CF-29 Toughbook Hard Drive Swap Tutorial

Was thinking of something like this
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Home/Product/38482/Bi-Directional-SATA---IDE-Adaptor
they dont look that big, think that you would need some type of female to female conector tho, looks like the may be room in the caddy for this?
have also been looking at the solid state 1.1/8" CF h/drives as there are 2 cf slots in the cf29 can get them up to 32 gig and they are fast 0.2 m/s seek time & no spinup time
thanks
steven

 

It's been thought of before.... There is no room. You can search about three others that have tried it.
Here is a link read post 215 on from forum member mrbungle
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=214029

Dwagon? You want to breathe some fire on the situation?

 

hi guys. i found a 250 GB Model HM250HI from samsung at ebay for under 60 Euros. can this model be used in the cf-29 mk3?

thanks

CF

 

NO it will not work
That drive is a sata interface


Alex

 

uh, thank´s for answering...what kind of HD can be used, only ATA drives? i found also this: HM160HC from samsung, its IDE. it works?

 

Yes, Thats what I have in all my CF-29's
Lots of posts here on that drive ,its the best new ata drive available

Alex

 

thank´s a lot for info, alex. well, than i will try that...

ps. now it´s done. new HDD is in, all works. great! thanks @ all

 

I just installed a new WD scorpio 320G in my CF-29, thanks for the original post on this thread, it walked me right through with no problem. Now I gotta go dropp $300 bucks for windows 7! ugh

 

Are you a student by any chance? If you are, like me, you can order Win7 Pro for .... $29! I did!

 

day late and $270 bucks short azrial. my girlfriend is full time college student and I like to hang around high schools so I am sure I could have got a hook up on that discount! I am having a time with the drivers so far. no brighness control and no audio for starters. I mentioned it in a post for cf-29 ram already. thanks for the tip Az

 

Sorry I did not bring it up sooner!

As to the driver issues, remember the HotKeys driver. Mine worked like a champ except for Hotkeys. I have a CF-29N, Mark5.

 

can i change or upgrade to SATA HD?

 

Please do a little reading... There has been quite a few threads on this recently.

 

TB-

Not everyone knows how to get to the FAQs and stickies. It took me until after I solved the SATA question and posted it that I finally got to find the start of the threads.

Yes, the Newbies ask questions and it can be VERY FRUSTRATING for the experienced posters, post them the link to the FAQs and let them go from there.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sho...hlight=the+ultimate+toughbook+resource+thread

 

It as not out of frustration but a time saving measure. Everyone wants to come on the board and get immediate gratification. They want the answers to all of their questions... Here... Now.... This is not how it works... Except in some cases where a quick answer is best.

To give the poster an in-depth answer would have taken a lot of time.

EVERY newbie should see READ ME BEFORE POSTING stickies at the top of the forum. My response may have been curt but not flaming as we do not do that here. But if a person can't read or doesn't have the patience to slow down a little and snoop around... He/She may need to learn like the rest of us did....

As this forum grows... (And HAS grown by leaps and bounds!) We get more and more of the same EXACT questions asked. People need to know that there is no golden palace where people wait on them hand and foot and that reading is required to understand how and what is going on.

In some cases.... We've seen people being given quick answers and then they shoot off to do their mods without further reading... Only to end back up here asking how to fix the issues they just got into. Because they didn't read and didn't understand the fundementals.

When reading the stickies, people learn.... Not only about what they originally asked... But more and more about different things. Hopefully they learn. If not... They at least (hopefully) learn to come back to ask more intelligent questions.

I think the response was appropriate... Sorry you didn't.

EDIT - I am wondering... Since you just upgraded your CF-29 to a SATA drive.... How come you didn't spell out the whole procedure that he was looking for?

 

I have to agree with TB!

A little reading here saved me a lot of time and money. I have learned to always read the FAQs and Wiki before wasting my and everyone's time when starting a new subject. I can not remember who first taught me this lesson, but I owe them a debt many times over for what this has saved and taught me over the years.

A good gentle, but firm, please read what we have already labored to provide you, is good medicine.

 

About 2 years ago I caught the toughbook bug and could not shake it. I did a search on google and found NBR and from there I spent well over 2 weeks reading The CF-29 F.A.Q. - Read me before posting and The Unofficial Panasonic CF-29 Toughbook Thread! . I found it very interesting , amusing , funny and well you just have to read all the post to understand what I mean. Over the two years I have talked to many of the regulars like toughbook, modly , doobi ,mnementh ,capt.dogfish ,tomcat57 ,JB007Rules ,ohlip and gravitar (may he rest in peace) . I have learned a lot from them and am still learning. They have done all the leg work for us. Tomcat57 started the **READ BEFORE POSTING** **The Ultimate Toughbook Resource Thread** that would answer many questions like " WHERE DO I FIND THE DRIVERS" now we know this person did a lot of reading . So that said sit down in front of your toughbook ,grab a bottle of JD and start reading people , put that 12+ years of schooling to good use.

And that's my 2 cents worth

 

To all,

My first search took me to the Unofficial Toughbook thread. I read through that and that was where I found MrBungles post about the SATA question.

That started me experimenting, I was still a "Newbie" to the site even after I found the answer. Today, I am still a "Newbie" against most of the posters here, but it took me a while to find the posted thread that finally got me to the FAQs and stickies. That was where I found that Mnem had included my post in the FAQs.

I did not explain the method about doing the IDE/SATA method to that gentlemen because, I saw that the person was as "inexperienced" with TOUGHBOOKS as I was when I first got here. That is why I posted the link to the FAQs and stickies. Gave the "Newbie" a heads up and pointer in the right direction.

I understand the frustration and understand the messes that can be made, and also understand that people want instant gratification and answers to questions. Such is the status of our society today.

If you look back to when I first started posting, my question was, "Who was the best supplier of parts for TOUGHBOOKS." Since that post, I have become a lot more knowledgeable about my TOUGHBOOK through these posts.

Google/Bing etc, searches do not always point the people in the correct direction to reach the FAQs and stickies. It was searching through all the posted threads that finally got ME pointed in the right direction. Forget the search function here, tried that numerous times but failed to find the start.

Remember Guys, all Newbies, FNGs, Recruits, Boots, Trainies have to start someplace. It is the DIs, Company Training Officers, Schools, etc, that start pointing that person in the right direction, be they Gomer Pyle or Albert Einstein.

That first step is the beginning of the rest of their lives at times. Be it Business, School, Military, TOUGHBOOKS, we all started as Newbies.

Blair's answer, by posting the links, in HIS message, is the point that I am trying to make. These posts are long and extensive, and an occasional break, to update these links may be what is needed, that or supplied near the top of most of the threads.

TB- I understand your post about the reading. In that message if the link was supplied, it would have pointed that gentleman in the correct direction right from the start. My point, LET THE NEWBIEs KNOW WHERE TO START.

These posts do contain a wealth of knowledge and I would have understood and appreciated the posting of the FAQ link when I first joined the forum. All of you have spent SERIOUS time setting up all the How-To's presented here.

 

I don't think it can be more clear than READ ME BEFORE POSTING. I understand that everyone wants their answers quickly. That is why we have tried to organize the thread into palatable bits... We try to organize these in order of need, number of times asked for, etc. People are ALWAYS asking about drivers and of course.... The most talked about recent mods.

This is, I think, where the SATA to IDE is a little off the scale. I know that it used to be pretty much impossible to do based upon the size of the connector. Well... They have a NEW connector now that supposedly allows it with very little modification. In this realm (unlike drivers) things change... As new technology has allowed for a smaller connector to be made.

Again... I see no need to provide a link to a sticky that is at the top of the page... I do try to hand out links where they are fairly easy to access or I happen to remember where they are. I try to keep my own posts updated where I provide pictures for tutorials... There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that others may not be aware of or even care about.

That is why I encourage everyone to read, read, read.... You never what you will find (and learn) while looking for what you need!

 

Plus, the Internet is really no place for the hyper sensitive...

 

(Little Interestingfellow from the back of the class)
Oh, Oh, I read TB, I read it!!!! Pick me, pick me!


Yeah, after having just dis and reassembled my CF-29 hdd/caddy for the first time, I can only conclude that there is a small idiot savant mad genius Korean engineer possessing a PHD in Origami, who had just suffered a stroke or aneurysm right before designing said caddy and wrapper...


Seriously, I assume the mobo controls when the heaters cut on???

 

I have seriously wondered who or what they were thinking about when they designed some of this stuff.... But they have mountains of Phds working on this stuff. Sometimes you can be "Too Educated" if you know what I mean.

Your qustion about the heater is a good one. The laptop can onbviously sense when it is hot or cold. But I am not sure what tells the heater to turn off as the hard drive is warm enough to work correctly.

Anyone know for sure?

 

In relation to the construction of TB's, the analogy with the auto industry was always a good one. While the guys that design vehicles are very knowledgable in their respective fields, the true test for them on any part they design should be how hard is it to access and even more importantly, how hard is it to replace? If the guys that design them actually had to repair/replace parts, they would pay far more attention to that detail in the design phase.

As far as what turns on the fan, pardon my ignorance, but what senses the processor temp with the programs that some of our members use to view the actual temp in their laptop? I know with some desktops, when installing a temp gauge you also have to install a sensor on the RAM/processor that is linked to the gauge.

 

I would assume that the heater element is a ptc, an electric resistor, that has a higher resistance at higher temperature (that also prevents heater elements from getting too hot, since then the resistance drops and so the current does). So it could be that the TB simply measures the resistance of the heater, which is (slightly) dependent on its current temperature.

On the other hand, there simply could be a temperature probe anywhere on the baseboard. When this probe is too cold the TB assumes that the hdd also is too cold (which would be logical). Maybe then a timer is set (dependent on start temperature, maybe 2min @ 30°F, 4min @ 20°F) and the heater gets power. After the time has run out, the system assumes that the HDD is warm enough.

 

To Sliver's comment:
My original purpose in coming to Va was for mech engineering... and the stds used are used with little to no consideration outside the scope of the spec:IE: for this load use this bolt, without reguard to weather or not a fat mechanic or shipfitter can fit their hand in their to get it off... schmucks.

Also, it could be an inverse relationship with that heater element, lower resistance at higher temp.
COLD=high resistance=gets hot
Hot=low resistance, generates less heat=cool down

Then again, that would chew through the battery. Anytime electricity is used to heat anything, it sucks the power down...

Who knows....

 

just did swap on cf-29N3Lgzbm to WD3200BEVE, did recovery with MK5 panny disc, got recognition in bios, put cputhermometer.com on to monitor temps after all said and done, what should the temps be running?, mine got up to 53 c, it has a LOT of hours op time, but have seen it be usually in 30-38 c range. with old hard drive. I've read about the heatsink tabs that are oem and getting in the direction to replace wifi with engenius 600mw EMP-8602 PLUS-S, read about you guys that will be a better one to replace intel. jumping in and hope don't get over my head. Driller

 

There is a thermistor taped on the end of the heater element and this is what turns the heater on when the temp is too cold for the hard drive to spin up. The connector has four wires two red are for the heater and the two black wires are to the thermistor.

 

You mention CPU temps... Not Hard Drive temps... Which is it?

If you have opened up the bottom plate you need to make sure that the CPU and the Video heat sinks are in place and working. You may want to ad just a DAB of Arctic Silver or Ceramic Paste to the pads. You can slo make sure they aren't shredded and can (using common sense) kind of nudge them back into place... THEN adde a little paste.

 

program cputhermometer.com ,my assumption is cpu temps. haven't opened up inside just yet, a lot more reading and studying before doing that but will go there with respect for doing it right, hopefully the first time. did read that about the nudging them into place but am prepared to purchase new if see they are crumbled or really falling apart. aware of heartlandsi.com for parts and shipping costs, but already have total of 5 TB and got the fever. like the song said don't want no cure (love hangover), thanks, Driller

 

Regarding the CF-29 HD heater element.

I installed a SSD, and I can't see any use for the HD heater element, is there a method of disabling it or otherwise rendering it inert? Is the heater even necessary or could it possibly overheat the SSD?

I think I could just clip the element at one point with a pair of shears, and then insulate the ends from each other, does this sound like a good idea? It would probably be fairly easy to splice them back together if in the future if I reinstalled a mechanical HD.

I looked on the forum for a quick answer, but I did not see any reference to actually defeating the heater.

BTW they have the touchscreen CF-29 refurbished on geeks.com for $369. I bought two and they both came with new keyboards and new screen protectors.

Thanks for the great forum!



UPDATE:
Solved, I pulled apart the caddy and noticed that the heater element was connected to the hard drive cable with a four pin plug, (Visible on the corner of the drive in the 6th image on the intro post) I disconnected it and reinstalled the hard drive. Everything booted up fine, so it looks like that fixed it.

 

I don't think it would hurt anything to leave it intact. It's not like the heater comes on all the time or anything. The heater only comes on if temps are REALLY cold, like if you left your machine in a car overnight in a northern winter. While the SSD may not expressly need to be brought up to temp in that situation I really don't think it's gonna hurt it.