Panasonic cf -27 wifi issues

Hello TB fans, i got in my possession an old cf-27 which works and I think could be a very good tool on my trip to Canada. as toughasnails suggested to write full model number here it is: CF-27EJ6K3EE

My problem would be simple but cant solve it on my own. computer is up and running but cant get wifi working and cant figure out how to connect to internet. computer has 6GB HDD, PII procesor, 256mb ram, FDD, win 98 se, it seems all internal devices are working, also have PCMCIA wireless card but cant install drivers on a computer as floppy is only 1.44mb and a driver is 15 or so megs not to mention that havent got any other fdd device in any other machine at home.

so in short would be, how can i get wireless internet working on this machine.

P.S. sim card slot, is it possible some how to use it for internet, tried my card but it was no luck.

cheers for your help if any.

Tomas J

 

Get one of these
Take your pick, some good deals here..

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This is what I used when my Toughbook of choice was a CF-27

Bob

 

Do you have a external cd or dvd usb drive? Both of the CF-27EB6GCAM98 I have have one usb port in the rear under the cover. You could boot PLOP Linux from you floppy drive and tell it to boot a linux live cd/dvd from you cd or dvd usb drive. Once running on the live cd you could add the files by(having them already on the cd/dvd, or, having a pcmcia sd card or compact flash drive plugged in)

Another alternative would be having a external IDE harddrive case and pulling your harddrive to load the files into a directory for when you boot next.

If you have the money go ahead and get the factory cd/dvd drive. It won't be wasted money later on as it can also be used on a CF-28 and CF-29.

 

Assuming, as I don't have a CF-27, that there is a USB port, use a USB optical drive or USB HDD or possibly a flashdrive to install the drivers. The USB port will not be USB 2.0 so may not work with some drives.

Sim slot is for some obsolete WWAN.

 

i got a similar card, laptop detects it but cant use coz drivers are not installed.

tried also usb memory keys, some older ones and new ones but same story it detects but no luck. i think ill end up buying an original cd drive and shovel it in to the machine, is it hard routine or just as simple as to access HDD?

thanks

 

CD is in a caddy. Remove the floppy drive and pop the cd drive in. Much easier than disassembling the HDD caddy to access the HDD.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toughbook-C...age_Internal&hash=item4ab79e3a16#ht_693wt_923

 

understood will hunt for a cd drive, for now just bought one ide hdd external case of ebay for 5 pounds will put my driver files to it and try to install it. should work anyway for a time being and later will def buy cd drive. will keep you guys posted how i manage my toy

 

OK I re-read your first post and since you are running Win 98 SE you will need drivers to get the USB memory to work. (catch 22 )
I think your best bet is getting a CD drive for the media bay

Bob

 

Also once you get your drivers for wi-fi sorted out and a cd or dvd drive in there if you don't want to install a larger harddrive or swap to a different OS look into the PCMCIA COMPACT FLASH CARD READERS and PCMCIA SD CARD READERS. Those readers and cards are cheap and can give you lots more storage space. If you stick with windows 98 just research your drivers before purchase of such an item.

 

To be honest at the moment I just want to get this thing online, havent thought of getting a bigger HDD yet. I dont know where I'll use this laptop after my trip, unless I'll figure out how to connect gps & install OZIexplorer in to it. This machine is too slow for everyday use anyway, but too good to be thrown away, I really want to get it sorted and find it useful.

Cheers fellas for your replies, I'll keep you posted on my recovery from the stone age.

 

Another easy sollution is to use WINRAR (use a version that works on Win 98SE). Divide the large 15 meg driver file into smaller 1.44 Meg files. Copy all the compacted files to disks. Also copy the WInrar program on a 3.5 inch disk. First install winrar on your CF-27. Then extract the other disks with the 15 meg driver onto your harddrive by using the Winrar program. I use this sollution many times on very old laptops (think 386/486).

By using my solution, you do NOT need to buy an external harddrive case, CD-rom or USB-stick. Simply use Winrar as a compression/decompression (zip) tool. Saves you some money, but takes more time because you have to use many 3.5 inch disks once in a while....

 

Also, the CF-27 is not too slow. I have a Compaq Armada 1592 (233Mhz) machine installed with MS-DOS. I can watch MPEG videos on it, play Mp3s, surf the internet using the DOS Lynx browser, have Wordperfect 6 on it (dos version) and can play games on it. I can even use IRC on the armada 1592. So, the CF-27 is a pentium 2, and more faster as my Armada 1592. Machines can be fast as you want them to be. Its just the software that can make a machine slow.

PS: I was an Atari 800XL software programmer in the 80s. Programming a 1,79 mhz machine was fun....

 

quick update:

I have received HDD external box, managed to upload PCMCIA drivers put back in and install it. windows have accepted and device is installed, question is why I still cant browse on the internet? At the moment it is win explorer browser installed. dont know which version.

 

Hi, The listing says it does not run on '95 and NT. He/she has only 256MB RAM.

Would it be possible for you to connect with an Ethernet cable to a WiFi hub. You don't need a driver for it. What OS do you run? As WinRAR is mentioned and as you have 256 MB I would assume Windows 98? See if you can get a tiny WiFi hub that can be administered with a browser. Apple's AirPort Express is great but requires Mac OS X or Windows XP to configure. You will need it when you're on the road.

 

But this laptop only has a telephone modem socket, I couldnt find LAN socket on it. OS is win 98Se.

 

Your challenge is to get a driver for Windows 98 SE. There's no lack of PCMCIA WIFi cards but to get the driver for 98 can be a problem. Hence get an Ethernet PCMCIA card that still supports DOS/Windows.

Do you need 98SE? I would consider a BSD Unix or Linux that has support for PCMCIA WiFi. How would that approach suit you?

 

well to be honest at the moment i dont have any use for this laptop at all (only want to take with me on a trip to write a log and have wifi for email and internet browsing). Never used any other OS so I am not sure how it would be user friendly.

 

I see. So, if you stay on the 98SE my suggestion would be to insert a PCMCIA Ethernet card that has DOS/Windows 95/98 drivers available. I recall from my days that 3COM 3C509 was doing fine as it has stable drivers. You may get some of those on eBay. NE2000 compatible cards are fine too but expect no wonders when it comes to performance.

If you need browsing as you said mind that it'll be difficult to get a modern browser with all the bells and whistles. I suspect HTML pages itself will not give you any issues but when it comes to CSS and all the plugins required today to provide you with so called 'rich content' you may adjust your expectations.

 

Yes: quite easy: i used an ASUS WL-107g PCMCIA card in the BOTTOM slot. Installed the appropriate drivers (Windows XP Pro SP2 in my case) and it works perfectly!