CF-28 hard drive cable

I need some help. I have a CF-28 without the hard drive caddy or cable. I can't afford to get one right now but I am trying to get it going to make sure the computer works.

Does anyone have any good pictures of the cable that connects the hard drive to the motherboard? I am trying to make a cable myself but am not positive of all of the pins. Any information would be appreciated. Also, if anyone can let me know what pins on the hard drive connector connect to what pins on the motherboard connector, I would appreciate it.

For example:
HD MB
1--------1
2--------2
etc.

Thanks,
Steve

 

I am also interested in an answer to this question as I purchased another hard drive and caddy separately (my refurb cf-28 did not have a hard drive or caddy) and am having trouble figuring it out.

 

Having considered this same idea... Don't. If your soldering iron isn't a designed for SMD work, stop now.

If you have experience in SMD soldering and have the appropriate equipment and connectors, and wish to make your own cables, I may be able to help. I have an Intel "create and play" microscope that I can use to take 10x pictures of the cables. Unfortunately, it'll be low resolution, but they should be usable.

Personally, I'd get a cheap CF-28 floppy, and try booting that way.
Here's one for less than $10usd
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190144884544&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=009

 

The motherboard connector to which the HDD caddy connects appears to be a 50-pin ATAPI.

Looks just like this:
http://www.ultradrives.com/images/adapter_jae-to-40pin-bare2.JPG

Is this pin-out the same as the CF-28?
http://www.sparesweb.com/hdd/instal...ace connector for laptop and slimeline cd.htm

 

You do know that this is a VERY old thread don't you?

 

Not anymore, it's right on top now.

 

Should I start a new one?

I tried some searches and didn't stumble on one that was more current and more relevant - sure would like to read one that is!

A friend and I are buying two 600MHz CF-28's that lack the HDD caddy.

 

The general consensus (after several of the heavy hitters have tried & fried) is just suck it up & pay the 75 bux... consider it the cost of doing business with a toughbook. It's much more likely you'll let the magic smoke out of your laptop than get it running with any cobbled together cable you may fab; and then, you STILL don't have the gel cushion caddy which is what makes a ToughBook... chuckable.

mnem<~~~THE cheap bastahd*

 

I think the hdd cable ribbon of the cf-71 has the same setup but the connector plug that goes to the motherboard has a pcb board that may not fit on the space(not sure the lenght).


Edit: I checked the connector plug and its a reverse, sorry!

 

$75.? I thought they were over $100. each.

I looked around and have not found anything other than a reference to one on ebay for $98. (an expired listing), though I did see a motherboard w/CPU for $69.

 

Sorry... the last one I bought was $75. Been a while tho.

mnem
'Tis crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy & snide!

 

It may well be that we will have to explore that dark and treacherous valley of custom-built HDD cables?

So, anyone care to take a look at the URL's and share their expertise as to the correct pin-outs?

Also, anyone have a source of the correct gender 50-pin connector?

I thought I read in a couple of places that Toshiba used them on CD drives.

I am pretty good with a small soldering iron and just bought a neat little workbench magnifier w/LED's at Harbor Freight today ... and I know how to verify correct pin-outs if I have the correct data ... besides it is all fun!

 

The connector part has been touched on in some other threads - part no. here

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=2849403&postcount=19

It apparently is same as the ATAPI. Pinout should match the normal notebook HD pinout, the last few aren't used, and I'm not sure how the temp sensors would work out on a homemade plug. JAE will send samples out - I got a pair to comfirm the plugs match.

Until my soldering skills get a lot better, or I find a suitable breakout board someplace, this is past me. But good luck with it.

 

I have followed your suggestion and requested some samples from JAE.

I have a neat little Antex Precision soldering iron for which I will rig a tiny-tip and use silver solder.

Since we will soon have a pair of unusable CF-28's here I am highly motivated to cobble together a cable!

 

I have found someone who builds cables professionally and who will build me the CF-28 HDD cables if I provide him with the right connector for the motherboard and the correct pin-outs.

Is the pin-out information on pages 70, 71, & 72 of the CF-28 service manual here: http://amd751.ru/files/cf-28techmanual.pdf correct?

 

Dude -

If you're asking have any of us actually tried pinning out the wiring on one of these connectors and compared that to the MFR's schematic, then no, not bloody likely. Evidently you simply don't understand what is involved - the header connector is SMD with a solder terminal spacing of .5mm - this translates to approx. 0.018" from center to center of each pin; the connector is shrouded, making it very difficult to touch just one pin at a time. Now... If I had one of the correct connectors to use as a template, I sure wouldn't be spending time doing that tedious kind of pinout work trying to make another for testing... I'd just use the known good one I have.

mnem
I'd rather stand on my porch & drill screws through my feet...

 

Why are linking to a Russian Website?

 

Oh, everybody uses pinouts.ru... ain't no thing, chicken wing...

mnem
"Life is hard. Fortunately, it is also short." - Russian proverb

 

"What the heck chicken neck" You are in rare form today Mnem. Have you been imbibing Marcus' formula again?

 

OK, permit me to rephrase my question ...

Is there any reason to believe that the pin-outs for the HDD-to-CF-28 motherboard connector might vary from the Service Manual or between the 600, 800, and 1GHz models?

The guy who will build these does so professionally and does not see this as an unusual challenge. I take him at his word. Besides, all I will be out is the free sample connectors!

 

Naaahhh... got a fresh shipment of beets yesterday... :wink:

mnem
It's ALL good, ma-a-a-an...

 

KD4E -

No, there is none whatsoever - the HD caddies will interchange and work across the family; the Mk1 caddies will work in any of the 3 without modification; the ones from a Mk2 or Mk3 are approx 2-3mm taller and will work on a Mk1 but they interfere with the bottom cover unless slightly modified to make clearance. I don't remember if it was Modly or Grav who mentioned how to do that; I just latch the farther side on my Mk1 when I use my Mk3 caddy on my Mk1 to fiddle with Ubuntu.

As for the fellow you say will make you a cable - if you can get someone ELSE to take on that suffering for you, then by all means - more power to you.

If it's successful and he doesn't want more than the price of a caddy let us know - I'm sure there are several of us (myself included) who would LOVE to find a low cost alternative. I've dismissed it for myself as simply not cost effective; I know I COULD etch a small PC board & make the cable up - but since I have a brand new baby, I no longer feel the need to volunteer for such misery.

mnem
Crash course in patience: Have a baby.

 

That ain't no crash course, buck-o. That's primary, secondary, college, post-grad and continuing education - with no book, few accurate manuals, no extra credit, but a whole lotta lectures.

(And little of what you learn from the first one carries over to a second)

 

Is that why my Mother told me that I was the reason she never had anymore kids?

 

Hey, if you really want to have some fun, choose to home-school your children from pre-K through high school!

We have three and are doing that. Socialization is no problem with all of the home-school associations, church groups, and community activities - saying no to keep balance can be.

The quality of the materials available has improved in type and quantity so no problem there either.

The real challenge is being mom & dad, teacher and principal, coach and counselor all-in-one and 24/7/365.

The answer to "is it worth it" comes when you observe the way that you can facilitate them growing at their own pace and can deliver the learning materials in the way each best receives it.

OK, home-school rant mode off! ;-)

 

Actually guys... it was more of a transformation than a course... the instant that little guy grabbed my little finger it was all over... the medical bills... all that work related stuff... the money arguments that all couples have... it all just paled to insignificance next to this new thing... NOTHING was more important... nothing was even on the same planet as important... :wub: So now, NOTHING gets to me... cuz NOTHING is really important, except THAT LITTLE GUY.:wink:

mnem
Yeah... he's still got that NEW BABY smell...

 

You HAVE been assimilated!

<:cry: That's not a tear, the fella peed in my eye again. >

 

Yeah, my "baby" is 41 this year and still brings me joy.

 

I am VERY interested in finding someone to make up some Panasonic HDD cables for me. Can you share contact info for your cable-maker please?

 

I "think" you can buy just the cables from Heartlandsi.com... But I'm not sure. I think I have the part number if you are interested. There is not rubber pull tab on them though.

 

Really? I was assured by several people that a 3.5" HDD to 50-pin ATAPI connector cable was unobtanium. Sure would be news to many that one already exists!

What is that part number, please?

 

The repair manual has a part:

E10-01 DL3UP1120AAA FPC UNIT, HDD

which looks like it would be the correct cable - double check to be sure.

HTH

 

One is greeted at that URL with "Our store will be opening soon."

Is this a new business?

doc

 

Business is not new, but I'm told you need to call them with part numbers to order.

 

I will stand by for news that someone has acquired and tested their cable, and what they paid for it.

Just too many projects right now to chase this one down.

 

Caddies for 600mhz systems were selling cheaper on ebay until those clowns who want to rip people off stopped saying they were actually for 600mhz units.Caveat Emptor.

 

I don't get your point, unless you're just bemoaning the (absurdly) high price of these caddies on eBay.

The Mk1 caddies are like type O negative, they work on ALL CF-28s. If I had one for sale, I'd advertise it as such.

mnem
Who was that masked potato?

 

I have found a company that will build replacement HDD cables for the CF-28.

This is the cable only, no heater accessory, and no HDD caddy/carrier.

It will, however, allow those of us with CF-28's to connect a HDD in a CF-28 without the HDD caddy/carrier and get our Toughbook running!

There are a variety of ways to create a replacement for the unobtanium or very expensive caddy/carrier.

They need to know how many would be purchased on the first order (they have setup costs) and what people are willing to pay.

I suggested $50., including shipping in the USA (extra elsewhere), for the cable.

If that is not acceptable please state what you are willing to pay and how many you would buy at that price - I will summarize the replies and get it to them.

Please reply ASAP before they lose interest in the project!

 

From another Toughbook-related discussion ...

> Too rich for my blood when a caddy can be had from time to time for
> about $65 on ebay.

Really, still? Last one I saw was, I think, $85.

What would be a reasonable price?

$40? $30? $25?

How many do you think that CF-28 owners and/or sellers
would buy at those prices?

Perhaps they could offer a quantity price break, say
$40. each up to 4, $35. for 5-9, and $30. each for
10-19, and $25. each for 20 or more?

I am merely speculating because they have not yet
built the first prototype and are not certain yet
which precise connectors, cables, and custom
mini-board they will use.

I just promised to ask about price and quantity so
they could decide if they will invest the development
time or not.

Sure seems as though there are a bunch of CF-28's
being scrapped for lack of this cable - seems a
terrible waste of fine Toughbooks.

 

Hey guys I know this is a little off task but for a similar purpose - I have a customer of mine that is retired Air force - was some kinda airplane engineer - We got talking about toughbooks and let to a Hard drive discussion, he said he has a local computer geek that told him he could build a usb cable that would go to a ATA-6 hard drive - giving you the ability to send or retrieve information just like a key fob -
Is this even possible ? would the USB be capable of this ?

He is supposed to get this supposed cable soon so I will update what he gets - sorry if this is a stupid question - Thanks guys

 

You mean like this?

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=2020&cat=HDD

I've got one; it works well but the CF-28 doesn't support boot from USB; this is the issue many have been fighting for doing OS installs, as the OEM CDROM caddies are ALSO obscenely expensive.

mnem<~~~ Quite saddened to know that his CDROM & HD Caddy are worth more than his Toughbook complete*

 

I bought one of those from a computer show a while back - works great with an extra internal dvd drive I have, no case for it - something else to work on. Note though that it does come with it's own power supply, the drive does not work off of the USB port. I like the fact that you can use 3.5" and 2.5" IDE, as well as SATA with this.

 

Yuppers... UBER-handy for a quick rip or if you need to Ghost a drive; a box is just a waste of real estate...

mnem
*Real geeks use a computer for weeks before they put it in a box to keeps...*

 

I can give you one for a CF-29, but I dont know if it will for ya

 

Hi Guys
I just happen to have one or two of the Panasonic CF-28 HD cables if any one is interested
I have been running my Toughbook without the caddy for quite some time

 

Hi Guys
I just happen to have one or two of the Panasonic CF-28 HD cables if any one is interested
I have been running my Toughbook without the caddy for quite some time

[email protected]

 

Hi Guys
I just happen to have one or two of the Panasonic CF-28 HD cables if any one is interested
I have been running my Toughbook without the caddy for quite some time
[email protected]

 

AH! Triple Post!

 

err sorry, just getting used to how posting works, newbee!