I have an eight-year-old HP ZE5300 laptop which is still in pretty good
shape except for the screen.

My question: Can I simply remove the entire top, plug the laptop into an LCD
monitor, and essentially use the laptop as a desktop?

Somewhere on teh intarwebs Ray wrote:
> I have an eight-year-old HP ZE5300 laptop which is still in pretty
> good shape except for the screen.
>
> My question: Can I simply remove the entire top, plug the laptop into
> an LCD monitor, and essentially use the laptop as a desktop?

As long as ther is no switch gear in the lid then the answer is; Probably.
--
Shaun.

"Build a man a fire, and he`ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and
he`ll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett, Jingo.

I suppose I could always just fold the top over completely flat, then put
the external monitor on top of of the old one -- with some kind of platform,
of course.


"~misfit~" <misfit61nz******.com.au> wrote in message
news:h1jr85$cqv$1@news.eternal-september.org...
> Somewhere on teh intarwebs Ray wrote:
>> I have an eight-year-old HP ZE5300 laptop which is still in pretty
>> good shape except for the screen.
>>
>> My question: Can I simply remove the entire top, plug the laptop into
>> an LCD monitor, and essentially use the laptop as a desktop?
>
> As long as ther is no switch gear in the lid then the answer is; Probably.
> --
> Shaun.
>
> "Build a man a fire, and he`ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and
> he`ll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett, Jingo.
>

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Ray <rayj.balt@DELTHISverizon.net> wrote:

>
> "~misfit~" <misfit61nz******.com.au> wrote in message
> news:h1jr85$cqv$1@news.eternal-september.org...
>> Somewhere on teh intarwebs Ray wrote:
>>> I have an eight-year-old HP ZE5300 laptop which is still in pretty
>>> good shape except for the screen.
>>>
>>> My question: Can I simply remove the entire top, plug the laptop
>>> into an LCD monitor, and essentially use the laptop as a desktop?
>>
>> As long as ther is no switch gear in the lid then the answer is;
>> Probably. --
>> Shaun.
>>
>> "Build a man a fire, and he`ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire,
>> and he`ll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett, Jingo.

> I suppose I could always just fold the top over completely flat, then
> put the external monitor on top of of the old one -- with some kind
> of platform, of course.
>

If running it as a 'desktop', you'd be better off using an external keyboard
and mouse rather than the built-in keyboard and navigation pad. If you do
that. you can close the lid completely - most laptops have a microswitch
which switches off the internal screen when the lid is closed.

You can then sit the monitor on a suitable stand, with the laptop tucked
under it, and with (external) keyboard and mouse out in front - just like a
"proper" desktop.

In my last job (before I retired a few years ago) we operated our laptops in
exactly that way - except that we also had a docking station into which the
laptop plugged, so that the monitor, keyboard, mouse and network cable could
be permantly plugged into the docking station - making installation and
removal of the laptop very quick.

Whether something similar would work for you probably depends on whether or
not the laptop's on/off switch is accessible with the lid closed. On my
works laptop it was, but on my current privately owned laptop, it isn't.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

Somewhere on teh intarwebs Roger Mills wrote:
> In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
> Ray <rayj.balt@DELTHISverizon.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> "~misfit~" <misfit61nz******.com.au> wrote in message
>> news:h1jr85$cqv$1@news.eternal-september.org...
>>> Somewhere on teh intarwebs Ray wrote:
>>>> I have an eight-year-old HP ZE5300 laptop which is still in pretty
>>>> good shape except for the screen.
>>>>
>>>> My question: Can I simply remove the entire top, plug the laptop
>>>> into an LCD monitor, and essentially use the laptop as a desktop?
>>>
>>> As long as ther is no switch gear in the lid then the answer is;
>>> Probably. --
>>> Shaun.
>>>
>>> "Build a man a fire, and he`ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire,
>>> and he`ll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett, Jingo.
>
>> I suppose I could always just fold the top over completely flat, then
>> put the external monitor on top of of the old one -- with some kind
>> of platform, of course.
>>
>
> If running it as a 'desktop', you'd be better off using an external
> keyboard and mouse rather than the built-in keyboard and navigation
> pad. If you do that. you can close the lid completely - most laptops
> have a microswitch which switches off the internal screen when the
> lid is closed.
> You can then sit the monitor on a suitable stand, with the laptop
> tucked under it, and with (external) keyboard and mouse out in front
> - just like a "proper" desktop.
>
> In my last job (before I retired a few years ago) we operated our
> laptops in exactly that way - except that we also had a docking
> station into which the laptop plugged, so that the monitor, keyboard,
> mouse and network cable could be permantly plugged into the docking
> station - making installation and removal of the laptop very quick.
>
> Whether something similar would work for you probably depends on
> whether or not the laptop's on/off switch is accessible with the lid
> closed. On my works laptop it was, but on my current privately owned
> laptop, it isn't.

.... which is why ThinkPad docking stations have power switches built into
them.
--
Shaun.

"Build a man a fire, and he`ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and
he`ll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett, Jingo.

Ray wrote:
> I have downloaded that manual, and taking the top off is realtively
> easy. My only question is whether it will work with an external monitor
> once the top has been removed.
>

Very likely it will. Have a go!

A laptop manufacturer designing a product that wouldn't do that, would
do little favours for people trying to service their product - attaching
an external monitor is part of the standard diagnostic procedure for
establishing signs of life when the screen has been trashed ...

--
Adrian C

If I were you I would check out the guide 'converting' your laptop to a
desktop in this way on at wonderhowto.com
Mandy
HP

Yes, it will - guaranteed - done it many times with various laptops

Wayne


On Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:04:33 GMT, "Ray" <rayj.balt@DELTHISverizon.net>
wrote:

>I have downloaded that manual, and taking the top off is realtively easy. My
>only question is whether it will work with an external monitor once the top
>has been removed.
>
>-- Ray
>
>"Adrian C" <email@here.invalid> wrote in message
>news:7a7l97F1ujhe9U1@mid.individual.net...
>> Ray wrote:
>>> I have an eight-year-old HP ZE5300 laptop which is still in pretty good
>>> shape except for the screen.
>>>
>>> My question: Can I simply remove the entire top, plug the laptop into an
>>> LCD monitor, and essentially use the laptop as a desktop?
>>>
>>>
>> HP will have the service manual available for free download from their
>> website. Looking at that will show how the screen and the hinges dismount
>> from the rest of the the unit, and will enable you to reach your goal :-)
>>
>> --
>> Adrian C