cf 27 wireless problems

hi im new to this but could do with some help,,, i have recently purchased a toughbook cf 27 it was a completely blank system just cmos,, it has the wireless thing you switch on by the handle but ive installex xp temporaly to see if its ok but i cant seem to find my network or get it to connect to the internet..

ive tried to hardwire it to my router but still no luck,, the network options say the modem wants a dial up connection,, but the one on the front says wireless

can anyone help

 

All I found out is this laptop has a GPRS modem. At that time 802.11b was unavailable yet so the only explanation would be: wireless means GPRS.

 

ok that explains the wireless problem that explains the sim card slot by the ram do u know if there is any wireless upgrades,, what bout the hard wired connection into the router i still cant get a connection the modem is a Aztec MP3930V-W(c) data fax minipci modem

does that make any sense to anyone

 

Well if it is a mini PCI modem you may (in theory) replace it with a mini PCI WiFi card. You would have to run an antenna somewhere and possibly deal with a lack of switch for WiFi so you need to do some research prior to purchase.
I don't think there is an official upgrade though- the laptop is way too old.

Is there even an Ethernet port? I haven’t seen one in specs.

 

it has an ariel in the screen and in the bios it shows wireless modem enabled, its making me confused.com!! i need to get some sort of wireless connection as ill be using it for car diagnostics, it does have what resembles an ethernet port on the back do u think a wireless card is the best way forward


what ones would work

 

Yeah but wireless modem doesn't mean WiFi. This laptop had been sold back in the times of Win 98, so you may not be able to find XP drivers for this GPRS modem anyway.
If you have a laptop with mini-PCI card you may take it out and check if it is even going to be detected in Panasonic before you decide to buy anything.

 

thanks for your help ill be installing win 98 i just put xp to see if it would work would a PCMCIA wireless card work, im a bit of a major rookie with all this and dont know where to start

 

Well if the laptop has a PCMCIA slot it should work. A lot easier than messing with mini-PCI and antennas.
I'd stick with XP if I were you- much more reliable and drivers are easier to find. You may be forced to switch off XP theme and disable unneeded services to free up some RAM but if it's possible to run XP, I'd do it.

 

I think ill try the PCMCIA route few places have offered compatible models for the cf 27, i have 2 PCMCIA slots would it matter which one i used

How would i switch off the theme and disable services, im running a massive 256mb RAM lol.

and after closer inspection the port on the back is for a telephone style cable not ethernet.

 

It shouldn't matter which PCMCIA port you use.
I thought you have less RAM- 256MB should be OK. Still no need to run useless services.

 

tugless: There is a very good tutorial on how to disable what you do not need in XP right here at brighthand. Tips and Tweaks Guide for XP http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=305223

 

thanks

Ill take a look,

Also iv got hold of a 3com OfficeConnect Wireless 11a/b/g PCMCIA Card any ideas if it would work with my cf-27 running xp

 

It should work. Some drivers are available.
LINK

 

right ive got the card installed the cd as per instructions then as soon as i plug the card in the laptop freezes then i take it out and the laptop works fine any ideas

 

can anyone help, the laptop freezes when i try and install with xp, but iv installed win 98se and it has no drivers how do i save the drivers from xp then reinstall win98

 

Did you install the drivers I linked in one of my previous posts?
Probably not as the driver pack I linked contains drivers for Win 2K/XP and Win98

 

hi yea i have the insall disc with the card everything works fine untill you select the radio on command to start the wireless then everything freezes ,, im thinking maybe a memory issue or something any ideas

 

Check which drivers are more recent- the ones on your CD or the ones I provided. In neither work in XP that try Win98 with drivers I provided.
If both systems and drivers are of no use then we have a problem.

 

well in struggling to install win98 as all the toughbook drivers are not on there, iv found some on a website but i cant get win 98 to install now its bringing up a cricital error

 

pop over to the panasonic section on here.. lots of people who know toughbooks inside out!