5 Uses for your old computer monitor

Spring is coming to a close, but there’s still time to finish up your spring cleaning. If you happen to come across your old computer lying around amidst the clutter and don’t know what to do with it, here’s an idea: Get creative.

Here’s a list of five cool things people have done with their old computer monitors besides just donate or recycle them.

1. Make a toilet paper dispenser

The iWipe turns an old monitor into a toilet paper dispenser.

A few years ago, a man named Shawn Morton received an old Macintosh SE from a friend who was looking to dispose of it. After only a few hours and $15, Morton transformed this old monitor into a toilet paper holder. The paper even comes out of the floppy disk holder. Check it out here.

2. Make a fish tank

An old monitor turns into a nice fishtank.

One enthusiast decided to take his old cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, remove all of its inner parts, cork in some Plexiglas, do a little painting, and create a fish tank. (Maybe it wasn’t that simple.) If you’re interested, check out the step-by-step instructions.

3. Make a homemade oscilloscope

A homemade oscilloscope.

This project uses a broken computer monitor to create an oscilloscope that is run by a dead computer. Although this project is a little more complicated and a bit more dangerous with the fly-back transformer running at 30,000 volts, check out the inventor’s instructions.

The following two projects do not employ old desktop monitors, but instead, focus on what to do with the screens on your old laptops.

4. Make a digital photo frame

This digital photo frame was once a laptop screen.
 

Rakesh Agrawal came across his sister’s old Dell Latitude CPI that was in terrible condition, but had a 13-inch backlit LCD that worked just fine. Agrawal needed to gather about $50 in materials, dismantle the laptop, do some resizing of the LCD screen, and connect it to Wi-Fi to transform the old laptop into a perfectly functioning digital photo frame. For more details on how he did it, check out his blog.

5. Turn it into a tablet

A laptop screen turns into a touchscreen tablet.

Instead of trashing your laptop, use the screen to create your very own tablet. Read these instructions to see how an old Fujitsu Siemens Life Book S series laptop was converted into a tablet PC. To execute, the laptop will have to be torn apart, the screen flipped upside down on the laptop chassis, and everything will need to be soldered together. View the full set of instructions. There are two methods provided, one for beginners and one for more advanced designers.

Have fun transforming your junk into useful items.