Questions about CF-53

Hello toughpeople
I need your help please about my Toughbook CF-53 model that I bought lately..& I am really happy about the toughness of the machine.
I googled for answers to my five (5) questions, but with no much luck.

My TB spec consist of: i5-2520M (2nd gen. 2.50Ghz) ..with sunlight readable screen (non touch).
The model type is: CF-53AAGBX1M

First
I know there is several model types for CF-53:
- Mk1 std.
- Mk1 value
- Mk2 std.
Please I need to know my machine belong to which type?
& which one in better/& most important: why?

Second
Within Bios, there is “Optional Kit Configuration” (OKC). But it I cannot access-it, because it keep asking for password. I managed to set up new supervisor password. But each time I try to access OKC..It asks me to type in the password..I do, but “wrong password” sign appear. It’s like the Panasonic forbid me from accessing this specific option. What can I do?

Third
I would like to replace traditional HDD with SSD one.
Does/is my TB accept/compatible with SSD?
Is there any special procedures I need to take in order to successfully make the swap..thus..Perform clean install?

Fourth
My TB have 4G of ram only..& I want to upgrade.
These rams are DDR3 type with 1333 MHz
But I read that the rams for Panasonic Toughbook is different than others laptop brands (something related to ( “CL” & “’volt”, like: CL 9 1.5v)
I know nothing about that. Also I don’t know how much I can raise the ram up to (8 or 16GB)?

Five
If I want to perform “Clean Install”..Panasonic provided a book for installing TB Drivers in particular orders.
Do I shall follow the drivers provided by Panasonic?..or it is ok to grab THE LATEST drivers from-let’s say-“Intel”?..but if I do that, will I will face some issues? Due to these new drivers from Intel may not be (configured) by Panasonic to suit TB?

Kindly to share your deep knowledge & precious time with me.
Best

 

Welcome to the Panasonic Toughbook Forum

Well the MK2 is the newest model

You got it "forbid" and they will not tell you the password.

It goes in like any other HDD goes in . I have a Kingston HYPER X 240GB in mine ...18 seconds startup to W7

I know nothing about that...I have 16GB in mine (W7 64bit)

Go to Panasonic's download page to get the best drivers. Many Toughbook drivers are custom drivers only for Toughbooks. You can call Heartland Services and get the 53 Restore disk for $35.00 shipped to you in 2 days (USA only). The restore disk is an image of your 53 when it left the factory . Also it will give you a choice of 32bit or 64bit

 

Thank you very much..I really appreciate your quick answers..Best to you

 

If I could of got on Panasonic's configures page I could of told you the difference between the standard and value but its not working

 

I believe the difference will be option wise: ex: camera - Finger print reader - Bluetooth..etc..



thank you for your time

 

Blair,
Can you add this to a FAQ or sticky it?

 

I am at work now but when I get home I will do some updating here and TBT too. I am hoping that this will work on my 52. I might finally be able to use my fingerprint reader.

 

Toughkit works on my mk5 CF-19 as well!! this is big for me, this is going to cost me money, FPR, GPS, camera...

Anyone an original FPR for sale for the mk5??

Monday I'm going to call Panasonic, Cardiff, UK for a part.
Now what is the fingerprintreader partnumber for the mk5... let me search.

 

Did it work on your CF-19 too ??

 

YES YES YES YES YES!!

Do you have a CF-WFP192R (thats for a mk5?!) laying around?

 

two more questions if you please:

a friend of mine ask me the following:

- ((your TB is a waste of money..you see..a very cheap laptop brand having the same CPU & RAM will cost 60% less.
the performance will be the same)).

& I am asking: is there any boost in performance vs cheap brand?..(though both have same config.?)

another question: how can I determine the LCD panel type that I have in TB? (what brand/specification does have?)

again.. thank you

 

If your laptop will sit at a desk all day, your friend is probably right. Toughbooks cost more than other laptops with similar performance. What you get for that extra money is toughness - ability to resist dirt, water, and heat; ability to withstand physical shock and stress; and ability to work in outside environments that are brighter or darker than an office. Those are the things that kill most other laptops when used hard outside an office.

Toughbook design features that provide this ruggedness also help make it very reliable. This provides lower total cost of ownership. I have worked with CF-27 units that are 13-15 years old and most of them will still boot up (even though the battery and hard drive have died long ago). That comes from conservative hardware design.

 

Plus the bragging rights........The adult version of "My dad can beat up your dad"

My Toughbook can smash your Dell, HP, Mac into little pieces..............

 

When I go away for the weekend I grab my 53 by the handle and I am gone and I know the battery is good for at least 5+ hours but my girlfriend has a Dell studio 17" and I know it takes her 20 minutes to pack it up and it only gets 2 hours on battery. Is it faster...NO and I have had to send it to Dell for service work twice and its still not right. They are making the cheap ones so light now that you have to be very care full on how you handle them, my friend was told by FutureShop tech. that his kids should be using both hands or a bag to carry it around because it is made so light that it will flex and bust the screen or damage the motherboard which is what happen to there 6 month old Christmas gift. He was not happy to find out it was not covered by warranty and $900.00 (for 2 Acers) down the drain. His kids now share a CF-52MK2 and love it...they soon will have another but don't know it yet...birthday coming up soon :thumbsup:

 

My kids started on CF-28, then moved on to CF-50's and CF-73. They are now currently on CF-52 and CF-74. This includes dropped out of the truck door, used to be seat, used to stand on, used out side on the trampoline, used in other not very nice ways, lol. The only problems I had was on one 28 and on one 50. The power cord while charging was snatched out and messed up the power port. I sold the other units to other parents wanting a good solid unit for there kids they all are still in use. I even fixed the power port issue on one of them.

 

No, the performance of a cheap brand might be even a bit better if you look at benchmarks. But if you use it on a bench it might not last for one blow with a hammer on the bench (not on the laptop, just hit the bench with a hammer and if you're lucky the hard-disk is ruined). Don't pick a cheap laptop up with one hand on a corner.
And ever tried to use a cheap (or expensive) laptop outside in the sun? Or what about using it in the rain?
My CF-19 has gone trough an enormous amount of (ab)use in 20 months and still looks pretty new. My Macbooks lasted 12 months at most, the macbook air needed a new MoBo after 5 months. I really like apple's OS-X, I don't like spending 2500-3000 a year on new hardware and all the time it takes to deal with customer services.

So it's not as much as a high performance gaming laptop, but it's a complete, very well build package that is high quality.

If you name the exact number of your laptop, some might be able to tell what display & digitizer/touch it containes(number like CF-19ADNAHF4 on mine, it's not the serial number). Although it is not unsual for laptop makers to use several different makers for display panels.

 

very well noted..

yes indeed
dozens times I hit my laptop accidently..& cause few broke..which been visible clearly.
many time I grap-it from it's edges within one hand..& cause the palm rest little dent/pressed area.
I also always afraid to expose my unit to water or sand (sometime I wish if I can take-it with me to the beach).
beside to fall from the table.

to avoid all above..it deserve extra money I believe..as well if the TB will last me for a 5 years or so (more than enough).

maybe those are small things (the abilities)..but valuable for a user.

very well noted for sure

 

I have CF-53AAGBX1M

 

Apple use both brands (Samsung - LG) for their MBP Panels

 

Mine is a CF-53AAG ZX1M

 

If Google is right, this is your laptop:

CF-53AAGBX1M - Win7, Intel Core i5-2520M 2.50GHz, vPro, 14.0" HD, 320GB(7200rpm), 4GB, Intel WiFi a/b/g/n, TPM, Bluetooth, No 56k modem (RJ11), No FireWire(IEEE1394), Smartcard, Multi-drive, Toughbook Preferred

Rather a nice unit.

BTW, I have no idea how waterproof a CF-53 is, I only have experience with the CF-19 and CF-30. The semi-rugged I only handled in a showroom and I noticed they where much, much better build. But I have no real life experience with them. What I do know is that Panasonic doesn't lie about their laptops performance.

 

Here is a good review of the 53

and this one

 

I know the spec. of my unit..& I really thank you for your effort..but I've been asking about panel type.
my TB options have no BT, FP, or camera.

 

I've never had a Business Rugged so I can't help with the panel type.

Good info on the OKC....it looks like you've made someone with a CF-19 a happy bunny.

 

Not really sure the panel type since I have never had mine apart but there is one for sale on ebay, item number 130942609164

 

Glade to hear that...it's good feeling that I've been somehow useful.

well..i think this is it. best wishes to all of you for helping me.

Best

 

I've been jumping up and down all week and bothering all kind of people about where to get the right FPR!!!!
But it's hard to find (yet).

Why do you want to know the panel make & type? Does it need replacing?

 

no. the panel is fine..but only curious about the type & brand of it (ex: TN or LED/ Samsung or LG)
as for my knowledge, the LED Samsung Panel is the best in the market (Apple use the same within MacBook Pro).

 

Hmm, good question. Even opening up the display doesn't tell a lot IIRC.
I'm pretty sure it's a LED panel on yours, it would be odd to have a i5 processor in one end and a CCFL in the screen, but if it's Samsung or LG? And what kind of panel?
Perhaps Panasonic even installed one of it's own panels, they have bought IPS technology from Hitachi in 2010

 

sashaidar, try my suggestions from my post in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/690396-panasonic-cf-ax2-3.html#post9109513

 

I'm guessing you won't be seeing IPS LED panels in Toughbooks any time soon. They seem to be about 4 times as expensive as TFT/TN panels.
CAP
Edit: I stand corrected, the CF-C2 has an IPS display.

 

Well I just unpacked my new MK-2 CF-53 and much to my surprise, NO RESTORE DISK! It comes with a "restore partition" on the hard drive. There is an option on the last BIOS screen to restore the computer to either 32 or 64 bit Win7. Panasonic says you can burn 1 restore disk, 1 time (you have to choose 32 or 64 bit), and it will only work on the source computer. Are they doing this on all of the new machines, 19s, 31s? I have already imaged the 32 bit hard drive and restored a different hard drive to 64 bit, now I'm wondering about burning a couple of restore disks. Any one done this yet, or gotten a restore disk for the Mark 2 from Heartland? Have they finally figured out "that which cannot be mentioned"?
CAP

 

Toughbooks are also 4 times more expensive than regular laptops.
Besides some cost savings for the manufacturer, the fact that their target doesn't demand Adobe RGB colorspace, calibrated colors, and full viewing angles, I'm guessing that power consumption, weight/size could also be factors in their decision.

 

On the 53MK1 after burning which ever bit (32 / 64) it will work on any 53MK1... 3 of us know that for sure :thumbsup:

I have burned both 32 and 64bit cd's. I did buy the restore from Heartlands for the CF-52MK4 because it was labeled " Cf-52/53 Series Backup Image DVD-ROM" . Yes 1 cd for 2 different models so it was a bonus for me since I had just bought a 52MK4 and CF-53MK1

I think that is what they are doing now

Well if we do mentioned something we are not to talk about I will be the first one to find out. Really myself I see nothing wrong here.

 

Just so everyone understands what you can and can not do...
Can do
(1) With the Restore Disk from Heartlands I restored the CF-52MK4 and the CF-53MK1
(2) I then used the "Recovery Disk Creation Utility" to make a 32bit or 64 bit. You will only be able to do this once so if you mess it up you will have to run the Heartland Restore Disk again.

Go to ... Start / Programs / Panasonic / Recovery Disk Creation Utility

Can not do
(1)The Backup Restore Disk(s) that the Recovery Disk Creation Utility made can only be used on the one it was made on...52 can not be used on the 53 or the 53 on the 52

 

Hello,

I am new to this forum and not speak English very well, so please understand. I have recently started a Toughbook CF-53 MK2 and did not have a supervisor or BIOS user password. The notebook will boot only from the hard drive, which makes it difficult to reinstall. Maybe someone can help me out as I get the BIOS Password? Maybe I can also tell someone how I can open a boot menu without the BIOS? Maybe someone has a MK2 without BIOS password where I can flash?

 

As you are new to the forums, please read "The Rules". We are not allowed to talk about anything to do with bypassing passwords in this forum. If you recently purchased this Toughbook, I would contact the seller and have them remove the password or refund your money. And flashing the BIOS does not remove the password, so don't waste your time with that unless you need to upgrade it for other reasons.

 

Welcome to the Panasonic Toughbook Forum

As Wyrm73 said please read http://forum.notebookreview.com/pan...reading-anyone-who-posts-panasonic-forum.html

Toughbook CF53...we can help you with any other problem you might have but your problem . You will need to send your 53 to http://www.heartlandsi.com/ . The price was around $200.00

 

what contant in "Optional Kit Configuration"?

 

you may want to read the entire thread, from the beginning.
I think OKC refers to a (service) menu in bios, used to configure additional devices (fingerprint, wwan, webcam, smartcard, etc).
I don't have one in my TBs, as they started adding it in C1mk2, CF31mk1, CF19mk5, CF-53 mk? .