Introduction: Transform an Old Laptop Into a MP3 Player

By Esbay

These instructions (my first, so be nice) show you how I transformed an old laptop with a broken screen (white strips on the screen) into a design MP3 player.

Step 1: Opening the Laptop

The first thing you'll need is a laptop.
I used an old 700MHz laptop with a color screen. The screen has 2 large white bands because some connections are broken. For this reason, I decided to hide these bands behind a painted glass. You will see that later.
Open the computer and remove as many pieces as you can. Often test the system to be sure that the last device you removed was not too important...
/!\ Do never turn your computer on without the fan over the CPU, I burned the last project I tested like that...
The laptop in pieces:

Step 2: Setup the Computer and Test the Skin

The easiest way to setup your laptop is to make it before dismantling it. You will need a keyboard, the screen connected... make sure your soundcard, CD player, network is configured.

Step 3: Re-wiring the Computer

Modify the wiring: I plugged a USB cable to hide the plug behind the box.
Here is a view of the interior of the box. I kept the wifi adaptor to be able to play songs over the network.

Step 4: Wiring the Command

I plug a modified keyboard into the keyboard input. I will (it's not finished) connect 5 buttons to play, stop, control the songs.

Step 5: Painting the Frame

Buy a glass frame and paint one side with the color of your choice (for me black). I painted a frame around the glass to hide the double face tape I sticked from behind.

Step 6: Modifing the Screen

Remove the screen from the box and find a way to make the glass really attached to the LCD. The two broken strips of the screen are hidden by the paint.

Step 7: The LCD Panel Behing the Glass

Once taped to the glass, we cannot see the bands anymore...

Step 8: Modifing the Box

The most difficult part of the project is to have the screen + frame attached to the rest of the box. I cut a plate of metal (cover of a VCR) and made hole to let the cable pass through. Connect the screen

Step 9: That's It...

Once you tested your connection, hang your creation, turn it on and enjoy your music. I used windows XP. I designed a small interface that fits to the reaming size of the screen. I plug a wireless mouse to remote control the playing.
I can run visualization plug-ins.
Let me know about your ideas, comments to improve it...