Soul of an Old Machine BBC Topical SIG
Soul of an Old Machine BB&C Topical SIG Workshop March 2007 Roger Bailey
Why Revitalize an old laptop • • My proposal I inherited this laptop Cost me nothing We can stay in touch while traveling • I always wanted a laptop • Great project to revitalize the machine • • Wife’s comments Don’t bring home junk Obsolete and useless Waste of time and money • Smells of mildew and fungus • Get rid of it! She is right of course but… it has a soul that needs to be saved
Toshiba Satellite CS 100 Laptop • • 100 MHz Pentium 11. 3” LCD screen 775 MB HDD 24 MB RAM Li ion battery pack Windows 95 Great laptop 10 years ago Time’s have changed. Ten years is 4 computer generations
Limitations • • • Batteries dead, AC only, cmos dead No CD R or W drive, limited I/O connectivity No USB, no NIC, no Wi-Fi potential Tiny HD, no more than a CD, no external HD Tiny RAM, no picture capability No Digital photography potential, No Power. Point for presentations No Antivirus or security No software upgrade capability, floppies only WSIWIG ! Value = Utility / Cost
Specifications • Hardware – 100 MHz Pentium – 11. 3” LCD screen – – – – • SVGA 800 x 600 775 Mb HDD 24 Mb RAM 3. 5” FDD 1. 44 Mb Li ion battery pack PCMCIA 28. 8 modem Mouse port External monitor or projector 1024 x 780 • Software – Windows 95 – MS Office 97 • Word • Excel • Outlook Express • Scheduler • Access – Internet Explorer – View 32
Objectives: Why Revitalize an old laptop? • Musts: – E-mail and internet while away from home • Wants: – Work on text, spreadsheets, and presentations away from home – Connect to home network: router, high speed internet, other computers, CD RW etc – Show pictures and presentations on external monitors and projectors – Work as an unplugged portable – Add a better mouse
Objectives: Why Revitalize an old laptop? • Desired (Faint Hopes): – – – – Switch 3. 5 FDD for CD R or RW Upgrade tiny Hard Drive Upgrade to better operating system Connect to camera and download pictures, Transfer photos to CD Wi-Fi for hot zones Minimize loss of good money after bad New capable laptops now start at $700
Objectives: Why Revitalize an old laptop? • Non Tangibles – It is an interesting opportunity and challenge – Great learning experience – Revitalizes a wasted resource – Good for our souls Because it’s there!
Testing • • • Unplugged? No response. Batteries dead Plugged in. Green power light on. Turned on. Passed smoke test but…. Boot failure: Battery CMOS checksum errors Pressed F 1 for Setup, End to save and yes. Successful boot and Windows 95 Startup It works!
Revitalization • The soul of the old machine revitalized by electrical jolt • Major functions seemed normal but…. • “What kind of monster have I created” thought Dr. Frankenstein?
Further Testing: Software • Windows 95 seemed to work as well as ever • Clock reset manually as CMOS battery was dead • Word and Excel handled test documents and spreadsheets normally • Outlook Express was reset for my account and checked email. PCMCIA model worked • Internet Explorer worked but dial up is so slow • Downloaded and installed Power. Point 97 Viewer • MS Schedule removed from Start folder • Personalized: Names, log on etc. changed
Further Testing: Hardware • • • All three battery packs dead. Zero volts $$$ Screen dim and hard to read in some light External monitor worked well to 1024 x 780 Accupoint worked but flakey. External mouse OK PC Card 28. 8 modem worked but slowly with Telus dial up (I have 15 hours a month available) Conclusion: It is a keeper! A functioning machine that satisfies my basic Must objectives and has some limited potential
Documentation • Google “Toshiba Satellite CS 110 Laptop” • Specifications found at Toshiba support site • Users Manual found at Toshiba archive site http: //209. 167. 114. 38/support/download/files_Archive/Index/online_documentation. htm • Compressed DOS format, interesting extraction • Maintenance Manual found at http: //www. eserviceinfo. com/downloadsm/10129/TOSHIBA_toshiba_110 cs. html • Batteries, parts, accessories, etc found on e. Bay including laptop in working condition $20 + S&H
Limitations: WYSIWYG • • • Limited to old software and Windows 95 Internet, e-mail, documents and spreadsheets No upgrade capability, no new programs Limited to what is installed, no CD, no memory No connectivity, no USB, no network card No digital photography potential – Download camera, edit, store, burn to a disc – Show as a slide show, modify photos Connectivity Required
Network Connection What is possible / available • • • Laplink parallel connection? Cable $ Direct Computer Connection? Cable $ I have a an RJ 45, CAT 5 cable and router Lykel had a PCMCIA 10/100 Mbps NIC D-Link DFE-690 TXD Card. Bus PC Card Will this work for me?
PCMCIA Network Interface D-Link DFE-690 TXD Card. Bus PC Card • Check D-Link site • http: //support. dlink. com/ • Data sheet, specifications, installation instructions and drivers • W 98 or better specified but • W 95 drivers and instructions available • W 95_OSR 2 folder with NETLKR 4. INF & DLKRCB. SYS
PCMCIA NIC Installation D-Link DFE-690 TXD Card. Bus PC Card • • Card didn’t fit into slot fully Subtle difference on edge lip Easily modified to fit Card not detected by W 95 Plug & Play • Never modify an approved device! • • Card. Bus are later PC cards, 32 bit, 3. 3 volt PC Card slots on CS 110 were 16 bit, 5 volt Card was not suppose to fit! Higher voltage blows the circuits!
3 Com 10/100 FE 574 BT PCMCIA NIC + Dongle • • Other options? Check Google & e. Bay Cards existed Old 16 bit W 95 NIC e. Bay US$ 5. 99 + $10 S&H Ordered from EZcentral, Rochester NY Software and documentation available?
3 Com 3 C 3 FE 574 B 10/100 Type III Lan PC Card • Documentation and drivers from 3 Com http: //support. 3 com. com • Installation Disk 3 fe 574 b. exe • User Guide Manual 3 c 3 fe 574 b/3 c 574. pdf • Quick Start Guide, FE 574 BT family 10040463_qsg. pdf • “C’est possible”
Test NIC Installation • George lent me a suitable 16 bit W 95 NIC • Linksys EC 2 T PCMCIA Ethernet Card
W 95 Software Installation • Requires files on W 95 installation disks – “Install WIN 95 floppy 19” etc • George lent me a WIN 95 OSR 2 CD, no floppy version available • WIN 95 OSR 2 CD has files like WIN_95. cab • CAB format is special 1. 7 MB DMF • CAB files contain 5 MB of. dll, . exe, . vxd files • Maxi. Disk shareware formats 3. 5” in DMF • CAB files from CD copied to DMF floppy • Required files not found on cab floppy!
W 95 Software Installation • Could not find W 95 installation disc 19 for required, in all • Skipped forward to get a list of dll, vxd and exe files required • Checked W 95 OSR 2 CD cab files • 1. 67 MB cab files extracted to 5 MB of files • W 95_19. cab contained a few of the files • W 95_18. cab and W 95_20. cab had the rest • Saved 39 files, 1. 32 MB on a floppy for laptop
Dealing with linksys Drivers • Googled “Linksys PCMCIA ec 2 td drivers • http: //www. pcdrivers. com/network 2. htm • had a link for Win 95 drivers “ec 2 told. exe” ftp: //ftp. linksys. com/pub/network/ec 2 told. exe • “ec 2 told. exe” extracts from 335 kb to 1. 9 MB • WIN 95 B folder had: “ec 2 t. dos”, “es 2 t. sys”, “netec 24. inf” and “Readme. txt”, 96 kb total
NIC Software Installation • On laptop, Start, Control Panel, add hardware, add network adapter • Found Linksys and Combi PCMCIA on list • Installed adapter drivers and TCP/IP • Linksys drivers on floppy were installed • W 95 installation files were installed with a few minor glitches • Ready for card and W 95 networking installation
Progress and Conclusions • • Connectivity within reach A useful portable returned to service Must and Want Objectives satisfied Great learning experience: – – DOS, W 95 operating systems & drivers PCMCIA cards and network interface Files and formats: dmf, cab e. Bay, Pay. Pal, OEM support pages Great BB&C club experience: Thanks! –Lykel, George, Randy, etc
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