Fun with a Compaq Laptop... go on. Read it.

yettitheman

yettitheman

Audioholic General
This little slice on Audioholics is going to be my cove for the laptop modification I am currently working on.

Needless to say, this laptop has been a trooper.
It survived it's first owner (or possibly more), with a lot of wear and tear on the plastic.
The push latch hasn't ever worked right (have to push the button with one hand and use the other hand to lift the lid; not correct on the V2000).
The card reader is FUBARED and probably never work again (internal pins bent and the reader is part of the motherboard, so no seperate part).
PCMCIA slot is ok, but the release lever only works correctly when the laptop is upside down (otherwise the lever will just stay sticking out).
AC adaptor is crap (needs the HP OE one).
Battery is crap (easy fix, buy a new one).
Mouse button rubber is GONE and the trackpad is almost white instead of silver...

and...

The keyboard is full of animal hair. :eek:

But, no worries my friends. You see, I am a qualified crack mechanic of sorts, and I venture on the somewhat, overzealous side of flamboyancy when it comes to repairing machines. A normal person would change the keyboard (or try to compress air it out which I have done and there is STILL HAIR), replace the battery, and get a normal AC adapter.

While I go out, with my precision screwdriver set, ESD strap, and a cup of root beer, sit on a folding metal chair near my bed, and proceed to tear the entire thing apart ON my bed. :D (Mind you, I have enough static bags to cover a full size mattress.. probably more.)

The goal?
Instead of that crappy two tone silver the V2000 is known for.... it's getting some paint.

It will be completely different when I'm done with it. I won't give away any surprises yet (except Seth knows.... shut up and don't tell! ;) )

I've seen a few articles floating around on the web about painting a V2000 to various degrees, but I think this is going to be on a rung of it's own.

It will be a two tone scheme. That's all I will let you guys know for the moment.

Now is the time where I usually post a lot of pictures below and explain them with snappy remarks about how much of a piece of **** it is :D

But, it's 2:00 am, I'm on someone elses laptop because mine is in pieces, and my camera has no batteries. Tomorrow will be the day you see the carnage.

Until then.... topic for discussion:
Since painting this will remove all traces of silkscreen (identification) of ports on the sides.... should I just paint over it, or put on new designs?
I'm leaning twords the hard way right now.... but, I may just forego all of the markings, just because I'm not dumb. I know what all the connectors are for. I can look at a DE-15 port and go "monitor". I don't need a picture of a monitor displaying a picture of an old guy throwing up a hotdog :D
 
res6jya6

res6jya6

Senior Audioholic
This little slice on Audioholics is going to be my cove for the laptop modification I am currently working on.

Needless to say, this laptop has been a trooper.
It survived it's first owner (or possibly more), with a lot of wear and tear on the plastic.
The push latch hasn't ever worked right (have to push the button with one hand and use the other hand to lift the lid; not correct on the V2000).
The card reader is FUBARED and probably never work again (internal pins bent and the reader is part of the motherboard, so no seperate part).
PCMCIA slot is ok, but the release lever only works correctly when the laptop is upside down (otherwise the lever will just stay sticking out).
AC adaptor is crap (needs the HP OE one).
Battery is crap (easy fix, buy a new one).
Mouse button rubber is GONE and the trackpad is almost white instead of silver...

and...

The keyboard is full of animal hair. :eek:

But, no worries my friends. You see, I am a qualified crack mechanic of sorts, and I venture on the somewhat, overzealous side of flamboyancy when it comes to repairing machines. A normal person would change the keyboard (or try to compress air it out which I have done and there is STILL HAIR), replace the battery, and get a normal AC adapter.

While I go out, with my precision screwdriver set, ESD strap, and a cup of root beer, sit on a folding metal chair near my bed, and proceed to tear the entire thing apart ON my bed. :D (Mind you, I have enough static bags to cover a full size mattress.. probably more.)

The goal?
Instead of that crappy two tone silver the V2000 is known for.... it's getting some paint.

It will be completely different when I'm done with it. I won't give away any surprises yet (except Seth knows.... shut up and don't tell! ;) )

I've seen a few articles floating around on the web about painting a V2000 to various degrees, but I think this is going to be on a rung of it's own.

It will be a two tone scheme. That's all I will let you guys know for the moment.

Now is the time where I usually post a lot of pictures below and explain them with snappy remarks about how much of a piece of **** it is :D

But, it's 2:00 am, I'm on someone elses laptop because mine is in pieces, and my camera has no batteries. Tomorrow will be the day you see the carnage.

Until then.... topic for discussion:
Since painting this will remove all traces of silkscreen (identification) of ports on the sides.... should I just paint over it, or put on new designs?
I'm leaning twords the hard way right now.... but, I may just forego all of the markings, just because I'm not dumb. I know what all the connectors are for. I can look at a DE-15 port and go "monitor". I don't need a picture of a monitor displaying a picture of an old guy throwing up a hotdog :D
Yeah, dude, I'd say screw the markings... It's a tedious job that you don't need :p
 
J

jamie2112

Banned
Make your own names up for the ports : Flux Capacitor. Kinetic resistor,Plug This Here,ect. You could even make little stencils and totally customize it up............What do you mean your PC has a flux capacitor port? Oh I see it says it right there....:D:D:D
 
res6jya6

res6jya6

Senior Audioholic
Make your own names up for the ports : Flux Capacitor. Kinetic resistor,Plug This Here,ect. You could even make little stencils and totally customize it up............What do you mean your PC has a flux capacitor port? Oh I see it says it right there....:D:D:D
I'm gonna put you in my Delorean and gun it to 88... :D
 
adwilk

adwilk

Audioholic Ninja
No wonder it didnt work right, didnt that series run a little smoother when around $1.80+ was installed?
 
yettitheman

yettitheman

Audioholic General
No wonder it didnt work right, didnt that series run a little smoother when around $1.80+ was installed?
Yep. You have to have 1984 quarters though. A little hard to find new. :D
 
yettitheman

yettitheman

Audioholic General
Well, everything is masked off, ready to be painted.

I decided to wipe out all but a few markings:
Trackpad line for up/down and side scrolling
Compaq logo on the LCD bezel

Everything else is paint.
Now I have to figure out how to cover up the translucent part of the lamp indicators so that I don't kill that whole program....

At least I got the latch button and the trackpad disable button finished!

But, I have more parts to go. And, nobody has guessed what kind of paint scheme I am doing.... sad. :D
 
yettitheman

yettitheman

Audioholic General
Well.... I'll give in a little. I'll give you a taste of what is going on.

I was not thinking about showing you guys the color scheme... but... so... tempting.... :D

Ah. It's been a week. If your imagination hasn't thought of it yet.. well.. I'll enlighten all of you. I don't even think Seth has seen it yet, although I have told him.


AHHH.. sanding and masking... yawn.


Below we have parts that aren't supposed to be apart... LOL:


Have to find a way to fill in the clear so I don't get paint in it....:


What's with the aluminum strip? Hehe.....:


Oh. Look. You get to see one color:


Pretty deep black:


And not too bad on the orange peel:


Well, I guess you now get the idea behind the color scheme. Gotta fix that speaker grill though.
 
agarwalro

agarwalro

Audioholic Ninja
Have to find a way to fill in the clear so I don't get paint in it....:
Hot glue gun. Drip a little into the spots and before it sets, scrape along the flat surface with a straight edge. Then remove the excess with a craft knife... When the paint has dried, use the craft knife to carefully peal out the glue.

I did this while modding my xBox... Works like a charm and gives a very clean finish.

Tip: Use a hair blower/ heat gun to warm up the surface the glue needs to adhear to, but dont make it too hot.

Tip: You need very little glue, drip a small amount along the edge that connects to the most amount of groove to fill. Then scrape in the direction that fills the groove. For example, for the Power light, drip it at the bottom of the circle and scrape towards to top. For the AC In (lightning bolt) drip the glue at the top and scrape downwards, towards the pointed end.

Tip: Be prepared to do everything quickly since time spent is heat lost by the glue and a less even coat.

Tip: Dont worry about getting it right the first time since the glue peals out easily.
 
yettitheman

yettitheman

Audioholic General
Hot glue gun. Drip a little into the spots and before it sets, scrape along the flat surface with a straight edge. Then remove the excess with a craft knife... When the paint has dried, use the craft knife to carefully peal out the glue.

I did this while modding my xBox... Works like a charm and gives a very clean finish.

Tip: Use a hair blower/ heat gun to warm up the surface the glue needs to adhear to, but dont make it too hot.

Tip: You need very little glue, drip a small amount along the edge that connects to the most amount of groove to fill. Then scrape in the direction that fills the groove. For example, for the Power light, drip it at the bottom of the circle and scrape towards to top. For the AC In (lightning bolt) drip the glue at the top and scrape downwards, towards the pointed end.

Tip: Be prepared to do everything quickly since time spent is heat lost by the glue and a less even coat.

Tip: Dont worry about getting it right the first time since the glue peals out easily.

Hmm. I never thought about that... and yet I've had the thing out all weekend! :D I'm going to do that right now!
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
hurrrr.. you gotta get some pictures of that thing up once it's back together...hurrr!
 

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