Toughbook CF-27

[TronRMC]

Hi all, I am very new here so be gentle with me lol

I am no tech head so keep it simple please.

I have just got given a number of CF-27s Toughbooks, I
would like to use them for lesson teaching for young adults
in a military youth organisation for when we are doing our field training,
so these will fit the bill just right.

They come as a standard unit with no operational system on them,
they came with a FDD but no CD ROM drive.

I have a Windows 98 SE OS so I can keep it as near as spec as possible
for them to run proper.

The problem I have is putting on the OS, from what I have read on the net
a external CD ROM Drive with a USB connecter will not work that way.

Is there a cheap fix here or do I need to get a CF-27 CD ROM Drive unit to sort
this out, I only ask this as these are like rocking horse poo to get or cost a arm and a leg to lol

The one thought I had can I use a standard flat CD ROM Drive and use the caddy of the FDD to mount and connect it?

Any help I would be grateful for or is this a trip down to the computer shop? Lol

TronRMC

[toughasnails]

Hi all, I am very new here so be gentle with me lol

I read on the net
a external CD ROM Drive with a USB connecter will not work that way.

The one thought I had can I use a standard flat CD ROM Drive and use the caddy of the FDD to mount and connect it?

TronRMC

Welcome to the Toughbook forum. No you can't put the cd-rom in the FDD...will not work. Please read this

The issue with swapping Panasonic’s CD/DVD out for a DVD R/W is that Panasonic makes their CD/DVD drives as a master at the factory. Almost all other manufacturers make theirs as cable select. Simply swapping drive for drive will cause your CF-27, CF-28 or CF-29 Toughbook to have an error upon boot.

This is what you need and its a very good price to. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-To...item5649a7c9fa

[TronRMC]

Welcome to the Toughbook forum. No you can't put the cd-rom in the FDD...will not work. Please read this


This is what you need and its a very good price to. Panasonic Toughbook CF-27 CF-28 CF-29 CD-ROM Drive # CF-VCD271 | eBay

I have seen this one thanks, but they do not ship to the UK.

[toughasnails]

Yes I see what you mean. I can tell you it would cost about $18.00 to ship to UK...Have you checked the price of them in the UK ?

[TronRMC]

Yes I see what you mean. I can tell you it would cost about $18.00 to ship to UK...Have you checked the price of them in the UK ?

They are about twice the price here in the UK, but the main problem is only one company in the UK does them as far as I can see so that is why prices are so high, supply and demand lol

[orange_george]

@TronRMC:

Welcome to the forum.

It sounds like things are not going your way....CF-27's, Win 98, no CD drive, Blackburn Rovers facing relegation from the Premier League....that's enough to give a bloke Angina.

If you don't mind my asking....if you get an OS on the 27's exactly what are you going to be using them for??

o.g.

[TronRMC]

Basic word and powerpoint, not looking at GPS are stuff like that, as said to help with training in field conditions.

As for Rovers, that is what happens then you leave the chickens in charge

[orange_george]

ha,ha,ha....same issue at the Villa.

You've probably already worked out that the Media Bay on the CF-27/28/29 is the same size, so I've got a DVD drive that will sort you. When you rack up enough posts for Private Messaging, send me a PM with your postal address.

I've never used a CF-27 so I don't know if there is a full compliment of Toughbook drivers after you've loaded Win98....I guess you'll find out soon enough.

o.g.

[toughasnails]

When you rack up enough posts for Private Messaging, send me a PM with your postal address.
.

and one more post you should be able to PM members .

[MasterBlaster2039]

I've got a CF-27 , Pentium 2 - 300Mhz, with 320 meg ram, 20 gig harddrive. I installed Windows XP sp1 on it, and use it only for older games like HalfLife, Quake, etc.

It works smooth with Windows XP sp1. So. Lucky for me, i am able to use the CD and DVD-rom drives from my other 10 or more Toughbooks (CF-28/Cf-29).

Concerning your problem, you could use a disk with a USB driver on it, and then install Windows 98SE or Windows XP from an USB cd-rom drive.

Drivers for Windows XP can be found on the net. Sometimes you are able to use XP drivers made for other toughbooks that use the same graphic /sound chips.