"Hacked" Laptop Mod

Intro: "Hacked" Laptop Mod

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!

Comments

[Istarian]

I'd advise anyone wanting to do this to determine some way to ensure that nothing damages the screen. LCDs are pretty fragile and the rigidity and durability of the plastics generally protect it from moderate impacts and other sources of damage that could crack or otherwise damage the lcd. If something rigid ended up prodded through that hole it might destroy the screen. Cutting a plexiglass/acrylic piece the size of the hole and fitting it in there and affixing it with epoxy might be wise. Then you could either etch it or attach your piece of art to the back of it.

[zapper067]

Time to go windows FLP.

[master key]

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

[jimvandamme]

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.

[zapper067]

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?

[jimvandamme]

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

http://whylinuxisbetter.net/

[zack247]

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?

[Arbitror]

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.

[zack247]

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

[zack247]

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...

[zack247]

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

[alexander_th]

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: [e-mail]

[fwjs28]

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?

[Arbitror]

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:

[fwjs28]

install the patch? 

[Arbitror]

The newest patch for that game.

[fwjs28]

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? 

[micah1_8]

Thank you for this.

[TATcreator]

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

[Arbitror]

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