Urgent! Cannot Load any OS on CF-29

I have a Toughbook CF-29 Mark II. I am not able to load any operating system on this computer. I need to know what to do next. Here is what I have attempted so far:

• Tried CF-29 recovery cds
• Using my old Dell laptop to install: Ubuntu, XP Pro, WIN 7, DOS (from WIN 98 Boot), and DOS 7.10 on the HDD (Hitachi Travelstar). The Toughbook did attempt to boot with WIN 7 and Ubuntu. All other attempts resulted in only a flashing hyphen.
  • The Bios correctly identifies the HDD and CD/DVD Drive
  • It is hard to access the bios. It takes many attempts of engaging F2 at startup before I can access the Bios
    
    My goal is to rebuild this computer and install XP Pro (I have the COA). I have working flash drives and a CD/DVD RW USB drive. I have successfully installed HDD's on notebooks and fully installed software.
    
    Can anyone give me advice on how to proceed? I have already received excellent advice that included attempts to make the CD/DVD drive the Primary master, Install DOS on the HDD and then attempt to boot the toughbook to DOS and use recovery disks. I am now wondering if I am facing a hardware problem (bad motherboard)?. I know the HDD is working. I am not sure what to try next.
    
    Any and all advice/suggestions are most welcome.
    
    Thanks,
    
    David

 

Have you checked the RAM? I've had bad memory sticks cause M$ OSes not to install or install incorrectly. Good luck!

 

How do I check the RAM?

 

The simple way is to take out the ram, try booting the laptop and see what happens. I think that the CF-29 only has one slot for RAM and a second stick built on the motherboard. I would not swear to this though. Also what is the exact model number of the CF-29? It should be above a barcode on the bottom of the case and look like CF-29XXXXXXXX. If there is no problem getting into the bios with the RAM removed then you probably have a bad stick of RAM. If you have another laptop that could use the RAM from the CF-29 you could try putting the stick from the CF-29 into it and see if the second laptop works fine with the CF-29 RAM in it. There are also a number of software programs that will test RAM available. I use memtest86 since it's free. If you get the CF-29 RAM in a second laptop then run memtest86 and see if it finds any errors.

 

His model number is CF 29ETPGZKM (MK2) . Yes there is only 1 ram slot on the 29 with the second ram stick on the motherboard...this one can't be replaced. I don't think there is a USB boot option in the BIOS on the MK2.

 

Well if the removable RAM stick is bad and it's taken out the CF-29 should boot using just the soldered stick of RAM. And if the removable RAM is bad that should take care of whatever problem there is accessing the bios. It was just a thought, I always check RAM early in troubleshooting ever since I got a CF-51 MK3 where that was the only problem, the unit worked fine after the bad RAM was removed.

 

Had u opened the bottom of the laptop before u came to this error? If yes, probably u have a misplaced or shrinked heat transfer sheet....
Ah yes, checking the ram is very easy if u have an install cd with an linux or windows7 system....just read the options after the boot from disc; if it would boot from cd

 

I have not opened up the bottom of the computer. The computer will not read any cd that I place in the drive.

 

Does the CD/DVD drive show in the bios?

I had a CF-29 Mk2 that the CD/DVD drive would not work. IIRC, it was not recognized in the bios, even though it would work in other CF-29's. I tried several known good CD/DVD drives. A floppy drive would work and the media bay battery would work. It was a defective MB, fixed by replacing the MB.

 

Maybe its his CD-drive that is causing the problems. Remove CD-drive and try to boot from your harddrive.

 

if the CD-drive and harddrive are both master or slave, they can cause conflicts....

 

If you suspect the CD drive you could also try installing the OS from a Flash drive...

 

Do you have a diskdrive for your CF-29 ?

PC-Check can be installed on 1 single 3.5 inch diskette. Its a diagnose program for any PC system.

You could try "Hirens Boot CD" or "Ultimate Boot CD". These can also be installed on an USB-flash-drive.

I use them a lot of times to test all the laptops that i repair for fun.

You could test your CF-29 with the diagnostic programs that are on twose 2 CDs.

 

This was his other thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/655491-cf-29-will-not-boot-cd-dvd-rom.html . I understand he has done the mod.

 

Actually, both must be set to master to work properly. It's a Panasonic thing.

 

It makes me wonder if the mod was not done right or the cd-rom is dead/not working

 

Start from the beginning, remove all drives,all extra memory any sd cards, any pcmcia cards any serial or usb devices, and boot the machine. See if it goes to bios easily then. If it does, then start reattaching devices and testing one at a time.
I bet it is a hardware failure of some sort. The bios doesn't respond because the machine is somewhat stuck in the hardware POST waiting for the intermittent failing hardware to respond.
Also, pull the bottom cover and repair / replace the thermal pads on the CPU heatsink.

 

I don't think a MK2 can boot from USB.

 

What size hard drive is being used in this case?

 

It's a 100 gb hitachi travelstar IDE. One other thing to mention. The cf 29 does try to boot when I loaded win 7 on the drive. Anyone know why?

 

an other question: had u cleaned the hdd ( win7 install cd, gparted, hdderaser, ... ) before u installed xp on this disk? "format c:" is not enough, u have to kill both partitions (it is also possible, if u can use fdisk)...it sounds like u have an boot loader from win7 on the disk

 

VERY odd.

FWIW: Samsung 160GB drives WILL NOT WORK FOR THE LIFE OF ME in certain CF-29's (I think they were MK MK2's and 3's), but when I used a 160GB WD drive that fixed the problem! Now that was all around for ANY OS.

Food for thought that you MIGHT want to try a different HDD (Even if you KNOW that the 100GB one is good!)

 

I does not need to boot from the flash drive, just copy the OS over and then install from the HDD. I used to put XP on my M34 with LapLink!

 

It has been awhile since I last posted. I am at my wits end with this cf-29. I am wondering if I may have a hardware problem. I have tried different hard drives. The HDs work in my other laptop, but never in the CF 29. The Bios recognizes the HDs by brand and size correctly. I can never get the computer to boot. It stops at the initial Panasonic screen.

Should I consider a hardware problem? Could the mother board be faulty? What steps should I take next?

Thanks,

David

 

Hmm...Did you try my previous suggestions? It is a hardware problem.
That's why the POST is so slow getting to the bios.

 

yeah. all of that. pull every thing you can. boot. add something. boot. add something. boot. etc.

 

Well I tried all the suggestions. I pulled every device off the motherboard I could think of:

*the HDD
*The dvd/cd rom
*the modem
*The Wireless

I still could not get the computer to boot properly. Now it will not boot at all to the bios. Sometimes it boots to an error screen that asks if I want to "F1" or "F2." Neither function works. I even went so far as to by a "junked" cf 29 with a mother board. That was a waste of time and $ (Ok only $30). That mother board did not work at all.

So here is where I am at:

*With the original motherboard, the screen turns on with the Panasonic screen and stays there. I can here the DVD/CD and HDD spinning.

*With the "replacement" motherboard, not even the screen turns on.

I have put a lot of time and some money into this machine. I don't mind the time and I continue to be fascinated with the toughbook. So my question is, where do I go from here? Is this particular machine worth putting any more effort into? The case and touch screen are in good shape. I think that the battery and dvd/cd rom work. Is it worth purchasing a used or refurbished cf 29 motherboard (I know that this site has a place to buy and sell toughbook parts)?

I guess all is not a waste, I now know how to change a mother board in a CF-29!

David

 

You removed any memory stick, right?

 

Just for giggles, disconnect the keyboard also and see what happens.

I am guessing since you swapped the mb that all the connections are good?

It's probably worth repairing. I would say a mb replacement may be needed.

Ask in the buy sell trade section. Someone has a mk2 board.

I just had a thought. Does it have a wwan sled? It will be held in by 2 or 3 screws. It's directly above the battery.

 

There was nothing above the battery.

 

It's not really "a Panasonic thing:" it's simply that the Media Bay drive operates on a Secondary IDE Channel. It is not slaved to the Primary IDE drive; hence the necessity of both being "Master" drives.

 

Can it be that your HDD has more than 1024 cylinders? As the Mk1 and Mk2 are of considerable age and accept only PATA this might be a thing to check out first. For the heck of it, can you add an old HDD PATA and see if it boots (even if it says 'No O/S found'. I suspect it's your newer HDD. :-(

 

It won't even boot to bios with or without a hdd. It's a motherboard issue. The OP is currently in the process of replacing it.