MAKE a CD player

I made this before we found out that music CDs from the store had viruses on them,
because I knew it was possible and suspected it was true.

I had to "fix" it today because the belt slips and the CD wouldn't come out,
which gave me an excuse to un-make and re-make it.

Although I made mine in an external drive case it is actually easier to make it inside your (PC) Box,
but then there is the danger of someone being dumb enough to play the CD in the wrong drive.

Step 1 Find stuff...

You just need a CDROM drive, in working condition.
If it's used it may be full of dust.
The one I used I got new, but the belts got slack and it no longer ejects,
and that is why I am working on it "now".

AND... any amplified computer speakers that have their own power supply,
and volume controls... as loud as you prefer...

AND... a power supply that has the power for the CDROM drive.

AND... a box to make it in. Could be a cardboard box. Could be your PC.

Just one more thing about the drive, it should have at least 2 buttons.
Mine has "stop/eject" and"play/skip".
A drive with the Play button can play CDs without the computer.
You KNOW you have a virus if your other CD drive (only) stops playing CD's.
Follow this instructable and it will be able to play CDs again.

Comments

[TheRealDutchOwner]

I made this too. It was €6 in total, €5 for the PSU (I found a comfortable small one) and €1 for the CD-ROM Drive at the local secondhand shop, where i like to get my devices and computer parts for dirtcheap.

[joinaqd]

can someone help me?i have this transistor that says PL on the top, 7805 in the middle,and 2 MC at the bottom...but i dont know if its a voltage regulator can someone please reply me back if it is?

[iApple guy]

That is a voltage regulator :)

[Eirinn]

I'm not experienced enough to say for sure, but i think it's a voltage regulator :)

[BFeely]

7805 voltage regulator. +5 volts. Going by the picture above, hook positive voltage (7 to 25 volts) to the left pin, ground the middle pin, and get +5 from the right pin.

[hasnain101]

yes It is Voltage REgulator :)

[hasnain101]

YEs

[VIRON]

Virus meant malware even before "malware" was a word. Everyone knows a virus is "BAD". Does anyone want to stop viruses but run spyware malware rootkits worms and trojans? Scientists don't consider MAD COW DISEASE a virus. So would you eat it? Stop brown nosing the virus writers. Some of you are like beauty queens in denial that BoTox is the strongest known poison.

[cammel8]

actually a virus isnt bad. a virus is the closest thing we have to artaficial inteligence. A PAYLOAD connect to a virus can be bad but the virus itself does nothing wrong. It is a common misconception. just like people think hackers are the ones breaking into stuff using computers but in truth its crackers. Hackers just program.

[Questioneverything13]

Are you insane ? anything that eats up system resources copying itself is bad it doesn't need to do anything else if it fills your hard drive with copies of itself your pc just grinds to a stop.

[cammel8]

(removed by author or community request)

[cammel8]

and I forgot to put it in but you can program a virus without a payload to propagate itself in a computer then set it loose in said computer and study said virus. you can learn what it does and how it reacts to certain elements thereby learning form it.

[cammel8]

therefore the comment "anything that eats up system resources copying itself is bad" has just been debunked becasue you said anything that.... and not some things or most things.....are bad.

[cammel8]

and if that is what your goal was then the second part of your comment was incoreect as well becasue you learned from it and in essance found good not bad in the situation.

[cammel8]

Everything you said was completely accused of being wrong, proven wrong, and set asside as wrong, much like you would comments from the mentally insane. So maybe someone should be saying to you ARE YOU?

[surroundsound5000]

I know I shouldn't engage here, as you are clearly a troll, but nevertheless: I take offense to your comment; misinformed derogatory slander like yours leads to stigmatising and discrimination. I would appreciate it, (as would others, no doubt) if you would refrain from preying on vulnerable minorities while you are busy attacking other commenters.

[cammel8]

Huh?

[VIRON]

Right, go catch a virus and die, so average people will be smarter.

[cammel8]

I was always told never argue with a fool because listeners can’t tell the difference. I am going to go against that right now in hopes that I can enlighten you. All I have to say is just look it up and you will see I’m not wrong. I have both a bachelors and an associates in computers, I have studied these things extensively and I know what the truth is. The truth is a virus is not a bad thing the payload attached to the virus is what does the damage. A virus by its nature cannot and will not hurt your computer only payloads can. When people talk of the Melisa virus or the Monkey-B virus they are talking about the payload itself. If you don’t believe me Google it, but for god’s sake, don’t open your cake hole and slam someone that apparently knows more than you, without first making sure what you are saying is true. Remember it is better to let people think you are an idiot than to open your mouth and prove it. Now with that said is there any more of your infinitely wise, obviously unsubstantiated, or otherwise moronic inputs you would like to add or would you rather just try looking something up for once in your life to see if maybe it is true. Just to help you it is W W W . G O O G L E . C O M Hope that helps you. And again for the person in the slow seat in the front of the short bus its WWW.GOOGLE.COM

[Re-design]

You may have both a BS and an AS but you must have skipped a few classes because your typing, spelling and grammar are very much lacking.

[VIRON]

Google define:virus
Which of those definitions are good?
"Virus" comes from the Latin, in which it means "Poison".

[cammel8]

Well seeing as you were talking about security when you said all virus were bad lets use the definition that says : In computer security technology, a virus is a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents (for a complete definition: see below). Thus, a computer virus behaves in a way similar to a biological virus, which spreads by inserting itself into living cells. Extending the analogy, the insertion of the virus into a program is termed infection, and the infected file (or executable code that is not part of a file) is called a host. ... Nowhere in there does it say that the virus harms, as a matter of fact the only thing it says is that it becomes infected, which is what anything is called living or computer when a virus is introduced. Now using the exact page you listed I deleted virus from the top and put in payload: This is a term used to describe the activity initiated by a virus. Typical virus payloads include displaying a message or deleting files. Ok now that we have established that the virus does not do damage but the payload does, let’s look at what a payload is. When talking about rockets the payload is: The cargo (scientific instruments, satellites, spacecraft, etc.) carried by a rocket. When talking about biometrics: Any identification information, which is carried inside the biometric data record. A payload can be used as identification for an entity once biometric authentication is successfully completed. When talking about spaceships: The complement of instruments that are accommodated on a spacecraft. Source: EPO. When talking about satellites: The load carried by a satellite exclusive of what is necessary for its operation, especially the communications equipment, sensors, antennas, etc. As a matter of fact all the definitions look pretty much the same. The payload is always described as something that is "carried" by something else and not actually the item itself. Therefore we can deduce that payloads are never actually the item but a item carried by that item. Like I said a virus does not do the damage, a payload does. Here is a better definition for you: *************************************************** Virus (computer), self-replicating computer program that interferes with a computer's hardware or operating system (the basic software that runs the computer). Viruses are designed to replicate and to elude detection. Like any other computer program, a virus must be executed to function—that is, it must be loaded from the computer's memory, and the virus's instructions must then be followed by the computer. These instructions are called the payload of the virus. The payload may disrupt or change data files, display a message, or cause the operating system to malfunction. There are other harmful computer programs that are similar to viruses but do not both replicate and elude detection. These programs fall into three categories: Trojan horses, logic bombs, and worms. A Trojan horse appears to be something interesting and harmless, such as a game, but when it runs it may have harmful effects. A logic bomb delivers its payload when it is triggered by a specific condition, such as when a particular date or time is reached or when a combination of letters is typed. A worm only makes copies of itself, but it can take up computer memory and slow the computer's processes. *************************************************** What you are thinking of would probably be better described as a "Trojan horse" or a "logic bomb", which is what most misdefined "viruses" fall under, but not as a virus. Many people mistakenly call things they don’t understand a "virus" because it is the word most people have been told means "bad thing that hurts my computer". When someone sends you a file and you open it to see a card, and see the card, and then your computer crashes, that’s a Trojan horse. Although sometimes the Trojan caries a virus in, it still is not the virus that does the damage, it is what the virus carries with it that does, and that is the payload. A lot of the misconceptions come from the fact that Anti-virus programs can find and detect them, so they have to be a virus. Well that is not true. A lot of the antivirus programs on the market, look for not only virus, but adware, malware, worms, Trojans, and a multitude of other things. Norton will detect BHO’s (browser help objects) and sometimes report them or try to block them. This does not mean the BHO will hurt your computer it just means something is trying to change your computer. (BHO’s are how Microsoft puts stuff into your right click context menu like "Export to Excel" and yahoo puts stuff in like "check mail".) Does that mean that they are viruses? No but my mom keeps calling me asking me what to do because yahoo just added a virus. Here is the history of the word Virus as pertaining to computers: In 1949 the Hungarian-American mathematician John von Neumann, at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, proposed that it was theoretically possible for a computer program to replicate. This theory was tested in the 1950s at Bell Laboratories when a game called Core Wars was developed. Core Wars(or Core War) is a programming game in which two or more battle programs (called warriors) compete for the control of the MARS virtual computer (Memory Array Redcode Simulator). These battle programs are written in an abstract assembly language called Redcode. The object of the game is to cause all processes of the opposing program(s) to terminate, leaving your program in sole possession of the machine. In 1983 American electrical engineer Fred Cohen, at the time a graduate student, coined the term virus to describe a self-replicating computer program.

[VIRON]

That is all very interesting but the point of this instructable has to do with neutralizing the unwanted effects of an otherwise attractive source of viruses, especially SONY BMG MUSIC CD's, by isolating them from the targeted system. Another way to prevent the spread of viruses, whether you like them or not, is simply to write protect the memory devices that store programs that I don't want modified except by myself. A switch is a much cheaper more effective alternative to anti-virus software for this purpose. In 1980 the switch was widely implemented on program media as a hole that could be covered. Also some software was distributed on ROM chips then, and previously even punched paper media was equally secure. But read-only media and write-protection were common knowledge at that time for code and data protection, and there is an obvious lack of a write protect switch on hard drives, so that is my solution, to add one and only turn it off when I want to change my software. Data drives are not permitted to run software at all, and RAM can be frozen, examined, and left unrefreshed (to blank it out) rather quickly to get rid of any misbehaving code. Since some of my equipment goes back to 1980, and ALL of it reboots instantly, I'm very pleased with the way I have it set up now. I highly recommend these techniques which were once just pure common sense. Summary Example: If you install your programs on a CD, and run them on a non-burning CDROM drive, you should have no worries about them getting modified by viruses. (I strongly discourage using ANY software that you can't do that with.)

[cammel8]

You are correct that isolating the rom from the system a good idea. As a matter of fact I agree with most of what you just wrote. I just have a problem with people propogating misconceptions. I try to enlighten people as to their misconceptions whenever possible. The more people that know the truth and spread the word the smarter we as a whole become.

[rotor]

The reason we have names for things is to distinguish between them. I don't call the sony rootkit a virus for the same reason I don't call my cat a dog - because they're DIFFERENT THINGS. Just because I don't call it a virus doesn't mean I like it. There's lots of unpleasant computer nasties that aren't viruses.

[Daykun]

word...

[trebuchet03]

I say... A rose by any other name... well in this case smells like dead resistors... but meh. semantics.

[jeffrey_om]

hello do you can help me i want to make this and it does not work
i have a acer cd-rom player the cd- rom player will not play a cd

sorry for the bad english i come from the neterlands

[RelaxedSoup]

Also, many CD drives have a dedicated "Audio Out" plug in the back, it's the square 4 pin connector, mine's on the far left. The far left pin in the plug is Right Channel, and the right pin is Left Channel, the middle two are ground.

[iToasterz]

My Sound Card Is Just A Card In The Mother Board And Has No Audio Jacks, I Also Can't Take The Card Out. Can Some One Please Help.

[Kulawend]

Here's a simple way to decrease the risk of getting viruses from audio CDs - use Linux.

[joinaqd]

oh and also...great instructable.i built this a year ago and i still have it!!

[demond101]

thank you i did this in 1min and 30 seconds it works great thanks :D

[electronic boy]

this advice works gr8 i built one but instead of plugging in a pair of speakers i put in a 12 volt amplifier with two speaker jacks

[millenniumtree]

I had a party a couple weeks back but had no CD player. I dipped into my vast array of old tower cases, and out came an old AT power supply and a CD-ROM with a play button. One audio cable to the 80s vintage garage stereo and BLAMMO! Instant CD Player! I got to show off my hackage to all the party-goers. We got some awesome Japanese Ska for garage ambiance, and the iPodders could even yank the audio cable out and take a turn on the DJ circuit. I love a simple solution! Even better if it costs nothing. :D

[odie4420]

this is a GREAT instructable, it has inspired me in addition to a couple of other instruct. to create what I will proudly call "OdiE's Super Rad Do It Your Self DJ Set up with Simulated Turntable Control" my one question is and I will probably answer it here, does "mu-sick" refer to cd with viruses on it.....this is the first I've ever heard of viruses on cd unless put on by intention I plan on checking it out. Again, simple to the point and well presented. P..S. LOL ive looked thought A LOT of these and this one is the first one I decided to become a member to make a post about. Have a good one.

[jinventive]

I'm about to make one of these with some old CD drives which were a pound each at a computer repair store. I also picked up a fan and heatsink for 50p which should come in handy sometime. I'm going to make it into a CD player with integrated amplifier from some cheap an' cheerful iPod speakers I got from asda.

[wacko]

really cool!!!!!!!!!

[navaburo]

I put mine in a box and called in the GhettoBlaster...
GhettoBlaster HOWTO and photos

While carrying this around I have been stopped multiple times and questioned... I suppose it looks a tad suspicious.

[navaburo]

the key additions to my system are: built-in-speakers and a fan-cooled amplifier circuit.