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Personal Projects

The Site

I've always been inspired by/nostalgic for early 2000s websites and how much effort people would put into trying to customize their personal sites for whatever content they were hosting. When I learned that I had to make a website for MP*, I knew that I wanted to create a site that embodied that same image. I do have a proper grasp on web design principles, but I chose to forgo that to personalize my site instead.

Lenovo Miix 720-12IKB

Summary

I recieved this 2-in-1 tablet/laptop with a locked bios password, meaning that I couldn't change the boot order (which I wanted to do). In an attempt to bypass the password, I bridged 2 pins on the bios chip, the "Serial Clock Chip" and "Data Input Output 0". Datasheet for the chip

Status:

INCOMPLETE

Explanation:

I don't know what havoc I've unleashed, but now the battery seems to not hold a charge, and when plugged in, the fans spin, but there is no display. It's been recommended that I:

  1. "(Boot) the computer probing each pin at a time (with an oscilloscope) to see what signals you get; If you don't see any signals the whole chip is busted, if just the one line isn't working (I) could in theory recover it"
  2. Do 1., but with someone that knows how to read an oscilloscope

Current Next Steps

Find someone that knows how to use an oscilloscope and is willing to spare some time to help me (or figure it out myself)

Headless Laptop/Avita Pura

Summary

The Avita 14” Pura CN6Q14 D5598-SG (Pura) came into my possession worse for wear. With a broken display and a broken mini HDMI port serving as its only way to provide output, my goal is now to replace the damaged mini HDMI port with a new one.

Status:

INCOMPLETE

Explanation:

I recieved the mini HDMI port and I was able to succesfully solder it on to the mini HDMI motherboard. However, I am not confident in my soldering skills and I'm concerned about potentially damaging the motherboard if I were to provide it power and test the mini HDMI. My next steps would be to find someone that could potentially inspect my soldering job or aid me in properly soldering the mini HDMI to the motherboard before testing it.

Untitled USB MP3

Summary

This MP3 has a broken USB-A header in the sense that the soldering connections are not secure. I'm hoping that by using a heat gun, I can simply reseat the header onto the motherboard without needing to use a soldering iron.

Status:

INCOMPLETE

Explanation:

I was able to procure a heatgun from the makerspace as I planned. However, it was not as effective as I thought, so I had to attempt to desolder and resolder the USB header. I was able to do what I thought was a succesful job, but when I attempted to plug it in, I would hear the sound of a succesful connection, but could not find the device anywhere on the computer. Since I could not access the data, I consider the project incomplete. I need to find a new method to attempt to access the information on the USB.

Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro

Summary

The screen for this phone is broken and suffers from frequent "ghost input", which is essentially the phone inputting taps and movements I didn't actually perform. I want to replace the screen, but doing so requires the use of a heat gun.

Status

Fixed! Needs a new adhesive to seal properly.

Monitor

Summary

I came into possession of a monitor that turns on when connected via HDMI, but it doesn't display anything. I see the backlight turn on, but nothing else is displayed. I want to see if I can troubleshoot what might be wrong with the monitor, and fix it.

Status

Fixed! The issue was figuring out how to get into the monitor and luckily, the only issue was a loose display cable connection from the motherboard to the LCD.