Homemade CD Player or Stand Alone CD-ROM drive

video Homemade CD Player or Stand Alone CD-ROM drive

CD-ROM Drive plays music without computer! Can you belive it? How to build CD-player using old CD-Rom drive and PC power supply. Do It Yourself!

gosugenji says: Dec 29, 2011. 12:04 PM

If you spend a little $$$ you can get a pico psu like this one to power the thing instead of a bulky psu. http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-80-60W-power-kit The link is for reference not spam.

fjr_scoot says: Dec 18, 2011. 4:19 PM

great instructable - just what I was looking for - I wanted to use a cd-rom drive to make a CD-player for a blind aunt for books on tape. The easy-load feature of a computer CD-rom drive is perfect. Thanks!

1111111 says: Dec 16, 2011. 5:17 AM

Instructables is for the world community. Not just for the rich and middle classes. It reaches into the ghettos and helps people to build things they need as well as providing ideas for hobbyists.
there's broken down computers all over the world which are an ideal resource. even if I lived next door to a high tech gadget shop I would still rather build this sort of thing.
People who think it's a waste of time are missing the point of instructables.
This is a great idea. Thanks for posting it

lynzay_ says: Apr 10, 2008. 9:08 PM

while this is a good example of uilising components that you have lying around and making them functional, it is quite a ridiculous waste of time for most people. especially when a discman or portable dvd player are practically dime a dozen these days. why would anyone take the time to butcher cables and put it all together, just to have a cd player that looks like a broken computer, is hung together by a thread and weighs almost a kilogram? even macguyver wouldnt jump through this many hoops to listen to a cd. and he would take the time to build a bomb from a banana and a pile of paperclips.

wardwelld in reply to lynzay_Nov 1, 2011. 12:26 PM

lol yah just buy a stero

McWhizzleteeth in reply to lynzay_Sep 21, 2011. 2:54 PM

This project is exactly what I am looking for. At our college radio station, we go through CD players like candy. And guess what, we never have any money to replace them! The college has plenty of old computers we can scavenge for free, however. This is perfect for us.

dcostello1 in reply to lynzay_Aug 25, 2011. 12:15 PM

Find me a front-loading portable CD player, and I'll concede to your point here... But for my specific needs, in my small project studio, I want to install the CD player in a rack, which means opening up the lid of a portable CD player and having to access buttons on the top of it (rather than on the front) isn't possible. This is actually a VERY practical and functional solution for my situation. So, if MacGyver owned a recording studio, I'm pretty sure this is how he'd do it... ;-)

lynzay_ in reply to dcostello1Aug 26, 2011. 6:40 PM

ebay search rack cd player. found one for 11$!

dcostello1 in reply to lynzay_Aug 31, 2011. 2:30 PM

I'd be curious to see what you found... I bet it takes up a full-width rack space. I need it to only take up one side -- 1/2 rack, front-load, w/ controls on the front. There's a Rolls model... for $275...
Meanwhile... I just found what I hope to be the perfect power supply today at this really cool place called the Reuseum here in Boise. Can't wait to get home and try it out. Price: $7.99

fastbtech in reply to lynzay_Jun 18, 2011. 12:39 AM

The whole point of instructables is exactly to " utilise components that you have lying around and making them functional"

yoyology in reply to lynzay_May 17, 2010. 9:38 PM

In my case, I have a boom box with a dead CD player that I currently hang from the ceiling in my kitchen. I want to gut it and use the radio, amp and power supply plus an old CDROM drive to make a DIY under-cabinet radio.

jotism in reply to lynzay_Dec 14, 2009. 8:58 AM

I didn't cut 1 single wire, I just shorted the green pin with the closest black pin (well, holes in the big plug) with a 2 or 3 cm bit of solder lol.

Xellers in reply to lynzay_May 20, 2008. 4:01 PM

Actually, if you found and old computer and spent five minutes with it, you could build this. I would definitely do this if I needed a CD player. (I've got like 20 CD ROM or RW drives and power supplies just waiting to be used, and I've got speakers to hook them up to)

rocky946 in reply to lynzay_May 19, 2008. 8:06 AM

I really like this idea. I think it is great for those of us nerds that cannot always afford to buy new things and we have to make use of what we have already. Keep up the good work ermak777!!!! Do you know how to make an internal disc drive become an external one, to actually run the player to the computer

kingtubby in reply to rocky946Aug 8, 2008. 12:53 PM

Get longer cables

izaic3 says: Sep 8, 2008. 4:10 PM

Anyone else get this to work? I've tried multiple cd players, and they all power up, but no sound comes out. I don't think it's reading the disc.

maneth in reply to izaic3Aug 24, 2011. 8:07 AM

me tooo i have the same problem, i put the disc in, i put on the speaker, the disc turns for 5 secs and it stops......................

please if u have found the solution email me @ manethfernando@gmail.com

pnky_14 in reply to izaic3Feb 26, 2010. 8:55 PM

You don't have to have one with the skip/play button but it makes it alot easier. There are several instructables on how to add the button on manually. Mine worked fine...so I know that this works. Also instead of having to use the 3.5 jack, I took the cd rom apart and soldered wires coming off of the jack and just hooked speakers up to it. Works fine but the sound isn't very loud. I'm going to try hooking an aftermarket cd player to the computer PSU and I'm certain the sound quality will be alot better. Good Luck!

zack247 in reply to izaic3Nov 2, 2009. 6:25 PM

im having the same problem! if it makes a spinning or whirring noise, its reading the disc. but im not sure why it isn't playing it? maybe you need one with the play/pause/skip buttons on the front

jotism in reply to zack247Dec 14, 2009. 8:47 AM

I noticed that they (atleast my one) does not work with MP3 CD's and only "genuin" CDs (legit ones I mean)

legless in reply to jotismJan 9, 2010. 8:32 PM

Most CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drives have the codec for reading (Red book) audio CDs built in so they can usually play any audio CD. MP3 CDs are not audio discs but data discs with MP3 files on them. Some kind of decoder is needed to play them.

Red Book Audio Specifications

The basic specifications state that

Maximum playing time is 79.8 minutes
Minimum duration for a track is 4 seconds (including 2-second pause)
Maximum number of tracks is 99
Maximum number of index points (subdivisions of a track) is 99 with no maximum time limit
The International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) should be included

zack247 in reply to jotismDec 14, 2009. 1:10 PM

in my case, i had to open the cd drive, and solder two wires to the spots where the leads for the play/skip button would be. now it works just fine. too bad you can't get any sound from the sound output on the back, then headphones aren't needed

Prajith says: Apr 10, 2011. 4:51 AM

hey guys how will we control the play/stop option when we connect cd drive externally to play music.....pls help.....

cfc106 says: Oct 29, 2010. 8:52 PM

after I cut the green and black wire what do I connect them to I don't have a switch

mspearin says: Jun 8, 2009. 2:07 PM

that would be helpful if you had a cd drive with a play button.

zack247 in reply to mspearinDec 14, 2009. 1:15 PM

its easy to add one. crak open the cd drive, and look at the front portion of it. find where the spots for the play/skip button are, and solder two wires (long enough to reach out the back) to them. voila! you can now play or skip using the cd drive! if not, then you might want to make sure you got the right connections

xgream in reply to zack247Oct 11, 2010. 4:24 AM

what shall i do next if i found and soldered both the spots, shall it be the two spots to soledered together, or separately at the back as you mentioned; and where should it be connected to the back??

zack247 in reply to xgreamOct 11, 2010. 11:13 AM

solder two wires to the two spots, not connecting them, and feed them out the back of the drive. then you connect the two wires from the back to a pushbutton switch of some sort, and you are ready to go.

mspearin in reply to zack247Dec 14, 2009. 2:07 PM

Thank you for the tip!!

zack247 in reply to mspearinDec 15, 2009. 2:28 PM

im glad to help. if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask

cdmaster says: May 9, 2010. 6:25 AM

this works only with traditional power supplies for computers, no dells work.
you can use any cd drive or cd r drive made before 2005

if you dont have a play/skip button, you can either solder one on next to the eject button inside or just solder the two points next to the eject button together if(if you like to listen to the whole cd)

i even added a remote to mine

bikerelc in reply to cdmasterJul 14, 2010. 12:30 AM

Dells did not follow the standard color coding but they should work if you adjusted for their differences. Check out http://web2.murraystate.edu/andy.batts/ps/Dell_Pinouts.htm It has pretty much everything you need to make the supply work as a general power supply, if you are going to use it to drive the cd drive you don't need to do any of the custom lighting, and loading that he does.

GENERALCHAOS in reply to cdmasterMay 10, 2010. 2:49 PM

a remote ??? BTW i used a caddy cd rom it also had a display really nice project it had all the controls

cent91 says: Feb 5, 2010. 12:01 AM

i have a dell power supply here which i took out from my Old dell GX1. it doesnot have a green wire. other colors it has are red, white, grey, black, orange, sky blue, purple and yellow. can i get this to work? also that my Cd-rom doesnot have a "play/pause" button nor a "next track" button etc. can i use it for playing music? kindly help.

juicy_2009 says: Sep 11, 2009. 3:05 AM

hi, what a nice idea and video... but how about if my cd drive does not have a hole provided for jack connectivity, can i use the back part of the cd drive where i can connect something for speakers to work correctly.?? thanks and good luck to you... juicy_2009

twitsl in reply to juicy_2009Jan 31, 2010. 12:15 PM

There is often an analog connection in the back if not there is nothing you can do to make it work outside a computer. Another thing i thought i would add is that I put the with through a little hole i drilled in my power supply. It looks a lot nicer and made it very sturdy.

legless in reply to juicy_2009Jan 9, 2010. 10:45 PM

CD-ROM audio connectors

CD-ROM drives used to always have a headphone socket and volume control on the front panel. Supply 12V and 5V power sources to the CD-ROM drive and add some headphones and you can play a "Red Book" Audio CD. I won't go into the power supply needs as several suitable solutions can be found elsewhere in other Instructables.

There is usually also a 4 pin audio cable connector on the rear of the CD-ROM drive to connect with an add-on sound card or PC motherboard (hereafter referred to as the "soundcard") to use its amplifier and some speakers or headphones to playback the audio from the CD. This connector basically provides line level (0.3-2 Vpp) analogue audio signals from the CD-ROM drive to the PC soundcard.

Also some CD-ROM drives had RCA audio connectors on the rear as well for connecting directly to the AUX input of an amplifier.

Problems with these audio connectors

While today these 4 pin connectors are fairly standard across brands and different types and models of CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM and DVD-RW drives (hereafter referred to as the "CD-ROM drive") there is some variation especially with older CD-ROM drives.

The SPA MPC working group did much to promote standardisation on multimedia PCs. This specification includes a standard interface connector and pinout which should be used on all computer soundcards and the audio cables which come with them.

A Multimedia PC CD-ROM drive must include a cable to connect the drive's analogue audio output connector to a soundcard's analogue audio input connector. This cable's open sound card connector must be a female 4 pin Molex 70066-G,70400-G, or 70430-G connector with 2.54mm pitch (or equivalent) with this pin assignment.

pin1 - left signal
pin2 - ground
pin3 - ground
pin4 - right signal

What to do if you have some non-standard components

Typical CD-ROM drive problems

One possible variation of 4 pin cable is:

pin1 - nc
pin2 - left signal (white)
pin3 - ground (black)
pin4 - right signal (red)

In this case you might not have the left channel if you make a cable with standard connections.

How to fix it: Pull out the white wire from the connector (use a pin or very fine jeweler's screwdriver) and move it to the empty hole so it's in this order:

pin1 - left signal (white)
pin2 - nc
pin3 - ground (black)
pin4 - right signal (red)

Now you should hear CD playback from both channels.

How do you know how a given CD-ROM drive audio output is wired?

Usually this is stamped or printed somewhere (metalwork near the connector or on a label) on CD-ROM drive itself. If not, you have to quess the pinout and then test it.

Other variations are

3 pin connector

pin1 - Left signal
pin2 - common Ground
pin3 - Right signal

4 pin connector

pin1 - left signal
pin2 - ground
pin3 - right signal
pin4 - ground

Tips for building the cable

For the best audio quality use only shielded wiring as it's very easy to get induced noise especially with longer cables. To make a complete cable from scratch, you need some shielded audio cable (single, dual channel) and a molex connector for the CD-ROM drive end, and suitable RCA connectors for your amplifier, or a 3.5mm stereo miniphone plug to plug in powered speakers (built in amplifier).

Another option is to make a pigtail from the molex cable that came with the CD-ROM drive, by cutting off the PC end of this cable and adding inline RCA sockets or a 3.5mm miniphone plug. This pigtail should be kept as short as is practicable as most do not have shielded cable. A standard RCA cable can then be used to connect to an amplifier. Amplifiers in home stereos and car audio systems tend to use RCA connectors for their line level inputs.

A third option to use a CD-ROM drive in a car, is to connect the pigtail with a 3.5mm miniphone socket to a cassette adapter which you can slip into your car's cassette player. This might not be very loud if the line level from the CD-ROM drive is very low. If your drive has a headphone socket you can plug it in there.

As an extra thought, you might be able to get hold of a cheap external CD-ROM enclosure which will have a power supply and might have RCA connectors on the rear (many did/do) then plug this into your amplifier.

This last idea is not practical for in-car use.

uhsnamih says: Dec 7, 2008. 5:53 PM

well what about a DVD player .......and one more thing can we add a lcd screen .....or moniter?

zack247 in reply to uhsnamihDec 14, 2009. 1:12 PM

it could be possible, you would just have to make a circuit that connects to the ide port, and after the correct circuit, and the correct screen, it could be possible

IW5 Industries in reply to uhsnamihJul 24, 2009. 6:30 AM

then it would look like a computer again. lol.

CerealKiller says: Sep 27, 2009. 6:32 PM

Kinda SOL if your cd-rom drive doesn't have a headphone jack.

zack247 in reply to CerealKillerDec 14, 2009. 1:11 PM

with time and patience, im pretty sure you could probably solder one onto it

theglove says: Jun 8, 2008. 7:16 AM

This is great - I absolutely love it. One question, though - do the speakers have their own power supply? If you don't have powered speakers, is there a way to make this work? Thanks.

PCvsMac in reply to thegloveJul 26, 2008. 2:59 AM

Uhhh, I assume they are powered speakers. They maybe a way you can power the speakers from the PSU. (Someone help me out here?)

jotism in reply to PCvsMacDec 14, 2009. 8:54 AM

If 5V (USB) connect it to the legacy power plug on the PSU (same as plugs into CD drive) to a USB port (Red to posative USB and closest black to negative USB (or vice versa, not sure)). and plug them into that, or connect the wires directly, or for 12V, itel have to be the yellow wire and the closest black wire to it.

mihaimmm says: May 2, 2009. 5:24 AM

Can i connect a cd rom like this at a car, and use it like a cd player?

jotism in reply to mihaimmmDec 14, 2009. 8:49 AM

Yep, but like me, you will need something to fill the gap between the CD player and the hole and something to change 12V to just 5V.

Kulawend says: Jun 12, 2009. 1:30 AM

I made one of these. It was a shoe box CD player complete with built in speakers and everything. Unfortunately I had to use the parts in other projects so I no longer have it anymore.

jotism in reply to KulawendDec 14, 2009. 8:48 AM

Mine started as a PSU and a CD ROM drive, it will soon be my car CD player :).

neotom666 says: Aug 8, 2009. 6:20 AM

I thought it was the gray and brown wire

Ian.G says: Mar 1, 2008. 5:51 PM

can this be done to make a dvd audio player?

davesailing2004 in reply to Ian.GApr 3, 2009. 4:14 AM

no because the cd player decription is built into this type of CD player, a DVD with the skip and play button will still play CDs but it has no decripter to play DVD content or MP3s.

pandji says: Oct 30, 2008. 9:00 AM

It realy2 nice work dude

dsandds2003 says: Mar 1, 2008. 7:31 PM

nice picture of a CD ROM drive on a power supply.....But where are the instructions on how to hook up the amp and processor to control the CD ROM's ability to read which track it is on??? Am TOTALLY confused as to what this REALLY is....

extremegtafan in reply to dsandds2003Oct 15, 2008. 7:56 AM

You don't need the proccessor. The CD drives read the discs by themselves, then send the data to the computer. If you have a drive with a headphone jack on the front, you can simply plug in the power supply, plug in your speakers and play music. I did this on my dead computer when I was playing on my computer without a sound card. Except I left everything inside of it.

PetervG says: Feb 13, 2008. 9:40 AM

How do you change the song?

CrimsonXLR in reply to PetervGAug 31, 2008. 11:48 PM

You change the song on the CD player next track button. If it doesn't have a next track button then you can't change the track. I dunno if thay'll play MP3's I havent tried the ones I'm using yet. Anyways nice how to on the homemade cdplayer. I just did this the other day and it is pretty cool, I'm going to hook up a bunch of CD players too it and build a wood box to put them in with the supply.

benjgvps says: Feb 14, 2008. 6:13 PM

This is neat, if I could find a PSU I just might try this with one of the CD-ROMs I have laying around in my computer parts box.

benjgvps in reply to benjgvpsFeb 14, 2008. 6:13 PM

Just one question. Do you need the switch?

macyrlivyed in reply to benjgvpsAug 11, 2008. 6:54 PM

No just connect a green and black wire together.

229

randofo says: Feb 13, 2008. 9:39 AM

That is an absurdly large power supply.

macyrlivyed in reply to randofoAug 11, 2008. 6:53 PM

Standard Power Supply

Drewley in reply to randofoFeb 15, 2008. 5:45 AM

That's a standard size ATX power supply. Most computers use them.

229

randofo in reply to DrewleyFeb 15, 2008. 11:00 AM

Yeah, but that's not a computer it's just a CD-player operating on 12v and 5v. If you really wanted to you could get a 12v wall wart and miniaturize the power regulator; possibly even stick it in the CD case.

jotism in reply to randofoDec 14, 2009. 8:51 AM

Yes, but for this, you can attatch USB ports to the other 5V wires and also make other power connections (USB for speakers and charging things etc.).

cent91 in reply to jotismFeb 5, 2010. 12:01 AM

rayfalcon says: Mar 20, 2008. 1:13 AM

ok i have cut green and every black wire none of them worked ?? WTH am i doing wrong? please respond asap i am anxious to get this working as my reg cd player bit the dust abt 45 minutes ago

macyrlivyed in reply to rayfalconAug 11, 2008. 6:52 PM

you need to CONNECT one green and black wire!!!!!

altaria1993 in reply to rayfalconApr 19, 2008. 7:31 AM

you should cut just one green and one black wire.

uhsnamih says: Mar 14, 2008. 8:36 PM

nice work buddy..............well what about if use dvd player rather than cd player .....and one more thing what about if we use it for watching photos ......and in some countries there are movies on cd .............so what about a cd video player ..................

PCvsMac in reply to uhsnamihMar 15, 2008. 6:05 AM

Yes there is . I believe they call it VCD (Video CD) and they will be lower quality or will not give you the full movie. (I.E. It might give you 20 minutes from a 2 hour movie) because a typical CD can store less than a typical DVD. (DVD: 4.7 GB, CD: 0.7GB)

dean-101 in reply to PCvsMacMar 19, 2008. 7:43 PM

that is not true. it will be lower quality but an avi file which is mostly used on VCD(a full avi film is about 600-800mb depending on the quality etc.) so you can fit a full avi movie onto a vcd but if they are on a dvd disk you would need to convert the AVI to DVD which makes the file bigger and better quailty. Some VCDS will take 2 disks but some only one if you use the 700mb data disks. a film about 1 hour duration (600mb) converted to vcd at 1152kb will fit onto one disk.

PCvsMac in reply to dean-101Jul 26, 2008. 2:56 AM

No, I meant if he (or she) wanted the same quality as DVD's. Of course, you can scale the quality down so you may fit it all onto a DVD.

gaz-bee says: Jun 4, 2008. 1:45 PM

Reminds me of when i was 13

davidprosser says: Feb 29, 2008. 2:53 PM

If you have the spare PSU to use, why not just cut off the end of a 12v wall plug transformer, and splice the ends with a cut off molex plug (for CD player power) and 5v regulator - no need for the hefty PC PSU! And as randofo said, you might be able to squeeze the regulator into the case, maybe even fitting a 12v DC jack on the CD player! Smooooooth...

nf_x20 says: Feb 15, 2008. 3:37 PM

thank you very much