Introduction: Making an Xbox 360 Laptop Part 1
In this intructable I will show you how to make an xbox 360 laptop. I don't know how much this will cost once you add all of the prices together but I have only spent like $15.00 so far. In part 1 I will be showing you how to get all of the materials and we will attach the monitor to the xbox to make a nice display. I haven't finished yet since I have sort of been pressed for time. So lets get started!
Also you may want to check out Ben Heckendorns xbox 360 laptop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnmMNrB_y54&list=SL
Step 1: Gathering the Tools and Materials
Tools:
Soldering iron
Solder
Wire
Electrical tape
Duct tape
Assorted screwdrivers
Materials:
xbox 360 (Mine had the red rings)
LCD computer monitor (My dad got a broken one from work and I fixed it)
Speakers
Velcro
Now in case you don't have the money to buy a new xbox and monitor see if you can find an xbox with the red rings and a monitor that wont turn on. I fixed my monitor for about $5.00 and it works great (the problem was two bad capacitors).
Step 2: Taking Apart Your Xbox
You can find instructables on taking apart an xbox so I am not going to show you how to do that. But you are going to need a t10 and t8 screwdrivers. You want to take everything apart. Get down to the motherboard.
Here is a link on how to do that:
https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Disassemble-a-Xbox-360/
Step 3: Fixing My Xbox
You can find a bunch of instructables on fixing the xbox 360 red rings. Mine had 3 rings and so I did the penny fix the x clamp fix and I also reflowed it. To reflow your xbox just plug it in put the fan on the disc drive so one of the fans is hovering over the GPU and let it sit for about 15 to 20 minutes. Unplug and let it cool for about a half an hour.
Reflow xbox 360 link:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Reflow-Xbox-360/
Penny fix:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Fix-your-xbox-360-easy-No-X-Clams-or-towles-requ/
Step 4: Working on the Monitor
Look on the back of your monitor and there should be a couple of screws. Take them off and the back should just snap off. That was pretty easy. Now just unscrew the video card and inverter from the chassis. Now you have to take off the cables from the LCD just make sure you mark them so you know which one goes where.
I covered the bottom of each circuit board in electrical and then duct tape and put velcro on the back of the LCD and circuit boards and they held great. I also had to mod the power plug on the inverter because it would not fit in the case I had. You may or may not have to mod the power plug depending on what kind of case. You can also make your own case using wood or plastic.
On my power cord green=ground, white=brown, and blue =black.
Step 5: Fixing Your Monitor
Now if you took the cheap way like I did you want to find out the problem with your monitor. If you find out what it is run a google search on how to fix it. Mine was dead capacitors which is a pretty easy fix just go to the store and look for the same kind of capacitor. If you can find the right mf and can't find the right voltage on your capacitors than get the closest voltage you can just make sure that it is higher that the original voltage on the capacitor. If your monitor will turn on and then turn off and then turn on again (blinks) then you have dead capacitors. If it will turn on and stay on for about 30 seconds than you probably have some cold spots on your inverter just resolder them.
Step 6: The Hard Part
Now this step is a pain in the butt!!! You have to solder the a VGA port to your xbox I used a pinout for reference but you could just follow this tutorial and mod an xbox 360 A/V cable to turn it into VGA and you can either add a switch or not, its up to you. Having the switch allows you to switch between VGA and component.
Here is the link to turn your A/V component cable into VGA (I just used the pinout to solder it directly to the motherboard):
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/14/how-to-turn-a-standard-xbox-360-video-cable-into-a-vga-cable-fo/
If you decide to solder it directly to your motherboard then you might have to some math if you look at pin 1 on the mother board the one next to it is 5 and then 9 it will say the numbers on the sides and the top and bottom row and you can just determine what the other pins are for yourself.
Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the motherboard after I soldered it.
Step 7: Now to Mount Your Monitor in Your Case
To mount your monitor in your case you are going to have to put on your thinking cap. In my case there wasn't very much space so we had to figure out how to fit it all. I am not 100% finished mounting my monitor yet but it stays in place and it works pretty good.
You may need some kind of foam to make it fit nice and snug.
Step 8: Conclusion
Well that's all I have for now, in the next step I will hopefully be covering mounting the xbox in the case and add the speakers. Until next time have fun with this and hopefully I will be able to finish my xbox 360 laptop soon.
Have fun and be careful!!! Electronics can be dangerous!!!
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24 Comments
9 years ago on Introduction
I would love to see the finished project once you find the time...hopefully it won't have any cooling issues.
10 years ago on Introduction
what case did you house the monitor in, and what size was the monitor? cool project btw
11 years ago on Introduction
i would love to see the end result... my friend gave me his red ringed 360 to pull parts from to fix the shell on the one i have and i think i might re flow his and turn it in to a laptop for portable gaming and media viewing
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
be really careful with the x clamps!! I would put duct tape around the clamps and untape when you are done. I ruined 2 scratching the board.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
If it has the red rings you should try and fix it..... But since this xbox was really old it stopped working and I couldn't figure out how to fix it.... But I may buy a pre owned xbox from gamestop and try building it the way I want it.
11 years ago on Introduction
Might want to elaborate on the last step. My computer teacher in High School stressed the point not to play with monitors unless you fully know what you are doing because they retain power and one wrong move could stop your heart. Other than that Great Instructable 5/5
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Your Computer instructor might be old school. In the older CRT monitors, this was true as the capacitors stored a similar amount of electricity as the flash on a disposable camera (stun gun). I'm fairly certain that a newer LCD does not have the same kick.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
lcd monitors are safe as can bee assuming you unplug it first i mean not every body thinks that far ahead
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
If the monitor has not been on in a while your safe but if you just turned it off and start taking it apart you will have more of a chance of getting electrocuted.
11 years ago on Introduction
What happens if you put a ps3 emulater for linux on your xbox 360?
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
I'm not really good at doing stuff with software.... Mostly hardware.
12 years ago on Introduction
very nice!
could the "cold spots" on the inverter cause it to not work at all? if so, how can i tell and do you mean just resolder the inverter's solder points?
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
It could turn on for about thirty seconds or so and then it would shut off. I thought that was the problem with my monitor so I just resoldered the whole board and it worked for about twenty minutes but then it stopped working. So if your monitor is not turning on at all it is probably the capacitors or you blew a fuse on the inverter.
You can tell by looking at the inverter at the solder points and if it looks all dry and it would look kind of like this.
If your monitor is not turning on at all it is probably capacitors so I would look for bulges on the top of them. Like this one.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
i already replaced the capacitors, but my screen runs 4 backlight bulbs, so it uses 2 inverters, im going to try resoldering them and see if it works, i had already replaced the puffy capacitors and as far as i can tell (without a backlight) the LCD works flawlessly.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Ok
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
erk!
replying to a older post..
i just got this 17" monitor, and it will work fine just displaying basic stuff but once i start to play portal a random number of minutes in the screen will dim the bulbs and then turn them off. the monitor has no bad capacitors and the inverters have no cold spots, and it has done this with every computer except my laptop.
what do you suppose is wrong with it?
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Have you tried plugging it into a different outlet? Sometimes they can be getting bad power but I doubt that's the problem.
I found this link that might help you but I'm not totally sure what the problem is so I can't really explain how to fix it. I will do some research for you and let you know if I find anything else. Anyway here is the link,
http://www.inventgeek.com/projects/shorts/lcdfix.aspx
I would try googling what the problem is and see if you can find any ideas on how to fix it.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
And yeah I forgot to say just resolder the cold spots. I would look at the capacitors and fuse though. If your monitor is not turning on at all it could very well be the fuse and if you want to replace it make sure you have the same amperage fuse. If you can't find one that is the same voltage you want to use a higher voltage. And if you can find the same mf capacitors but not the same voltage you need to use a higher voltage.
12 years ago on Introduction
Great job Jordan!
12 years ago on Introduction
Jordan you are soooo incredibly AWESOME!!!! I love this!