I have an old non-functioning laptop, well its not that old sad to say :( only 2 years old. but was goin to start my first robo soon and was wondering if i there were some parts on there worth salvaging on there......ie:webcam, wifi radio, female USB's on mobo, etc.....
thanks for any and all help provided!!!
Well… I guess the cables
Well… I guess the cables could be used, and about the other parts, I’m not sure, so I’ll let it to the next one who want to post :).
You could probably salvage
You could probably salvage the memory and hard drive. There might also be some add on board or other, such as a wifi card.
If it has a web cam–maybe. It’s probably going to terminate to some really tiny connection or other. Possibly a thin plastic film that’s difficult to work with. The camera on the EEEPC netbooks that were popular a few years ago terminated to a jst connector and it was possible to get a small usb “hub” that could connect to the camera’s usb port and add other ports–in addition to still supporting the camera. But by the time you pay for one of those–assuming you can even use it, you’ve paid for a full usb webcam, and probably better quality.
There’s also the power supply. The LCD panel. (Again, difficult to do anything with unless you’ve got some specific hard to get parts.) But even if you can’t use the panel, there are some interesting polarized films you might be able to use. (Check Hackaday for a laptop security screen project of a few weeks ago.) You might also be able to salvage the flourescent inverter and thin flourescent tube–Depending on your skill.
Other than that, hard to say. Maybe some tiny speakers. Batteries from the battery pack. (Careful there. If they’re LiPo batteries–they’ve been known to spontaniously combust.)
Well, that’s everything I can think of. Good luck with it.
i still a rookie lol…but
i still a rookie lol…but always up for a challange i have pulled the WiFi card, webcam, hard drive(i hear they have awesome bearings, and the case would be a good little housing providing that i insulate it properly, dont wanna start a fire XD), speakers, mic and LCD…i actually have 2 screwed up laptops so double the parts 
…if you guys want some specifics on the stuff i got let me know i will post some pics…would love to see the creative juices start flowing 
Thanks for all the responces
The magnets in the hard
The magnets in the hard drive are quite strong. They can be used for a lot of things.
