CF18 w/WinXP SP3 having some issues

Forgive me if this question has been asked and answered many times over.

I traded a Toshiba notebook for an older CF18 DDAMBMM. The machine did a lot of blue screening so I installed Win XP and upgraded it all the way to SP3. Since installing XP SP3 I have not been able to find the correct drivers to make the screen work. From what I have been able to find it has the digitizer and not the touchscreen (before the blue screening started only the stylus would work so Im fairly certain that it is a digitizer).

Can anyone here point me to the correct drivers to make the digitizer work and the front buttons as well. I have everything else working correctly (at least as far as I can tell) but would love to get this machine working 100%.

Thanks in advance for your help and again I apologize if this question has been asked and answered many times over in the past.

 

Welcome to the Toughbook Forum
This is what you have
Model Number: CF-18DDAMBMM
Status: DISCONTINUED
MSRP: $5,210

Description: Pentium M 1.1GHz(Centrino), 10.4" XGA Transmissive with Digitizer, 40GB HDD, 256MB RAM, Intel 802.11b+g WLAN, Dual pass through antenna, Verizon 1xRTT w/o voice, Bluetooth, Win XP Tablet PC (MK2)

For one thing your 18 use XP Tablet not XP and the drivers can be found here Panasonic Toughbook Computer Support Downloads .
Most of us use the restore disk but the MK2 is very hard to find

 

I am no expert with drivers and compatibility so please bear with me on the noobish questions.

If I am running XP SP3 and this machine was originally equipped with Tablet am I ever going to be able to get everything working without finding a copy of XP tablet?

Im fairly certain I have downloaded all of the drivers for this machine but Im still not able to get the stylus to work. I know that it worked just prior to the never ending blue screen and subsequent install of XP SP3 so I would have to think that its a driver problem not a hardware problem. I will readily admit its more than likely an operator head space and timing issue Im just not sure what Im doing wrong.

 

That is a good question...hopefully someone else who has your model can help you...I only have touchscreen .

When you downloaded the drivers which one's did you download. The one for XP or the Tablet ?

 

Yes several people have got regular XP running on there digitizer models. You have to mix and match the right drivers between the two OS's. I have done it myself on my Mk5 CF-18 Digitizer before I reloaded it with the correct Tablet Version.

Here is some reading for you.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/662774-digitizer-xp-pro-sp3.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/editpost.php?do=updatepost&p=8380618

 

After reading through the stuff you posted ADOR I found the thread for the New WACOM driver. That one did the trick for the digitizer. I really appreciate you guys pointing me in the right direction. Now to work on the hot keys. Im sure that with the information you have given me I will be able to figure out what I need to do to get all of the stuff functioning.


Since the first time I saw one of these in the Army I wanted one. I am so glad that its coming together and that with a little help Im able to get the things that I liked most about it working. Up until the blue screening started this was my travel machine as it was far more durable than the other laptops I have had and its so much easier to pack. Thanks again folks, I truly appreciate your help.

 

Just remember the best search is though google. Go though all of the FAQ's and you will see the way to narrow down where google will only search one web site for what you want, if you don't know how to do that already.

 

FINALLY got this thing working again. HSI had a factory image disc so I ordered it and installed the factory fresh software. After upgrading to SP3 and fixing a driver issue we are 100% good to go. And since the tablet PC software had all the things this machine needed I even got all my cabinet buttons and tablet functions working again.

Thanks everyone for all of your input on my noob to Toughbooks questions. I am definitely looking at getting a few more of these machines to tinker with and see just what they can do.

 

And so it starts. Hehehe

 

Another one, bitten by

the Toughbook Virus !

 

Yup, Im bitten. I love the versatility that having a ruggedized notebook offers me. With all the traveling I tend to do its nice to be able to pack a small machine and not have to worry too much should it get bumped or its case get knocked off the back seat by the pup thats usually riding shotgun. Ultimately I want to get a second machine to play around with Linux or to figure out a newer version of Windows on since XP support is ending. Reading through threads on here has given me a few ideas on possibly making modifications to adapters to get a newer SATA drive in this machine. I already have a second caddy and connector set aside for just that reason.

 

Please see thread entitled... "Did I do something wrong?"

 

I got that CF-18 working. Just bought a MK 4 for 100 bucks so I can play with it a bit. Ill probably just order the recovery media from HSI for this one like I ended up having to do with the MK 1. All of the helpful stuff here, from drivers to advice, has been great. Im seriously bitten by the Toughbook virus at this point. Maybe in the not to distant future I can find a newer model to dink around with but for now this just makes me happy.

 

Stolen from the web.. This needs to be a sticky....

Windows Tablet PC...
This edition is intended for specially designed notebook/laptop computers called tablet PCs. Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is compatible with a pen-sensitive screen, supporting handwritten notes and portrait-oriented screens. Initially, a retail version could not be purchased separately from a tablet PC, but in August 2004 it became universally available at no cost as part of Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. Unlike Windows XP Media Center Edition which is not available in a retail or volume license form, a volume license version was also made available.

Tablet PC Edition is a superset of Windows XP Professional, the difference being tablet functionality, including alternate text input (Tablet PC Input Panel) and basic drivers for support of tablet PC specific hardware. Requirements to install Tablet PC Edition include a tablet digitizer or touchscreen device, and hardware control buttons including a Ctrl-Alt-Delete shortcut button, scrolling buttons, and at least one user-configurable application button.

There have been two releases:

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition – The original version released in November 2002.
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 – The Tablet PC version released in August 2004 (codenamed Lonestar) as part of Windows XP Service Pack 2. The 2005 edition is available as a service pack upgrade, or as a new OEM version.

Service Pack 2 for Windows XP includes Tablet PC Edition 2005 and is a free upgrade. This version brought improved handwriting recognition and improved the Input Panel, allowing it to be used in almost every application. The Input Panel was also revised to extend speech recognition services (input and correction) to other applications.
Included software
HP TC1100 tablet PC running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and Energy Blue Theme

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is based on Windows XP Professional and includes all the software features provided in it. In addition, it includes some of the following components:

Tablet PC Input Panel
Windows Journal
Sticky Notes
InkBall
Energy Blue theme

The following downloadable packs released by Microsoft add more functionality:

Microsoft Experience Pack
Ink Art
Ink Crossword
Ink Desktop
Media Transfer
Snipping Tool 2.0

Education Pack
Ink Flash Cards
Equation Writer
GoBinder Lite
Hexic Deluxe

Technology
A Typical Tablet PC Screenshot, showing a docked TIP from Tablet PC Edition 2005 and Internet Explorer 6

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition utilizes the Ink object as a means of data input and storage. This is a data type created as part of the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition API that allows users to manipulate and process handwritten data, including recognition results and, in some cases, the pressure information for each part of the stroke. Properties of Ink can be changed in much the same way as properties of other objects, and the data can be saved to allow future reference. Many applications referencing the Ink object also allow handwritten notes to be filtered and searched through, based on the recognition results stored when Ink is saved.

Integrated with the operating system is a Tablet PC Input Panel (TIP) which allows handwriting to be converted into text for use in most non-full-screen applications. The integrated handwriting recognition in Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 can recognize print, cursive, or mixed writing. Accuracy can be increased by configuring the recognizer to expect left-handed writing or right-handed writing. Recognition in a variety of languages is available with the install of a recognizer pack. The handwriting engine cannot be trained to recognize a particular handwriting style, so the user must modify their handwriting to be better recognized by the system in order to use this feature effectively.

Speech recognition functionality is also incorporated into the Tablet Input Panel. Compared to previous versions, a substantially improved speech recognition engine version 6 (which also ships with Office 2003) and a tutorial, microphone wizard and training modules are included. It is possible to dictate text using speech in certain supported applications and control the Windows GUI and applications using speech, although the accuracy improvements further made in Windows Vista surpass these features. An update for Windows XP Tablet PC Edition containing Ink Analysis and StylusInput API support introduced in Windows Vista is also available.

 

Shawn , is this a good place to put it. http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/364633-cf-18-f-q-read-me-before-posting.html . If you think it should be in another place let me know.

 

That's as good a place as any I suppose.

 

They won't read it anyway
CAP