Jump on this Crazy $400 CF-30 deal?

PANASONIC TOUGHBOOK CF-30 and he is selling(lowered) it for $400.

However there is a catch, the biggest ones is LCD screen goes out after a few second being turned on.

So I went by to his apartment and took my time checking out the laptop.
The screen does go out after a few seconds, however when I flash my light on the screen, I can see the BIOS text. I also hooked up an external monitor to the VGA out and it looks fine. I also brought in a hdd to test it and at first it sees the hdd with out any problem. However, after I straighten up the hdd wiring. It doesn't see the hdd anymore.

It is also missing a few things:

Missing a few screws at the very upper top of the keyboard

Missing the hard drive but still have the cage and packageing, but missing all screws.

Missing AC/DC Cover.

Everything else looks from mint to very good condition.

I also wrote down the model and serial number, if anyone can check to see if it is stolen it will be great.

CF-30CTQAZBM

AB0123456789
7GKSA58369


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

The LCD screen is probably an easy fix... just needs a new inverter, if not then be prepared to spend BIG BUX to replace the whole screen.

Screws are easy to get

hard drives are cheap as hell, thank god you have the cage, cuz those can cost more than the drives.

DC cover is easy to get either via heartland or ebay (Their is one guy selling lots of covers, I think he probably parted one out).

config.toughbook.com is where you can get info on that model.

CTQAZBM is a base model, nothing special, but a good machine none the less.

If it was me I'd go for it, but then again I'm VERY tech savvy so be aware that if you are 100% confident, you might end up hurting ur pockets if you start getting in to things you don't understand.

If all else fails, give me his email, and I would like to buy it

 

and another thing, unless it has physical damage it would still be in warranty. i would snatch it up in a heartbeat

 

Excellent point!

Traveler, as long as the LCD isn't physically damaged and there is no kind of liquid/spillage causing the issue it will be covered under warranty.

Buy it and call Panasonic at 1-800-LAPTOP5 for warranty service. Just mention the LCD issue - the tech that handles it will see and replace things like missing screws and missing/torn covers for customer satisfaction.

You can even kick me a PM if you have any more questions. I know one or two things about repairing toughbooks

 

Wow, thanks for these excellent replies. I will most certainly jump on it, soon as the S/N has been cleared by TBtech29. Definitely will keep you guys posted! Thank you!

 

TBtech/TBtech29?? 2 different people right? I just noticed that lol

 

yes 2 different people

 

One is his UNDERCOVER name... Looks like we got a mole Bond..

 

Any word on this? I wanna know what was causing the screen to shut off in a few seconds.

-James

 

from what is described by the op, it sounds like a backlight issue. maybe an inverter.

 

Sorry for the delayed update. I got the laptop. When called in for warranty repair, they won’t accept it because the Toughbook was register under the former owner. I figure this was going to happen. My next step is to bring it to my local repair shop to fix the inverter and any other issues. Here are some pics.

 

This does have me confused a bit. If the 30 was under warranty, why would the original owner not get it fixed?

 

It was not under warranty he just paid a local shop to get ti fixed.


-James

 

Its still a valid point, why would anyone part with it when they could get warranty work. The original owner should have done that? Cant you also transfer the registration on panasonics web site?

 

I am curious, as to the history of this fairly new laptop

But more important is why the display has failed

Keep us informed on the repairs

This is toughbooks flagship model with a 1000nit screen

Many of us here have the same laptop

Do we have something to worry about?




Alex

 

As far as what panasonic has said the toughbook warranties are NON tranferable.

Also this could have been a refurbished unit with only a 90 day warranty thru panasonic and that is why it was not repaired.

Also the person that had this CF-30 before the current owner could have bought it second hand too and the warranty would be lost.

-James

 

All good points I didn't really consider lol. Anways Im looking forward to hearing about this unit getting repaired. Could turn out the be quite the steal if its not a hard fix!

 

Great news! I just got the laptop back after about a month or two (I sorta stop counting) of nervous waiting.
Here are the following problems they found and fixed: power chip, inverter, and back light.
It looks great and the finally screen stays on , my next step in this long journey is replacing: hard drive caddy cable, AC Cover, and few screws.
Any help would would be appreciated.

 

Did the shop that repaired your cf-30 use original panasonic parts?
I'm thinking that the back-light which is 1000nit brightness must of cost a bit if they installed the proper panasonic part
It's funny and suspicious that the inveter and the backlight went bad at the same time
What did the repairs cost , so far?



Alex

 

Very interesting... For starters I didnt know the warranty was non trans. If it was me i would have researched who the original owner was. Maybe he could have sent it in for you? Unless it was refurbed of course.

 

I think you'll find that the erson he bought it fro was probably the 3rd or 4th owner... So when you ask about the original owner fixing it... Perhaps it wasn't even broken then. Then it could be a refub like someone sugested.

I'd be curious to find out about the backlight too.

Traveler... Do you have part numbers that went in/came out? That would be apprecated.

 

Yeah I want to know what your end cost into this was?

 

I have a buddy that works in a computer shop, which he help sent it out for repair
The total cost was around $100, including parts and labor. Sorry, I didn't get any p/n.
When I asked him it is OEM or not, he told me not to worry because these large shop order bulk parts from china which is where these laptop maker orders parts anyways. I also have 3 months of warranty.
This is guessing now, we came up with two reason the laptop develop these problems: 1) the previous owner hooked up the to an unstable power source.
2) The power chip some how surge which fried the inverter than the backlight.
Sorry I can’t really get into the full detail of it, since I am unable to contact the person that fixed it. (I will try to get a hold of him some day)
The laptop isn’t totally fixed, I still need to find replacement parts for the hard drive caddy cable. Please help.

 

www.heartlandsi.com and ebay are your friend! Your best bet will probably be ebay as heartland will nail you with shipping!

 

$100 parts + labour for

power chip, inverter, and back light

I happy I don't own or work in that computer shop



Alex

 

If it was a refurb then they didn't do a very good job of refurbing it. Some one paid a ton of money for this and the owner couldn't even transfer the warranty. That sucks.

 

So I finally got it all fixed up.
I want to say a big THANK YOU for everyone’s help.
Also, the post: Toughbook Drivers & Manuals Sources. Was a big help or else I would be clue less in where to find the part number. That post sent me to the following.

TIMELINE:

http://www.modly.org/servicemanuals/ (Manual)
To help find the exact part I was looking for.

http://www.pstc.panasonic.com/EpartR/PartslistChoice.asp (Part number)
I first contacted them, they reply:

I am giving you a source for hardware support for our Panasonic laptop computers,
Heartland Services: This is the source for internal hard drives and other specialized replacement parts for our laptop computers. In the USA please call: 1-888-685-8855. Outside of the United States please call 1-913-685-8855 or visit their web site at http://www.heartlandsi.com/
Thank you for your inquiry,
Linda
National Parts Center


http://www.heartlandsi.com/contact/contact_us.aspx (Sales)
So, I went with heartland.

Quantity= x
1x K1-1 DL3UP1557AAA HDD PACK FPC UNIT $33.98 each
4x K1-17 DRQT2+E8FKL TERMINAL SCREW, STEEL $.68 each = $2.72
1x K1-16 DFHE5025XA TERMINAL SCREW,STEEL $.68 each
2x N-5 DRQT26+D4FKL TERMINAL SCREW,STEEL.$.68 each = $1.36
2x K-58 DFKE0872ZA-0 ANTENNA COVER $1.25 each= $2.50
2x K114 DFHR6255ZA-0 DC IN COVER free of charge per Panasonic
1x K113 DFHR6254ZA-0 USB COVER free of charge per Panasonic
1x K112 DFHR6253ZA-0 SERIAL COVER free of charge per Panasonic

Shipping: $25

Total: $66.24

http://www.toughbookdrivers.com/drivers/cf-30/index.php?dir=MK1 (CF-30C,D)/Windows XP/ (Drivers)
This was a big help.

*Guess which is the working cable on the last pic.

 

Answer=The cable on the right

Besides the display I see that you had issues with the hard drive?


Alex

 

I'd sure jump on it myself... and I'm the original cheap b@stahd...

mnem
Cheese is hard to deal with; it's even harder to shuffle.

 

Nope, it didn't come with one.