So, you are building a new computer, and you have blown up your entire budget on fancy gaming video cards, but forgot to allocate some money for the network card. What do you do? You need to have a network adapter to get online! Perhaps you have an old machine that you use to store files, and the CD-Rom disc is missing. Do you really want to spend 40 dollars on a new one? Maybe you can get them for free! Here are some good sources for free computer equipment.
Job
In any company these days, no matter what type of business it is, there will be some kind of redundant computer mechanism lying around. Often the material that is being replaced has been collecting dust for many centuries, because either the owner thinks they can still value or they are never thrown away because it is a pain to recycle electronic waste. Ask your computer guy if they have any additional details that they don’t need. Maybe you can develop some kind of profession? Often in your company's IT stores there are boxes with expansion cards, disks, RAM, etc., which they can happily get rid of.
Craigslist
Craigslist has a section in the “Sale” section for free items that people give by posting a note on where and when products will be available. Usually, items are left on the curb for those who, it turns out, were the first to come and get them. By following this site, you can collect some really interesting things for yourself. Products recently listed for free in the San Francisco Bay area include computer TV tuners, RAM, DVDs, CAT5 cables, and software. Again, it is a pain to recycle these materials and it is often much easier to just give away.
Friends and family
Probably the most obvious choice are friends and family. Just ask! Most of the people I know are technical types, and we all have drawers in the dark corners of our cabinets filled with wires, cables, parts, etc. "Just in case" we will need them someday. If you have friends who are like me, you never know what they will lie to! So use these three methods to find some parts of your computer! Try it, you will get a lot more positive answers than you think!
