CF-54 FAQ

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/life-with-the-54-after-a-few-months.786109/

Second drive is socketed.

This
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/how-to-add-second-hd-to-toughbook-54.787274/


Try this thread.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/cf-54-doesnt-see-new-m-2-256gb-950-pro.791645/

Review with photos here
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/02/13/think_youre_hard_check_out_the_pansonic_cf54_toughbook/

Another detailed teardown
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/1402680/panasonic-toughbook-cf-54-review-hands-on

 

Update - fyi: my CF-54 is a CF-54E8901KM Performance model.

It shipped with 8GB memory. Thankfully that was a single stick and the second slot was open, I dropped in another Crucial 8GB (Single DDR3L 1600 MT/s (PC3L-12800) SODIMM 204-Pin Laptop Memory CT102464BF160B) and for $50 bumped it to 16gb - awesome.



It shipped with an HGST Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630 500GB 7200 rpm drive. Like the previous pictures showed there's an NGFF M.2 slot that's open (under a thin strip of insulator with "On Bord Drive" stamped on it). I popped a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2 SSD with SATA III interface (MZ-N5E500BW) in it and the machine recognized it and it worked fine as a secondary drive.




One note - the SSD has a half-hole at the non-connector end of the card (left side of the picture) where it should be screwed down. The drive didn't come with the screw and the laptop didn't have one in the hole, so I'm currently running without one. The card does want to "pop up" at the end but with the flap down and over it and sealed up, it seems snug enough for now. So far, so good.

Note that I have NVME drives in my HP workstations and, by comparison, the EVO is clearly limited here by the SATA interface. However it's lightning fast compared to the Travelstar.

I've cloned the HGST to the EVO and want to boot to it but, unfortunately, the BIOS boot options only have a single native "boot to hard disk" option which apparently is only to the Travelstar. The BIOS Exit Settings does have a "boot override" which does show the EVO and I can manually boot to it, but that isn't save'able - meaning you have to select it manually on each reboot. At this point that's what I'm doing.

The BIOS does support UEFI which isn't currently installed. I'm thinking about going that route because I'm pretty sure with it I can get it to boot to the EVO and be good. Stay tuned...

...and, just like that - solved!

In the BIOS boot options, under the boot order which listed the "boot from hard drive" as the only option (and was only booting from the HGST drive), is another option, the "Primary Boot Drive" where you can select the "Quick Release Drive" or the "On Board Drive". I selected the On Board Drive and, viola, that's the EVO card that I added to the On Board Drive slot above.

It's now booting from the EVO card - awesome! fyi: after changing the bios boot mode to fast the unit fully boots to a the win7 64bit in about 10 secs total. Excellent!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@Toyo

PCB of an M.2 module provides a 75-position edge connector; depending on the type of module, certain pin positions are removed to present one or more keying notches. Host-side M.2 connectors (sockets) may populate one or more mating key positions, determining the type of modules accepted by the host; as of April 2014, host-side connectors are available with only one mating key position populated (either B or M). Furthermore, M.2 sockets keyed to support SATA or two PCI Express lanes (PCIe ×2) are referred to as "socket 2 configuration" or "socket 2", while the sockets keyed for four PCI Express lanes (PCIe ×4) are referred to as "socket 3 configuration" or "socket 3".

For example, M.2 modules with two notches in B and M positions use up to two PCI Express lanes and provide broader compatibility at the same time, while the M.2 modules with only one notch in the M position use up to four PCI Express lanes; both examples also support SATA storage devices. Similar keying applies to M.2 modules that utilize provided USB 3.0 connectivity

This article explains it all very well

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02/ ... -next-ssd/

All current keys can give cards access to two PCI Express lanes, but otherwise interface compatibility is all over the place—so far, it's been pretty easy to guess what kind of peripheral you're dealing with based on the key it uses. Wi-Fi and WWAN cards tend to use keys A and/or E, since they only need the PCI Express or USB 2.0 buses and only need 30mm in length to fit all their key components. SATA SSDs and SSDs that use two PCI Express lanes tend to use keys B and M to maximize compatibility, since both connectors can deliver both SATA III and two PCIe lanes. The very fastest SSDs tend to be M-keyed since it's the only one that delivers four PCIe lanes.

The key system isn't always foolproof—our A- and E-keyed Wi-Fi module will physically fit into the B-keyed SSD slot even though the computer won't recognize it there. M.2 is certainly more confusing than the mPCIe and mSATA specs, but in the end it's more flexible. Components can access many different buses through one small internal connector, and you've got a lot of different physical card sizes to play with instead of being tied to either a "full-height" or "half-height" card.

 

Question: What wifi card can be added to a CF54? Or, lacking that, does anyone have the model info or, better yet, a good pic of the actual wifi card from a CF54? I'd like to see both the label for tech details as well as the card and it's actual connector.

Details:
When I got my CF-54E8901KM Performance model I never bothered to check whether it had wireless or not (I know, facepalm). was way more interested in the screen, storage, mem, etc. I just figured it did, but alas - my specific model doesn't. Thankfully it has onboard LAN and I've got a crappy USB wifi dongle that I'm using in the interim...

Unfortunately, the wifi card itself isn't listed as an "option" for a CF54, rather you pick a model that has or doesn't have it and then option mem/drive/etc. from there. So, I can't seem to find anyone who sells just the card as an accessory - @#$%!

The specs for the CF54 lists the wifi as an "Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260 802.11a/b/g/n/ac". When I had my unit open for the SSD upgrade, there are 2 slots where I think the wifi card would go. I ~think~ one is for the LTE/GPS card and the other is for the WiFi:


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Usually Panasonic uses the black and white wires for the WIFI antennas.
I would doubt that they changed the color scheme.

Yes the newer cards combine WIFI and Bluetooth.

Measure the inside of the connectors.
22mm means it is a NGFF (M.2) slot for the Intel 8260 size card
30mm means it is Mini PCIE slot for the Intel 7260 size card
Don't worry about the second slot on the 8260 card. That is just for use in 2 different types of connectors.
-------------------------------------------------------
The card on the right is the NGFF //Intel 8260 size card-- 22mm
The card on the left is the Intel 7260 size card.--30mm



Upon further examination of your photos, you need the Intel 8260 card.
Notice the hold down screw.
The 7260 has places for a screw on each size.
The 8260 has a place for one screw in the center.

 

CF 54 keyboard

 

I copied a couple of the most informative posts.

 

Thanks for the great info. No clue how I missed this before.

 

Happy to help..

 

I have16gb of memory installed as well and a Samsung 850 PRO. I would like to add the On Board drive as well along with changing out the KB with the MK3 KB. I like the backlight being red versus white.

Anything I should know about digging into this unit?

 

4g card and HD caddy /

 

A 2nd caddie was the 1st thing I bought for my 54. It's a bit different from the 30's caddie I am so used to for sure.

 

Here's my hearty recommendation for Linux for CF-54 MK2.
Works out of the box. Touch spot on and multi-touch works.

UEFI disabled in bios at the present time.

Kernel: 4.14.0-3-amd64 x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Xfce 4.12.3
Distro: MX-17_x64 Horizon

Kernel is upgraded via MX-Package Installer to MX 4.14 Kernel Meltdown Patched, 64-bit then cloned for LiveUSB or copied via Snapshot and saved as snapshot.iso.

 

Speaker Jack may not be functional with some Linux Distros.

This is my first tweak for MX17 Horizon.

This writes a PERMANENT file called sound.conf and enables a feature in snd-hda-intel. Call it a software switch. W10 does this automatically.

Code:

$ su
Password:
root@mx54:/home/m17# echo "options snd-hda-intel model=headset-mode" > /etc/modprobe.d/sound.conf

To remove the file:

Code:

sudo rm /etc/modprobe.d/sound.conf

Waiting on a mike for this headset...so mike untested.

 

info sheet

 

I was asking for a windows 10 recovery from panasonic, for CF-54 mk1 model, and the guy told me the clean windows 10 won't be installed in the laptops (cf-54 mk1) with Bios version 1.00.xxx only in Bios version 1.5xxx .... do you know something about this?

 

But the real question is can"WE"flash a 1.00 with the 1.5 bios file.

 

They said...no. And there is not file available so far.

 

In case you were wondering, here's the WLAN card info from a CF-54. Model WL15A.

 

My personal email address has a Q in it. I always use CAPS to avoid confusion. So you are not alone.

 

Hello

Did anyone try to install backlit keyboard ? Today I was remove my standard keyboard, before buy new one and I'm not sure that's possible to install backlit keyboard here. I can't believe that they didn't prepare power slot in the mainboard.




.

 

interesting.

@SHEEPMAN! may know more. He has a 54

 

CF-54 is different from 31/53/30 etc.

All that I have seen of the above have the cable coming from under the edge of the silver cover as this appears to have. BETWEEN Gasket material.

 

They have been gluing the original keyboards down since CF 30's.
Those were a real PITA as they used tape/glue AND the sliding hold down pins.

 

Is the original poster sure that you need the second connector on a CF 54?

 

Hi everyone, i recently upgraded my CF-54D1441KC from the stock 1366x768 screen to an aftermarket(but seems to be same manufacturer) 1920x1080 screen. The process went relatively well, removing a bunch of screws around the screen, moving the screen sticky cushions to the new one but removing the old screen is a destructive process because of the double sided tape holding the screen to the front bezel(very high chance of cracking the glass). Screen works out of the box with ubuntu and 120hz but the intel driver in windows 7 64 bits just refuses to show an image, i am running without a driver for now. And yes this screen can be ordered with matte finish, just specify before ordering.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/14-0-FHD-LC...rentrq:f4ff9f311670a688cbe12fedffffd75f|iid:1

 

Interesting.
Did you take any photos?
Is this a touchscreen model?
Did you keep track of the LCD part numbers so you could post them?

Thanks!

The old screens can be removed and saved/reused if you use a very thin long razor and carefully cut the double faced tape first. Cut from the outer bezel side.
I always tape the screen with masking tape to prevent scratches.
This is the process I used on CF 29, 30, 52G,74 models in the past.

 

It was not a touchscreen model, i could tear it down again to get part numbers later today.

 

That is great if you don't mind.
That info will help future readers.

 

Here are the pictures you requested,

 

great photos..thanks
someday I might be able to get a 54

 

Yeah feel free to use all the content i provided as you see fit

 

I want to keep it all as you posted it.
I started a CF 54 FAQ a while back and this is great info to add to it.
If the moderator moves it, that keeps the good CF 54 info in one place and easy to find.

 

llooks great but I love my CF-33 better

 

Quick question about the cf-54 and battery hot swap:


Can anyone confirm that it's okay to "hot swap" the battery: which I gather means you can pull out a depleted battery and put in a charged battery with the machine running...

I have the cf-54 and I would like to hot swap the main (CF-VZSU0PW) battery pack and not damage my computer


I also have the second battery where the DVD would be

I'm not sure if it matters, but I'm running Linux

I have the cf-54 with the AMD Verde graphics card and the 1920x1080 resolution and it's a glorious machine...

Thanks

 

Does the CF-54 manual state anything about hot swapping?

This is a clip direct from the official brochure, so I say hot swapping is fine.

 

Yes,

I saw that: Was hopping somebody had already gone down this path... and could tell me it's safe

Have an CF-VCBTB3W Battery Charger, that I picked up on Ebay for $45.00!!! and a second... "CF-VZSU0PW," Battery Pack... that I paid full retail for... in the mail...

Based on your post, when I get my equipment... I will give my hot swamping plan a try...


if you don't hear back from me... you'll know my computer is blown... lol.

 

Thanks for your quick reply btw... much appreciated. I only asked the question, because it's going to irk me plenty if I hurt this machine...

 

Is the battery you bought a second main battery or is it the optional 2nd battery that goes in the option slot?

The way I read it, the hot swapping is between the main battery and the optional second battery.

Without the optional second battery I don't think you can just hot swap main batteries.

 

The whole idea of pulling a battery while the computer is on scares me for some reason, but the official brochure does say the computer supports it as you pointed out above

I'll have two main batteries, the sweet CF-VCBTB3W Charger

And I put an optional 2nd battery in the option slot when I first got the computer,

 

The worst that would happen if the laptop does not support hot swapping (which the CF-54 does support) is the laptop would shut off.
Slight possibility to corrupt a file that was open, but I doubt that will happen with modern OS's.

 

Are You Being Serious Right Now!?!: With the "CF-VCBTB3W battery charger!"


_Edit to Remove and Improve Jim Beam Influenced Content... ___

Don't Rock The Boat! An Update!

It's obvious... Panasonic has a plan and it's probably best not to f+*k with their planZ. HOWEVER,,,


I have used a CF-VCBTB3W Battery Charger with its intended pair: the "CF-AA5713A AC adapter
and also, the, CF-AA1653A AC adapter -- that came with the cf-54,"

Both AC adapters seemed to work fine with the "CF-VCBTB3W" battery charger... Charging the main: "CF-VZSUOPW," battery,,, and also the secondary!, "CF-VZSUOKW," battery,,, !!!

And Yes, the main batteries are "hot swappable," as long as the optional media bay bridge battery is in place; if there is no optional bridge battery in the computer, and an attempt is made to hot swap the main battery, -- the computer will immediately shut down...


Proof of OWNERSHIP:::: Picts,

I am running an "Ubuntu," based, Linux distro, on an SSD Hard Drive!!!
Yes, I was falling down drunk when I wrote this, but my computer was working fine.

 

[/QUOTE]
In the BIOS boot options, under the boot order which listed the "boot from hard drive" as the only option (and was only booting from the HGST drive), is another option, the "Primary Boot Drive" where you can select the "Quick Release Drive" or the "On Board Drive". I selected the On Board Drive and, viola, that's the EVO card that I added to the On Board Drive slot above.




How to get to bios this to boot on board ssd? I don't see any "Quick Release Drive" or the "On Board Drive".

 

CF-54 WIFI won't stay on with AX210 card.

 

I just upgraded RAM to 32GB DDR3L, added DVD and added SSD WD RED 2TB (format as GPT) but fail to upgraded AX210 WIFI 6E.

 

Finally get AX210 to work with mask W_disable#1(wifi), #2(BT) pin 54 and 56. CF-54 doesn't seem to work with above AC 8000 series but this mod worked.

 

Hi all, first post.

I have a few Toughbooks in various models.

With the CF-54 has anyone found any other on board SSDs that work with the MK1 other than the Samsung 850EVO as those are a few years old now. Any recent bios updates allow you to use newer M2 SSDs?

Also

What MK is your CF-54?

Thanks!

 

Mine MK2 I don't use EVO any SATA SSD M.2 (not NVME) should worked.

 

Thanks for the reply

I have a MK1 (C) that I wanted 32GB of ram but there are very few manufacturers that make a 16GB single stick is DDR3L. What brand/model RAM are you using? If it was inexpensive to try 32GB in it I definitely would!

 

Any RAM 204pin SO-DIMM DDR3/L - 1600MHz , Unbuffered, 1,35V should work. I'm using Crucial 32GB (2 x 16GB) 204-Pin SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600 CT204864BF160B.

 

Thanks for that! Have been looking at that model but wasn't sure if it would work. I just bought a Samsung 860 EVO M2 SATA SSD so ill let everyone know if it's compatible.

 

If EVO format as GPT and boot as UEFI (F2 UEFI enable). Or after you installed, if you boot as BIOS, extra option will pop up under boot option. Choose "on board drive". It'll be no problem to boot o SSD.