CF-19 Windows 7 install

[h3lpmedic]

I'm gonna attempt to upgrade my CF-19 to windows 7 later this week, but I have a few questions.
1. Is the install procedure the same as what is listed for the CF-18 install that was recently posted on this site?
2. Can and/or should I install the 64bit version of Windows 7?
3. What are the pros and cons of attempting this?

This is a great site with a lot of resources. Thank you for all of your help thus far.

[th3umbra]

Ill answer these questions as I have been running Win7 on my CF19 since the betas.

1. The install is basically the same as the 18. You do have to follow the order in which you install the drivers and such. Also remember to look in the driver directories for reg and bat files which you will have to run after installing the driver. I rebooted every time I had to run one of the files.

2. You can only install the 32bit version as the Core Duos that we have in our CF-19s dont have the 64bit extentions required to install Win7 64bit.

3. is null if you were talking about the differences between 32 and 64.

Hope this helps...

[Waterproof]

I have W7 installed on my CF-18ND(mk5). Since I was running Vista I did an upgrade which took less than an hour to complete. Unlike the previous post on installing W7 on a mk1 CF-18, I did not have any video problems. W7 correctly installed the Intel 915 GM video driver, SigmaTel audio, Intel wifi and Wacom drivers. The hot keys including the front panel brightness control worked. I did however lose the auto screen rotation and the 3 front panel buttons. All my programs/drivers transferred over with no problems including the USB to serial adapter (Prolific) which I was using since my digitizer model did not have the serial port.
Out of curiosity I swapped out the HD and did a clean install as would be required for XP users. W7 insisted on installing the standard VGA driver and I had no sound and no wifi ! I had to install the SigmaTel audio driver and Intel 2915 wifi driver to regain base functionality. Despite hours of effort I could not get the hot keys to work.
IMHO if you are not running Vista on your CF-19, I suggest you do so and use the W7's upgrade option. It might seem like extra effort but you will save yourself a lot of time and frustration in the end. You do not have to activate your Vista installation so you can borrow a copy form someone and upgrade to W7.
Toughbooks seem to have very special hardware configurations and require unique drivers not included in W7. I did not have any problems when doing a clean install on a friend's Dell laptop.

[h3lpmedic]

Ill answer these questions as I have been running Win7 on my CF19 since the betas.

1. The install is basically the same as the 18. You do have to follow the order in which you install the drivers and such. Also remember to look in the driver directories for reg and bat files which you will have to run after installing the driver. I rebooted every time I had to run one of the files.

2. You can only install the 32bit version as the Core Duos that we have in our CF-19s dont have the 64bit extentions required to install Win7 64bit.

3. is null if you were talking about the differences between 32 and 64.

Hope this helps...

Thank you! 32 bit got it!

I have W7 installed on my CF-18ND(mk5). Since I was running Vista I did an upgrade which took less than an hour to complete. Unlike the previous post on installing W7 on a mk1 CF-18, I did not have any video problems. W7 correctly installed the Intel 915 GM video driver, SigmaTel audio, Intel wifi and Wacom drivers. The hot keys including the front panel brightness control worked. I did however lose the auto screen rotation and the 3 front panel buttons. All my programs/drivers transferred over with no problems including the USB to serial adapter (Prolific) which I was using since my digitizer model did not have the serial port.
Out of curiosity I swapped out the HD and did a clean install as would be required for XP users. W7 insisted on installing the standard VGA driver and I had no sound and no wifi ! I had to install the SigmaTel audio driver and Intel 2915 wifi driver to regain base functionality. Despite hours of effort I could not get the hot keys to work.
IMHO if you are not running Vista on your CF-19, I suggest you do so and use the W7's upgrade option. It might seem like extra effort but you will save yourself a lot of time and frustration in the end. You do not have to activate your Vista installation so you can borrow a copy form someone and upgrade to W7.
Toughbooks seem to have very special hardware configurations and require unique drivers not included in W7. I did not have any problems when doing a clean install on a friend's Dell laptop.

Good info! Thanks

[h3lpmedic]

I'm sure some of you have already seen or done this:
LEGAL Windows 7 Download Links (Just like Vista before!!!)

This thread just outlines how to make a legal retail windows 7 disk. You will still need a valid activation key of course (if you have a .edu address you can purchase windows 7 pro for 30 bucks)

[Doobi]

I did both the Vista upgrade and the clean install on my CF19 MK1 following the steps outlined on the CF18 thread. I made comments on that thread of the little differences between the two, but in short, everything on my MK1 is working except the auto-rotate function of the screen. All hotkeys and front buttons work, and I added some of the recommended push-to-activate options on the front buttons as well. It is a really great build and I am very happy with it. Follow those instructions along with my comments and you should be A-OK!

[h3lpmedic]

I did both the Vista upgrade and the clean install on my CF19 MK1 following the steps outlined on the CF18 thread. I made comments on that thread of the little differences between the two, but in short, everything on my MK1 is working except the auto-rotate function of the screen. All hotkeys and front buttons work, and I added some of the recommended push-to-activate options on the front buttons as well. It is a really great build and I am very happy with it. Follow those instructions along with my comments and you should be A-OK!

Will do. Do you happen to know when windows 7 support will be available for the CF-19 and 30 from panasonic?

[Doobi]

No clue on that, sorry.

[Alex]

Will do. Do you happen to know when windows 7 support will be available for the CF-19 and 30 from panasonic?

Toyo reported that support is in the works , but only on Mk-3 cf-19/30 models ,so 99% of us are on our own to make Vista drivers work

Alex

[h3lpmedic]

Toyo reported that support is in the works , but only on Mk-3 cf-19/30 models ,so 99% of us are on our own to make Vista drivers work

Alex

Well hopefully that would take care of the rotational and button issue. I just recently did a clean instal of XP tablet to get a baseline benchmark using PC Mark 05. Once thats done I'll do one for Win 7.