CF-25 questions - cleaning, parts, operating systems

Forgive me if I missed a thread about any of the below topics; just did some searching but didn't come up with much.

Last week I picked up a Toughbook CF-25 at a police auction. Works perfectly, though the screen's got a couple stuck pixels and the case is in rough condition. Battery holds a charge for about an hour too! Absolutely love it.

First, I've read up a little bit on the differences between the models, and am I correct in assuming this (CF-25LGM8EAM) is a Mk3 model?

Second, One of the things I'm interested in doing is spiffing up the case. It's got a lot of scratches, wear marks, things of that nature everywhere except where it matters the most (screen, keyboard, touchpad). As some of the finish is scraped away, what would be the best method to go about refinishing the case? Are there any sorts of chemicals or compounds I could use to smooth it out where the scratches are light, and repaint it if necessary?

Third, as much as I love the ability to use floppies, a CD-ROM drive would be ideal. It's hard to come across a CF-25 CDROM drive on eBay; are there any other Toughbook models that are compatible?

And lastly, Windows 95 is fun to mess around with but it's horribly outdated. This model's got its factory 32MB RAM too which kind of limits it. I've been experimenting with some linux distributions but none seem to both run well and keep up with today's computing world. Debian ran horribly slow even with LXDE or XFCE, fluxbuntu needs four times the memory, and most everything out there wants a LiveCD with little retribution for a floppy boot/HDD image load (though Deli Linux might offer that). Heck, most do network installs by booting off a CD first, not even a floppy. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance. I know I'm new here, so I tried to cover my bases beforehand

 

I will answer a few of your questions

Yes it’s a mk-3

No the caddy that the cf-25 uses is excusive to it

I had 96mb of ram in my cf-25's
That was using the 32mb onboard + an additional 64mb module

I have run w98se in the cf-25 ,and it runs quite snappy
I have even had w2000 loaded ,but it ran very slow
On one of my cf-25’s I upgraded the hard drive to a larger size, and installed a dynamic drive overlay ,from a company called on-track
I also upgraded the 10” screen to the larger 12”

There are limitations to this very old Toughbook, but the last one that I sold is still being used today as a diagnostic computer on Detroit diesel engines


Alex

 

I can now answer one too. Whatever you do don't clean it with Goo Gone or Isopropyl rubbing alcohol unless you want to take the surface paint right off... er... yeah...

 

The most advanced CF-25 (CF-25LJM8EAM) I got has 160mb ram, a 40gig hdd and Windows 98SE. Some years back I planned to do a CPU upgrade, but never finished the project. But as u can see, it can be transformed into a real beast!....

 

Here are a couple more hints since I'm currently taking a CF-27 apart to spruce it up too.

1) When you take the display apart, it's best to take all 12 screws out of the front and the 6 out of the hinge cover when you begin. When you pop the display in half the hinge cover will still be holding the two halves of the display otherwise. If you've taken the 6 screws out of it, it'll be easier to wiggle the front half of the display free.

2) Keep the display at 180 degrees (i.e. flat to the table) when you take off the latch. There's a little spring in it which can easily be lost. When you put it back, the long section goes to the left and the short section hooks over the sticky-out bit on the lid. You'll see what I mean when you do it.

3) Remove the front of the display, i.e. the touchscreen, by opening it like a door to your right. There's a connector on the right hand side which will probably come off on its own but you should really open it with your nail and lift it out if you want to be professional about it.

4) You might find a shiny screen protector on the lcd. If you touch it even with your fingers it will scratch and nothing you can do will get those scratches out. You can just remove it though by peeling from any corner. You can wipe the lcd over with a microfibre cloth and glass cleaner to get rid of any sticky that is left or isopropyl it and try to put a new screen protector on if you wish. I don't think it's very important though.



5) Removing the lcd is easy. There are four screws (one in each corner) and two where the cable goes back into the laptop itself with thick tape on it. Tilt it forwards until the tape pulls off and then just look on the back for the connectors. One is just the same as the touchscreen connector so you just flip it up with your nail. The other is a long white one with a catch at each end which, again, you can just flip up with your nail on each side before pulling the connector out. One of the connectors which you need to remove has a piece of tape on it.

6) You can then take the lcd straight out of the case and put it somewhere safe.



7) There are two hinge screws holding the lid of the Toughbook on each side. Just unscrew them and you have the lid.

8) You should now have a lid, hinge cover and latch to paint. Mask the underside and the Panasonic logo and choose a spraycan.

9) I suggest not painting the touchscreen half of the lid unless you just want to mask off the screen and spray over it. Cutting it out would be a very bad thing!!! You'll also need to lose the Toughbook and Intel inside stickers should you spray it. You'll no longer have it saying Panasonic CF-27 (or CF-25) if you spray this section either.



I'll let someone else tell you how to get the rest of it apart.