General Questions about Cf-28

Ok well I am such a newbie to toughbooks. I am a college kid who just got his hand on an older CF-28 600Mhz P3. The exact model number is a CF28MBFAZEM.

Any help in the following would be awesome!

- First off what is the max size HDD this model can handle as I want to upgrade its old 20Gb.
- Where would I find a Ethernet module to replace the modem module?
- Also when I installed XP pro for the first time my keyboard didn't seemed to be mapped properly. And when I installed the touchscreen drivers, it was all screwed up and the mouse started skipping with the touchpad.
- Also I have the chicklet keyboard style and for some reason the keys stick I guess when I turn it on and it beeps nostop till i run my hands around the keyboard and unstick keys. Anyone know a fix for that?

I'm a desktop tech not a laptop tech and have lots of questions to ask lol. Can anyone help a lost college kid??

Thanks for any suggestions for answers I get, this forum is awesome. =)

 

steelraptor,
Welcome to the forum. A quick read of the CF-28 frequently asked questions at the top of this page will answer 95% of your questions in about 10 minutes. You might not find answers to the dancing cursor there, most likely is dirt, gps, or drivers. Hook up with the basics and come back with your questions and we'll have you set up in no time.
CAP

 

Ok thank you very much! Sorry I am lost to all this it is very new to me. I will try not to cause problems. =)

 

Welcome to the forum bro! You will find that we like to entertain ourselves with lame stupid jokes and talk about who can make a better avatar by spraying their Toughbooks with water and snow.

Welcome to the madhouse! haha

P.S. I wish I knew more about CF-28's ... Rick (username: "Toughbook") knows a crap load about CF-28's!

 

Haha you guys sound like lots of fun to be around, hmm maybe an avatar with fire instead of water? LOL Thanks for the info btw, I will track him down and bug him about my oldish/new to me CF-28. =p

 

SR,,
Its not a problem, I just want you to get by maximum/best hard drive and stuff so we can figure out your mouse/keyboard issues which might pose an interesting challenge.
CAP

 

Ok so I familiarized myself with most of the CF-28 basics, but still need help =(

Every time I boot up right after the BIOS screen the machine starts beeping very fast, error beeping I should say. I saw something about keys sticking, so i run my hands all across the keyboard and hit the 5,6 keys a bunch of times. It then stops beeping and boots up. Is this a sign of a bad keyboard or can I fix those keys?

Also all my key mappings are screwed up.... In XP shift causes a 1 or cap W to pop up and esc is ` Seems like something went wrong. Anyone have a fix for this?

Plus when I install the touchscreen drivers the mouse starts skipping and the touchscreen functions erratically. Any suggestions?

 

steelraptor,
I would guess you have a bad keyboard. Someone might have another idea. If you do get a new keyboard be VERY VERY careful with the front cable connector!!! They break very easily. Let's see if someone has another theory on the keyboard. For the touch pad/touch screen, a very careful cleaning around the outside of the screen and touch pad edges with a flattened toothpick has been helpful for others. Dirt lodges there and acts like a touch. Look down the threads a bit for a recent discussion on the subject.
CAP

 

I think we need the full model number to go further...

 

Wake up! he posted in the first post!

 

LOL hey we are only human. I miss stuff all the time, being ADD isn't fun or good for college! =p

 

To respond to the keyboard issue. I just messaged the guy I bought it from on ebay. I have no money to get a keyboard at the moment, im a poor college kid, but I am going to see if I can get a new one for free! =p

 

Poor college kid!!! Don't even give me that crap! When I was in college, I was still working 60 hours a week!! and I managed to graduate in 2 years 11 months with a Bachelors in Network Communications Management!

I'm not being mean, I'm just being blunt

 

I spent 1,200 on book within the first two semesters, and it doesn't help that I am in a town of less than 2,000 in the middle of nowhere... Farmville.... Not many jobs for a PC tech outside of the school itself.

Where did you go for your Bachelors? I am here in VA.

 

WOW Rob I didn't really know what you did for work untill just now

Now I know why you can have the best toughbook cf-30

Did some research and found this info:


"Earn $18.59 per hour in a growing career field"

Now, thats just the first computer school I looked up, but probably one of the most popular ones
"ICS" Thats the school that the popular actress Sally Struthers promotes a at-home degree program
I wish I was smart enough to go back and learn about networking
And make lots of money too


Alex

 

Wow now I feel like I am the youngest one on this whole forum.... Only 18 but still rocking a toughbook! hehe

 

I was 17 when I bought my NEW CF-29 back 2nd semester junior year of high school. I aquired about 5 normal laptops prior and sold them all on ebay and bought one CF-29 toughbook... then 3 years later I sold my CF-29 for more than I bought it for $3900 and bought a CF-30 for $3600 and upgraded the hell outta it. $18.59/hour is pretty crappy... I make way more than that... I'm on salary though, not hourly, but I'm only working 40 hours a week too!!

You are young steel lol, but then again I'm only 22

 

I worked to go to school, I didn't go to school to work. I've been working 40+ hours a week since the age of 15 when I was an IT admistrator for my high school working with over 1000 computers (mostly mac) and servers and Cisco Routers...

It's all about the motivation. Some people are just not motivated. I'm also the youngest at my company by 2 years...

 

But yet again your still older than me =p. Speaking of upgrading, you know of any good sites besides ebay to pick up toughbook only parts, like the internal Ethernet or the wifi?

 

ummmm, ebay? haha... or you could always try offthebackofatruck.com hahah j/k

 

O niceeee =p. I saved up as much money as I could for school and have been working since I was 13 btw. Running my own little companies doing lawn businesses. But ever since I got my A+ cert when I was 15 I done computer work for 35$ hr on my own. =) But now the school has their own little RTA thing so not much work here. I am trying to get my Network + and Security + but it sucks! No work out here at all =(

 

$35/hour?!?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING!?!?!? I charge $75/hour... just this week I was able to rack in $675 extra + I sold a server that I made $300 on and a battery backup at cost ... that's 9 hours of work. Also I have NO certs at all lol

 

Hey hey... I am 18. I charge dirt cheap to get that work no matter what. I got the cert for free at HS, but still, servers I charge like flat rates and make serious bank on. But dammit... I am jealous.... Sucks I can't get that out of the people here at college. They just want free stuff... Do you work freelance or work under a company?

 

I live in Lombard, which is a suburb of Chicago... I'm very privileged to have this opportunity... and even at that, it was mostly due to my old company - Proton Computers Inc.

I worked hand in hand with the owner to raise that company from me and him up to 11 employees. I was the general manager and the owner was, well the owner . Anyways I would make only $13/hour at the store (I started working there at age 16 and stopped at 21) (I've only been with my current company since April of 08)... anyways I would make half of the hourly onsite cost with is $75/hour - So I got $37.50/hour. Anyways after this my old boss screwed me on something so I screwed him tenfold back, (because at that point I didn't need to help that company because I had my new company), anyways, he ended up apologizing to me (because I was taking all his top clients (that I GOT THAT COMPANY)) and charging $75/hour and just asking the client to write the check out to me personally (which they didn't mind doing AT ALL). Anyways he found out about this and said: "From now on when you do work for one of Proton's client, can we split it $50/$25... and I agreed. So now we're better than ever and I split $50/hour from his old clients and any new client I get I just do through me directly for $75/hour.

I can rest assured that if that company somehow explodes overnight filthy rich that I will be rich too because I had such a large stake in that company back in the day.

Even to this day, if I lost my current job, I could just walk into Proton and start working and my boss will just pay me and ask NO questions.

Like I said, you have to go out and get it! woot woot!.

Enough about my life lol

 

Sorry... The thread droned so long and so far off the point I forgot what the question was...

 

LOL. The main problem I have in the end is does anyone know why my keyboard is mapped wrong? The left shift key types in ! 1 or W and also the unit Beeps after the post from a sticking key I think. Shall I upload a video? Will that help?

 

Well you coulda just said that haha I hijacked the thread again, sorry

Did you try re-seating the keyboard? (like the ribbon cables)

 

If you cannot get your keyboard to work properly I have a couple of suggestions. Remove the keyboard from the laptop (REMEMBER THOSE CABLE CONNECTORS!), get some electronic connector cleaner (spray can from Radio Shack or the like), then hose down the front and back. Don't worry, it is much like auto brake cleaner and it evaporates very quickly (but won't melt the plastic). If that does not fix the problem, I may have a spare keyboard if you do not mind the gray/beige combo style. I always change mine to either the black/gray or the illuminated rubber.

 

Thanks for the advice and offer Trooper, I am going to try and get in contact with the ebay seller as he gave me a warranty for 30 days, so hopefully I can get it exchanged for a new one OR get my money back and find someone on here who is willing to selling their cf-28 for 200$.

O yeah I am uploading a video to youtube of the problem and will post the link here soon.

 

You can try to return it but he will probably want you to pay the shipping back to him. I would try reseating the keyboard as suggested. You will never find a perfect CF-28 that is virgin and new unless you pay top dollar... And most likely it has even been reworked at one point. (I rework Toughbooks for a living now.) You'll pay a minimum of $500 for one in good condition that has everything you want.

What is the overall condition of the laptop? Did you install ALL of the correct drivers? You seem to have a good desktop unit... Now we need to get your laptop operating as well as that one. (Just not as fast!)

 

If you are serious about selling/returning yours and getting another, I have a 600Mhz we can talk about privately. If you are looking to purchase email me @ [email protected]. Cannot do it here or we will face the wrath of Kahn!

 

O yeah for those interested in seeing the problem here is the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsfZZ6QXMCg

 

Bad keyboard, or bad cable. Sorry. What you are experiencing is not a driver issue, but hardware.

 

Ok good, from all of your guys help in this thread I had lots of reasons to convince the seller to exchange it for me! Yay!