CF-52 Toughbook Phoenix BIOS update help needed

I was just checking here http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/427461-read-before-posting-ultimate-toughbook-resource-thread.html and we don't have a CF-52 FAQ . I though we had one ??

 

Hi Shawn,
Thank you so much for the information although I feel a little bit silly now, so you are saying that the actual modem sits in the mini pcie slot on top of the card that I thought was the modem, I thought this was the modem as it had the dip switches with the card slot for the SIM card the funny thing is that I sent the picture to Panasonic and no one picked up on it.
I thought the pcie slot was an independant espansion slot that sat on top of the WWAN/Gobi
Thank you for solving my problem, I am now going to look for a WWAN/Gobi card

 

Before you start looking for one you should do a search on here to see which one will work in your 52. As many have found out they are a lot on ebay but only certain ones will work and no I do not know which will work...sorry .

 

Thank you for your link.
I have managed to track down the ebay link for you there seems to be two available please see the link below
BUT I feel a bit silly now see my reply to Shawn below, it appears that the card that I thought was the modem is not the modem but the carrier that the modem sits in but at least the mystery seems to be solved


Panasonic Toughbook CF 52 Laptop Wireless Wan Board DFUP1616ZB 9 | eBay

 

Here is one search for you TEST site:forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic - Google Search

Good luck, gotta go catch some ZZZZZZ's . I work all nights so it's off to bed...later

 

Thank you I will go through them

 

I'm surprised Paul hasn't done one yet. Maybe it's on the to do list....

 

When I do, do my guides I try to do at least most of it from having the units on-hand. So far the list for me physically have/having is CF-25Mk2,3, CF-27 Mk2, CF-28 Mk2,3 CF-29 Mk3, CF-30 Mk1,2, CF-17, CF-18 Mk1,2,3,4,5, CF-19 Mk1,2,3, CF-72 Mk2,3, CF-73 Mk1,2,3, CF-74 Mk1,2,3,4 , CF-50Mk3,4,5, CF-51 Mk2ll, Mk3, CF-52 Mk1, 1 High, Mk2 high, CF-M34 Mk1,2,3,7 , CF-07, CF-P1, CF-U1 Mk1, CF-T2,5,7, CF-W2,5,8.

I sold the first 52 Mk1 as it was a non working unit. The oldest boy has the other Mk1 right now and will soon be getting the Mk2 with the better video card and a SSD upgrade. That one should do him till the I5 ATI units come way down in price. The HD2300 would do most but not all of the stuff he needed/wanted to do while on the go. The HD3650 will do all of it.

And because of that I haven't spent much time with the 52. Still working on improving the 74 guide and have a few more things to add to it. Take pictures of installing wifi card to see if I can get the federal model to work. SSD tests before the girlfriend takes possession of her 74 Mk4.(She doesn't have a desktop and her 15" dell finally gave it up) SSD (40 GB X25 Intel) test of the Daughters Mk3 and compare it to the boys Mk3 without SSD.

I am up to 10 pages on the coming 19 guide, still have ton of sorting to do. It should be much larger than the 18 guide.

When I get a chance since we want/need one I will get a base started on the 52 guide. I have some of the info in a word document already.

 

Excuses,,excuses,,excuses.................

I do understand, I figured you were busy....The main questions we seem to get surround the gobi installs.....Maybe someone can do a gobi faq?? I don't own one and never have. My knowledge is limited to what I have read and cut and pasted......

 

I have three of them to do too on 19 Mk1,2,3. Mainly for GPS.

 

Having hopefully now updated the BIOS in my CF-52 MKIL to recognize the mini pcie slot that takes the Gobi WWLAN card I am now trying to find out which card is compatible with the laptop so I have started new post to try and find out which one to pick the link is below.
If I had my way I would like to go to ebay and just buy a good unlocked Gobi 2000/3000 card and stick it in the laptop but from my experience with the BIOS I feel it might not be that simple.

Click here to go to the Sierra Gobi wireless WWLAN card post
http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/729638-sierra-gobi-wireless-wwlan-mini-pcie-cards-help-needed-choosing-right-one-install-cf-52-toughbook.html#post9342709

 

Hello everyone,I am new here and I hope you can help me find a solution.
I am too in search of a BIOS-Driver for Panasonic Cf 52GFD47AG and I ended up here.I need the V2.00L14 BIOS Version.I tried contacting Panasonic UK,but they will not send anything regarding the BIOS Update.According to them,I have to send the machine to fix it.The Serial number of my machine is 0CTCA12937.I have tried to fix it alone by using a specific tool to change BIOS files,but I completely messed up.
I would appreciate it if you could help me.
Thanks in advance

 

Hello simslee.
Could you tell me which BIOS Version they have sent you?
Would it be possible if you could send it to me as well?

Thanks in advance

 

I may have a copy of that bios... lemme check when I git home...
Whut bios do you have now?

 

Thanks for the quick answer.
I have the V2.00L14 BIOS Version,but as I said I did some experimenting with the BIOS and I have sort of destroyed it.And I need this version or an updated one.
And thanks again for your try and I hope you have this version!!

 

I have Bios from a CF-52GCMBXAM running BIOS V2.50L16...
When you have a few more posts, you can PM me an email address.
They both are CF-52G so I am pretty sure it will work.
I accept NO responsibility if this makes your laptop in a nice shiny brick. Use it at your own risk.

 

I have a CF-52GFNBVAM (Mk2L) with BIOS: V2.52L11 and EC: V2.00L13. I can make a copy of the BIOS and make it available if needed.

 

You just had to one up me...............:hi2:
I guess I'm a day late and and .02 updates short.
2.52 minus 2.50 equals .02
that's my .02 cents
this makes no sense
caps and plugs are great
THANKS
!!!!!

 

Not the idea at all, just offering options.
It is obvious that you are at a higher level than me, but we both already knew that!
Makes perfect sense to me.....now I'm worried!
Great, but you know we need pics.
Your welcome. Glad they worked out. :thumbsup:

 

Guys I seriously can't thank you enough.Normally you don't expect so quick responses and help from complete strangers,but you guys you're really good.Thanks again.

@mklym: I would be more than grateful,if you could send me that copy.

 

loanniscf52,

I have to make a copy. I will do that is evening, so if all goes well, you should have it by 8-9am Friday your time.

Like Shawn, I take no responsibility for what you do with the BIOS, or what the results are. The unit the BIOS is being copied from is working good. I am actually setting it up to give the CF-52Mk2 to a friend to use for work.

 

I sent the CF-52Mk2L BIOS out this morning. Apologize for the delay, had things come up that had to be dealt with. I hope it works out for you.

 

Since mklym has your email address now I removed it from your last post...spammers just love it when someone post there email address on the open forum

 

Ya, I should have mentioned I had it yesterday. Apologizes. Thanks Blair.

 

Hi mklym,thanks again,I am very happy that you sent the BIOS file.Soon I will let you know how it worked out.I guess each Toughbook CF52 is individually made,that's why there is no BIOS update to be found on the Internet.I opened the Rom-file with the hex-editor and I realized that this BIOS is made for CF52GFNBVAM.Mine CF52 has the Initials : GFD47AG and I will try to change it into the file.

Thanks moderator for removing the email,totally forgot about those spammers..

 

The CF52G is the critical part.....

 

The BIOS is not written for each individual unit. As Shawn said, the critical part is the Mark. The BIOS I sent is from a CF-52 Mark2 and your unit is a CF-52 Mark2, so there should be no problem. You should not need to change anything.

 

Hello everyone that reads this I am a newbie on the forums. I 've thinker a little bit with laptops, pcs , iphones, Samsung Galaxy's, Treos(back in the day).
Anyways here's my issue and the reason why I think I need to update my bios

I have a CF-52 MK1 (the whole model number is CF-52BJJ10BM Windows XP Sp3 bios version I currently have is V1.01L12.
I am not interested in installing a WWAN card I am just interested in installing the Wireless Lan Card. I've put in almost 3 different models. I have gotten to windows device manager and it gets recognized as "Atheros AR5007" or a "Broadcom Etc etc"
They all get seem by the computer drivers install fine I see the wireless connection manager but no it always says "no wireless networks were found in range" I automatically located the wireless switch and made sure is in the "on" position. It doesn't show any difference on or off. Now I've done different things with "dip switch" next to WWAN port for on off ....anyways when I enable the switch it shows my wireless on but can't connect to any wireless network. I have used two separate wifi cables antena hooked up to the wireless lan card from a junk laptop and still get no wireless networks.

So I am leaning and thinking the bios on my toughbook has been or has some wireless block I don't know any suggestion on what else to check I am open to anything else.
I have tried to search for bios updates like I always have using DELL and HP and other laptops...but I don't know what makes this toughbooks so special that panasonic can't post bios patches on their website..(but that's another issue...they should make it easy for their customers)

Please anybody knows or can help me and point me in the right direction please help ....I've done probably more then 70 google searches....maybe just haven't gotten lucky.

 

Try an Intel 4695...The mark 1's came stock with that card.

What slot are you putting the WLAN card in?
It WILL NOT work in the WWAN slot.
The WLAN goes under the removable cover on the bottom.

My Cf52G (Mark 2) will only work with an Intel 5100 or 5300 card....
The CF52 BIOS's have a whitelist of what cards are accepted..

 

So even though windows xp will recon the wireless card I'm putting in and drivers install fine.

I am putting the wireless card in the bottom slot..I tried the WWAN slot and nothing happened so I know that for a fact. The issue is the card gets recon by windows xp huh....let me see if I can boot to a linux distro and see if I can make it work...just trying something else...I don't have my hands on an intel 4695 but if it comes to that I will get one ...but still windows picks it up...

 

This is the config of your unit when it left the factory:

Model Number:
CF-52BJJ10BM
Status:
DISCONTINUED
MSRP:
$3,449
Description: No Wireless, WinXP, Intel Core Duo T7300 2.0GHz, 15.4" WUXGA, No WLAN, 4GB(2+2), 120GB, 56K Modem (RJ11), 1 Gb Ethernet, Multi-drive, TPM, Smartcard, No Bluetooth, No Absolute BIOS

Looks like it has the wireless disabled...No Wireless, No WLAN, No Bluetooth.

A BIOS flash might solve the problem. I have a BIOS copy of a CF-52BJH that might work. It is V1.05L21. I also have a V1.54L25. The L21 is from the 52B.

I will upload it to my Dropbox. Send me a PM with your email address and I will send you the link. You will need to make a few more posts before you can PM.

 

Posted the reply twice, don't know what happened.

 

The correct card "should" work without a BIOS flash..

The CF-52BJH10BM did NOT require a BIOS flash....Morgan, what card is in that one you got from me?
Is it a 4965 or the 3965?

 

It has a 4965AG in it.

Are not units with all wireless disabled from the factory considered Federal and therefore wireless is BIOS locked?

If the wireless works with a change of card, that would be good, but I have my doubts.

 

ok I have to post 3 more times sorry this is post 1

 

post 2 I have put intel wifi link 5300

 

post 2 I have put intel wifi link 5100 they seem to install with the intel latest driver but have an exclamation sign on device manager

 

let me see if I can pm now

 

Anyways I tried to PM ...but I guess I can't do it yet or don't know how....anyway

send the link to my spam email at yahoo [email protected] I will appreciate it.

Thanks a lot

 

Sent to the address supplied.

 

@ Morgan, No not all units without wifi are BIOS locked. Federal Gov't and some companies specify to lock the BIOS. Others it seems just buy the units without a card.

@ Platanon The 5100 /5300 may or may not work in a MK1 unit (CF52B). The CF52B originally came with a Intel 4965. The whitelisting in the BIOS may limit you to that specific card.
For instance a Intel 6250 or a 6300 card will NOT work in my CF52G (mark2) Nor will an Atheros card..

A whitelisting in the BIOS specifies not only what brand card will work, but what model card. It's a real PITA...I guess it is for Intel licensing so they can put the Centrino sticker on the laptop.

 

Thanks a million.

Another quesitons what program do you recommend to load the bios ? I was reading another post for name but I can 't remember

 

Will the Flash utility Phlash work? trying to remember

 

I use the loader that panasonic provides

 

what is the name of the utility or where can I get it

 

Click on this link..It will give you lots of reading on this subject.

https://www.google.com/search?num=20&safe=off&pws=0&q=cf52+wifi+site%3Aforum.notebookreview.com%2Fpanasonic&oq=cf52+wifi+site%3Aforum.notebookreview.com%2Fpanasonic&gs_l=serp.3...5732.5732.0.6097.1.1.0.0.0.0.179.179.0j1.1.0....0...1c.1.43.serp..1.0.0.xukwPB0bJkk

 

Shawn, thanks for straightening that out for me.

 

Just to refresh..dont use an ibm. Lenovo..or hp wifi card
They wont work.

Some cards seem to need a pin 20 mod. But doing that disaBled the wireless switch on one of mine.

.

 

Thanks Shawn you hit the nail in the head. I didn't need to update bios on my CF-52 mk1.
It took me a while to find an Intel 4965AG Wireless WiFi Adapter (I have about 200 laptops to play with I am refurbishing and selling cores) once I found it I popped it and wala wala ...I am posting on my CF-52 mk1 over the internal wifi. But I have never seem anything like it. The Bios will not recognise it but device manager will. It showed up on the notifications under wireless card but couldn't see any wireless networks. Anyways for anybody that wants to know

Wifi cards I tried: Intel Wifi link 5100 AGN and 5300 both showed under device manager with exclamation error!! but no issues from bios no erros on boot

Intel 3945 ABG installed perfectly all drivers loaded device manager showed no errors normally like I've always installed devices on windows. Couldn't find any wireless networks...nada..zilch

Atheros AR5BXB63-H (AR5007) same as 3945ABG ...it was driving me nuts.

Broadcom 94321

anyways none of them work.

Here's my hardware info if anybody has this problem in the future

--------------------------------------
Summary
--------------------------------------
Computer Brand Name: Matsua CF-52BJJ10BM
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Build 2600
Service Pack: Service Pack 3
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (2000.0 MHz)
Motherboard: Matsua CF52-1A (Intel PM965 (Crestline-PM) + ICH8M-E)
Memory: 4 GBytes (Dual-Channel)
Hard Drive: FUJITSU MHW2120BH (114,473 MBytes (120 GB))
Optical Drive: TEAC DV-W28EC (DVD+R DL)
Display Adapter: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2300 [Panasonic]
Audio Adapter: Intel 82801HB ICH8 - High Definition Audio [B1]
Network Adapter: Intel 82566MM Gigabit Platform LAN Connect
Intel 4965AG Wireless WiFi Adapter (MOW1)
Monitor: Sharp [Unknown Model: SHP13D0]
Battery: CF-VZSU29A

--------------------------------------
Motherboard
--------------------------------------
Model: Matsua CF52-1A
Chipset: Intel PM965 (Crestline-PM) + ICH8M-E
Slots: 3xPCI Express x1, 1xPCI Express x16
PCI Express Version Supported: v1.1
USB Version Supported: v2.0
Super IO/LPC Chip: National Semiconductor PC8739x + SMSC 37N972
BIOS Manufacturer: Phoenix Technologies
BIOS Date: 07/18/07
BIOS Version: V1.01L12
Video Card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2300 [Panasonic]
Video Chipset: ATI/AMD Mobility Radeon HD 2300
Video Memory: 512 MBytes of DDR2
Bus Type: PCIe v1.1 x16 (2.5 Gb/s) @ x16 (2.5 Gb/s)
Video BIOS Version: 009.013.001.027.025906
Memory Bus Width: 32-bit
GPU Temperature: N/A
--------------------------------------
Network Adapter
--------------------------------------
Network Adapter: Intel 82566MM Gigabit Platform LAN Connect
MAC Address: 00-0B-97-D8-8C-55
Maximum Link Speed: 1000 Mbps
Network Adapter: Intel 4965AG Wireless WiFi Adapter (MOW1)
MAC Address: 00-21-5C-64-A3-D5
Maximum Link Speed: 54 Mbps
--------------------------------------



Thanks every one that helped me especially mklym for sending me a file.

 

Hi, I need bios CF52G. PCB:MK2, in Bios MK2L. Please mklym , help me!