Modding your Dell laptop - Page 10

I thought that the M60 and D800 cases were made of metal...

Cool, thanks heaps for your input DELL-Spiike.

so you need a replacement hdd caddy too? with the rplaced one, does it still stick out? or was that example of it sticking out... when you were still using the 8600 hdd caddy?

Man, i really wanna do this mod, it will void your warranty tho hey :-\my 8600 is only 6 mnths old...

if anythign goes wrong, can i just take apart put old covers back on.. then get fixed/repaired?

Loz

Where'd you buy the D800 case? If it was from DELL spare parts can you tell me where you found the part numbers? So that I can do the same for a D600 case?

Spiike what is the ETA on that Paint mod. im going to start ordering extra parts for my 8600 to paint let me know when u going to post or a about date.

Personally, I'm not one to go about opening up my computer, but if that webcam mod shows up soon, I may just try it.

that one should be hot but i dont know where he is going to put it.

He said in the left hinge cover I beleive...

looking forward to webcam mod!

also the cooling mod! the 9600 Pro runs WAY too hot in this thing.. REALLY concerns me... I hope some significant improvements can be made :-)

esp when gaming....

probably not possible, but, do some laptops have the ability to play MP3's when the laptop is off? Toshiba?

not sure if i read this somewhere, or i'm just dreaming things..

but hmm.. mod the 8600 so it can play MP3s while off? just power up teh HDD?

also uhh media keys need to be moved to an external position...

this is one feature i wish the i8600 did have.

as for the painting mod..

have you done it to your d800 case? or i8600 case?

so before i jump into a case mod....

which is better for the "feel" of the laptop paint or d800?

i dun think i'll do both, but i'd do one, whichever is better to give my 8600 a much more solid feel........

Loz

I'm not sure about this playing music while off thing. Maybe it was playing music while in stand-by or in sleep mode...

hmm ok,

well in any case, some lapies, IBM and toshibas have the media keys on the outside, i think thats a nifty little trick, so can play music/skip and change with the lid ****...

as for the off thing, it should be possible, you'd need a second controller, so the whole system stays off, but some small program/chip could run the HDD.. something like an ipod does on its HDD>. you dont need a fully fledged system running to get that working...


HDD and sound card, media keys as its sole inputs, thats it? rest can be off...

that would be cool, have lappy off in backpack... drag a cable out and you got a nice ipod.. just as compact too

loz

I assume you mean "with the lid shut"?

haha what the?

did i do a typo??

which then got bleeped?

yeah i mean with the lid shut.....

i read your post and i'm like.. thats what i said isnt it?!?!? hehe then i look .. ooooh

Lol, yep, you got censored by the auto mod
stu

I made a thread one thi snot to have ur computer runoff and run the HDD and sound card but some way of making external media button and someone started telling me to get a Remote control. which i thought was stuped or i would look stuped pointing a 6-7 inc remote to my computer. anyway how can. anyway other thing i was thinking of getting a keyboard and crack it open an mod the keyboard and just take the media keys but im not knowledgeable in electronics to do such a project. if anyone here knows let me know i dont mind helping in anyway. thanks

Many thanks for the instructions on how to fix the keyboard.

This was perhaps the one glaring fault of the 8600 in my opinion, much more so than the slight light leakage it exhibited. I was a little worried when removing the centre console as I don't have the most delicate touch in the world, but I managed it without breaking any of the plastic tabs. The rest was easy.

I can't believe that Dell would manufacture their machines so poorly. The lower left side of the keyboard near to the Shift and Caps Lock keys was simply terrible. I tried doing the more conservative fix at first and then replaced the keyboard (minus the centre console) to see how it compared, but then took it out again and went to town with the mounting tape. The difference was remarkable.

I wish that there wasn't that huge hollow under the spacebar seeing as how it's such an important key, but what can you do...

So once again, thank you!

Been said many times before, but WAY EXCELLENT Tutorials Spike.

Recently purchased 8600 and plan to do all mods.

For the LED mod (Suggestions/Ideas and please point out if my logic has faults):

It would be possible to do the LED's in series (not parallel and without the header) which would cut down on the number of wires. Just make sure there is a resistor/fuse to prevent burn out. Of course, if an LED burns out, they will all burn out (well not burn out but will not work cuz the circuit is open), but as long as it is performed correctly, they should all work. As for burn out by usage, LED's have a lifespan of at least 7 years (and that's if they are on all the time 24/7), so your laptop will be obsolete before your LED's...thus not worried about burning out by usage even if they are connected in series.

Also, i would recommend not soldering the wires but just twisting them together and covering with electrical tape / heat shrink because the currents / voltage (5V) LED's use is very small and should not be any worse in terms of performance/safety. Twisting the wires should be enough and would reduce a lot of risk associated with soldering.

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Your paint job with D800 casing is Amazing! Also plan to do a similar paint job with a D800 case but in black/silver.

After these mods, i'd say an 8600 is the best laptop out there in terms of price/performance/appearance. of course, without your mods, the appearance rating drops way down imo, and keyboard/trackpoint/sturdiness are a bit clunky too...but with your mods, an 8600 kicks serious butt.

thanks again and please let me know if LED's in series is a bad idea. I've never worked with led's before and am not a big gamer or appearance mod guy, but have experience with working on machines.

Royce

No, it would not be possible to run them in series. Because an LED is a diode (Light Emmiting Diode), to get it to light up, you need a certain amount of voltage, usually a little more than 1 volt. Since each LED drops the voltage, you would only be able to string 4 or 5 together while running off the USB power source (5 volts). They would also not be very bright.

As for the soldering, it is always the best way to go, especially if you are going to be opening up your laptop often (If you do the LED mod, chances are you are the type who will). I do not recommend electrical tape for any microelectronic project, as it is hard to work with and leaves a residue on your project. Heat shrink tubing is the best way to go, but I would get a heat gun (It looks like a hair dryer, but is hotter) instead of using an open flame (From a lighter, candle, etc.) to shrink the tubing on the wire when it is in the laptop.

Good point, series will not work...unless you can find a higher voltage source, but way too much trouble...

So parallel / solder / heat shrink is the way to go but am just wondering what are the opinions or more specifically, the electrical problems which can occur at 5 V with twisting vs. soldering and wrapping with heat shrink (believe the heat shrink would hold the connection well) ?

Think this info would be useful especially for people who don't have experience in soldering and it would make it much easier and be worth it, as long as soldering is not a big advantage.