CF-29 Mk 3 Touchscreen problems

Hi all,
I've just acquired a second CF-29 Mk3 (Yes, I am addicted..)

The new one (#2) is a CF-29HTPGZBE, the other (that I'm typing on, #1) is a CF-29HTQGZBM. The differences are just 60GB vs 80GB HDD and UK vs US Keyboard.

These are both touchscreen models and both have the touchscreen enabled in the bios. They both have what seems to be the correct Mk3 touchpad + touchscreen driver installed and both will show the calibration or test screens.

But, the touchscreens do nothing...

#1 was installed from a set of CF-29 Mk3 recovery disks, but I put them somewhere really safe, so
#2 was installed using 'normal' XP Pro OEM plus drivers from the Panasonic sites.

The driver download file is: mouse_29_3_d030178.exe, unpacked then the driver updated to this via device manager.

#1 is a fairly well used machine, I can believe there could be an actual fault in the touchscreen or it's electronics - in fact I've come to the conclusion it's a fault and put a Wanted ad on for a replacement a while ago.

#2 however is to all intents brand new - there are no signs of use at all, the palmrests & mouse pad still have the 'sandpapery' feel and generally it looks like it's only just come out it's original packing. I find it very hard to believe there is any form of damage.

This means either I'm just incredibly unlucky and have two with failures of the electronics - or I'm installing something wrong...

Any ideas appreciated!

Robert.

 

Rob, have you tried the drivers from here? I don't know if they're any different, but it might be worth a try. There is also a thread here somewhere on how to install the touchscreen driver manually; I don't believe you had to do this with your model, but it also might be worth a look. It dealt with pointing the microsoft serial ball point mouse to the utilit2 folder and then to the touchscreen driver (or something similar to that).

 

1. Correct drivers installed?
2. Enabled in BIOS?
3. Calibrated?

 

Thanks for the ideas!

Doobi, that file has the identical version driver files to the set I downloaded from the Japanese Panasonic site.
They were installed via Device manager, Update driver then point it at the appropriate util2/mouse folder.

TB, the drivers are the big question - I wonder if there is some dependancy on, or a conflict with, some other driver...

They are definitely enabled in the BIOS on both machines.

I can run the calibration utility, but it never registers any touch on the screen so I can't complete the calibration.

I tried installing Fedora 10 on a spare HDD last night, this reported a Fujitsu touchscreen but there isn't actually an appropriate driver included so I could not test it..

Robert.

 

Hey TB, would the option show in the BIOS if he had the drivers installed, but it wasn't actually a touch? In other words, what if the model number is correct for a touch, but some dolt swapped them to regular screens. Would it still let you install touch drivers; and would it show up as touch in the BIOS?

 

Hi Doobi,

this one definitely has a touch panel fitted, I dismantled the screen when I first got it to see if there was any internal damage or corrosion on the interface board (something I saw reported as a problem in another group).

They are both CF-29HT models and the other 'new' one has the same feel to the screen, with a membrane over a hard surface.

I think it's a safe bet that they both have the hardware fitted, the big question is whether the problem is in the hardware or software.

Robert.