CF-29 Toughbook Hard Drive Swap Tutorial

I figured I would write up this little tutorial (At the behest of Pappy ) so it might make it a little easier to make the swap. The 29 is very similar to the 28 in that the hard drive is encased in a padding to protect it. The 29 is a little more involved but certainly very easy to do. I've taken pictures of the whole process so you will have a reference to use when you swap your hard drive.

To start... All you need is a small phillips head screwdriver. A 00 type should work well. The pictures pretty much say it all. At the end and after we have a few responses that might shed even more light on this... I will make this all into a PDF and upload it (or maybe Modly can host it) so that if the pictures are ever wiped off my server that we will still have the tutorial. So... Without further ado....

You will see on everything that you pull apart and then put back together the little spots of adhesive. Simply reassemble and make sure that the adhesive spots match back together!


​

This is pretty much it. Once you open up your hard drive you will see how simple it is. If you have any questions... Please let me know!

EDIT: After doing this about 20 more times... There is a far simpler way to do this. There really is no need to pull out the copper flashing as in picture 4. Picture 6 shows just lifting up the tab. Really... All you need to do is to break the bonds of the small pieces of tape as in the picture and then just slide the hard drive out and remove the heating element. Then just do the reverse. The copper never needs to come off. The whole thing takes me about 2-3 minutes to do... But I do several per week.

Tutorial written by Rick Kirby - Pasadena, MD

 

TB - aside from the different location of the data plug, this is essentially how the HD cage on my CF-28 Mk3 is assembled. Are the older HD cages made differently?

mnem
Hmmmm.... MORE MEGABYTES! YUMMM!

 

Rick,
Good job! Thanks from all of us challenged mouth breathers out here.

The only suggestion(s) that I would add are: Make sure the computer is off, the AC power cord detached and the battery removed befor removing the hard drive carrier.

As you know; I'm waiting for the xp discs from newegg. As soon as I have those in my hot little hands; I'll do the HD swap and boot up with the new xp disc.

 

hey tb.

the first 2 pics are the same.

theres only one screw on that side, the other side has one in the top middle and 2 on each side.

also you do not need to remove the copper heat shield. when you remove the hdd/padding, look to where the ide cable comes out of the plastic, you can lift that flap up and slide the hdd out that way.

it looks like your pulling it apart from the sides to open it.

 

Agreed, the plastic on the end with the cable folds over with adhesive... you just have to pull that up and slide the whole hdd/heating element from picture 9 out. You don't need to open up that clear plastic casing.

 

Yup... It was something I swapped at the last second and wasn't paying attention... I'll swap the pics when I get back home...

 

I have enabled photos in IE7 but can't view your photos. Any suggestions... Steve CF-29. (I have an ATA 160GB on the way from Newegg. Was going to upgrade to 1MB memory but discovered one stick is not removable... is that one removable if I dig a little deeper than the stock memory cover? currently 512 in that)

 

im not getting his images either now. must have been deleted.

all 29's have onboard memory. i am not sure what the max is but i have seen up to 2gb in mark 5's mark 2-3 i would assume around 1024 or 1536 max.

 

Do all CF-29s have PATA drives? I just bought my first Toughbook, a CF-29L, mk4 if I read this forum correctly. But it doesn't come with a HD caddy so I need to buy one as well as a HD.

 

Yes... All 29s have PATA (Aka - IDE) drives. You can buy whatever size you want!

And I am VERY sorry the pictures aren't coming through.... I just canceled Comcast and got FIOS... I need to redo the pictures in this thread!

<Thank you for reminding me!>

 

Thanks Toughbook.. I just read my PATA HD answer in the FAQ. oops.

Maybe it's time for a ToughWiki?

 

I just need to find new server space and I'll have the pics back up. What I REALLY need to do is to go through and make PDFs out of all the good threads wth how-to pics... That way we get the whole thread in one file.... Then we don't have to worry about that... Unless of course THAT server goes down!

 

You have been PM'ed!

 

Hey! The hdd tutoroial pics are MIA! Can someone help me out...I got a HDD and a caddy and kinda figured it out but I would like to see how to do it the right way!
Thanks,
Bill

 

Bill,
robsnetworks.com/toughbook
CAP

 

I looked there. Only thing I found was a 28 HDD swap. I am looking for a 29 HDD swap. I cant figure out where the other copper foil part goes in the caddy.
Thanks,
Bill

 

Here hope this helps

 

Old Gray Beard-
Thanks for the drawings...

I looked at them and I did get the drive in with only 1 extra part left over!

I need to open it back up and put in one of the HDD terminal plates ( copper foil) on the other side. I suppose that is what holds the heat? The drive really is heated?

I was surprised to see that there was nothing securing the HDD connector to the caddy. That little connector board is just rattling around in the caddy being restrained by just a couple of tabs...

I put the drive and caddy into the computer and it slid right in and was recognized by the bios.

I am waiting for my CD drive to arrive so I can load up XP.
Do you know if I can boot and install XP from an external USB CD drive?

Thanks for the help.
Bill

 

Go into the bios and boot options
If usb cdrom is listed you can
I can't on my mk-1 cf-29


Alex

 

ok I will check. thanks..

 

No USB boot on menu...Just have to wait to get my CD drive in the mail this week!

 

Does anyone have the missing pics?

 

Everything should be here....

http://www.robsnetworks.com/toughbook/

If not... PM me or let m know your email address and I'll zip the pics and email them to you!

 

Other unit only recognize the usb cd rom drive on the bios when it is install. Did you try that too?


ohlip

 

yes it is on my site... here specifically: http://www.robsnetworks.com/toughbook/CF-28 HDD Swap.pdf

 

Yea,
It is probably a good tutorial with the photos. Would the 29 be pretty much the same as the 30?
Be nice to make that 30 thread a sticky by the way. Keep thinking I might need to buy a 29 to make conversation.

 

Yes the cf-30 is comparable to the cf-29 caddy



Alex

 

I just put the pictures back up. Sorry for the delay in getting them here...

 

do you have to have a toughbook casing to install a hard drive? it doesn't make sense to have to have casing (i guess?). I'm obviously a newbie to Toughbooks, but I'm trying to upgrade them and sell them to my electrician and construction and archeologist friends . I help them, they help EVERYONE. and i'm trying to do it really cheap!

Lynn

 

Welcome to the forum Lynn

The short answer is no you do not need the caddy
But you will need the connector which attaches to the motherboard on the toughbook to connect the hard drive

There are two problems with just using the connector though

The first is that you will loose the shock resistance that the caddy provided

The second and most important item is that, without the caddy to hold the motherboard connector in place you risk having an intermittent connection to the hard drive


Alex

 

I had an idea about putting a 2nd harddrive in the optical caddy, but these guys:

http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=page&id=7&chapter=0

already make a converter. The service CF-28 manual says max current for DVD is 2.5A, so should work.

I think somebody here got a load of caddys on a deal, is there a ebay market for second drives?

I haven't tried this, but good idea?

 

SiCo... Pretty cool... I know that Panny makes one as well but this looks a little less expensive. I'll have to buy one and check it out!

Lynnitrobe... If you REALLY want to give them a good deal... built it correctly. Just giving them a Toughbook with the hard drive dangling free in the bay would create more problems and they would be bringing it back to you within 2 hours.... It would break the first time they used it as it is supposed to be used. The hard drive caddys go for $70 - $80 on ebay... Maybe less if you shop late at night...

 

thanks for people like you helping us with this spread of wisdom the tutorial is excelent

but i make the mistake before finding your tutorial to give it to a computer technitian and they damage the case
i did miracles to put it back together now i cant take it out like i use to do

but thanks it won happen again i learned how to change it my self

keep posting tutorials! A+++



: (

 

When swapping out the hard drive, what is the easiest way to "clone" the hard drive?

I picked up a cf-29H that has had a fresh install of winXP and all the TB drivers but it has the old slow original HD.

I also found a new travelstar 7200rpm drive on ebay, so i was hoping to be able to clone the hard drive that came with the TB on to the new Travelstar and this way not having to do a complete install with all the drivers again.

Any advice about how i would do this?

The TB does have the cd/dvd drive.

Cheers

 

Twin... If this is a "New to you" laptop... I would reinstall everything fresh... Then you KNOW it is done correctly. If you have already done this... I recommend Acronis, as do a lot of others... There is also Norton Ghost but it is more tech oriented... BUT... Allows for more tweaking.


If you search here.... There are a lot of recommendations for just this topic.

Welcome and good luck!

 

Just make sure the drive you are thinking about buying is a ide type drive
The more common sata drive will not work in your cf-29
The 7200 rpm ide drives were available only in 60,80,and 100gb capacity.and were quite expensive when new


Alex

 

HI All,
Either I'm a complete dope (probably!) and missed this tutorial or it was not posted before I swapped my CF-29 hard drive about a month ago. It should be a sticky. Why is is not? Or is it and I really am a dope (answer not required!! )?

For you first timers, I made the swap successfully without this tutorial. It was the first time for me. So, it can not be too hard to do. But, that's not the point. I have swapped drives on other laptops and it is really easy to do. None of this caddy stuff to mess with. The caddy makes this swap like a walk on another planet. It's totally foreign. With each step you are holding your breath hoping that you have not made a fatal mistake. Taking the foam loose, sliding the drive out of the plastic sleeve, taking the heater loose (I did not know it was a heater), and all the in between steps made this boy sweat.

The tutorial is excellent. It matches my experience perfectly. I wish I had it to refer to before I started. You sure don't want to mess the foam up or you will have a real problem. Use a lot of care.

One note of caution. When you reinstall the connector, be very careful to get it aligned with the pins. There is no key. The first time I put it on I had the connector off to one side by one pin position. And I was being very careful. It is easy to do and you do not have good visibility. I only found the problem by using a good light and a magnifier. The next time I did it (yes, I had to do it three times because of the set up problems I had with Ghost and XP which caused me to have to swap drives in and out of the caddy), things went well. Be careful. Practice definitely makes perfect when dealing with the caddy.

A last point. Before taking the drive/caddy apart take special note of the way the end plate that secures the connector mounts. There is no picture of it in the tutorial. The plate interlocks with the caddy and can be reinstalled wrong. It is not hard to mount but you should look at it before you start taking things apart. It may save you a bit of trouble when you reassemble. Placement of the plate is the final step before you screw things together and slide the completed assembly back into the drive bay.

TB, thanks for the tutorial. It will help many people. Make it a sticky, please.

Sparky

 

The drive i picked up is a TravelStar 7K60 60gb 7200rpm ata and apparently the TB has had a fresh install of XP pro before they sent it to me, so im hoping to just clone the drive and be on my way...

 

Great job TB! I had watched the guy at Buytough swap my new HD a long time ago and he seemed to do it in about 30 seconds. I was trying to pay attention but he did it so fast! When I got my SSD and my extra caddy awhile back I had to do it myself. It is very easy if you simply take your time and make mental notes of what your doing. Then you can breeze right thru it.

I can't tell you enough how nice it is to have an extra caddy. If I would have known, it would have been the 1st piece I bought with my CF30. I simply shut the power down, pull out 1, slide the other one in. You do not have to remove the battery. Thanks to TB for pointing this out to me........I was doing that, and with 2 batteries it was just a time wasting job.

TB, how are you liking that FIOS? I wish it was in my area.

 

Ahhh... FIOS is okay at best... You really don't notice it while on the laptop and I'm rarely on my office desktop unit. It started slowing down a few months back so they sent me another modem to swap it out... It's okay but really not worth it if you have to pay anything extra for it. The only reason I did it at the time was because they made a better deal than Cable + Phone. The only time I really need speed is when downloading large files and programs for Toughbooks. Now I have most of them on disk...

 

So only a IDE ATA drive will work?
like these
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?Interfa...1&_sc=1&_sop=15&_ssov=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282
I feel like such a dope to keep asking.
edm

 

Thats right but stick with the 7200 rpm ide drives .Your 29 will run a lot faster. Mine did .

 

Try this link http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=la...age_Internal&_odkw=laptop+harddrive&_osacat=0
Blair

 

I would trade off some speed for storage space, Pictures of the Grandkids and my Music. of course 100g will take a while to fill up.

 

That's a great price for a 100GB Hitachi hard drive! I would steer clear of Seagate...

 

I have 2 60GB . One internal and one external for my cf-29 . I found that having pictures and music slowed it down way too much so I put them all on the external drive which I store in a empty cd-rom pack in the toughbook .I have it with me all the time. I only paid $50.00 BIN free shipping for 2 60GB 7200 Hitachi . The guy was selling them as a raid setup.
Blair

 

Hi Guys, I just received a CF-29 without the HD, the cable on the caddy doesn't have the center pin missing like the HD does, how will I know which way to plug this cable into my HD?

 

It will only fit one way... the 4 pins on the outside are not covered.... I think the pictures show what you need to do.



By the way... Welcome to the group!

 

Hi have a question, is the connector (on h/d caddy which pushes onto mb conection) the same on the sata ,as on the ide?( if so would it not be possible to get a sata caddy and use in a Mk3 cf29?
I have also seen some shops selling sata to ide cables mabe one of those would work asuming the cf29 can see large h/drives?
thanks any replys welcomed
steven

 

No, there is no such thing as a "sata to ide cable", there is an adapter. It is a pc board with connectors, and there isn't room in your laptop for it and the hard drive.

I believe your CF-29 uses IDE; you'll have to suck it up and spend the extra money. I know they cost more for a smaller drive, but the manufacturers are in the business of selling hard drives to manufacturers, not supporting us cheapskates & tinkerers with our antique hardware.

mnem
And for my next trick, I'll pull a Toughbook out of my... hat.