cf-48 problem

Hello
I'm new here so I sincerely hope I'm posting this correctly.

I recently scored a toughbook 48 off ebay that had a power problem and as such wouldn't start. Five minutes with a multi-meter showed the psu/charger to be shot - quick fix i thought. Unfortunately this hasn't entirely solved the problem, the laptop now receives power (the first light on the keyboard comes on) and the hard drive chatters breifly but this is about all i can get out of it.

I was wondering if anyone could suggest where to go from here? Could this be the fault of dodgy ram? If so, how do you access the internal ram and replace it? As I understand it this particular model has two slots, one internal non-user accessable and one under the hood on the base of the laptop (the latter is empty)

many thanks
Dave

 

I take it you can't get to the setup screen at all??
Do you get any kind of screen splash at all???

 

no, absolutely nothing on screen - really frustrating!

 

I'm not familiar enough with the CF-48 to give you a definite answer, I will look into it tomorrow.

When you turn it on, do any of the other front LED's flash, indicating that the machine is POSTing?

Yes, faulty or non-compatible RAM can cause the machine not to post among many other problems.

I'll get you a breakdown of how to get to the RAM and some more answers tomorrow. We shall see if we can get this figured out.

 

The power light above the keyboard comes on and stays on, then the hdd light comes on for a few seconds then goes off again. The laptop stays on, and I can hear what sounds like a cpu fan going very faintly but beyond that it does nothing.
Thanks for your help, I'm really at a loss here!

 

The best thing to do is to strip the unit down to its bare essentials. If you still get the same problem then you most likely have a bad motherboard and probably not worth fixing. I would recommend searching Ebay for a replacement . You can usually get a parts unit with a good motherboard bad screen for under $100.00 Best of luck.

 

Yeah, that figures, will get on with it. Thank-you for all your help,

Dave

 

Which exact model number do you have? it should be on a sticker right above the Serial number if it hasn't worn off.

 

The model number is CF-48S4FGAEE. I'm going to try stripping it down as suggested as soon as I get time, hopefully it just a minor hardware probelm and nothing too fatal. Will post if I work out what caused it

 

Also what is the serial number, (more a curiosity thing than anything but it could help pinpoint possibly)

what exactally did you do to fix the unit?

it sounds like a possible POST failure,

try this.

as soon as you start it up, start hitting F2, that will take you to the bios.

if you hear sound from the speakers it wont be post fail, but more likely a video problem, either a connector on the mb or a bad lcd,

 

Have you tried a known and working hard drive? It doesn't sound like your HD is working at all? For it to churn a few seconds, and then nothing, tells me it might have been damaged with the power problem you originally had. I would try swapping with a known working one as one of the first steps. I don't believe it to be not posting, as that happens prior to igniting the HD as far as I remember. If your getting that far, my gut says bad HD.

~Doobi

 

well he should still be getting some display, from what i understand hes getting nothing.

 

haven't tried swapping in a good HDD, mainly because I've already it without one- it should still post without a harddrive right? Have some spare time this evening so am going to have a good crack at it tonight, strip it down to the bare minimum and see what i does.

cheers
Dave