Project : XTC Retro Laptop

[Munty]

Ok here I go again. I still have a half finished project from a few years back on here which remains unchanged to date but due to multiple hardware failures amongst other issues the book is currently closed on that mod. It will be revisited with a more up-to-date configuration and therefore slightly different design once I've finished with this one which I hope won't take too long.

I've already started up a thread here called 'Hardware advice for retro gaming rig' and I was initially looking at a micro ATX build with small components and low specifications. A link is here > http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...ad.php?t=25450

After a little advice based contemplation I started lookin g at old laptops which immediately became a cheaper, easier and much faster way to get what I wanted and on the same day I won an Ebay auction for what is now the heart of my project.

I ended up with a Time 2000 laptop, shown below in a terrible pic I took before realising the webcam had a zoom...

AMD K6/2 500 Processor
12" Screen
128MB Memory
12GB Hard Drive
3½" Floppy Disk Drive
CD Rom Drive
LAN
2 x PCMCIA
2 x USB Ports
56K Modem
VGA
Parallel
Serial
PS 2 Port
Microsoft Windows 98 Recovery Disks

There were very few boxes this purchase had to tick because what I'm essentially looking to end up with is a dated system running Win 95, Win 98 and maybe 2000 so I can finally play my numerous old games without emulation software, DOSBOX or incredibly fast scrolling and distorted music!

I knew it had to have a CDD and FDD because we're talking about dated media and not every game I own runs off a DVD! I wanted USB for data transfer as I don't intend it to ever come into direct contact with another computer, HDD or 'gasp' the internet!

Clearly I've got all of that and more so I'm dead chuffed and the whole lot only set me back £35 for a 'Seller refurbished' item!

So here I am 6 days later and it finally arrived in the post (of that £25. 18 was for delivery!) I booted it up and was greeted by a lovely Win 98 screen which is perfect as I already have install disks for 95 but not 98. I installed one of my all-time faves and played for a while before deciding it was time to actually do some work...

So here comes the actual project as laptops don't really require or allow for very much in terms of modification. Especially now one this old!

As I'm looking to rebuild the case I first had to strip everything down so that meant bare-minimum only. It's taken a fair bit of time and a lot of learning on-the-fly but I've finally done it and so far I haven't lost or broken anything so I call that a success!

Now before I go any further I'm curious as to how much freedom I actually have to work here as the connectors used here give me an unfortunately small amount of freedom... So what follows for my first post is a lot of disassembly images and even more connector ones.

Here it is fresh from my gaming session, still a little warm

And then some bits fell off...

Then the monitor disappeared

And was followed by the CDD, FDD, HDD and soundcard which also curiously connects up to the touchpad

And then it was just an empty shell!

I've honestly learnt more about laptops in one sitting than I have about desktops in decades! Now it was in pieces I could see what options I have open to me. The only thing not stripped was the monitor frame but I'm going to leave that for now and work on the base first.

Macbook Air my arse, check the weight of my invisible creation!

Crappy pics I'm afraid but this is the scale of it all. A touch over 30cm by about 24cm deep. Highest point is about 35mm

Awful pic, the case is invisibe this time...

Now onto boring connector pics, I apologise there are quite a few and unless you know something about laptop connections and can possibly help me you should probably move on!

Female socket on the monitor, no cable at all which sucks as I want to move the monitor later on. Maybe there is something I can use inside the frame?

Another poor image. male plug for the monitor is at far left. Yellow is power button and black plug on the right fits to the rear of the CDD

Here is the back of said CDD and the socket which takes above plug making relocation impossible.

This is the HDD,FDD assy upside down. The plug on the right is for the battery to connect to. The funny angle is to show the additional socket for a 12pim plug on the mobo which makes reloacation impossible.

Here's an image of the mobo showing more immovable connectors. The different circuitboards simply use these whits plugs/sockets to connect directly to each other leaving no opportunity for relocation throughout the whole construction. The 2 pictured are slightly different but serve identical purposes.

Here's the other part of one of those connectors, this one is on the HDD,FDD assy again. I see no possible way of moving any of these parts...

So at the end of that I find myself with a much less adaptable hardware configuration than previously hoped. Of course they didn't expect anyone to want to move it around when they made it so it's understandable but still a little frustrating...

The final design for the case will be of similar dimensions to the original laptop but I want to disconnect the screen and have it stood over the base rather than attached vertically to the rear of it. I also need the overall width of the new case to be more than the original which is easy but will leave a few things largely inaccessible based on what I've seen so far.

Current width can be measured at around 315mm and I'm probably going to want an extra 100mm on that though it's undetermined so far and extension will be limited as much as possible.

Based on the location of all these connectors however and the way in which they work there is very little that can be moved in the hardware of this laptop. In fact the ONLY thing that can be moved is the LAN port which is on a separate piece of circuit board for reasons unknown but as I'm not going to use it anyway it matters little to me!

The left side of the hardware comprises of CD, floppy and USB access so this side must continue to form the left side of my build. The HDD is similarly unmoveable and therefore determines the highest point of my build. The right side of the case however can be shallower as it will be empty. This extension will limit access to the battery, LAN port and open venting to the CPU heat sink although a fan also directs heat away from this through the top of the original case near the keyboard. Either way this vent can be easily reproduced so as to avoid any issues with heat. Perhaps the extra space I will be making could even be used to improve the cooling but I haven't thought yet about what possibilities that has. The only other access to the right side of this hardware is the PCMCIA slot but as I addressed in my original post I've never had or used one before so this doesn't matter to me.

The possibilities of relocation that do have a serious affect on this build are just 3. Monitor, keyboard and touchpad... Following are a few images regarding this problem.

This is the slot for the keyboard ribbon and is centrally located. There is a precise size and shape of ribbon to connect the keyboard to this point and it will not allow me any freedom to relocate it but it MUST be moved or the project can't continue. The end of the ribbon attached to the keyboard is not removable...

Finally something I hold hope for. The touchpad is connected to the main computer with a standard cable with plugs at both ends! That makes it easily removable and I daresay, easily extendable! Please correct me if I'm wrong but not right away, I need this one!

The monitor issue must be addressed at a later date, worst case screnario I CAN compromise and refit is in it's original location. Will look crap though so I hope there's a way to relocate it even an inch or so once I open the case up. A slight rotation would be nice too!

Other things I was hoping to move are the power switch which I wanted to mount as a push button to one side of the monitor screen. And the volume control which is of the dial type and fixed to the soundcard. I have no idea if either one of these can be moved currently but I certainly can't imagine how they could be at present.

The LEDs are a final nuisance as I wanted the 'power' 'charging' and whatever other lights I have to all move up to the monitor. I don't really want any obvious electronics to remain on the exterior of the base so this is rather irritating. The LEDs for the keyboard icons are also located in a fixed position but they can be covered or possibly fibre-optically relocated? Never worked with the stuff before but it's a though as it's not dissimilar to the method already used in it's current design!

You'll be pleased to hear I'm now out of pictures and the next stage is to determine the final size I want which will depend on some other construction projects that I have underway! I'll post updates of them in the next few days and once I do the final design will become a lot clearer!

Sorry for the vagueness of it all but I want to get it right in my mind first and then I'll share some more! A few posts from now there'll be all the answers available!

What I need from the brainboxes here in the meantime is a few thoughts on how I might be able to relocate the above items. Like I said, keyboard, touchpad and monitor are the big ones but the keyboard is a huge issue right now so if anyone can help me with that I'll be very happy indeed!

[x88x]

How comfortable are you with a soldering iron?

Looks to me like everything in there could be moved given the right motivation. Any cables with special plugs (touchpad, keyboard, etc), just cut it in the middle and solder in extensions. The one that will likely prove the most problematic is the display cable. It will be a wide, very flat cable inside that plastic hinge assembly...hmmm, though it might be broken out into thicker individual wires for the passage through the hinge...hope for that; it would make you job much simpler.

EDIT:
The board-to-board plugs look easily big enough to be taken off and replaced with small-gauge wires. old IDE cables are great for that kinda stuff.

[Munty]

Hey thanks 88, so all may not be lost I thought the touchpad would be easy enough so that's a relief at least, still not sure about the keyboard though! I can't believe of the dozens of pics I put up I didn't show the actual cable but it's the sort of transparent plastic film type rather than the old ribbons you find in desktop pcs. What can I do about that? If it can't be altered/extended could I maybe trace it all the way back to the keyboard itself and tweak it there?

Been working on a little bit of detailing this evening which has come on quite nicely but there's a whole lot more still to do yet and this is just a practice for the really big jobs! Got my soldering iron and bits and bobs in the mail today but still waiting for my cutting discs for the dremel. They'll come in very handy quite soon!!!

[x88x]

Yeah, that ribbon is to be expected. That one will require a very delicate touch. You'll want to use some quite small gauge wire, probably around 30AWG or so (again, old IDE cables are good for this because it keeps them all in order for you), cut the cable in the middle somewhere, very lightly sand down the plastic till you hit copper, and very gently solder a wire onto each lead. I seem to remember someone around here doing such an operation on some kind of similar cable..can't remember where though.. Changing it at the MBB is possible, but tricky because of the very tight tolerances on that end. Changing it at the keyboard is probably going to give you the same problems cutting the middle of the cable would. The benefit of doing it in the middle of the cable is that if you mess up you can cut the messed up bit off and try again; more space to work with.

[RogueOpportunist]

If you try to sand down the plastic and solder directly to the copper of the ribbon cable it will make for a very flimsy connection and will pull off very easily, a good idea might be to make a prick hole in each ribbon trace with a pin or something if you can and feed the wire through, "twisting" the wire around itself before soldering so it can't easily "pull off", the wires inside a standard IDE cable might be a bit thick for that but if you use an ATA-100 IDE cable they should be thin enough.

[x88x]

Good idea, that.

[Munty]

thanks guys for the advice, I'm suddenly a little more optimistic about keyboard relocation How about cutting in the middle as advised and then getting a bit technical to ensure a good secure connection. I could try making two pricks through each copper trace and then scraping off the plastic between them on one side only. Feed the new extension wire up through one hole and down through the other so it has a good few mm contact dirct with the copper. Then I can solder it on and should have a nice finish? Could approach each cable from alternate sides of the ribbon to make it a little easier maybe? Still very scared about this as if it messes up I need a new keyboard

[RogueOpportunist]

That's kind of the problem with doing anything on a laptop, component-wise they aren't very forgiving, especially if it is a rare model laptop... A good idea might be to cruise over to E-bay and see what (if any) parts are available for your unit and what the cost would be, you don't need to buy any of them right away but if you know there is a decent supply of parts available it might ease your mind and with this type of work having peace of mind and confidence are pretty important before going forward.

Another idea might be to see if you can find another unit the same as what you have on E-bay being sold "for parts" or otherwise dirt cheap, it's good to do a lot of research on your specific model of laptop before doing this though as different models despite looking the same often use different parts and even different revisions of the same model can use different parts, either way it is much easier to go forward if you know there is at least some source of replacement parts, if you search E-bay and can't even find a replacement keyboard or it is so expensive you wouldn't even consider buying it then it might bring about a change in plans, unlike desktops even a simple mistake on a laptop will leave you with a contribution for the trash bin.

[Munty]

Thanks for the advice Rogue, I've spent another day on detailing today and while it's come along bounds I'm still not ready to share it yet until I have a little more to throw in

I'm looking at the keyboard conenction right now and this my be wrong as I know nothing on lappys but presumably any keyboard with a similar plug on it would do for a replacement if this one were to accidentally cut itself to pieces :p

As I'm not using the case and the keyboard will be concealed and rarely used (Currently considering sliding it out the front but the space on the right may make other options more logical) so shape and size of the keyboard matters little, just functionality and compatibility. However I don't know how much cross-compatability there is in laptops so I'm looking for someone here who does at this point!

[Munty]

Just had a sit down on the sofa to save my back from all the fiddly detailing I've been doing and managed to get the screen apart. It's good news folks Taken a few pics to canvass for advice and also got one of the touchpad wire adn keyboard connector.

Ebay is currently selling a good number of these lappys for spare or repair and some people have lots of 2 or 4 for grabs. Unfortunately noone has just the keyboard right now and buying a whole extra laptop seems a little excessive but that can all be dealt with at a later date.

Anyway here are some pics...

Sorry again for awful quality but here are monitor pics.

The plug in the second shot is the one that plugs into the mobo so it's that one which needs moving in relation to the screen itself. The screen is approximately 280mm wide as a bare minimum. The case will be a maximum of 400mm wide (I think) That gives me a total difference of 12cm or 6cm each side. So I need to move that plug 6cm to the left of it's current location in relation to the screen. This will effectively allow me to relocate the screen centrally on the case while the plug remains in it's fixed mobo slot.

Now I assume, quite possibly incorrectly, that the 3rd of the images above shows power feed to the monito as it's a simple 2 wire arrangement of fairly large gauge. It also comes with a handy plug which allows me to disconnect and extend it by as much as I like. That means my only limitation to how far the plug moves is how I intend to trunk the cables on the left side (signal presumably)

I reckon I could conceivably get up to 120mm of movement from this screen with a simple extension of just those 2 wires. Of course messing it up means I need a new screen but how hard can it be right? If it IS power then not very I think! I can then go ahead with my plans for the screen and move onto thinking about other things.

Here is a shot of the touchpad wire. It's no more than 90mm long at present so will most likely need a little more than that. It's 4 very small wires so will be fiddly but doesn't look particularly difficult. Is there anything that's different about soldering wires I find here than any other kind of wires? IE do automotive, household and computing wires all behave the same when soldering? I just want to know how easy it is to mess it up :p

And finally the keyboard... No idea about this one but hoefully seeing it may help you guys out. (The red thing is just for contrast, behind it is the rear of the keyboard!)

So based on that (and answers to above questions!) I think the monitor and touchpad are pretty much solved leaving me just the keyboard dilemma. I want to be absolutely certain that the only risk I'm running is attributed to my lack of skills before I try anything with that so please keep the thoughts coming! Ebay DOES have replacements but I don't want to spend any more money than necessary here as the detailing cost has already doubled that of the lappy

Which reminds me, here is some of the stuff that cost me all that money! Another awful image but you must be getting used to these by now right?!

I'll tell you what was in those packages soon enough