Why your computer becomes obsolete

In the computer industry an often quoted “rule of thumb” is that the average usable lifespan of a computer is around 5 years.

In some cases it’s simply true that if enough parts in a computer (more often a laptop computer) die, then the cost to replace the parts, especially if you have to pay someone to do the work, is not worth it. The money is best put towards a newer, more updated setup.

However, many people have computers that are still running happily after 10 years but then they find themselves forced to buy something new anyway. Why?

Perhaps the hardware is still chugging along happily, even the hard drive, which is one component very vulnerable to aging. So why not just keep using it?

Let me illustrate:

We all know of people who have old cars, some even lovingly looked after classic cars, that are still on the road after many, many years.

Perhaps some parts have had to be replaced; no one expects to run a car for 10 years and never replace brakes, filters, tires and more.

However, what if the country suddenly changed the type of fuel that our cars run on? Now your car, with a perfectly good engine, cannot run on the new fuel - in fact it would be damaging to the engine. So you are forced to switch to a car that is compatible with the new fuel. Despite your old car being in perfect running order, if you want to drive it on the roads, you need to replace it, or adapt it to use the new fuel.

This in a way, is what factors in to your computer needing to be replaced in a few years.

The Operating System in your computer is being updated and improved regularly, and the designers of programs update and improve their programs to take advantage of newer hardware, and newer Operating Systems. In time your older computer may simply be incompatible with the programs you want to run.

But what if you are perfectly happy with the older Operating System and older programs?

Then you can keep going for several more years, as long as your hardware holds up...

UNTIL... the Operating System (usually Windows) that you are running is no longer supported by the manufacturer. In the case of Windows that’s Microsoft.

Then, unless you simply unplug your computer from the internet, you need to upgrade your computer to a newer Operating System, or buy a newer computer with hardware designed to run the newer, more sophisticated, Operating System and programs. This newer computer should come with the latest version of Windows already installed.

This is one of the main reasons why still fully functional computers are consigned to the Recycle Depot, and why the “average usable lifespan” number is lower than you would expect.

In a  couple of different posts I will consider some of the ramifications of running an Operating System that is no longer supported, as well as some ways you might keep your older computer out of the Recycle Depot for a while longer.

Hopefully though, this answers the question of why you might be forced to buy a newer computer even if your old faithful setup is still running!