new to the forum

just joined the world of toughbooks and got myself a cf-30ktpazpe with bios version v3.00L16 m22
but i have ran into a issue that i have read all about and tried some of the solutions from this forum

the problem i have is no wi-fi or bluetooth i have been under the keyboard and can confirm i have the bluetooth module and wifi card intel 5100..however there is no bluetooth or wlan in the bios to enable or disable but there is for the wireless switch which is enabled...going of posts in here i suspected a bad wifi card so managed to get a intel 4965 of a friend who was breaking an old toshiba laptop i carried out the pin 20 trick that has given me wifi...i sinced purchased a no. matching 5100 wifi card brand new but it has made no difference even with pin 20 deleted....so i am suspecting a faulty wireless switch..faulty bluetooth module maybe i bought a dodgy wifi card or maybe the bios may need to be updated...the drivers for running them are from windows 7 pro 32 bit after reading about it as they did have the bluetooth stack and intel wireless pro...i have the wifi in device manager but no bluetooth since removing the stack driver and trying to replace it with windows driver.....i also ran a test in the bios which checks the hardware fitted everything passed except bluetooth which failed....could someone maybe give me some advice on this please.....i was thinking of fitting an intel 7260 wifi/bluetooth but i do not know if it would work....i am not a computer technical person so appologies on that and i live in the uk where parts for these are like hens teeth or at a premium.......many thanks in advance
andy

 

Hmmmm, I thought I had a a KT around here. Couldn't find it.

The bios is different from my KAPAXAM (3.00L20 3.00 L17) plus the m22 in your version equals special bios.

If bluetooth is not shown in bios then bios does not SEE the bluetooth. (either blocked or broken) Any number of drivers won't fix that.

Also whenever changing cards be sure to do a power pull reset and set bios to defaults.

 

My educated and experienced guesstimation is a custom BIOS with WIFI and Bluetooth disabled.

Problem is you most likely can not upgrade the custom BIOS. The upgrade will not let you.
I doubt that the BIOS of any CF30 will run a 7260

Any HP or IBM card will NOT work.
Stick with the working 4965. They are not a bad card.
Bluetooth is another story. You can try a USB bluetooth. It "may" work, but I doubt it.
PCMCIA Bluetooth will probably work.

 

thanks for the replies i went a bit further by using the pc information viewer which shows the wlan and bluetooth as disabled..a friend did say try a different bluetooth module,but it,s getting the right one to try i have one from a mk3 cf-18 but i do not want to mess on to much in case i cause damage..and yes a usb bluetooth works which is what am using at the moment just a little annoyed that the built in one does not work...but i will try and look into it further...but like i mentioned earlier the diagnostic utility gives a pass on everything except the bluetooth so thinking about it maybe i do have a bad module,the bios says it,s only had 1700 hrs of operation and the toughbook condition is like new everything is clean and tight apart from no dvd rom and caddy and the blanks for the card slots it,s perfect..

 

Make sure the flat cables are inserted the correct direction.

 

do you know if i did try the cf-18 bt module would anything get screwed up....i know it,s a daft question but got to ask...

 

I don't know for sure about the CF 18 card.

Odds are VERY good that Bluetooth is permanently disabled with that custom BIOS.

Is the Bluetooth card in the proper location? Might be possible that it's installed in the gps location.

 

the cable from the card is fitted into the connector that is in the 5 o clock position when your looking from the front of the laptop the other socket is empty which i believe would be for the gps if it was fitted

 

This video may help

 

cheers Shawn i already looked at that while doing some research before joining the forum...it,s just really annoying here in the uk trying to get parts as i would have bought one just to try,but it,s a case of no one has one or buy a cf-30 that has been security locked which i may do just for spares...i did contact pan toughbooks over here but they are as much use as a handbrake on a kyak...
and if i got one from the U.S.A it would cost more to ship plus customs fees than what the part is worth....unless i save up and try and buy a few parts together like a backlit keyboard and get the module shipped with it....i would,nt be bothered so much but i got this to use my automotive diagnostics which are all bluetooth which is why i am using the dongle at the moment

 

I have an extra CF30 Bluetooth module.

Give me an address in a private conversation. I will figure shipping and we can work something out.

 

I don't like much of anything but "handbrake on a kayak" rofl

 

Hey Shawn, he needs a few more posts for PM....yes? Just saying, I know you will work it out. p.s. they finally shipped the S today.

 

He should be ok to "Start a new conversation" I know I have started one with less that 5 post but that might be just me two.

 

I don't think so anymore. I started a message with him and I did not get any errors.

S for SUPER...

 

i replied back Shawn appoligies if it seemed late but time difference is the factor it was around 2.00 am uk time and i had gone to bed.....many thanks

 

"scarce as hen's teeth" ... one of the expressions i heard growing up .
it is not a widely used expression as some of the others.
it is more or less a regional idiom .
"thin (or common) as snake lips" is another one .
my old CO would call on one of us for a particularly unpleasant or intensive task by saying ; "hey snake lips , get over here , i go something for your ..."
(however , i shall digress)

i agree that the price of parts seems to be very high for what the item is .
sometimes there seems to be no real guides for pricing in place .
witness ; a fist-full of old bone-pile 74xx series ICs and a few nixie tubes , the price that customs wanted to charge was more than the cost of brand new parts !

i have heard of cases where "charitable/museum display items" was used , but this is actually dishonest unless the items are actually used for such purposes .

 

ive got to say a big thanks to Shawn who sorted out a replacement bt module for me,but it still did not fix the issue which i now believe is down to the bios...so i am using my wifi with pin 20 mod which bypasses the wireless switch just a shame i could,nt do the same for the BT...i was thinking of contacting AMI to see if they could through some light on the subject but they do not deal with the end user,so i have sent an email to Panasonic UK just to see what they say....but at the moment i think i am going to ditch the BT dongle and get a pc card one which maybe better....

meanwhile anyone with a cf-30 mk3 with the letter M and no,s after the bios no. who are having the same issue if you find a resolve i would love to hear about...

 

I don't think its a bios issue. Its the mobo issue. Check out the fuse on the bluetooth side at the back of its connector. It usually label "F" for fuse.

ohlip

 

thanks i will have a look into that

 

Andy,

Here is a photo of what the fuses look like. This is a different motherboard but it clearly shows what the fuses look like. They may have a different letter printed on them. The letter indicates the amperage of the fuse.

 

and they are indeed small .
they can be checked with the board "hot" ... i do not recommend this for the novice or faint of heart .

non-powered :
a dmm set on the RX1 or continuity scale and stabbed across the fuse in question with tell the story .

 

many thanks guys i will have a look but it won,t be today as i am pretty much tied up but will let you all know how i get on....but if it is a fuse can they be replaced..and if so where do you get them,because they look smaller than a grain of salt

 

yep , they can be bought ... there is a seller on ebay that supplies components .
shawn has a list of the mA versus number .

you need steady hands and good close-up eyesight to replace them .
a micro-soldering pencil is a must .
don't forget the *real* Pb/Sn solder (22 ga) , that lead free crap makes the job even worse .

 

managed to grab a bit of time just to have a look i think i found the fuse but it,s tucked under the black frame where the front edge of the keyboard tabs slot into..behind the socket where the bluetooth ribbon cable goes it has cn25 in white letters which i presume is the socket id no.just to the left of the letter C is a fuse and again in white letters F5 2A....to test it or to get to it would mean removing the mother board and to be fair i don,t feel confident in doing that without damaging something..give me an engine to work on any day but this i will admit is out of my league.....

but on a further note and i don,t know if it will work a guy told me this morning to get a new wifi card with bluetooth built in get rid of my wifi card and the bluetooth module but before fitting the new card delete pins 20 and 51 insert it as normal might need a bracket if it,s a half card connect up the 2 standard antena leads if the new card has 3 sockets run the BT antena lead on the 3rd socket then download the new drivers for the new card.... he thinks as the bios does not see my wifi card now hence deleting pin 20 as there is no enable/disable it would be no different.....if this is right or wrong i do not know i am pretty basic when it comes to these things other than what i have learnt from this forum and a few youtube vids...but i do appreciate the help and advice

 

It may work, but Toughbooks can be very picky about what cards work. The new card may not work at all.
Worth a try if you don't mind gambling a few dollars.

I still say that it is disabled in the custom BIOS.

 

i think your right Shawn i believe it,s down to the bios,maybe it was purchased for the military or something where the wifi bluetooth could be hacked into...i might give it a go with a card just to see what happens i know about the whitelist on cards after having a read so i will have a think and if i go for it i will post up the results so if anyone else has bother it may help them out

 

I have this same problem but I have model without "M" and with "M"
Maybe can transfer full BIOS or BIOS settings?

 

if it is a custom bios ...
the chances of the BT being "locked out" permanently are pretty much a sure bet .

this thread is starting to wander and hard to tell what-is-what and for whom .

 

Just 2 days ago someone else had the same problem with the exact same model as yours.
He deleted everything and did a new install of win7 32bit and it recognized a usb BT and usb wifi stick.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/the-official-cf-30-thread.264961/page-34#post-10273268

 

my usb BT works fine and so does my built in wi-fi due to the pin 20 delete...so rather than messing about i am just going to get a BT pc card as that is in the bios that way i cannot damage my usb cover as it will not fully shut....there must be a job lot of these with the M22 bios flying around on fleabay at the moment...