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Turn Your Old Laptop Into a DIY Hideaway Media Center for TV


Busted your laptop screen or just have no use for the old notebook any more? Snapguide user Vaibhav has a neat DIY project to turn it into a slide-out PC for your TV. And you can load up XBMC on it for a fantastic media center.

Apart from the laptop, you'll need a sliding channel, a spike buster, a wireless keyboard, a display cord (depending on the output of the laptop and the input of the TV) and, of course, a tool set. Before you start, make sure there's enough room behind the TV to slide your laptop in—with most mounted TVs, this shouldn't be a problem.

The sliding track will be fitted on the wall behind the TV and one channel screwed on the laptop. Make all the necessary connections and you should be good to go. It's not as easy as what I'm making it out to be here, so check out the full guide for step-by-step pics.

One thing to note: detaching the screen from your laptop isn't that easy. Also, some laptops house the wireless adapter in the monitor's part, so you will need to reattach that—although I'd suggest just buying a USB Wi-Fi adapter. There's a decent generic guide on eHow for removing laptop screens, but it's best to search forums for your own model first.

How To Use Your Old Laptop | Snapguide