Putting an XBOX into a laptop chassis!

[Quiksilver]

Luckily the older late nineties style Notebooks are thick and bulky, roughly an inch and a half thick (while open, because the LCD adds another half inch obviously.)

My MAIN problem is converting the connector from the I/O of the XBOX.
I just hollowed my laptop, and I'm pretty much gonna start slow (I'm a software guy, not as informed on hardware.

any tips would be appreciated.

[Life of Brian]

Rock on - keep us posted!

[joevennix]

Are you going to use batteries? If you are, get ready to spend a ton of $$$
What screen are you using?

Good luck BTW

[Quiksilver]

see thats another hurdle, I'm using the laptop monitor, but don't know the company that makes it, so I need to rebuild it, run DX diag and hopefully it will tell me. I need to make a composite video converter to interface the monitors pins.

No I am going to use the Xbox power supply, and the monitor will run off of the Laptops existing battery, and will have to be constantly charging from DC.

[joevennix]

Oh alright. Well then you'll have to keep the laptop's DC-in board for the monitor.

You might be able to revive the lcd screen if the controller for it (the part that converts analog into digital signal) is a separate board from the laptop mobo. Then you can remove the laptop mobo, but keep the converter board, and run the output of the XBOX into it.

Another thing is that I think you should have the screen also powered through the XBOX's PSU, 12V and ground are easily accessible, and that's most likely what your screen (can) run off.

Lastly, it would be a good idea to make the PSU external in order to save space inside.

-joe

[Quiksilver]

hmmm, thats a better idea than mine, heh. I wasn't sure if I could power it from the Xbox PSU because I was afraid the laptops power was feeding from only the batterey, and the AC charger thingy was just feeding in juice no matter what. Thats why the laptop didn't work without the battery, even if it was connected to the charger. Same as phones. but if I could power the monitor with enough juice without needing a second power source in the laptop, that would be great.

[timmeh87]

if its a really old-school laptop, the response time on the screen is probably terrible. your games may end up looking frightfully blurry.

[Quiksilver]

well the laptop monitor is XGA, so it couldn't be more than 8 or nine years old. I get true color on it. In fact I think that the monitor would be overkill on sheer definition alone. Less Blurry than a TV. No HD of course, but almost Comparable to it.

[joevennix]

Did it end up having easily accessible video inputs? I don't think you can get XGA out of the XBOX without some kind of an adapter

[Quiksilver]

yea, I've come to terms with needing to buy a breakout box, or a controller card. The video inputs had 10 channel wires and 10 ground. those extremely thin, colored wires. If I'm going to do anything, I need to first find the pinout of those channels. What color is what channel, etc. Anyone know where I can find that?

I'll most likely need to know the maker of the monitor.

[paul4990]

you cant really use laptop screens without spending 2-300$

[joevennix]

It is possible, if his screen has a video controller on a separate board from the mobo.

There is no standard of color on screen input wires, from what you describe it sounds like these wires are digital inputs. Do you know the model number for the screen? Should be around there somewhere

[Quiksilver]

ah, I decided to scrap the laptop monitor idea, and instead buy a LCD 10" DVDmonitor.

[Duke Nukem]

Hmm, keep us updated because i am intrested in doing this to my Xbox.

[BloodNess]

on youtube i saw a similar WORKING project:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qjpflGv_x-E

maybe it will serve as motivation?