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Inventorying Miscellaneous Computer Junk?

Posted by timothy on from the bane-and-blessing-of-extra-bits dept.

drewhearle writes "I'm sure lots of Slashdot readers act as technical support to friends and family. I do a lot of this myself and have collected all sorts of miscellaneous computer hardware over the years, such as cases, power supplies, older memory, hard drives, cables and the like. If you're like me, you have to dig through everything and look in various closets, drawers and boxes whenever you need something. What do you use for keeping track of your inventory? Is there a full-featured open-source or freeware package out there that actually works?" Read more for what he's looking for -- sounds like a useful niche.

drewhearle continues "Ideally I'd like an open-source solution with the following features:

A web-browser-based system (or something else with LAN connectivity) that would allow me to access the inventory from multiple computers

Something to indicate where each part is, i.e. "under bed" or "behind bookshelf" :)

A way to attach one or more photos to each item

Category organization, like "hard drives," "memory," or "cables". Subcategories would be nice too.

A "notes" field for each item, to save misc. information

Search functionality, so I could search by category or text-search any field.

I'm probably asking too much, but if there isn't [widely available] software out there like this, maybe somebody has developed something similar for themselves and would be willing to share."

6 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. As already noted... by rusty0101 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ... a spreadsheet is a lousy way to keep track of this stuff.

    It's ok if you are going to do a pure text data entry, but don't store it as a workbook, export it to a cvs file that you can import into a database that you build to handle the things that do not work well in a spreadsheet. You know, things like the photos of the equipment in question.

    Spreadsheets also do not handle web access very well. There's two big requirements that are unmet by the spreadsheet method.

    You could probably throw together a quick gui in glade or qt to access a posgres, mSQL, mysql, or other database for stuff like this, or throw together a vb interface as well. Nothing wrong with any of that except that on their own they do not meet the web accesability requirement. For that you are probably going to want to use either perl or php.

    Nothing radical here, at the same time, nothing really generic enough to be a large enough project for most people to want to use.

    Questions to ask are do you want to keep track of purchase date, serial number and prices for warrenty information? Are you going to keep the receipt filed someplace else? What are you going to say when your SO reads that your webcam is stashed under your last girlfriend's bed? Are you going to code remote locations some way different from the closet? How about a storage container, or garrage?

    How easy will it be to update? The nic you pulled out of that system you retired a year ago was in the garage under the workbench until you installed it in that system you built for your neighbor last week. Is the database updated with it's new location? Or will you be looking under the workbench next month?

    But then you are probably aware of all those questions, so forget I ever asked...

    -Rusty

    --
    You never know...
  2. The ideal solution would be... by darnok · · Score: 3, Interesting

    the mate with a really big, empty garage.

    If a bunch of us could cart all our crap over to this hypothetical garage, and we had a gentlemen's agreement between all of us that we were all free to dip in to the big pile at any time for any reason, that would be ideal. I wouldn't particularly mind if someone nabbed one of my 14.4k modems, as long as I was free to nab one of their Soundblaster AWE-64 cards in exchange.

    We may need to get a bunch of big boxes and label them "modems", "LAN cards", "memory chips", "sound cards", "power cords" and so on, but that's the limit of the management that would be required.

    1. Re:The ideal solution would be... by TheLink · · Score: 2, Interesting

      From each according to his lack of space/clutter management, to each according to his need/ hardware specifications...

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  3. Christ on a Cracker by limekiller4 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is directed at the original poster. Since I'm sure he'll read even -1 stuff, mod down all you like. Here goes:

    If you have so much excess old hardware that you want to stuff it into some sort of database, and you're not an eBayer or a retailer, you have issues. Big, expensive issues.

    And not only because you feel the need to turn to a computer for what could be a very simple solution; two piles. One labeled "stuff I will never use or will likely never use" and one labeled "stuff I might someday use." Feel free to have several boxes! Maybe one is for cables, one is for HDs, one is for FDs, etc.

    I've have never engaged in the "this question is too stupid for Slashdot" flamewars but I tell you, I don't mind if I start right now because if any post ever deserved it, it's this one. If you have so much outdated, unmarketable stuff that you need a db, a db isn't your solution. A garage sale or eBay is. If that doesn't work, try the trash.

    I'm sure 95% of the replies are going to be in this vein but Christ, I really don't mind driving the point home Just That Little Extra Bit.

    --
    My .02,
    Limekiller
  4. But it's never the good ones. by oneiros27 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There are good power cords (12ga and heavier; 12ga extenders; anything 3m and longer; anything 50cm and shorter; the IBM power cables that don't block the plug; right angle connectors) and then there are the run-of-the-mill crap you get with everything you buy -- 16 or 18 guage, between 1.5 and 2 meters long)

    If you buy a rack from Sun, it comes with power in it... but they insist on sending you one or two power cables for each item that goes in it. So you buy a 36U rack, you're probably going to be getting 18+ power cables along with it. The only good thing is, copper can be sold for scrap -- cut the ends off first, and you'll get a slightly better price per pound.

    But make sure to save the extenders -- They come in damned handy when you have to rearrange a rack to compress down space, and your management won't approve downtime. With two good extenders, a machine lift, and a system with multiple power taps, [not redundant power supplies -- redundant power taps -- the sun x000 and x500 series sucks for that], and a spare 50' ethernet cable, you can move quite far, just have to keep moving the power connections. [if it's got a SCSI disk pack attached, well, you can still slide stuff up/down in the rack]

    --
    Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
  5. Parents' House by Krezel · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Like everybody else, I've accumulated a lot of random old computer hardware (Yes, I really do need those old ISA video cards. I've also decided that if left in the same box long enough cards breed. I now have 3 original SoundBlaster Live! cards when I've only bought one).

    Last summer I went to California for 8 months to intern. While I was gone, my father inventoried all my old hardware for me. Sent me spreadsheets full of listed items so I could decide what to keep, what to sell, and what to donate. All the things he couldn't identify he spread out on the floor and sent digital photos of. I'd load them up in The Gimp, draw a red X on top of each thing to get rid of, and mail it back.

    Then he eBayed all the extra stuff and sent me the money. All the stuff I decided to keep he placed in neatly labeled Tupperware boxes in my closet, with all the cords velcro-strapped and sorted into ziplock bags.

    However, he did manage to take back all the hardware I've "borrowed" from him over the last 22 years...

    --
    http://chrismetcalf.net