Who knows a little something about PC's?

You could blow it up….. its one of the most fun things you can do with one.

It might take a while, but you can scan and delete those nasty viruses with Anti-Malware first and see if that helps. Then install Avast!

Don’t forget there is a simple option, Blow it up and buy a Mac.

You could always resort to using a pirate version.

If the PC is a common brand (Dell, for example), you might be able to borrow the recovery CD from a friend. The license key is typically printed on a label, and it should work with any equivalent install CD from the same vendor. (e.g. – if your label says XP Home and it is a Dell machine, it should work with any Dell XP Home Recovery CD, but not with their XP Pro CD.)

Reformat the drive and turn it into a Linux box.

@Melonking, if Mac is the answer…you don’t know what the question was.

@jamzzy, first off, I don’t know how old “pretty old” is. If it is running Windows 98, blow it up like Melonking says (but don’t buy a Mac). If it’s running anything newer, go here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/890830

Get this:http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54–9AB3–75B8EB148356&displaylang=en

And run it.

You could do what I do with friends that are no longer any use to me… Harvest their organs!
You can often find uses for some components but if it is a true antique and nothing can be salvaged then wiping it and using it as a server is a good option. It won’t be as compact or silent as a NAS but you can hook it up to your network and router and use it to host files shared between the other computers in the home and even remotely access it via the web.

Try installing apps like ORB so you can stream your music and video to anywhere you have an internet connection – even to windows mobile based phones/PDAs.

You could also install an FTP server to transfer files back and forth or logmein for complete remote access.

All of these apps run on even low power systems and are incredibly useful. You could even hook it up to your TV if you have a compatible input on your TV and use it to play digital movies although a low power system will struggle with HD content.