Looking to purchase a used toughbook cf-19 or cf-31!

Hey looking to get a toughbook for working in my garage. I will mainly use it for PDFs, youtube videos, VLC, tuning software, and run win 10.

I want a model with a smart card reader and rubber keyboard. It looks like both cf-19 and cf-31 will support that? Also do both models support dual batteries if I want to go that route?

So what model and generation would you recommend? Any recommended ebay sellers?

 

private conversation started.

 

Shawn will take good care of you whatever you decide! But let me also toss out a few points since this is EXACTLY how I use mine. And also I have built a small fleet of them being used in the same way.

First off, what primary tuning software are you using? A lot of them don't work well in W10. I had actually posted up recently that I couldn't even access com port settings, and somebody posted a page showing it. Your luck may vary lol.

But again a lot of the older tuning softwares are not so easy to use with W10. If your're using Tuner Studio, then any OS should work fine. W10 would work, if you can figure out the port settings.

A lot of the cheap Chinese fake OEM diagnostic dongles DO NOT work on W10 well, if at all.

I will also tell you you (probably) do NOT WANT a rubber keyboard. At least not if you actually need to TYPE on it. If you want it for backlight, then the emissive chicklet keyboards for the CF-31s are cheap, but the prices are coming down on the CF-19 ones.

I can't even effectively tune with the rubber keyboard. And for tuning, if like me you do it at night, you almost have to have a backlit keyboard since you are using arrows and shortcut combos.

Overall the CF-19s will be cheaper. The CF-31 will have options for dual batteries or DVD drive. The CF-19, doesn't. I have never found it to be an issue though. Grab a second battery maybe? I just leave mine on a dock or charger until ready to roll out.

If you're in a machine shop with metal chunks flying, then yes go with the rubber keyboard. If you plan on pouring water on it once or twice a day, rubber keyboard. I have used normal keyboards though in automotive environment, ie professional shop, for going on 20yrs now. Most of that time has been with Toughbooks. I do go through some keyboards and in fact tend to keep 1-2 on hand. But maybe one every year or two. Still I keep them on hand as there are about 15 CF-19's I have built and sold to mechanics in this area. I had a CF-31 for sale too, but none of the mechanics wanted it.

The CF-19 is the machine most often used in the shop environment. It is also the one most often used by the OEM manufacturers for their scan-tool systems.

I have two CF-19s myself. An antique MK1, and a MK6 I just finished up. The MK1 gets used almost exclusively for tuning and automotive diagnostics with multiple programs in it. The MK6 is supposed to replace it and let me do more internet-y kinds of things. The MK1 sucks on the internet. I have sold about 6 MK5 recently, and most of their owners use them for both diagnostics and as home computers.

Not sure there is a noticeable enough jump in the MK5 to MK6 speed. I would choose by cost. Right now there are some MK6s going pretty cheaply on eBay, if you can piece the machine together.

There is zero reason why a CF-31 wouldn't work as well though. It has a bigger footprint, screen, and is heavier. That is most likely why my guys (and it is why I) choose the CF-19.

 

Mostly I'll use it with tweaking dynojet power commanders I have on my bike.

It will be used in a garage and some machine/wood working. That's why I am considering the rubber keyboard.

I was using a tablet with a rugged case on it. But I've been struggling to be able to do anything on it once I start working. From oil, grease, etc.

 

Well as many of us on here will tell you, typing on he rubber keyboards is near impossble. Even the chicklet backlit ones are a little bit harder than a stadard one.

I have never had issues with mine, but I also wear gloves. If I need to touch a scan tool or computer, I take them off. The rubber keyboard is very unlikely to survive oil, grease, and other automotive chemicals for long.

But you can easily find CF-19 wih them fo cheap. DO NOT pay extra premium prices fo one. Some sellers try to pretend it ian upgrade. Do yourself a favor tough, pick up cheap standard keybord too. I rarely pay more han 10-15 for stadard keyboards.

 

Yeah they are definitely not easy lol. I've been using them my whole military career and I am just an okay typer with them. But I just prefer them because it's alot easier to clean stuff out of.

To confirm the cf-19 and cf-31 both can be swapped to rubber keyboard if I can't find a good deal on one without?

I saw some eBay listings where they don't come with a hd. Do I need a caddy to install a SSD?

 

Yes you can swap keyboards on CF 19's and CF 31's. 15 minute job usually.

Yes you must have a caddy to install a hard drive or SSD.
That's why many of the Ebay ones are cheaper. They are not complete.

 

Thanks!

 

The connection between the caddy and the computer is an odd (likely) proprietary one. There is a cable between that connector and the drive, with the drive end being a standard SATA connector. The caddy is the holder to align the proprietary connectors.

The cables can be found separately from the caddy, but beware of the Chinese knock offs. It isn't worth the hassle to try to pull off.

I have run these from thumb drives with Linux installs on more than one occasion.

The reason you see so many missing the caddy, is it takes about 4 seconds to pull the whole thing out. To get the drive out of the caddy, it takes MUCH longer maybe 2-3 minutes. If you'er a recycler tasked with destroying the drives and selling the laptops, they simply can't justify the additional time. Especially when that time is multiplied by 50 or more.

On one hand it sucks. But on the other it helps guys like us get these machines cheap when we would never have a couple grand sitting aside we could or would spend on a laptop.

 

Hey picked up a CF-19 today!

Its in pretty good shape, they said its a mk7. I wasnt able to find any info on that, so really just seems to be a mk6 to me.

I was looking through the wiki and it doesnt seem to have any info on what all the options this one has. Could you help me out on what it all means? Its a model CF-191HYAV1M.

Also has a tag for the 4g verizon sim card. Is that still usable?

The place I bought it from was a non-profit and got a few cf-19s as donations from a local police department. They put in a 180gb ssd, 8gb of ram and installed Mint on it. Only issue I could find with it was a gouge in the factory screen protector, but screen underneath looks good! I got it all for $212! How did I do?!

 

From the Panasonic Product Configurator at:
https://na.panasonic.com/us/support/product-configurator

SKU Number: CF-191HYAV1M
Status: DISCONTINUED
MSRP: $4,009
Description: WIN7, INTEL CORE I5-3320M 2.60GHZ, VPRO, 10.1" XGA TOUCH, 500GB(7200RPM), 4GB, INTEL WIFI A/B/G/N, TPM, BLUETOOTH, DUAL PASS (UPPER:WWAN/LOWER:WLAN), 56K MODEM (RJ11), VERIZON 4G LTE, NO DRIVE, TOUGHBOOK PREFERRED

The 5th character is a "1" so one reference says it is a Mark 6.

 

Thanks!

 

So next thing I would like to do is install windows. It has the Win 7 coa on the bottom still. Is there a recovery image avaliable for this model?

 

Yes Recovery Images from Heartland.
Have complete model number and serial number handy when you call.
$35 FedEx to your door.
I just can not find their phone number


Sent from my CF-M34

 

Here is there website. Should not be hard to find customer service.

http://www.heartlandsi.com/

 

Thanks I'll give them a call!

 

Is it possible to make a USB drive from the recovery disk or will I need a USB external drive?

 

You can not make a usb stick from the recovery DVD. We have all tried and failed.

You will need an external dvd drive and very few will work to boot from.
They are whitelisted in BIOS.
Panasonic ones for sure to work. I bought 4 different ones before I broke down and got a Panasonic.

https://www.amazon.com/Powered-External-CD-rw-Multi-language-Manual/dp/B000GJQCL6

 

What you need is this one .CF-VDRRT3U. You could find these to $20-$30 but I could not find any on the bay

 

CF-VDRRT3U
yep, That's what I linked on Amazoon.
$200 - ouch

 

Double ouch. Anyone have one I could borrow and I'll pay you?

 

Buying an incomplete Toughbook that seems like a bargain can bite you in the wallet real quick.
Sadly the extras and small missing bits add up quickly.
Many times all the small bits will end up costing more than the initial Toughbook did.
It caught me once or twice before I started collecting parts and reading the ebay adds more carefully.

 

Yeah understandable. Guess I'll go the route of installing the drivers and one of my win 7 images.

Or does someone have a mk6 HD image I could load onto mine?

 

Buying the proper recovery DVD or creating one from an iso
has the added benefit of creating the hidden recovery partition on the HDD.
That is accessible from the BIOS. So if your Win install gets Borked, two clicks and your HDD or SSD is back to original, out of the box state in about 15 minutes.

 

Ah yes, very true. But not worth $235 for me.

I was able to find this. ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/computer/software/1912-MK6-7X64.exe

I imagine that is all of the drivers in a package?

Is there a windows 7 image from panasonic that will let me install using the COA?

 

NVM, after some more research I found out that exe is the driver install package.

Now just curious if there is anyway to get the install image for the win 7 COA on the cf-19?

 

Yes...order the original image from Heartland.
Use a usb powered dvd drive
Install the image
Voila...





Sent from my CF-M34

 

This works for me on the 19’s I’ve imaged:



Sent from my CF-M34

There’s some on the bay for $12 clams


Sent from my CF-M34

 

Please post the link. I looked and I could not find any.

 

I couldn’t figure out how to save the linkage so I just bought it as a spare....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Hey thanks! I found a couple that I might buy.

One question, do you know if the version etc. matter? There seems to be a number of SE-S084, but different Versions (A, B, C, D, F etc).

 

I would buy the same one that UNCNDL1 bought just to be safe. It looks like his is a "C" ?

 

Yeah that is my plan, just saw a few that were like version B that were a little cheaper.

 

I believe I used the Panasonic drive when working on the CF-M34


Sent from my CF-M34

 

The Samsung Model SE S084 requires two USB ports with a special cable provided that “Y’s the power.
This is the model I used on the older CF-19’s mk1-3
Until I discovered bootable Linux distributions.


Sent from my CF-M34

 

Sure, I agree but read closer...

Okay here is the skinny. The Panny iso is ideal, but we are all pretty cheap here so unless we are making multiple machines up, we don't ever bother. Somebody may have one if you ask nicely. Maybe. It would be an ISO you would have to burn. And it doesn't solve the DVD drive issue. And honestly the cost of one from Heartland is cheaper than the hassle unless your really trying to do it with a zero budget (like I do most times lol!)

Sometimes the DVD drive thing, isn't an issue though. I have a generic one that I swear I have made work before. I don't bother though. I made up some USB drive installers. DO NOT CHEAP OUT THOGUH with a no-name USB here. I used a SanDisk.

If you read back through my OLDER Combat Air Command MK5 build, you should stumble across the secret and possibly even where I dug it up. I document these things since I forget them a year later (or two days later...).

What you need to do this yourself is first off to grab a Windows 7 OEM 64 bit ISO. Or 32, whatever one you need. Install the OEM version, then use the COA on the bottom. Now when the machine is online, it will force you to call into Microsoft to validate the COA for activation, not a big deal. Only the OEM iso will get you this far though with your sticker on the bottom.

The correct driver package from Panasonic is a "One Click Bundle" and it will install all your critical drivers automatically. Buttons, misc driver, everything. You will have to do at least 3-4 restarts to find all the drivers.

If you grabbed the correct package, it will work. Period. Be careful, there seem to be a few websites that are NOT genuine panasonic. No telling what those install. I know you found my MK6 build, go look at the correct link that was posted up there for me.

Anyways, I got your message too so I know you have sorted it out a little further. PLESE post up on here, while I have been playing with these for ages, Shawn and the other awesome minds on here make me feel like a newbie most days. These guys are the best! If they can't solve it, you probably bought a Getac instead of a Panasonic LOL!!!

 

Ok.....so I might of missed a post about this but if you have a external DVD drive and the recovery DVD for your model then you don't have to put in the windows COA. It will do it for you because it is stored deep in the BIOS (kinda) . This is one reason why we tell everyone to get the recovery DVD....COA done...Drivers done

This has been like this for as long as I can remember. I know all the CF-19 up to the MK5 was like this. All the Toughbooks listed in my signature are like this too.

Many years ago our moderator named @Toughbook (Rick) said to me order the recovery set Blair. It really is the only way to do it. After a week trying to do it my way I did order it. Got it in 2 days and had everything running in less than 2 hours. Was I kicking myself for not doing it a week earlier. After that I followed all of Ricks advice. He pops in now and then and I know he will tell you the same.

 

Haha yeah no GETAC! We use them in the military, but there doesn't seem to be much community following like there is for the toughbook.

Yeah I looked through some of your older posts and mk5 and mk6. I wasn't able to find the the OEM image you used though. Instead I used a win 7 64bit image I have. I also used the one click driver package from the Panasonic website for the win7 64bit mk6.

During the driver package install I did have some issue where findreg.exe? (I think) failed during the smart card install portion. Then the front buttons don't work except the brightness and in device manager there is one unknown device.

I did order a DVD drive based on the recommendations and ordering the recovery DVD Monday! But wanted to try and figure it out while I wait.

 

Okay read this carefully and post up the info request at the end. Especially the second part lol.

No I didn't use an OEM "image" per say, I used a Windows 7 OEM "installer." There is a BIG difference. OEM Image/recovery disc is like Blair said, the Panasonic OEM disc. Super simple everything done and working for you.

Windows 7 OEM installer is the windows ISO, or image file, supplied by Microsoft and used by OEM manufacturers. There is a subtle difference in how it deals with activation codes. It is a BASIC windows install disc, but for OEM use. It could be an installer disc used by say Dell even. I actually used A Dell or HP one of these on my MK1, and had to go in and change the manufacturer logo...

If you use a non OEM install ISO with OEM product key, your key will be kicked as invalid. But since you got past that point and now have an activated (it sounds like) Version of W7 installed, this is pointless and irrelevant. You are past it lol.

Here is the important bit:

Re-download and re-run a genuine One Click Bundle.

I am running a GENERIC "OEM" W7 installer downloaded directly from Microsoft. I then ran the one click bundle downloaded from the genuine Panasonic website that Sheepman posted up in my thread here:
http://www.panasonic.com/business/iframes/toughbook-computer-support-search-downloads.asp

You will have to go dig and SCROLL down the list to find it. Re-run that.

EVERYTHING should work then, except for your WWAN card. And maybe some other non-hem configured bits. I am not sure if GPS and Fingerprint scanners are covered with the one click bundles for instance.

The item that isn't working is most likely your Panasonic Misc. driver, or your front panel keys would be working. The Misc. driver is EVIL. Anyone who has had to piece install the 25-50 drivers individualy will curse you over that one.

What does it say next to the item that isn't working in device manager? Post a picture up. If it says something like MC7750, it is your WWAN card.

 

Yeah my w7 is an OEM version.

Here is the unknown device I am seeing.



I am using this driver package (running as administrator):



Im going to run through the full install again and see what happens.

 

Hey so I downloaded the driver package again and that fixed it! Reinstalled win 7 then ran the driver package.

Must of been a corrupt download package.

 

Also I forgot to tell you if you do order the recovery DVD and you get it installed you might notice that the COA that is used on the W7 install is not the same as the one on the bottom of your 19 or at least that's the way it's been for years. A good example is my CF-53 and 52 . I have 2 HDD/caddy . One with W7 32bit and one with W7 64bit. They all have different COA's and the bottom is different too. One of the big advantages of using the Panasonic recovery DVD.

 

Does the recovery DVD include both 32 and 64 bit systems or is it necessary to order them separately?

 

On my CF-53 MK1 yes but. When I got my 53 it had 32bit installed so what I had to do was go to start/all program/Panasonic/Recovery Disc Creation Utility. When you go to make your backup DVD it will ask you if you want to make a 32bit or 64bit. I can not remember for sure but you might need up to 2 blank DVD's to make your restore DVD. They say that you can only run this once so went with 64bit. After that I pulled out the HDD/caddy and put my blank HDD/caddy in . Installed W7 from the DVD that came with my 53 and made another restore DVD but this time 32bit. The original DVD that came with my 53 said it was a CF-52MK4/53MK1 restore disk which worked out good for me since I bought both of these from the same seller but only got 1 restoration DVD.

 

I just checked my CF-19MK5 backups and I did the same thing as I did with my 53 . You will need 2 blank DVD's. Remember I don't know for sure if the higher Mk's are like that.

 

Hey thanks all for the suggestion to grab the recovery DVD. Defiantly setup the cf-19 better then just doing a generic image and install drivers!

Glad I tried it without the recovery DVD first though, as it helps me appreciate the panasonic image that much more!