New ToughBook Owner and New to the Forums- Need Some Help

[Grim]

Greetings All,
I just recently purchased a CF-29 Toughbook. Here are the specs as it sits currently:
First off I need help clarifying the model number. The BIOS gives me one, and the Model Number on the back gives me another:

BIOS: CF-29FTTGZKM
Back: CF-29MTQGZBM

Processor: 1.3 GHz
BIOS: V2.00L12
Memory: 768MB
Hard Drive: 60GB
Optical Drive: CD/DVD Rom
OS: Win XP Pro SP3

I Currently Have on Order: 6600mA Battery, Wifi Card and Antenna, RAM Lid, HP Pavillion DV9000 CD-RW/DVD-RW LS Drive.

I am also having problems with the USB port. It gives has power, and powers up devices plugged into it, however it does not recognize anything plugged into it.

Also, I have bought a disk that has all the drivers for all Marks of Toughbook, however everytime I attempt to run any of them from any (Mk) it gives me this error "This Machine Does NOT Support"

The BIOS show the touch screen is enabled, how ever I cannot seem to get it to work. Does this require a stylus?

Finally I need information on GPS Systems, well clearer information on GPS Systems anyways. I need to have reliable and accurate GPS deploying into the field on SAR and the like. I was wondering how reliable the OEM GPS or should I go with U-BLOX 6 or similar.

Sorry about the long post for a starter lol.

I will greatly apperciate any help you guys can give me, and thanks in advance.

Jerry

[toughasnails]

CF-29FTTGZKM
Status : DISCONTINUED
MSRP : $4,603
Description: ***Federal Only*** PentiumM1.3G LV, 13.3Transmissive Touch XGA ,256MB,40GB, NON-WIRELESS, WinXP,SmartCard

Always go with what the BIOS tells you. My guess the last owner replaced the bottom cover...that is why its different than the BIOS.

Also, I have bought a disk that has all the drivers for all Marks of Toughbook

Well you just threw away good money...never BUY that crap. The drivers are all free from Panasonic http://www.panasonic.com/business/Tough ... nloads.asp

The BIOS show the touch screen is enabled, how ever I cannot seem to get it to work. Does this require a stylus?

You will need to download the drivers to get this working. You do not need a stylus...finger works great.

I was wondering how reliable the OEM GPS or should I go with U-BLOX 6 or similar

The OEM works but the U-BLOX 6 or similar is way better.

What you should do is pickup yourself the restore disk for this...it will save you hours and hours of loading drivers for just $35.00 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-Tough ... 27ca4849c7

[ADOR]

The CF-18 has the same GPS chip as the 29. The CF-18 I have with factory GPS is blown away by the Ublox 6 customtoughbooks unit I have in my CF-29. I have to be by a window or outside with my CF-18. With my CF-29 I can be in the house under the bed and lock a signal easy.

Look at the USB port good, it may be damaged.

The drivers on that disk are free to download, but I bough one years ago when I was redoing some CF-28's for the sole reason I was on dial up internet and just didn't have the bandwidth.

Now if you are sure it's the right driver and it gives the "not support" message download free 7zip utility and extract it with that. It's a safe guard to keep from loading the wrong driver. EXAMPLE: one of my CF-28's was factory windows 2000 machine and it didn't want to load the XP drivers. The model number is very important with these machines.

Also on the GPS are you looking at a plug in solution or you wanting a internal GPS unit?

[Grim]

First off thanks for the replies.

Well you just threw away good money...never BUY that crap. The drivers are all free from Panasonic http://www.panasonic.com/business/Tough ... nloads.asp

I have noticed that since I originally bought them, thankfully it wasn't that expensive..

What you should do is pickup yourself the restore disk for this...it will save you hours and hours of loading drivers for just $35.00 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-Tough ... 27ca4849c7

Now THAT would have been nice to know LOL I have spent the better part of 15 hours updating drivers

Also on the GPS are you looking at a plug in solution or you wanting a internal GPS unit?

I was wanting an internal one. I only have the one USB port and would like to save that for the printer or other device I may need to use.

Part of the problem in Alaska most people don't quite grasp is, we have GPS coverage, but on a good day you can have semi spotty coverage, and the terrain can make it worse. This is why I am needing to be pointed in the right direction for a stable and accurate GPS.

Look at the USB port good, it may be damaged.

I haven't taken the case off to inspect it yet, however, from what it appears from the outside it seems fine. It does have power. Doing some looking on line, I have read that it typically seems to be a driver issue (I am hoping).I do have the skills to work on computers, just really don't want to if it would be cost ineffective.

Now the problem I am up against, should I look at getting a newer board and processor or is there a why to physically remove and replace a USB port. If I am to replace the board, any suggestions on where to look, and the approximate cost of them?

Also I was thinking on updating to Win7 is it really worth it on Toughbook, or should I just stick with Win XP Pro SP3? My concern is it may be a resource hog, with limited resources.

I plan on having this computer for awhile and want to get it up to spec up and reliable.

Thanks again for the input.

Jerry

[SHEEPMAN!]

I fixed this with a mobo. Same as you I had power only from USB. It's probably not a driver.

As far as upgrade ...NOT!... well you can grind out the round hole in back and use a 1.4 board but you lose some weatherproofing.

Watch for a cheap non-touch 1.6 and use your pieces (drive etc.)for that. You gain a USB port AND a SD reader AND you can use 2GB ram. (Only if the unit has 256 on-board ram) AND ready boost from the SD. THEN think W7. I bought a low hour L3L for $120 last week.

FYI see below and it's not finished bidding yet.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-Tough ... 3f1b141f15

This is the second version of this as I accidentally deleted the first one. Questions? Just ask. Welcome to the forum.

Jeff....did you know the Mark2 will not generally boot from USB?MK3 and up will.

[ADOR]

First off thanks for the replies.



I plan on having this computer for awhile and want to get it up to spec up and reliable.

Thanks again for the input.

Jerry

If you are really planning on having it for a while and want to spec it up I would consider maybe selling what you have and looking into a CF-30, before you have a lot invested in it. If you buy a internal GPS like I did for my CF-29 then decide later on down the road you want a 30. The unit i have won't swap. I had to buy a new GPS unit that would work with my 30. The 29 series stopped with a 1.6 single core. The 30 series has 1.66 dual core. 1.5 GB ram VS 4GB ram. The Mk1 series has really come down. I fixed my up close to 2 years ago for about 400.00. The only problem with it is the touch doesn't work, but I didn't personally use the touch that much.

(The CF-30 Mk1 has a core duo that is limited to 32 bit OS, the later Marks don't have that limitation. They also can take more ram on the later Marks up to 8gb. I don't remember if that started on the Mk2 or Mk3.)

[Springfield]

I plan on having this computer for awhile and want to get it up to spec up and reliable.

Hi Jerry, Welcome to ToughBookTalk!

Agree with Sadlmkr that it will be easier to swap chassis than try to fix a bad USB port. Your hard drive & caddy, CD/DVD, battery and charger will work with all CF-29 models and account for much of the cost. Look for a bare bones 1.6 GHz model (Mk4 or Mk5) without those parts, suggest the auction site or local recycler. After you've migrated all the parts you want from your current Mk2 chassis, the stripped chassis will likely still fetch a few bux at auction.

For now I'd suggest sticking with Win XP and leave it at SP2. That is how the Panasonic Restore CDs come. When you get bored with everything working great with XP, get a 2nd hard drive and try loading Win7 and fiddling with the drivers.

This may be your first Toughbook, but probably not the last. . . . Welcome to the addiction . . .Bwaah hah hah


ETA: If you are determined to stick with the Mk2 unit and Sadlmkr's linked auction gets too pricey, give me a shout as I have more than a few 29's and can look through the pile for an inexpensive Mk2 mobo.

[Grim]

I'm currently tracking a couple of MK5's so I will see how that goes. Now as for owning multiple toughbooks, well I currently have CF-28 not sure on the model as the battery's dead and I don't have a ac adapter for it. I have a multiple conntect power adapter, but cannot for the life of me figure out what I have done with the spares .

This may be your first Toughbook, but probably not the last. . . . Welcome to the addiction . . .Bwaah hah hah

So yeah.. lol

I might still hit you up on so things, It would always be nice for a spare none the less.

and on a side note if I could afford a brad new or referb machine I would jump on it in a heartbeat..lol

Thanksf for the warm welcome everyone!

[toughasnails]

I see you are going to put another cd in it well you should read this first.

DVD/CDROM Drives

The CF-29 uses the same DVD/CDROM modular system as the CF-27 & CF-28; it slips into a MultiMedia bay which can also accept the 1.44MB floppy module or an additional extended run battery. Toughbook has an excellent tutorial on upgrading that CDROM Module to the latest DVD/RW technology HERE:

http://www.toughbooktalk.com/public_dow ... 20Swap.htm

If you would like to know more about the 29 then check this out.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/panason ... sting.html

[mac1_131]

Windows 7 works fine on the CF-29, but you have a few other issues that I would work through first before doing anything else. Particularly the USB problem - that is a show stopper especially on a MK3 that has only one port.

There are deals to be had on MK4's out there - less than $100 for a working one can be done. That would give you two USBs and a slightly faster processor. If you were at a point where the USB is toast, I would fine a cheep MK4 before changing the board in that one. I'm a newbie too, so take this for what it's worth.

The touch screens often are just froze up because they have crud in them. I had two that were that way, and was able to fix both of them. I took several sticky notes - say four or five - enough for them to be a little stiff - and wiped around the edges of the front screen bezel with the sticky side in and used that to capture all the crud trapped around the edges. Then the touch screens started working.

This assumes you do have the driver loaded. You will see it in the task bar - it is a little cyan colored computer looking widget, actually two of them, one says L or R on it, and the other one will show a calibrate if you click it. If you see those, and your TS does not work, try cleaning around the edges with some sticky notes. If you don't see them, you need to load the mouse driver for the CF-29 from the panasonic web site.

Good luck!

PS - another reason I like the MK4 with the 2nd USB is I put a little micro sized USB bluetooth ($19) on the back USB port, and the door still shuts on it, and that gives me bluetooth. I then take my little globalsat bluetooth GPS and have GPS without major surgery (or RS232 cables).