For any and all discussion of retro computing topics. Let's not argue about what's retro or not.
Linux & BSD can make them useful as servers, media centres, retro emulators or even a desktop pc if you are patient.
They will chew more power than a raspberry pi but they are easier to come by.
An old desktop and an old laptop is enough to get a solid selfhosted homelab and media centre up and running.
Current favorite suggestion is install linux, navidrome & tailscale on an old machine with your music library. Then connect with Symfonium, web client or other app and enjoy.
Good suggestions. Linux can do wonders on very low end hardware. Make sure to pick a good distro that has a good package manager with all of the software that you need. I recommend to look into Arch based distros if you feel like tinkering a bit. Debian and Fedora based distros would also do the trick, but the AUR from arch linux will cover all the software you'll need (use yay package manager for AUR support).
Good luck and happy tinkering!
^^ This. A Pi-Hole is pretty good too if you just want something very basic. Or a NAS if you have SSDs (or dont mind slow disk speed.)
PiHole is good shout.
Not sure the ssd matters too much for a basic home server but will depend on what you are using it for. If needs are minimal, you crave speed and you have 1GB or more ram to play with you can run something like Alpine diskless purely in ram for a very fast OS and root filesystem & use rotating rust over usb2 for reading & writing media.
I'm using my 2008 htpc with 1gb ram to play around with stuff the past year or two but it ran for a few years before that 24/7 with the OS running on a flashdrive over usb2, storage on an original internal hdd and some additional ancient portable usb2 hdd's plugged in. I set it up to test it and was planning to move to a diskless ram setup for speed but never felt the need to, would be grim as a desktop but serving files and ssh access is just fine.
Spinning rust is great for media reading & writing. ram or usb is great for a basic home server os.
ssd's are great for desktops and high performance server needs but not really a big issue if you just want to block ads, watch a movie from another room or keep pressing 'next track' when driving whilst listening to tunes.
Here's my beef. At some point, old computers use up their usefulness due to power requirements. A more modern, be it cheap AIO system ~$250 would stomp any of them and sip power. Laptops are sort of an exception, they can make OK servers, but mostly, same same. Just get a modern AIO. Your electric bill will thank me.
Im trying to save up for one but its kinda hard to do so at th emoment with life and such, and ive never had a job before so im not too sure how i cna make money or get a descent job.
Recycle them.
Yeah I second this, either recycle or look for a local charity who might recycle and make some money off of it their selves. They might even pick it up for free. Regarding value, if it's a generic PC clone from the 1990s and up it's hardly worth the gas to bring it to the recycling center.
Are these extra PCs that you don't need? I'm confused about why you can't get rid of them, that sounds like a red flag - are they hoarders? Are they afraid of someone getting the data? I know this is about retro computing but sometimes trying to make semi-old stuff like that useful when you don't really want it is just going to be a waste of space and electricity.
It belongs in a museum!
You could install Chrome OS on them, at least then they can safely be used on the internet. There may be charities in your city that accept donations of computers like that for people who cannot afford one.
https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-install-chromeos-flex-on-an-old-laptop/
You could also install Linux and use them for different projects (though something like a Raspberry Pi is probably going to have more speed and use less electricity.)