The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    a few quick questions

    Discussion in 'Panasonic' started by helix.hex, Aug 26, 2011.

  1. helix.hex

    helix.hex Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    hello everyone! i just bought a cf-28 600mwh and i had a few questions that are probably going to make it seem like a noob(please have mercy..)

    1) i know that everyone here says that the cf-28 works with ATA-6 but isnt there alternative? i know desktops and some laptops can have different HDDs in them but laptops are not my area of expertise.

    2) i have seen that there are no after market cd caddy's on the market and i dont like the thoughts of pay just as much as i paid for my toughbook for a caddy( i paid $62.00 all together for my tough book). is there a way to mod the floppy caddy to hold a dvd drive? tried youtube and google but my search skill is low so..fail.

    3)and finally i know from all the posts i read that the cf 28 and run xp quite well but i was wondering about ubuntu: what is the highest version can the Plll can take?

    i know this may seem like alot to throw at everyone but i am grateful for any help at all that can be given.
     
  2. Springfield

    Springfield Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    507
    Messages:
    942
    Likes Received:
    127
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Welcome to the Panasonic forum!

    Here are my thoughts on 1 & 2:

    1) Must be a Parallel interface 2.5 inch drive, ie, PATA = IDE. ATA-5 should also work but newer SATA drives will not.

    2) No. Can't modify a floppy interface to work with a hard drive.
     
  3. ADOR

    ADOR Evil Mad Scientist

    Reputations:
    520
    Messages:
    1,941
    Likes Received:
    208
    Trophy Points:
    81
    Yes one member modded a floppy to to a dvd drive. There is a link in the stickys to the custom google search for this site. I don't have the link handy. If you can't find it go to google and hit "advanced" and just fill in the blanks it comes in handy on lots of stuff.

    Cheap cd drives do pop up on ebay, just got to keep an eye out. It is sometimes cheaper just to get the cd drive and then mod it for dvd drive.

    If you already have a external usb cd/dvd drive you can load a program on the floppy drive that tells the computer to boot from usb with out that option being in the bios. I think plop is the name of one program that will do it. This my save you a little, but remember if you ever upgrade to a cf-29 later on the cd/dvd drives are the same so it won't be wasted money.

    I have have problems with ubuntu 10.10 installing, but 10.04 worked fine.

    I have never tried XP on a MK1 CF-28 but it runs fine on the 800 mhz MK2. I also have CF-07 300mhz P3 and XP runs fine on it. Just can't multi multi task or watch the HD films.
     
  4. toughasnails

    toughasnails Toughbook Moderator Moderator

    Reputations:
    7,107
    Messages:
    6,193
    Likes Received:
    2,254
    Trophy Points:
    331
    That's why you only paid $62.00 for it. If it had a cd/caddy you would of paid $100.00 - $120.00

    Check this search out TEST site:forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic - Google Search

     
  5. ADOR

    ADOR Evil Mad Scientist

    Reputations:
    520
    Messages:
    1,941
    Likes Received:
    208
    Trophy Points:
    81
    CDROM DRIVE + CADDY FOR PANASONIC TOUGHBOOK CF-28 CF-29 | eBay

    Looks like that same guy that is doing the "aftermarket" caddys is doing dvd drives now too. But not much more to get the real deal. The prices on the 28's and there parts have really dropped since I got my first one.


    The deals are out there got to be patient. I picked this up not too long ago. Read the stickys and know what to look for. I had a cf-28 that belonged to my daughter power port damaged by her step brother. So I got her a replacement. [​IMG] It was a small miss label as a cf-29. It has 768 ram installed, rubber keyboard, the factory cd drive was a dvd drive, battery, factory wireless for 42.50 shipped to my door. Learn about what you want then pounce. All I had to do was pull the harddrive and caddy and install from her 800 mhz mk2. I have seen several units that have a cd drive installed go cheaper than just drives sell for. Look at the bios screen, it tells a lot.
     
  6. mnementh

    mnementh Crusty Ol' TinkerDwagon

    Reputations:
    1,116
    Messages:
    3,389
    Likes Received:
    29
    Trophy Points:
    116
    There were two who hacked the floppy caddy to run a CDROM. One used all the guts (ribbon cable and connectors) from a CF28 CDROM caddy; this was able to boot from CDROM after doing the jumper resistor hack. The odds of finding a CF-28 CDROM ribbon & connectors without actually also getting the CDROM caddy are rare.

    The other one used the guts from a generic IDE->USB CDROM caddy & hacked them inside the floppy case; then hacked the inside of the ToughBook with a USB port for it to plug into. This unit worked fine as a USB drive within Windows; but the BIOS of the CF-28 does NOT support "Boot from USB" in any way, so it was useless for doing an install of Windows.

    It IS possible to do a fresh install of Windows without an optical drive; I've detailed the process many times on this forum. Here's one such discussion:

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/454869-installing-cf-29-os-w-o-cd-dvd-floppy.html

    The other option is to use a Plop Boot Manager floppy to do a full install; it will allow boot from USB even on a dinosaur like yours.

    Plop - Boot Manager - Free Boot Manager, builtin usb driver, native usb, boot different operating systems, cdrom, usb, freeware, option rom bios

    Okay; that's the end of the GOOD news. The bad news is: You have a CF-28 Mk1. The max RAM on that beast is 384MB; this means that XP will run slow on it. Even with a really trimmed down version, it will run slow... and any Flash object you encounter on the internet which is more complex than a banking app will grind it to a halt. You CAN get a little more headroom with a lean version of Win2000; but truth is, nowadays it'll be better off as a LINUX box. LINUX is simply much better at memory management than Windoze, so it can do more with less.

    Remember something: we are talking about a laptop which has less processor power & RAM than pretty much ANY Smartphone; even the 1GHZ Mk3 is outpowered in every way by my iPwn 3GS which is now 2 generations out of date.

    When I get around to it, I intend to load an educational build of LINUX on my Mk1 for my 3-yer-old son to learn on; maybe something like Qimo or an educational Shell on Ubuntu.

    If you don't have the CDROM caddy or the HDD caddy, you'll probably be money ahead to look for a Mk2 or Mk3 that has at least a HDD caddy. They can be had, if one shops diligently, for $50-75, often with an optical drive as well. If you can afford a little more, I've seen many CF-29/boot-to-BIOS fixer-uppers close around $60 recently, with 768MB RAM and Optical drive. Those are worth the cost of HDD/Caddy; they even have enough grits to play a DVD without stuttering all the time.

    Good hunting,

    mnem
    Plop!
     
  7. ADOR

    ADOR Evil Mad Scientist

    Reputations:
    520
    Messages:
    1,941
    Likes Received:
    208
    Trophy Points:
    81
    I have done two installs so far of edubuntu 10.04 on the MK2 cf-28 so far and so far even with 256 of ram they were happy with it. I couldn't get qimo to load, but I didn't try over twice.
     
  8. helix.hex

    helix.hex Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    so basically cf-28s are best for the graveyard or linux...probably should have saved my money huh?
     
  9. ADOR

    ADOR Evil Mad Scientist

    Reputations:
    520
    Messages:
    1,941
    Likes Received:
    208
    Trophy Points:
    81
    Not all CF-28's. You are just limited by what the Mk1 CF-28 can do. The ram cap is going to hurt you a lot.
     
  10. mnementh

    mnementh Crusty Ol' TinkerDwagon

    Reputations:
    1,116
    Messages:
    3,389
    Likes Received:
    29
    Trophy Points:
    116
    You hit the nail on the head, my friend. I still have the CF-28 in my sig; it gets used regularly for network diagnostics and programming routers/switches/you-name-it when I do installs. When I stop being able to buy batteries that work for it will probably be the only limiting factor in its lifespan for me; there's no other laptop in the world I'd leave bouncing around & cooking in my trunk in the TX sun like I do this one, and it still does the job, EVERY TIME. *Knocks on wood*

    mnem
    Pretty is as pretty does.
     
  11. ohlip

    ohlip Toughbook Modder

    Reputations:
    1,110
    Messages:
    2,358
    Likes Received:
    107
    Trophy Points:
    81


    $62.00 for cf-28(600Mhz) with a hdd caddy is a good deal. Compare to what I have seen yesterday on the bay.
    The guy bought a CF-27 with an XP installed on it for $399.00 :eek: Not even a dvd movies can run on it. He/She prolly got nothing to do with his/her money. If it has with Win98 or Win 2000, I beleive it will be fine to run. I was thinking that If he open the PC on the morning he can probably use it on the afternoon, Lol. How you gonna called that guy, an s.t.p or an smart guy. What a poor guy! Oh! i mean a rich guy. "Toughbook used as door stopper on his/her home".

    For 399.00buck, you can score one cf-29(1.6Ghz) on the same site and with luck a loaded one.

    ohlip
     
  12. helix.hex

    helix.hex Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    i am going to try to run a bare bone ubunti for pdfs and simple troubleshooting considering i am having to do some I.T work on the side now to make ends meat.

    if it can run ubuntu solo on the cf 28 as well as read a book then i am content with that- not much on the net these days.
     
  13. ADOR

    ADOR Evil Mad Scientist

    Reputations:
    520
    Messages:
    1,941
    Likes Received:
    208
    Trophy Points:
    81
    eubuntu 10.04 ran fine on a CF-28 MK2 800mhz with 256 ram. I tested it out before it went out to some ex inlaw kids. They have been using it for a few months with no problems.
     
  14. helix.hex

    helix.hex Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    how was it as to just regular browsing on the internet? did it choke alot or was it just alpha tested and shipped?
     
  15. SHEEPMAN!

    SHEEPMAN! Freelance

    Reputations:
    879
    Messages:
    2,666
    Likes Received:
    517
    Trophy Points:
    131
    If you stick with 10.04 and use 256 ram you will be fine. Ubuntu, Xbuntu....whatever. After 10.04 the graphics get too extreme for the little guys. I use 10.04 on CF-29 Mk3 and below.

    Jeff
     
  16. ADOR

    ADOR Evil Mad Scientist

    Reputations:
    520
    Messages:
    1,941
    Likes Received:
    208
    Trophy Points:
    81
    It was just lightly tested, I had windows factory install of windows on it and he wanted Edubuntu on it for his son. I am still friends with them and drop by ever so often and I have asked a couple of times about it. They are still happy with it. As far as moving around and and installing programs it seemed fine, but you may want too look into Xubuntu and Lubuntu. They are just a light weight version of Ubuntu, so it will run faster on lower resources. They are also supported by Ubuntu so the software update and installer still works.

    Edit: My personal CF-28 MK2 4gb compact flash with a adapter for harddrive, 800mhz, 768 ram (just upgraded it was 512), no page file, tweaked XP OS. factory wireless will play HALO CE PC no problem on lower settings, but the graphics took a leap from the MK1 600MHZ to the MK2 and MK3 models.

    CF-28M (Mk1) -- Silicon Motion 710 - 4MB VRAM
    CF-28P (Mk2) -- Intel® 830M - Unified Memory Access (UMA) up to 32MB
    CF-28S (Mk3) -- Intel® 830MG -- UMA up to 32MB

    The chipset, memory type and sound card was also upgraded at the same time.

    But as far as the internet went I used it for traveling for about 7 months chasing land rigs. I would have to take it McDonald's or others to eat every few days when I got off work just to check on emails and stuff (free wifi). Never had a problem with it. Using firefox with flashblock add in.