Introduction and my first question

Greetings all. Thought I would chime in and say hi. I have a Toughbook that I picked up about 2 years ago. I am a Toyota Master Diagnostic Tech for a local Toyota dealer. A few years ago Toyota went with CF-19's ( sent to dealers as special service tool ) configured with a back pack/vehicle interface to use for vehicle diagnostics on the various systems current Toyota's have. Some have over 30 ECU's !! Also all their manuals are online now, so we have been moving into the 21st century.
They released an interface cable that plugs into the USB port and with a software download from their site, makes any pc a diagnostic tester like the dealers. But it only works through a dealership network, so not anybody can download from home.My service manager got me the cable kit and I picked up a CF-29HTM50BM from TigerDirect for about $375 ( refurbished ). It has 1.4 ghz processor and 1GB ram, CD drive and 40 GB HD with a touch screen. It has worked great for me but recently Toyota had an update and the minimum spec has increased to 1.5ghz minimum. I have also noticed a little sluggishness at times with the programs.
I was thinking maybe trying to find a CF-29 Mk4/5 which has the 1.6ghz processor and can use more ram. But that is just a thought right now. In the meantime, I have really enjoyed my CF-29 and have been very impressed with it ( my first one ).

Rick

P.S. I have been looking through the threads and loving this forum

 

Well for the price they are now I would move up to the CF-19 or CF-30. The Mk1 of those models have really went down in price, for a little more you could get a Mk2.

If you moved up in the CF-29 models you would only be gaining .2 Ghz in speed and 256MB of ram more on the standard models. The speed of the ram is clocked slightly higher DDR vs DDR 2 RAM. The 29 still has IDE hard drive. I still have my Mk3 CF-29 and working on selling it. It has been replaced by my CF-30.

It's day/night comparison between the two on speed. 1.6 Ghz dual core with up to 4 Gb of ram, SATA hard drive. As far as strength it is the same or better than a CF-29. If you have more than one battery they can still be used in the CF-30 model. The Mk1 is core duo 32 bit only, Mk2 is core 2 duo and can us x64 OS. This should future proof your equipment for a while.

Also to consider is the CF-19. Max out at 4GB of ram and has a 1.06 Ghz dual core, SATA hard drive. You already know the size of it and what it looks like from what you posted. The Mk1 is core duo 32 bit only, Mk2 is core 2 duo and can us x64 OS.

One thing to think about in your purchase is touchscreens. The Mk1 CF-19 and CF-30 have a history of the touch going out. Time the Mk2 came out this problem has dropped away a lot.


I have both the CF-30 and CF-19 and find them to be great machines. I just upgrade to a Mk2 CF-30 and working on installing windows 7 with a ssd drive in it.

 

Welcome to NBR Forums. :hi2:

Later models (Cf-19/CF-30) have much better hardware than the CF-29's, but the difference between a MK3 & MK4/5 CF-29 is not life changing.

Your old SBC unit still has the stock 40GB hard drive which is an Hitachi 4200rpm, it's ultra-reliable & gives low heat output with an acceptable battery life....the problem is, the 4200rpm & 2MB cache....too slow for anybody that wants things done NOW.

Since you have already dropped the coin, you would be better to read the stickies on the forum front page that give the low-down on upping-the-anti on an unfashionable CF-29, specifically the posts about maxing out the ram & replacing the hard drive.

Play with the old girl (not in a sexual way!!) & get familiar with what you have, that will help you decide what you actually need when looking at a later model that comes with all the fancy bits.

 

Thanks for the comments. I did some research and maybe the CF-30 is a better way to go for me. I usually have a lot of things going on and it looks like it would multi task much better.

On touch screens, the MK2 doesn't have problems? I do like my touch screen and the next Toughbook I buy will have to have one

I bought my CF-29 about 2 years ago, so I am familiar with how it works ( but am always learning more). I started reading over the threads on mine to pickup some more knowledge I maybe missing,lol.

Thanks for the comments guys, glad to be here,

 

I haven't really seen too many problems with touch not working on Mk2 and up on the 19/30 models. Toward the end of the 18/29 model run they started having some bad touch screen problems and that carried on into the 19/30 first generation Mk1. After that I think they got it all sorted out. I just got 4 Mk2's off ebay and the touch works on all of them. It has been hit and miss on the Mk1.

I am sure you can tweak you CF-29 some more for right now.

http://www.blackviper.com/sitemap/

I highly recommend this site.

 

Right....I miss-understood that you've had it for two years.

The touchscreen panel was changed after the problems with the CF-30 MK1 so the MK2 & later are good.

Multi-tasking will be far better than any CF-29 & you'll have a Sata Interface as well.

The point you are missing with your current unit is that upgrading the low performing 4200rpm drive with a 5400rpm/8MB cache/lower access time drive (at minimal cost) will give a performance increase of around x2.5....just the sort of boost you need for disk intensive read/write operations.

So....you've been using the stock 40GB drive for two years....you must have the Patience of a Saint.

Are you you hiding one you aren't telling us about?....one running Win95?

 

Patience?? Yes I have plenty :laugh: . And it does still have XP Pro on it.

I have been running the Cf-29 just as I got it way back when. I have just thought it was the way it was plus I deal with poor network speeds at work. Too many people and not enough bandwidth ( blame it on the bean counters ). I use Tuneup Utilities ( first tried at home and loved it ), keeping things cleaned up and shutting off some running programs. This has helped a lot but I think I need something more. In my occupation, you are paid flat rate, so the quicker you can get your job done and move on to the next, the more you will make.

A typical day would find IE open to probably 2 tabs; the Toyota main site where I find all my reference materials and the 2nd tab will be just casual surfing when time allows. While working, if I click on a link for a page out of the manual, it will pop up another browser (?). I may have a couple of these open or a PDF or 2. Then I also may need my Diagnostic program open when checking out a Check Engine Light, etc. So my Toughbook does get a work out during a typical day.

If a hard drive replacement will give me a big boost without going to a CF-30, that would be great. I can always keep an open eye for a CF-30 should one come up at the right time. I will try and search for the thread about drives for ideas ( have looked over the replacement thread already ). What about RAM, should I go for more or am I maxed out ?

Our dealership has CF-18's now ( thought they were CF-19's,sorry), acquired in 2006 with the following specs; 10 inch touchscreen, single core 1.2ghz, 2gb ram, XP.
During the next few months into next year, Toyota is having us upgrade to their new program with CF-31's; 13 inch, 2.5ghz dual core, 4gb ram, Win 7. It is also coming with an oscilloscope ( hardware/software) package. I also have the same package but haven't really used it much yet. It may get used in the future, so that will be another program running on the Cf-29 I have.

Thanks for all the help you have given so far. I have been reading through the CF-29 thread, but lots of pages to read. But can't learn unless you absorb it all.

Rick

 

good to read about some decent daily use for a 29!
But I would indeed look for a 30 or 19 and to keep it a bit future proof, try to find one with a 64bit processor. Then max the ram out (current ram usually gets cheaper, but old ram gets more expensive in time) and when you have some spare cash in the future, find a nice SSD.

 

Those CF-18 are Mk4 or Mk5. The 19 is the exact same size, and some parts will even swap.

It sounds like you will be looking at Mk2 or Mk3 CF-30. They are close in specs. Only real difference is graphics X3100 vs 4500 both intel intergrated.

 

It sounds like we are both in the same boat....some of the manuals & hydraulic schematics I use are compiled in Java so it pops open a new browser for parts another one for disassembly & assembly & yada,yada,yada. My point is....they are not that resource hungry, just too much data to retain in your existing drives 2MB cache.

RAM....The CF-29's have one module soldered on the mob & a spare slot for upgrades, the soldered (non-removable) is either 256MB or 500MB. Yours will be 500MB onboard (the mobo) so you must have 500MB in the slot to give 1GB. Mine are maxed out because they came with nothing in the slot & a 1GB module was easier to obtain than a smaller one. But....32Bit XP will only use upto 750MB so maxing out gives no benefit unless you use another OS. (someone chime in if I'm wrong).

Nice new CF-31....yes please.

A Late model CF-19 or a CF-31 sound like massive overkill for the type of workload you are doing but your employer/Toyota can only buy what Panasonic are currently manufacturing.

I did some synthetic benchmarks on my old drives so I'll dig the info out a give you some idea of what you can expect before dropping any coins.

Something that you need to take into account is that THIS IS A FORUM....we've all got different ideas of what constitutes good, bad & indifferent, you don't look to be doing anything a CF-29 can't do, you just want it doing a bit faster....you may even find others are doing the same workload with a late model CF-28 with upgraded drive.

EDIT: Benchmark Info.

The Hitachi is your existing drive, the Samsung is the upgrade....note that the CF-29 FAQ has been updated to reflect the compatibility issues of later Samsung drives with the CF-29.

The Western Digital 160GB with 8MB cache (Pata drive NOT Sata) will give a similar performance to the Samsung. Not sure of the current price but mine cost less than $60.00 shipped....those living in the Land of Opportunuty should get a better price. You could even try posting in the Buy/Sell/Trade section for a used one.


Add another $25.00 (ish) for a set of Panasonic OEM Restore Disks for a clean installation on your new drive.

Another issue is the older your CF-29 gets the more chance you have of Touchscreen failure....so in reality, the cost is rising. You may take the view that a CF-30 is a better approach....my view is that $400 is a lot less than $4000, run it into the ground & then drop another $400 on something that cost the original owner $4000.

Have fun.

 

Very well said OG...should have that pasted at the top of this forum

 

I hope my Touchscreen holds up for a while longer. It's very nice not to have to use the Touchpad everyday..

And I know everyone has a different idea of what is best. I usually never go for the most up to date PC, but do try and not get to far behind. I am always keeping up on technology and try to weigh all the options. Only I know exactly what I may need but it is nice to bounce ideas off others...