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    M34 No Load Blues

    Discussion in 'Panasonic' started by TOUGHBOOK JUNKIE, Jun 22, 2010.

  1. TOUGHBOOK JUNKIE

    TOUGHBOOK JUNKIE Newbie

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    I have two 700mhz CF-M34s and can't get either one of them to load Windows from a new USB DVD drive. Any suggestions?
     
    TOUGHBOOK JUNKIE, Jun 22, 2010
    #1
  2. Waterproof

    Waterproof Notebook Enthusiast

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    Verify that you have the latest bios for your mk3 which is version V3.01L21.
    You can download the bios update file from Panasonic. Once you have the correct bios ensure that Legacy USB is enabled and that the CD Drive is selected as the first boot device.
     
    Waterproof, Jun 22, 2010
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  3. mickthomas2009

    mickthomas2009 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have the same problem with a Mk 1 34.....BIOS V1 10-L15...won't boot from floppy or cd drive......tried both in the usb port and a pcmcia to usb adapter.....don't know what else to do........please help...the only boot option i have in bios is "A:/C:" or "C:"........


    cheers

    Mick T
     
    mickthomas2009, Jun 22, 2010
    #3
  4. techtuff

    techtuff Notebook Geek

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    OPTION #1) Find yourself a Port Noteworthy PCMCIA 24X CD-ROM (Targus, NW24XCD) drive *that model seemed to be self-booting / recognized by most laptops from my experience* , many laptops will boot off of it, sometimes on ebay, but they are not cheap

    OPTION #2) Buy external USB CADDY for 2.5" ide drive $4, put your laptop hard drive in it, connect it do your desktop format it with system files so it is a bootable drive. Then copy your windows files into a folder on it. Put laptop drive back into laptop, hard drive is now bootable, and you can install your system from the system folder you created.

    http://cgi.ebay.ca/2-5-IDE-USB-2-0-...C_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item4aa197e070

    I used to do this with windows 98 on older laptops that had no internal optical drive and both those solutions worked for me.

    Good luck
     
    techtuff, Jun 23, 2010
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  5. Silver Trooper

    Silver Trooper Notebook Deity

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    OPTION #3) Send me your caddy and hard drive and I will format and install XP Pro and all the updates (for a minor fee, of course!)

    OPTION #4) Buy one of the 700MHz models I have for sale and then just clone your new hard drive off it and then you will have several working models. Or how about a 933MHz?
     
    Silver Trooper, Jun 24, 2010
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  6. Waterproof

    Waterproof Notebook Enthusiast

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    I could never get the mk1 to boot from a USB connected floppy or CD drive. The only way I could boot from an external device was using the Panasonic floppy drive with the special connector mated to the port replicator / expansion base for the CF-M34.
    The mk3 however, with the updated bios, happily boots from the USB port using a wide range of USB floppy and CD/DVD drives. As suggested your best approach without investing too much in hardware would be to remove your hard drive and connect it to a desktop or another laptop with a USB enclosure/caddy. Once you have formatted the drive with the /s option (transfer systems files) copy the I386 folder and its contents from your operating system installation CD to it. Reinstall the hard drive to your CF-M34 and start the operating system installation with winnt.exe at the dos prompt.
     
    Waterproof, Jun 24, 2010
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  7. mnementh

    mnementh Crusty Ol' TinkerDwagon

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    mnementh, Jun 24, 2010
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