Recycling an Old CD-ROM Drive Into a Magnetic Noteboard!

Do you have an old CD-ROM drive just lying about? Maybe that one that you picked up at spring cleaning last year and your parents will throw it away if you don't do something with it? (Like me.)

Anyways, today we will be making a magnetic board out of the CD-ROM case and various parts inside. There will be no need to provide magnets; they are included in the driver.

by the way....
Please vote for me in the Dead Computer Contest!
but only if you like it....

Step 1: What You Need:

The parts required for this project are:
   >CD-ROM
   >screwdriver
   >multi tool or pliers
   >(optional) spare shiny/flashy electronic parts like a CPU or old RAM chips

Step 2: Taking the Drive Apart

To take the drive apart, you need to undo the four screws on the bottom, and break through the warrantee seal. surprisingly, It is actually quite fun to scream a "screw you!" or any other expletive when breaking the seal. Using a large knife is also quite fun.

Don't forget to save the screws. you will need them to put it back together. I normally save them on an old speaker magnet.
After all the screws are done, you need to push down on the little plastic pieces to pop the top off.

Step 3: The Goodies Inside!

The first thing you need to do after you take the cover off is unplug/cut all the ribbons.

Next, you will need to undo all the other screws in sight. (fun right?)

You may also need to push some of the tabs holding the circuit boards in place. They will then pop out, ready to be desoldered.
Basically, you need to junk everything inside the case. You may, like me, will scavenge a lot of parts from this.

Step 4: Getting the Super-strong Magnets

In the CD reader, there are 2 very strong magnets. They are part of the open can diode lens I believe. You first need to take apart the tracks and in the center will be the diode.

It will take a lot of force to get this broken apart. I went at it with my multi tool, but now that I'm done, I realized a hammer would work.

Step 5: Reassembly

Those 4 screws managed to stay on you magnet right? I hope so, because now it’s time to put it back together!
Simply screw the 4 screws back on.

You will also need to glue/tape your magnets to your chips.

Step 6: Other Ideas...

You can also, instead of putting the front panel on where it was, or you could just screw it into the wall.
Feel free to get creative with your magnet ideas, such as maybe an old piece of silicon or a picture of yourself/family.
If you really want to be green, you could put scratch paper inside the case and use that paper for notes.

Please vote for me in the Dead Computer Contest!!!