CF-51 New project

Hi!
Scored a CF-51. It has a Duo Core sticker on it and going by the PSU I guess its a Mk3 1.66Mhz.
Whilst waiting for the battery utility to do its stuff, can somebody talk me through the procedure to get to the components shown on the picture in this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/526150-cf-51-cpu-upgrading-2.html#post6726649
Thanks!

 

Sure can
1: snap off power/speaker grill
2: flop over keyboard and lay it on palm rest
3: in picture 2 take all the screws out
4: after that all I do is swing it around and lay it on the keyboard or you can unhook the speaker and take it off
5:As you can see in the pic you pry up the lock all the way and the cpu should lift out. When you put in the upgraded cpu you will need some CPU Thermal Compound Grease...I used Arctic Silver 5 on mine
http://computers.shop.ebay.com/i.ht...r+5&_osacat=58058&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

That is all you need to know for upgrading the cpu or wifi . If you have a problem let us know.

 

There is a release device on the cpu. I still haven't figured out the right way to pull the cpu out. Wrecking bar, claw hammer?????? Note one corner is shinier then the rest and has less pins as i remember. Check your new? cpu to make sure pins are straight. I used a credit card to help me see.
The best bang for the buck (pound) is the 2.0. If I was only doing one I would go for the 2.33 T7600. Expensive but it's quick. For the CF-51R T7200, T7400 and T7600 are the options.

Sincerely yours at 2.33 Ghz,

Jeff....good post Blair, where did you get the pic? Here's mine on Ubuntu 10.10.

 

Damn, I missed the pic of the cpu (added now). I got them from the service manual and used the snipping tool. I did these up some time ago for a couple members.

 

My problem is once the latch is rotated the cpu needs to be helped out a little. It always seems stuck to me and needs some prying under the cpu itself. Just looking for a clean safe way of starting it up with out bending any pins.

Jeff

 

You most likely you know this but when I release the latch/lock it snaps once (the latch moves freely and pointed strait up) then if you pull it back more it snaps again and the cpu just lifts out....I never had one stick yet

 

Ok!
Thanks Guys.
As you said. its pretty straightforward when you know how.

 

seems like some of the CF-51 prices have dropped a little and the upgradeability of these laptops is one of the only ones that you can get so much improvement from the panny line. I'm talking about the mk3's here. there's still some deals out there but are getting harder to find...Driller

 

I had a few bookmarked last week and was really surprised what they went for. The ones that sold in the afternoon were in the $47.00 - $57.00 range but after supper they were $120.00-$150.00 .

 

Drat!
Bios password protected!
As far as I can tell is is a 1.66Mhz duo model but as I can't get into the Bios I can't get any more info. Doesen't seem to be any model sticker on it.
The usual technique that works on the CF-74 does not seem to work on this model. Shame as its in excelent condition, seems to all work, battery takes a full charge. Guess I will have to wait for another MB to turn up. Think this is how it started with the 74!
I have the caddy tray and the cable so is it worth trying to get a hard drive connected or does that password prevent you from booting up.
There is another 51 without a screen but looking at the stickers its a Pentium rather than Duo. Might just snaffle it as its cheap!

 

My guess you know the rules about the password on NBR so we don't go there....right
Well it might stop you depending on how they have the boot order set up, do you have any idea if its a MK3 or a MK3LL ??

 

Of course! I have not asked how to get rid of it, rather I was just seing what the limitations are if you are unfortunate enough to be afflicted with one!
I have tried a HD from my 72 which is an IDE. I got the Phoenix set up screen, then it went to the start Windows options. Any of the options causes the same action. the Windows logo appears briefly, then the Blue Screen of death, followed by a reboot. Difficult to see what the Blue screen says but something about Virus and corruption. Can't be a virus as that HD has never been connected to the internet. I guess there is some conflict with it having been set up for another machine.
I have tried to load Windows but although the CD drive starts, it shuts down before loading anything.
As I can't get into set up I cannot get the exact model or indeed change the boot order! They is no model sticker either. Its a 1.66Mhz duo so I guess its a MK3LL. Of course its a European model!

 

Yes it is due to it being setup for another machine. If you know the windoze version you can use the setup winXP cd. DO NOT use the repair console. Just press for install. When run the setup for reinstall. It will find the old version and ask if you want to repair it..Say yes. Usually this works when swapping drives from machine to machine.

 

I was just chuckling to myself over the irony. Its frustrating not being able to access the Set Up options yet I can't recall having entered it when my access is unrestricted!
I guess what I am asking is whether its worth purchasing a caddy and HD. Clearly if I cannot load any SW onto a HD because of the boot order then there will be no point. I will have to use it as a doorstop! Which bugs me as I hate to see things which still have life left in them going to waste!

 

Is there a foolproof way of determining the boot order without entering set up?
It sounds like the DVD clatters first to me and then after the Phoenix screen it obviously accesses the HD otherwise I would not be able to see the Windows logo.
Perhaps a fresh formatted HD is worth a shot to try and load an OS on. That should get rid of the Start Windows normally option page at least I guess.
Logic is telling me that if there was a copy of an OS that the machine recognied as good it should function. Unless of course other options have been disabled in the Set up.
I know people recommend the HM160HC, but what would the original HD have been?

 

If you knew the full model number you could get a member to load the OS on it and maybe then you could get into windows but will there be anything else disabled. My work computer shows no cd or usb ports but has 6 of them . I have done this with one of mine but I had the full model number tag on the bottom and was lucky that nothing was disabled in windows.

 

Thats what I am beginning to worry about. I believe this is an ex-MOD computer. MOD is Ministry Of Defence in the UK (Defense for NA!), so its quite possible that something like the WIFi might have been disabled and the BIOS passworded to stop people changing it. Can't really see any other reason to put a password on it other than to stop that kind of behaviour. It does have a WiFi card installed.

 

Get and run a Live CD of any Linux flavor. If you want to stick to what is available here (NBR) try Ubuntu 10.10. It will:
1. Tell you if you can boot from CD/DVD. This will boot and run in ram initially.
2. Set the date and time if that is an issue (to it).((the bios))
3. And etc.
4. You can format the drive by writing over it with Ubuntu install.
5. Possibly delete files from the OS that is installed.

Take a look at UNetBootin to load Linux to USB. In case USB is on the top of the mysterious(hidden) boot order.


Jeff

 

Is there not a FKey to bring up the boot order screen ?

 

Mr Re,
I grabbed an extra CF51R. Went to set to defaults. The boot order is:
Floppy
HDD
CDROM
LAN

IOW if you try a Live CD it may never get there. You may have to physically disable the HD first. I think
FWIW

Jeff

 

Hmm.. something weird is happening!
Having reinstalled the borrowed HD back into the 72, I now get the following:
PXE-E61 media test failure, check cable
I have tied on different IDE cables/caddies all with the same result.
Tried to reload windows but it get to the part about the partion and then I get the Blue Screen. So something has happened to it by putting into the 51!
It may well be a lost cause.

 

I've seen this with no or empty hdd. One tiny maybe. Disable boot from LAN. Did you start to load a new OS or anything? Also check boot order on the 72.

You are having a time aren't you?

 

Blue Screen has the following:
Technical Information

***STOP: 0X0000008E (0X0000005, 0XF91EDE54, 0XF8DA6788, 0X00000000)
***setup.sys-Address F91EDE54 base F91C5000, Datestamp 4110708f

The Blue Screen mentions something about Bios, checking for updates and disabling caching/shadowing.
All a bit odd.
The HD is seen in Bios and Windows Setup recognises the capacity.

 

I'll try another 72. Although other than pulling the HD out, I have not changed anything else.
Would have been nice to have got a problem solved rather than another one to deal with!

 

You could go old school. Put hard drive in a ext usb case on a different pc. Make it DOS bootable with the needed autoexec and config.sys files to access the cd from dos. After the cf 51 boots to DOS in c: type d: then from the windoze cd type setup.exe and bob's your uncle.

 

All sounds pretty complex to a simple guy like me! In all honesty unless I stick a disc in and it works, I am lost!
You win some, you lose some. It was worth a shot. But I guess I will have to wait for a verifiable unpassworded MB to turn up or something with a damaged screen and make a good one up from the two.
Thanks everyone for your help!

 

As a footnote, it does look like that somehow the 51 has toasted 2 IDE HD's!
Having tried them back in the computers they were borrowed from they no have no operating system installed. I have even gone retro and tried to install Win 98 on them from the only OE recovery disc I have. Says something about a Steppro Error.
So far from being ahead with a 51, I have had to swallow the death of two previously function HD's!

 

You said it was a previous "defense" computer. Did it fry the hard drives or did it just put a encryption lock on it. Not sure if that is available in the CF-51 or not I would have to look at my dual core 51. I know they have the hard drive lock on the fully rugged models. Have you tried to fully format and reinstall on the hard drives yet? You may be able to just change out the board on the hard drive from another hard drive that has internal damage.

 

Have you tried to put the harddrives in a external hard drive case and see if you can access it or format it ?

 

To be honest I am not sure how I would tell.
All I know is that they worked before trying them in the 51. The Windows logo appeared which must mean they were accessed. The blue screen mentioned something about disabling BIOS shadowing/caching.
Its difficult to see but when I try and boot and get the black screen it does say something about BIOS shadowing and Caching. Unfortunately its too quick to take it in. If thats something that need access to the Set up menu then we are back to square one!
Need to educate myself on what those terms mean!

 

I don't have a external case. I have tried to access them by installing them into the selection of CF-72's I have. That did sem to flag up a faulty IDE cable which is odd. However the results were the same in 4 different computers with 4 know good IDE cables! Set up says there is no disc installed.

 

Do you have an old harddrive lying around that is dead? You could try taking the circut board off of it. (screwed on) and try that board on the harddrives. i just sounds like they are now "locked" to that 51 defense laptop.

 

Could well be! Didn't even know that was possible.
Think the safest thing is to wait for the HD to turn up and see if it works on the other 52. If I can load an OS then clearly there is something about the duo. It's probably all related to the Set up.
Thinking about it, if its going to do that to every HD then its not worth risking another HD.

 

If you put anything in that dod computer make it a Live Linux CD. That way you can poke around (if it boots) and see what is going on. If it doesn't boot get a different mobo.
And then mark the cd for use in that computer only.

IMHO

Jeff

 

Right, time To update this!
The periodic trawls of ebay turned up two possibilities. The first was a MB that had been raped or a tatty but more or less unmolested example.
I contacted the first seller about the MB and enquired whether it booted into BIOS and had any passwords etc. He was honest and said he lacked a keyboard to F2 it.
So I decided to go for option 2! As luck would have it, I managed to get a whole one for less than the MB. Upon arrival, it looked worse than pictured. The lid being quite scruffy with a dent in one corner, the bezel is cracked in two places (seems quite common), the caddy was incomplete (no foam) and a blue tag battery with only an hours charge! Also the battery cover was taped to the computer, although the seller had mentioned that.
The good bits were that it booted into BIOS, its a CF-51SCYDNBE, with 1100 hours on it and 1gb of ram. At first I was going to try and repair it using some other better condition components but soon realised that I do not have the correct top cover with the SD slot. The reason the battery cover will not stay attached is that the "teeth" that secures the cover in the top cover are awol!
I quickly tried to substitute the HM160HC from my Mk1 which it didn't like. I also tried loading an OS on another IDE Toshiba HD which is also didn't like. So perhaps there is some incompatability with the older drives.
So I guess the best option now is to make one attractive working model from the two and having some spares (sounds familiar!). However not sure whats the best way to go about it.
Certaintly the first one is in excellent cosmetic condition so I guess a MB swop would be in order. Alternatively, perhaps its better to leave the MB in the base of the tatty one and swap the rest of the components over. That way it should still work as I will not have disturbed any of the boards.
So if you have read this far, I would appreciate any input including how to take them apart if its more tricky than removing all the screws from the bottom! I have experience of removing the screen assembly and keyboard, so its just the other bits of the casing that I could do with some help with!
Thanks!

 

When you substitute the160 from the mk1 did it have the OS on? because that won't work anyways. I have used this drive in all my 51's...about 8 and never had a problem loading the OS but I did use the restore disk in all of them.

Yes that's what I did..been there - done that..it's really not that hard, just take you time. I will send you a PM later

 

Yep!
Just awapped the whole lot in with fingers crossed! Wasn't really surprised when it didn't work. Funnily enough though, the HC160 I bought used already had an OS on it and that worked in the MK1!
Guess I will need to be patient and wait for a HD to turn up affordably. You will be happy to know that those Samsung drives are only 50% more expensive in the UK than the USA.
Out of interest what was the original HD in the MK3? Does anyone know?
Cheers!

 

What you really need is the restore disk to match your mother board you are going to use or do a fresh install of XP Pro .What you are trying to do will not work. There is nothing wrong with your harddrive.

 

Well in an ideal world the previous owners would leave ALL the caddy parts and supply all the original documentation and restore discs!
But then I would have nothing to do in the evenings searching ebay for those elusive bits and trying to make one servicable computer out of several dead ones!
So I have to do it by installing my own OS and then struggling with the drivers! Even this is new to me as for years I stuck my OS on the CF-72's I have had without so much as one driver!
Plus there is the handicap of living in the UK! Recently there was a glut of CF-52 MK2 recovery discs but never seen a recovery disc on my wanted list, Cf51 Mk3, CF-52 MK1 or CF-74 Mk1! I guess the discs go to the same place all the caddies go!

 

Actually did try a fresh install of XP on that old Toshiba drive (3018GAS). It got toward the end and kept asking for a file on CD disc 2. Unfortunately I only have one disc which has worked perfectly on everything else!
So nothing lost there other than a bit of time!

 

Ok you have my attention ...PM sent

 

Check out this link, this is what I used in a couple of my caddys that had no foam eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

 

Update on this!
Having a second computer to experiment on is useful!
Apart from the passwords and HD lock, in theory is it possible to totally disable or prevent boot from anything other than the HD?
On the functioning 51 it is possible to access the boot menu by pressing the Esc key. You can then select from the list. However this is not the case on the passworded one. The boot menu can be disabled in the BIOS. Looking closer it would seem that the Multibay can be disabled and potentially you could exclude most of the devices from the boot order.
Naturally that makes it even more difficult to load anything. I don't have a FDD to try in the Multibay. The DVD attempts to start but seems to be powered down after a few seconds. If someone has gone to all that trouble then I guess its unlikely that they left any USB options open either
I will try an external usb dvd/cd in case its still available. Guess someone had security high on their agenda! Not surprising considering its origins I guess.

 

Yes, you can exclude all boot devices except the for the HDD. I set all my TB's that way and password protect the bios.

 

Ok, thanks for the confirmation!

 

BTW,

have anybody tried windows PE disk...?



i haven't tried it cos i have to find an adapter to turn on it...

 

Thought I would dredge this up again!
After a few attempts at solving this without success, I found an ancient 6GB IDE HD which I thought might be sacrificed for the cause. If you have followed this thread you will know that whatever HD is hooked up never functions again.
Now having the advantage of another similar spec CF-51 and the OE recovery disc, I placed the HD in and installed the factory image on it. There was just enough room. To be honest I wasn't expecting it to work.
Swapped it into the passworded one up and booted it up.Wwas surprised to see the Windows logo appear. So far so good! Of course another disadvantage to not being able to access the BIOS is that I did not know the exact model number or indeed the serial number. The ID sticker had also been removed. Using the PC Information ultility I was able to see at least some relevant info. (see attached). I was surprised to see nearly everything was still enabled, including the wireless, without which a computer would be next to useless.
As suspected there is a supervisor password and the hard drive lock has been enabled. I also guess the boot order menu has been disabled and most of if not all the boot options excluded. It also has that M20 designation in the BIOS which probaly signifies something relevant!
So now I guess I can use a good quality HD to replace the ancient one and finally get some use out of it. Naturally the HD will be tied to that machine but thats a small price to pay I guess.
In an ideal word, I would have liked access to the BIOS but as long as it is more or less functional, then that's an acceptable outcome.
Mods if its inappropriate to stick the info up, then please edit/remove it.

 

If you can find a compatible harddrive that has died but the logic board is good you may can swap the logic board to the "good" but locked harddrive .

 

Good job, at least now you can use it

 

Just an idea but since those harddrive you already have are "locked" to that computer try putting one in a external enclosure if you have one to see if it will read it on that toughbook. IF so maybe you can load windows to the bigger drives by doing a install from that computer now that you have it up and going.