F2 option not working properly

Hi,
Have bought a CF29 mark 2 off of ebay (.....perhaps I shouldnt have?) and have the following problem:

m/c doesn't boot windows. It just prompts one to do CTRL ALT DELETE which does nothing.

Also, at initial boot up the F2 option to visit bios does nothing. (the prompt to enter the bios password does not even appear).


Have I bought a dud? Has somebody been tinkering around with the bios?
Does the m/c have to be sent back to toughbook for re-setting?

Any help would be greatly appreciated......

Thanks in anticipation



nb. I dont have a cd drive - just a floppy drive - and I dont have a re-boot floppy

 

Ok! what you've got here: First, is it as-is when you bought it. I mean no return. If that will be case, you will have a long road ahead of you but we are here to help you.

Remove battery, media bay accesories, ram and harddrive with a caddy then hook it up to ac and power it up. If nothing happen. May I ask you if you don't mind. Are you willing to dismantle the unit and have enough skill to do it. Use proper tools like the screw drivers so that not to strip the screw head. Let us know first if you have those minimun reguirements.

ohlip

 

Hi,
yes it looks like no return.....
Have done what you ask and powered it up.....it gets the PXE-E61 media test failure msg (which I assume is just the 'i cant find an Operating system in the a:,d:, or c: drive or network').
As regards dismantling - i've never done it before but willing to give it a try....

Cheers
roadrunner35

 

Good news so far. You have a working MBo. Now! if you can't access to bios by pressing the F2 key. It means there is something wrong with the keyboard either it is not connected on the pcb or you have a broken keyboard. Best bet is open it up. How? pls. post you mail address so that I can send you a service manual or you may ask Tomcat57 a moderator of this forum to ask a copy. This manual is very important as you haven't tried openning this model before. It will guide every step how to access those keyboard connector and other component.

One thing also probably your harddrive is empty, no OS loaded. You need to access the bios to setup the menu in order to install an OS. also try to press esc key during boot up it maybe only a few key not working. Pressing the esc key will give you choices for which you want to boot up first.

ohlip

 

Hi Ohlip,
thanks for the good news so far!
my email address is [email protected].
Pressing the esc key whilst booting doesnt seem to do anything....perhaps this confirms the faulty keyboard?
As regards the hard drive being empty -I have taken it out of the caddy and plugged it in to a usb port of another windows laptop and it seems to have all (??) the appropriate windows XP folders. There is very little other user data on the drive so perhaps the drive has been 'cleaned' in some way.....

 

Have you tried an external keyboard? Recommend a PS-2 type keyboard, although a USB type may also work.

 

Do not hit the escape key, hit F2 to enter the BIOS. Try that and report back.

 

Maybe your not hitting it at the right time? You must start hitting F2 immediately after seeing the centrino screen.

 

Defintley try the external KB 1st. What happens if you hit F9 while booting?

 

Many thanks for everyones help - especially Ohlip - I have connected a usb keyboard and can get into the machine okay.

I guess I'm now in search of a replacement keypad!!!!

Thanks again

Dave

 

Try the members in the forum first as there should be a few keyboards floating around, if not, good old Ebay.