3 Simple Ways to
Share What You Make

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world — and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

PhotosPhotos

Share one or more photos of a project, recipe, or whatever you've made, quickly and easily.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Step by StepStep-By-Step

Share your step-by-step photos with text instructions of what you made so others can do it too!

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

VideoVideo

Share your how-to video. You'll need your embed code from a video site such as YouTube.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Print PDF

Favorite

"Hacked" Laptop Mod

$\"Hacked\" Laptop Mod$

last photo ←

I have an old Gateway Solo laptop running Windows 98. Pretty boring. So I decided to spice it up a little. I followed these steps to make it look like some one 'hacked' the back of my laptop! It also glows like the Apple logo (on Mac laptops), from the LCD screen backlight!

1.Dissembled the LCD half of the laptop
2.Messily drilled holes in the area where the Gateway logo used to be (pic 2 and 3)
3.Taped layers of cut up a keyboard's key map onto the inside of the hole
4.Reassembled the laptop
5.Roughed up the edges of the hole with diagonal pliers
6.Took pictures and uploaded them to Instructables!

32 comments

Aug 6, 2011. 5:28 AMzapper067 says:

Time to go windows FLP.

Jan 2, 2012. 1:07 PMmaster key says:

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PC's suck i like Tiny XP

Nov 29, 2011. 6:16 AMjimvandamme says:

You could install a new version of Linux on there, and actually have a good computer. Probably Puppy if you have less than 512MB ram. Then you could put a white penguin logo in place of the jagged hole.

Nov 30, 2011. 1:46 AMzapper067 says:

not everyone knows how to use linux,or don't bother to learn.Although gnome is a bit like apple os and kde a bit like windows?

Nov 30, 2011. 4:47 AMjimvandamme says:

Yeah, they're a "bit" like them.

http://whylinuxisbetter.net/

Jun 22, 2010. 9:33 PMzack247 says:

hi i have a mac powerbook 190, but there is a silver cardboard sheet on the back. im afraid that if i cut it the lcd wont light right. should i still try it?

Jun 23, 2010. 12:41 PMArbitror (author) says:

Can you fully remove the backing? If you can, see how the screen presents without the backing. If it is significantly dimmer, you should expect a darker blotch in the middle of your screen if you do end up cutting it. I'm guessing it is just a reflective board, to make the screen brighter.

Aug 31, 2010. 7:55 PMzack247 says:

okay, i can remove it. i might just cut the cardboard-ish stuff, so that it still lights up pretty normally

Jun 23, 2010. 2:44 PMzack247 says:

im not sure, but isn't there a reflective layer in lcd screens that let light through but still reflect it? if so, i'll take a look at some cracked lcds...

Dec 31, 2009. 11:13 AMTATcreator says:

You could have made a neater hole, and used some plexiglass to protect the light.

Dec 31, 2009. 12:35 PMArbitror (author) says:

It's supposed to look as messy as possible; it's been hacked!

Dec 31, 2009. 1:25 PMTATcreator says:

Well, if you put it that way...

Apr 12, 2010. 7:42 PMcdousley says:

Plexiglas cut like the hole would be nice to proctect the stuff inside

Mar 30, 2010. 10:11 PMzack247 says:

as soon as i get my laptop working i am going to do this. i have a ndsl backlight that i could use, cuz i dont think newer laptops have no backing on the rear of the lcd

Feb 4, 2010. 7:49 AMalexander_th says:

I want to put a LCD screen there just like this guy http://edsjunk.net/tutorials.html did on his MacBook. The only difference is that I have a Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo and I am not sure if the LCD matrix and guts will fit right behind the Amilo's screen. Can anyone please help me? Here is my email: alexander_the_game@yahoo.com

Jul 21, 2009. 12:50 PMfwjs28 says:

nice, i have that exact same laptop and two of its brothers...i have a question though, does your Solo's screen sometimes go buggy and display colors oddly?

Jul 21, 2009. 1:02 PMArbitror (author) says:

It only goes buggy on some games. But when I install the patch, it gets fixed. Has your battery died yet? 'Cuz mine has, and apparently Kipkay's has also! Here is a video he made on a fix:

Jan 8, 2010. 3:53 PMfwjs28 says:

install the patch?

Jan 8, 2010. 4:44 PMArbitror (author) says:

The newest patch for that game.

Jan 8, 2010. 5:13 PMfwjs28 says:

ahh, i see, i thought you meant there was some sort of driver patch for the screen, what kind of games are you running on that sucker?

Jul 22, 2009. 10:45 AMmicah1_8 says:

Thank you for this.

Nov 25, 2009. 5:24 PMravingking says:

it looks like a rat eat through your laptop. cool though

Nov 15, 2009. 6:21 PMreusesave says:

Im going to try this thank you

Oct 7, 2009. 12:22 PMBobCat says:

Clever and cool.

However you cannot copyright an idea. Anyone may cut a random hole and cover with a random circuit board.

I am going to cut a banana into my laptop, and Apple can do nothing to me.

Sep 21, 2009. 6:15 PM

ReCreate says:

Hmmm...What are it's Specs? I say you Put microXP on it, or Windows FLP ;) Have it on my windows 98 PC and it runs like a charm ;)

Aug 29, 2009. 10:09 PMSolderguy says:

I had a Windows 98 computer with an 8 GB hard drive and a dead motherboard. I put the 8 BG hard drive in another computer and installed a bootleg copy of windows XP on it. It works like a charm, I remotely control it from my laptop and use it to download files from the internet. It's extremely convenient.

Jul 22, 2009. 10:47 AMmicah1_8 says:

I've got the same laptop, but I run pupflux on it instead of windows... it works a treat if you can live without audio.

Jul 21, 2009. 2:25 PM

lemonie says:

The text formatting is a bit "off" in the image notes (& apos ;) L

Jul 21, 2009. 3:42 PMArbitror (author) says:

I forgot... (""s) don't work in image notes... What do you think though?

Jul 21, 2009. 4:15 PM

lemonie says:

The last pic is good, but I think a bit more shaping to a recognisable shape/outline/logo would look better (square, apple?). Imagine if you could have drilled the "24" into the back of it...? L

Jul 21, 2009. 5:09 PMArbitror (author) says:

It's not mean't to look like a recognisable shape, it's supposed to look like someone "hacked" it\drilled a hole in it. Note the rugged edges (picture 9).

Jul 21, 2009. 11:33 PM

lemonie says:

Oh yes, of course. I should look harder at associated text... L