CF-30E, what is it?

Hi all, this is my first post but I have been impressed with the depth of experience that I've seen here over the past few months! That said, I've searched as best I can and found nothing about the CF-30E.

I recently bought this on fleabay; full number CF-30EAQ04BM. The Toughwiki page doesn't mention an 'E', but the machine has the L2400 1.66Ghz processor like a Mk1. On the other hand, I've seen several ads for Mk2 RAM that say it suits Es, Fs, Gs... I have the nice bright touchscreen and emissive keyboard, but 2GB of RAM. It seems to find Bluetooth OK, but no sign that it ever had GPS. It came with no HD, now has 750GB. Runs great with Windows 7 except that the touchscreen doesn't quite reach the edges.

Is this something that someone built out of spare parts, or does the 'E' numbering system not match the list in Toughwiki?

Thanks,

Chris

 

touchscreen, Intel Centrino Duo Core Duo L2400 1.66GHz - 13.3" XGA - 512MB DDR2 SDRAM - 80GB - Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth - Windows XP Professional - Magnesium Alloy.

Air Force model

details

Panasonic Toughbook 30 Specs - CNET

 

Great, thanks Shawn. )

 

Air Force..... Nice. Probably has the launch codes installed!

 

Me thinks you are a bit eager with those launch codes.....

 

I have this set up.... Just waiting for the codes...

 

What direction are they pointed?

 

iddqd
idkfa

 

In an easterly direction...

 

As long as it's not northerly.

 

I would never bomb you my brother... Get bombed WITH you yes...

 

Maybe the file on the old hard drive called 'POTUS' had something to do with that box? Too late now, some guy in Moscow gave me $100 for the drive. Pretty good deal for an old 80GB, I thought.

 

Interesting thing with the touchscreen... When I got this machine it had Windows 7 and the touchscreen worked fine with generic drivers except that it wouldn't quite reach the edges. I tried to install the Panasonic drivers for a Mk1 with Vista but got the 'Machine does not support' message. I just installed the Mk2 Vista touchscreen drivers, recalibrated in 'Tablet PC Settings', and all is good.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the touchscreens are not interchangeable between Mks 1 and 2/3, so it seems that the CF-30E is a bit of a hybrid.

 

The touchscreens themselves are interchangeable... It is the LCD connector on the motherboard that is not. But you can swap the cable to make it work.

 

OK, thanks. I wonder what is different then, that the Panasonic drivers think it is a Mk2 and refuse to load the Mk1 one?

Not important (not at the moment anyway), just curious.

 

The drivers address the BIOS to make sure you are installing the correct driver. If it sees the BIOS mismatch then you get the "This machine Does Not Support" error code. This is an easy work around with a little patience and reading here to see which drivers should be used for any given situation and how they should be installed, what you'll see, etc.

 

Indeed, I've been guided by your very own comprehensive instructions on 'How to load Windows 7 on a Mk1', including the BIOS version v1.01L20. ) That's why I thought it was odd, that on this particular machine I needed a different driver.

 

The MK1 and MK2 were not designed for W7... So in order to load them you need Vista Drivers. The MK1 units needs to have the BIOS flashed for this upgrade... The MK2 does not. But either way you need to go through the video driver installation to make the Fn keys work correctly... Which makes the laptop BSOD.

That thread was a team effort... Especially the discovery of having to load the video driver!

Glad you are up and running!