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    Can refurbished Cf-29 show 0 hours in bios?

    Discussion in 'Panasonic' started by Driller, Sep 1, 2010.

  1. Driller

    Driller Notebook Evangelist

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    I've skirted this question in a round about way sometime ago, don't want to boldly go where man has never gone before, BUT.... a referbisher claims that the process leaves cf-29 showing up 0 hours in the bios. If this is the kind of question that does NOT need to be addressed or undressed on this wonderful forum, MODERATORS, PLEASE DELETE THIS. this isn't Star Trek and I ain't the Captain..........Driller
     
  2. Rob

    Rob Toughbook Aficionado

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    Then just discuss it on my forums... it isn't illegal in any way shape or form but you know how goofy the moderators here are...
     
  3. Pinecone

    Pinecone Notebook Consultant

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    If he has his hands on the correct BIOS utility, then it's perfectly feasible - the accumulated time is just a BIOS timer.

    I'd be suprised if Panasonic had let it out of their grasp though, and it's not needed for service so there would be little reason for Heartland to have it either.
     
  4. lxsys

    lxsys Notebook Consultant

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    Without Panasonic's tools, If you had the appropriate EEPROM read/write tools you may be able to use the laptop for two hours, read EEPROM, use for two more, read EEPROM, repeat process for accuracy, and compare read EEPROM images. Then, you should be able to pinpoint a value to be edited to zero and rewritten to the EEPROM - however this won't work if the EEPROM is encrypted or has a checksumming feature that you don't know about, so it *MIGHT* be possible, with a bit of knowledge.
     
  5. adamwest436

    adamwest436 Notebook Evangelist

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    What Mk/model 29 shows this or asset numbers?
     
  6. Driller

    Driller Notebook Evangelist

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    the mark 4 and mark 5 models of the cf-29 show accumulative operating time in hours when you hit f2 on start up in the bios. the mark 1,2,3's do not. don't know why they just did this on the mk4's and mk5's. anyway, a seller on ebay says that after refurbishing some of their cf-29's it shows 0 hours in the bios. call me paranoid or is it paranormal? am I reading too much here or is this a way to mask the true number of hours that a laptop has on the clock......Driller
     
  7. adamwest436

    adamwest436 Notebook Evangelist

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    Besides the bios battery, not sure what you would need to swap out in a timely manor. Either it works or it doesn't. Anyone on craigs can say " I only used it 4 times and then got a better one to replace it" just before marking it $300 more than it should have been.
     
  8. interestingfellow

    interestingfellow Notebook Deity

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    i beleive u can use the debug command to modify any/all the assets in a bios. could just be the backup battery... i dunno.