Bring new life to an old laptop

Every now and then things happen that you cannot control. One of the most disheartening things is when your laptop stops working.

I had a laptop that stopped working a while ago. It sounded like it was working fine, but I had no picture. Just out of curiosity I plugged it into an old monitor that I had laying around. My laptop still worked, but the screen had gone out. I had this setup for a while, but wanted something better. This is the solution that I came up with.

What you need:
- A laptop that you don't mind tearing apart.
- A monitor (I would assume this would work with a flat screen, but I won't promise anything)
- A precision screwdriver set (Laptops have various sizes of screws inside them)
- A drill of some kind
- A pen, pencil, or marker
- [Optional] You may need a soldering iron, depending on the condition of your laptop.
- Ingenuity and patience

IMPORTANT - Go ahead and unplug your monitor of choice before you start doing anything! Monitors can be very dangerous and are normally classified as high voltage devices.

***Disclaimer***
I cannot be held responsible in the event that you destroy your laptop, break your monitor, or harm yourself.

This is my first attempt at making an instructable. I apologize for the lack of process photos. I did not think to make an instructable until after I had completed this project.

Step 1 Get it open

1. If you have not done so already, once the laptop is powered on, make sure it is working. Most newer laptops will automatically detect an external monitor. For older ones, you may have to use the load/crt toggle button. This is normally one of the options on the F1-12 keys. Mine was F3. After that works, make sure that the USB keyboard and mouse are installed and working. When it works, shut the computer down and unplug the monitor.

2. Carefully take apart your laptop. You can normally find a guide on how to take apart your specific model by searching on Google. Normally if you were taking apart a laptop you would need to remember where each screw and component go, but not this time.

Set all important parts to the side as they become available.

These include, but are not limited to:
- Motherboard (Make sure to set aside the screws and posts that hold it in place)
- Hard drive
- Keyboard (I recommend a USB keyboard though, as the laptop keyboard will be quite awkward to use)
- CD/DVD drive
- Any other important parts (Card readers, internet cards, speakers, etc.)

I would get a USB mouse instead of the touch pad too. If it's not usable, that doesn't help you much.

3. After you have it taken apart, put the important parts on a piece of cardboard or some other non-static surface. Put it together and power it on to make sure you kept all needed parts. If it does not turn on, you probably left something out. Take everything apart and try again. Maybe it is just a loose cable or something.

Comments

[mogui]

It is easier and cheaper to put your rf shielding around the computer than around your room. But maybe you live way out in the country where the stray radio frequency noise from your laptop won't disturb your neighbor's TV. Cute idea though. It stirs my imagination ;) Could it all go in a picture frame so you could hang it on the wall?

[skittlespider]

I do sort of live in the country at the moment.  So, when I move out I should be worried about RF shielding?  I usually watch tv in other rooms, and I've never noticed any problems with that before.

I also have several game systems without RF shielding inside this project what problems can happen without the shielding?

[mogui]

I just put together a small multimedia computer using a Chumby Hacker board beta. Because I plan to use it a lot I built a foil lined case for it. The rf shielding is not for my benefit, but for my neighbors who might be using broadcast radio or TV. Unwanted rf can give them artifacts on their screens and noises in their headphones. Every piece of equipment that is to be sold as a product has to pass your country's testing for rf emissions to prevent this problem. Any equipment that uses electronics can theoretically be affected by rf. Now having said that, we hobbyists know we use a lot of unshielded electronics and get away with it. Maybe the neighbors don't know where the spots and lines on their TV screens come from. Or maybe they have cable and are relatively immune. If you have a TV with an antenna or a small transistor radio (AM is best) try moving your working unshielded electronics around it. You will see and hear changes. Some of them might be amusing. In the old days people used to put AM radios close to mainframe computers so they could hear the memory access cycles. Some even wrote programs that played tunes this way. Hm, sounds like another hobby!

[skittlespider]

Wow, thanks for the information. I'll have to test that out sometime and see just how much interference this old laptop creates.

[junits15]

you could also make a super slim tower :P it almost sounds like an artistic type of thing. if made right it could be pretty slick

[skittlespider]

Yeah, you could make a really thin tower. I bet that would be pretty nice!

[junits15]

It makes me want to do it :P if I ever gat my hands on a laptop with a dead screen Ill make an 'ible shud be awesome

[skittlespider]

Sounds like a plan. I hope it works out for you. The best thing about starting with a broken object is that if it breaks it doesn't matter as much. A laptop with a broken screen should be pretty easy to find though. It seems to be a common issue.

[junits15]

Ya,I was thinking about a high powered gaming laptop off of ebay. I like the idea because of the power in a small package

[benjgvps]

It would be neat to shove this into an old Macintosh LC somehow. Perfect size.

[skittlespider]

Yeah. I have a few ideas for something like that.

[zack247]

i have been trying something like that with an mac 7200 and a pc motherboard. unfortunately, nothing shows on the screen. i have just set it aside for a future project

[skittlespider]

You may need to adjust the screen output.  If you are using a laptop motherboard like I did, there should be a Load/CRT button (or something like that.  It will be one of those 'hold Fn key' buttons.

If that isn't the problem, it could be bad wiring or you may need a video card or something like that.

[digitrunner]

 I'm seeing some serious overheating problems here if you use a crt monitor.

[luckyy78]

I think that is why he has that fan where it is..... 

[skittlespider]

Yep, that is exactly what that fan is there for.  This setup works infinitely better than the actual case did as far as heat goes.

That laptop had always had heat issues, but not anymore.

[wfelix]

very good :D I am gathering some courage to do a "rugged" laptop using a funcional old Pentium M I have :D

[skittlespider]

Yeah, it took a little bit of courage to do this project. But sometimes you just have to go for it. My laptop was not really in working condition as it was. So if I broke it, it didn't matter that much to me. Good luck with your "rugged" laptop

[lemonie]

My instant reaction was "oh ()!". Top marks to you, I love this L

[skittlespider]

Thanks, I'm glad you like it!

[cyrozap]

Wow. A diy all-in-one pc.

[fegundez1]

it is very possible that the laptop was having problems with the ccfl the light at the bottom of the screen,if you hear a whining noise when you run the laptop there is your problem. it wont be loud but you can hear it,the bulbs and other needed parts can be gotten rather cheaply off ebay

[skittlespider]

That's what I thought was the problem at first, and the light had actually gone out. However the screen was actually broken. At first I tried to save it for another project, but sadly it was gone for good.

[Bongmaster]

might be good to preotect it in a cover, i got an old laptop that the screen borked up on, i removed the screen and have it plugged into my monitor now with an external keyboard and mouse, but its stil in its own shell safer that way ;)

[skittlespider]

Yeah, I thought about that, but I have always had issues with it overheating. I took the case off and it runs a lot cooler with a desk fan cooling it than it ever did before. Plus I wanted to see what it would be like without the shell. :)

[Phil B]

You might need to blow the dust off of it more often with the circuit boards exposed. It is clever to mount the laptop circuit boards to the monitor with standoffs.

[Bongmaster]

XD