hard disk drives. The minimum size for a hard disk with Windows XP is about 6 gigabytes. Windows XP will take up about 2 gigs and so you will quickly run out of space if you install lots of applications.

However, I upgraded the hard disk on my laptop and now it has 20 gigabytes. Upgrading the hard drive on my laptop also dramatically increased performance.

Used laptops often don’t have much memory (RAM). Memory for older used laptops is actually quite inexpensive and it is very easy to upgrade.

I build my own desktop computer but I found upgrading my laptop was actually much easier. Check out the memory and hard drive upgrades for used laptops on this site.

For people who are really keen on getting the most out of their used laptop I’ve included some more advanced information.

Used laptops and ACPI bios

Laptops and Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) capability. If you have at least a Pentium II laptop it should be ACPI compliant. This means Windows XP should detect and automatically configure some low level power management options. This will include battery management so you can see the level of power remaining.

It will allow you to shut the laptop down in time to prevent the battery from totally discharging. Laptop batteries can be permanently damaged from a total discharge so it’s a great feature to have enabled.

The problem is that some older laptops that were sold with Windows 95 or Windows 98 did not come with an ACPI bios. The good news is that any laptop that’s compatible with Windows 2000 will have an ACPI bios so if your laptop was sold without Windows 2000 there should be a bios update on the manufacturer’s web site.

Along with the bios update you should download all the Windows 2000 drivers for your used laptop. Windows 2000 drivers should work fine under XP.

This kind of support is the reason why I recommend you buy a used laptop from a big name manufacturer such as HP, Dell, Compaq, Toshiba or IBM.

Getting things up and running

Simply download the bios update and put it on a floppy disk, you then boot the laptop using the disk and the bios update will proceed automatically. Don’t update the bios until you’re completely ready to install Windows XP or 2000. Otherwise download the old bios as well so you can return to the old bios should you want to return to Windows 98.

The drivers (for graphics chip, sound chip and touchpad) should be put on a CD. You’ll need them after you’ve installed Windows XP and have booted for the first time.

Windows XP will detect the devices and ask for the drivers you simply have to identify the CD ROM drive (or where ever you put them) and Windows will install and reboot with your device enabled.

Buying used laptops can be a risk. However if you think about what it is you want and you consider my advice there really isn’t any reason why you can’t save a lot of money by buying a cheap laptop.

Generally speaking if you’re the type of person who likes to fiddle around with their computer or you’re interested in learning about laptops then you’ll be happy with a used laptop. If you’re the type of person who wants a laptop to work right out of the box with very little fiddling then you may be better off buying a cheap new laptop.

Assuming you want a used laptop, the best way to narrow down your used laptop purchase is to think about what kind of software you use and what you intend to do.

* Do you need a powerful processor for Microsoft office or multitasking?
Look for used notebooks with Pentium III processors over 700 Mhz.
* Do you need long battery life?
Make sure you can obtain a new battery for your used notebook.
* Do you need a DVD drive?
If you don’t you can save some money and just buy one with a CD ROM.
* Do you plan on playing games?
Even for simple games a shared memory architecture (where the video chip uses system memory) drastically reduces performance.
* Do you want to use Windows XP?
You can run Windows XP fine on a cheap 400 Mhz notebook but you will need at least 256mb of RAM. Make sure you upgrade to 256 MB if you intend to install Windows XP.

Used laptops and Windows XP

Since most used laptops are sold without an operating system I highly recommend buying and installing Windows XP. Windows XP has built in support for a huge range of hardware and you’ll have no trouble getting your laptop up and running.

The other benefits of Windows XP are endless, compatibility with all the latest peripherals such as scanners and digital cameras.

Buying a used or refurbished laptop is much the same as buying a new one – except you are going to get a much better buy! When considering buying a used laptop, the first thing to do is to determine what your needs are.

What do you want to use the laptop for?

*Word Processing *E-mail *Internet Browsing *Use at Work and at Home *Gaming *On-line Shopping *Database Applications *Personal Finance and Online Banking *Coding *Schoolwork

The reason for assessing what you applications you need are that most refurbished laptops often only include the Operating System (OS). Some don’t even have an OS installed so make sure you know what you’re buying before you spend your money.

Once you establish your computing needs, you need to determine your budget.

Refurbished laptops don’t always come with an operational battery. If you need a battery, shop around to figure the cost to replace one. You should know that older laptop batteries don’t last more than an hour or two, and even purchasing a new battery for the purpose of longer battery life may not be worth the expense. You should also stick with name brand battery manufacturers like IBM, Dell, Toshiba and Compaq-HP.

Once you have your refurbished laptop, you may not know what to do next. If you are new to computers and you want to browse the World Wide Web, you will need to obtain the services of an ISP (Internet Service Provider). There are basically two types of Internet access options: broadband (cable modem, DSL, satellite) and dial up. Broadband is the preferred type since download speeds can range from 128kbs to 6000kbs (faster is better). But, if your budget is tight, dial-up access will work fine for typical browsing and e-mail usage.

If you bought your used laptop for gaming, you definitely need a reliable broadband connection. Gaming over a dial up connection will be frustrating and on some cases even impossible. That is why it’s critical that you check out the minimum systems requirement for the games you like before buying the laptop. You want to make sure the CPU speed and the RAM and graphic chip requirements will support your needs.

Finally, where do you buy your used or refurbished laptops?

* Some people choose to search at www.ebay.com. If you be sure to check out the seller to be sure you will have a smooth transaction. * Many don’t want the hassle of bidding, so will use their favorite search engine: www.google.com or www.yahoo.com or www.msn.com for the terms used laptops or refurbished laptop.

How do you choose once you have a list? 1. Look for online reviews 2. Make sure they have a BBB Online Insignia 3. Make sure their service is up to you standard. Most of the vendors have 800 numbers, so it won’t cost anything to call. 4. What do their prices look like?

If all the above seems like too much of a hassle, then buy a new computer. It will cost around $800 + but will come with a new battery and a one year warranty (although some new ones seem to have only 90 day warranties). It will also have the latest Windows XP system and an 800 number to call the vendor, should there be a problem.
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