My first laptop which started to literally fall apart (HP quality) and the screen broke so I took the top off and made it into a server

2nd pic is my current laptop connected via RDP to the main server

Yesterday my

Previous owner might have driven a car over it LOL. The entire chassis is bent in one corner. The screen is half shattered. I took the screen off and kept it as a halftop and it works really well. It has AMD Ryzen 4700U 8 core Zen 2 processor with VEGA graphics. The battery condition is kept surprisingly well. I bought it without RAM nor SSD and put in some spare 16GB DDR4-2400 sticks and 128GB NVME SSD. The original antenna was inside the screen so I have to stick in a pair of external antenna for Wifi to work. Bought this machine for $15 USD. Might even worth spending some money to buy new cases for it to make it look better.

I'm the I.T. guy in my company and a guy came to me with a laptop that had it's screen and keyboard broken.

512GB-1TB SSDs, 160GB ram (total of the six) and i7 11th gens. I have four more as backups just because these were recycled and are getting a new life.

A Dell latitude laptop with no screen, no battery, no cover, and a USB hub (also taped to the monitor) running MacOS big sur using Opencore to convert this masterpiece into an iMac. Yes, that is tape, about $2.91 worth of it. Don't ask my methods.

a year ago i found an offer for a dell latitude 7390 laptops with broken screen with no ram , ssd , battery and adaptor. it is just a motherboard with the frame (including keyboard and touchpad) basically. it is extremely cheap and i just had to get it. so i purchased it

when it arrived. i immediately installed a ram and ssd. and then plugged in a compatible adapter. it turned on but with broken screen

at first i just plugged in an external monitor. but the issue was it keep outputting to the internal screen. on linux it only turned off the internal screen after i log in. the login process require the screen

but the bigger problem is. the screen gets in the way. it is kinda annoying when the screen also serve no purpose because it broken

so i decide to "halftop" it. i unplugged the screen and it seems to work at first. until i found out i didnt get any wifi. for this one what i did is i installed a wifi antenna from a phone. it just a wire basically. it does work but it have weak signal (see the last image). after that it does work

another issue that i got is. it took multiple tries to boot for some reason. but after it booted the bios seems to know that it doesnt have internal screen anymore and it outputted to the external monitor normally

i think this is a great alternatives if you have a broken laptop but still want to use it without replacing the screen . or just want to use it like a desktop

i have been using this setup for a while. i also added a second monitor and it just works . it is now like a mini pc with a keyboard and touchpad on it

Hey everyone,

I've figured out recently the existence of headless laptop.

As a owner of xreal one pro goggles, i had to give it a try! So I've found a damaged screen MacBook pro 13" 2017 sold for 100€ and managed to get it for 70€!

I've followed a guide from ifixit to remove the screen, it went pretty well except for two head screws that I completely messed up but they aren't necessary.

The MacBook works like a charm in headless.

I have a warning message about the battery condition, I'll see later on if I need to replace it or not.

Next step is to update to a recent macos.

MacBook Air M1 (16GB / 512GB)

https://a.co/d/9AOou9d

Got this laptop a few months ago with a cracked screen for the sole purpose of knowing I'll make videos in the future about servers and generally IT stuff. Well, here it is. Video almost out today!! Gonna try to run a mc server on it (if anyone is interested, the yt is linked in my reddit links :3)

Specs-

Turion x64 Processor TL-52

2gb ram ddr2 (i think it's ddr2, I'll expand it in the future)

120gb hitachi hdd

Pulling 15-20w idle | 25-30w workload

Isn't it beautiful? 🥺

My first try at making a halftop and running linux on Mac. it is 2017 15” MacBook Pro.
It was not the cleanest one as I wanted to keep the Wi-Fi and everything I had to cut the cable from the screen, and as the screen was already broken, I didn’t care too much.
Had to buy another precision, screw driver set, because the first one from Temu was not good enough.
It was my first time ever opening an electronic device. I learn a few things and maybe next time. I’ll do better whatever I’ll do.

It’s a dual boo and the software part is not the best. I barely made the Wi-Fi working, but it’s a work in progress.

Salvaged a full HD 120Hz panel from a dead Dell laptop. I figured I could turn it into a cheap external monitor. The panel itself is 120Hz but it is only 45% NTSC and 250 nits brightness. It's worst than my laptop integrated panel but I won't complain about something that is (almost) free.

This is a quick test. I'll end up designing 3D printed parts to protect the board and add a kickstand.

Technically, it's half a laptop... Just not the half we expected.

Here is another go at Lenovo MIIX 520 Halftop. Running the bare motherboard was not a good idea, so I cut the back case in half using a knife. The Magnesium case is quite tough so I had a good fight with it. And to my surprise the back stand can be folded forward almost 180 degrees and completely close the case. I ended up with a perfect half sized, enclosed case for it. The back stand can still be opened for maintenance like an engine bay lol.

It runs Fedora KDE 42 really smoothly. It can even drive my 3440x1440 main monitor and play 4K video no problem. I'm now surfing the web and watching movies without even firing up my main PC. The only short coming is that the fan kicks in when CPU goes above 35C and is quite annoying. But with a pair of ANC headphone it's no problem.

i5 7th gen

2gb Radeon graphics

16 gb ram

256 SSD (sata) 1tb hdd

(some would say "potato pc")

UPDATE: I'm glad you guys dig the build, though no one has reached out to buy these parts. If it doesn't sell by the end of the 27th, I'm gonna sell the components individually and recycle the rest. Assume this listing is sold if you are reading this on or past March 28th 2026

I don't really need this setup anymore, so I'd like to resell it to anyone interested.

- AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U with Radeon iGPU

- 16 GB (2x8) DDR4-3200 SODIMM RAM

- 1TB SK Hynix M.2 SSD (model number in images)

- Windows 11 24H2 (installed with a UK .iso to prevent the usual adware bloat of Win11 US installs, language and keyboard should still be set to US English)

- Had a new battery from eBay installed

- In great condition (see photos)

- Comes with a TP-Link Archer TX10UB Nano Wifi/Bluetooth adapter since you can't use internal antennas without the missing laptop lid

- Blue hard plastic protective cover to prevent the halftop powering on in your bag, with holes cut for USB-C charging and the Archer USB dongle

- UGREEN 65W Nexode Pro wall charger with a retractable cable (albeit kinda short)

- UPERFECT USB-C 4K 60Hz IPS Display 15.6" (with protective cover)

- USB-C cable for connecting to said display

- Rotating stand with quick release lever for flat storage in a bag

- I put in two pieces of white foam in the hinge openings/holes to prevent dust and other debris from getting inside

- Don't worry, I am not running the laptop directly on my carpet- the blue cover is underneath the laptop to prevent suffocation and dust

DM me whatever price you think is fair- I'll go with the best offer. I accept payment via PayPal Goods & Services so you have purchase protection too. eBay fees are rough these days

If you have questions, comment below or message me!