LAPTOP CASE / HARDWARE MODDING DESIGN IDEAS

[precisewitem]

LOOKING FOR DESIGN IDEAS

I'm looking for suggestions and precedents for modding laptop cases with windows and LEDS. I'm also looking for possible design ideas and creativity. I'm including plenty of pictures of the laptop, so you can see what I'm working with. I would also like to do something with that boring DELL circle on the back of the monitor, on top of the case.

The hardware modifications I'm interested in doing include adding an additional internal laptop hardrive inside the case. The hard drive I have is a 40G laptop HD with pins driectly on the back of it. It's the style that plugs into a bay in a laptop. Anyone know if this is possible, I'm assuming I would need some type of conversion to IDE or USB, But I was curious if there was any alternative method of doing this.

I will be including more hardware specs on the computer in the next few days. For anyone feeling ambitious it's a DELL Inspiron 2200. I would like to examine a possible mobo upgrade, something that supports my current processor and offers support for adding a high end graphics card.

My desktop has the 845GV chipset with internal graphics support and 128 shared memory = NO GAMES. I'm not positive but I think the laptop has the same problem as my PC - no external graphics. I'm going to change that though.

HERES THE PICS

[LiesOfXIII]

Get a really big book, like a dictionary or something like and hollow it out, pop that bad boy inside, if the books big enough you might be able to machine a big enough heatsink that you wouldnt need fans

[precisewitem]

I'm not sure what you mean, like take apart the laptop and move everything to a gutted out phonebook? I guess it's a start, 15 views and one post so far - we should introduce some sort of "have to post system".

Thanks for your input - I wasn't looking to go that crazy though. I just want to modify the original case not create a whole new one. Interesting Idea though I would like to see it done. I'm going to do some window mods and LEDS, light up the keyboard, and possibly el wire the window edges. I also need help with the hard drive addition and possible mobo options.

Thanks for your interest,
Chris

[LiesOfXIII]

Yeah that was a half asleep random thought, sorry about that

If you have the space (if the DVDdrive isnt under the keyboard) you could always do a drive window
Mb a thin sheet of 2way mirror plexiglass over the screen (It looks like a mirror when the computer is off, when you turn it on the light from the screen shows through the mirror and you can see it perfectly)
Mirror black paint job mb?
idk more later

[BronzeG3]

Cut the letters out of the keyboard, place LED's underneath, and have a nice light up keyboard?

[Nginuity]

Paint it camoflauge
_________________
_ _ . . . . . . _ _

[precisewitem]

I like this idea G3, it would be fairly difficult to cut the letters out of the keys though. What you mean is like dirll / cut out the letters in the keys and place leds behind them to light up the openings right? Sounds like an idea to work with though. I may do this for certain keys, such as del esc and possibly some others. This would be really cool if I could do it like I'm picturing.

Here's some more information related to the hardware inside the computer:

- Intel Pentium M 735 (1.7GHz) Processor
- 512MB PC2700 DDR Memory
- 40GB 4200rpm Hard Drive
- 24x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
- 14.1" XGA LCD and Intel GMA 900 Integrated Graphics with 128MB
- Shared Memory
- AC'97 Audio
- v.92 56Kbps Modem, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11g Wireless
- Three USB 2.0 and one type II PC Card Slot
- 13" x 10.6" x 1.5" @ 6.0 lbs

I still need some help designing the motherboard / graphics upgrade I'm looking to do. Any links to info is appretiated as well. I will be doing some crazy window modding on the laptop. I could use information regarding how this is done and what materials are used specifially. Thanks a lot for all your help and suggestions they are all appretiated.

As far as the paint goes I'm going to do something high gloss / shiny in 2 different colors. I was thinking black / grey and white split diagonally down the front of the laptop. Camo just isn't my style. I would also like to do some flake effect in one of the colors. I need help finding info and painting supplies as well. Thanks guys.

[precisewitem]

I have an older LG phone that I'm not using (just got the new enV vx9900). I'm thinking about completely dismantling the phone, removing the LCD and the board, and custom installing it inside my laptop case next to the touchpad.

This way the unserviced phone can act as an external phonebook, time / date display, calculator, calander, mini game platform, camera, voice recorder, alarm, and whatever else I can modify it to do. I'll install the LCD next to the touchpad and relocate the phone button layout around it.

There's a lot of questions to be answered in order to perform this mod. Some that I can think of right off the top of my head are:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- How to wire the phone for a constant power source and where in the laptop I will be drawing additional power from.
- How to reloacte the buttons and have them function properly, do I have to cut the board apart?
- How to dismantle the phone
- How to cut the case for the LCD and buttons
- What to use for a border on the LCD, like edging / mounting
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you have any help with any of these questions please don't hesitate to reply. Any help would be appretiated. I will be dismantling the phone and taking pictures of everything within the next few days. I've already taken the case off, but it looks like i will have to cut a piece of the case to be able to remove the board / LCD, as the LCD's "IDE" is throught a hole in the case. Let me know what you think of the idea.

Chris

[precisewitem]

[BronzeG3]

Hopefully I can answer a couple of questions. I don't have the phone, so I can't be 100%sure on everything, and I've never done anything quite like this before, so be warned.

To power the phone, find the battery that went with the phone. Most of them have the output voltage written on the back of it. My phone uses 3.7V. You can use a LM317 to take a 12v line from the system and drop it down to the voltage you need. You should be able to connect that directly to the + and - parts of the phone.

Most buttons are only a conductive pad that completes a circuit. You should be able to solder wires to each side of the PCB pad and wire in a button of your own.

[LiesOfXIII]

cut the space for the lcd with a dremil and touch it up with some bondo

it would be also really cool if you found a way to use the cam on the phone as a webcam, mb relocate it to the top of the notebooks lcd?

[Nginuity]

[LiesOfXIII]

[Alan]

[precisewitem]

I LOVE THE WEBCAM IDEA LIES.

Thanks for all the info you guys. In the next few days I will be posting pics of the phone board / camera / speaker assembly. I may have damaged the camera flas taking apart the casing. We will see when i put it back together to ensure that the LCD "IDE" was not damaged. Thanks again, I'll be looking into the bondo idea.