Need help reviving CF-19 MK3
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:16 pm
Hi folks,
I'm a Mac user - but please don't hold that against me - and I don't know much about PCs. I'm hoping someone can advise:
A few weeks ago I was shown vids on YouTube of someone running over a ToughBook with a Jeep, chucking it on the floor and leaving it out in the rain - and was amazed to see it still going! Being a clumsy sort of person, I thought it would be sensible for me to get one.
Then a few days ago I unknowingly bought one as part of a job lot of old office gear and when I found it I decided to keep it for myself.
It's a CF-19. It is a little bit battered on the underside and has no stylus or DVDs. It was very dirty but I've taken it apart as far as I can and cleaned it thoroughly - it's now looking pretty good! It has no operating system but has a Microsoft COA and serial number underneath for Vista.
I have two problems:
One, I cannot get a replacement recovery DVD from Panasonic UK in Cardiff. I emailed them the model and serial numbers and they said it was a MK3 and that the Windows licence was a downgrade (or something similar) and despite the Vista sticker the unit had in fact originally shipped with XP Tablet Edition. The guy was really friendly and wanted to help but the machine is discontinued and they don't have recovery DVDs. He suggested I keep an eye on Ebay but there's nothing on there at the moment.
The other problem is booting from an external drive. I haven't bought one yet but a friend of mine who works in a computer shop looked at it for me and said the BIOS is password-protected and it cannot be set to boot from a DVD drive.
It's a lovely-looking paperweight currently but it would be nice if I could actually get it working.
Sorry for all the vague assertions, I'm a n00b. Any advice at all would be very gratefully received.
Thank you!
KaiBosh
I'm a Mac user - but please don't hold that against me - and I don't know much about PCs. I'm hoping someone can advise:
A few weeks ago I was shown vids on YouTube of someone running over a ToughBook with a Jeep, chucking it on the floor and leaving it out in the rain - and was amazed to see it still going! Being a clumsy sort of person, I thought it would be sensible for me to get one.
Then a few days ago I unknowingly bought one as part of a job lot of old office gear and when I found it I decided to keep it for myself.
It's a CF-19. It is a little bit battered on the underside and has no stylus or DVDs. It was very dirty but I've taken it apart as far as I can and cleaned it thoroughly - it's now looking pretty good! It has no operating system but has a Microsoft COA and serial number underneath for Vista.
I have two problems:
One, I cannot get a replacement recovery DVD from Panasonic UK in Cardiff. I emailed them the model and serial numbers and they said it was a MK3 and that the Windows licence was a downgrade (or something similar) and despite the Vista sticker the unit had in fact originally shipped with XP Tablet Edition. The guy was really friendly and wanted to help but the machine is discontinued and they don't have recovery DVDs. He suggested I keep an eye on Ebay but there's nothing on there at the moment.
The other problem is booting from an external drive. I haven't bought one yet but a friend of mine who works in a computer shop looked at it for me and said the BIOS is password-protected and it cannot be set to boot from a DVD drive.
It's a lovely-looking paperweight currently but it would be nice if I could actually get it working.
Sorry for all the vague assertions, I'm a n00b. Any advice at all would be very gratefully received.
Thank you!
KaiBosh