I bought my computer for just $20 back when I graduated high school, and it's been my trusty companion since 2015. I mostly use it just for writing and journaling on a couple of websites—nothing too demanding. However, I'm running into a problem where my computer won't recognize or connect to Wi-Fi anymore. It displays a message saying the Wi-Fi is turned off, and I can't access the settings to turn it back on. Is this a technical issue I can fix myself, or is my 10+ year old computer too outdated to keep up with basic tasks?
3 Answers
Old computers can still run lighter operating systems like Ubuntu or Mint quite well, but gaming would definitely be a struggle. However, since you mainly use it for writing, it might serve you well—if you can fix the connection issue!
It sounds like a technical issue, not necessarily about the age of your computer. Have you tried right-clicking on the wireless icon to reset your adapter? Sometimes a simple restart can also help if a service is stuck. Give those a shot! Let me know if you need more guidance on how to do that!
I honestly don’t know where to start with fixing this, but I appreciate the help! I'll definitely try restarting first.
Also, right-clicking and checking your adapter might sound tricky, but I can explain it step by step if you need! Just let me know!
If you're looking for a reliable daily use computer, then yeah, it might be time to consider getting a new one since it's over a decade old. That said, you could still try troubleshooting it to see if it can be salvaged. Running a system check with sites like spec-ify.com can help identify what’s wrong by sharing your specs with others.
I get that I might need to fix it, but I’m super clueless with tech lingo. My computer is from 2015, and I really only use it to write, so if it’s too old, it might just be easier to get a new one.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I’m not into gaming at all. Just writing is all I do!