Soul of an Old Machine
BB&C Topical SIG Workshop
March 2007
Roger Bailey
Why Revitalize an old laptop
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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
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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
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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 PowerPoint 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
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• SVGA 800x600
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):
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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
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Unplugged? No response. Batteries dead
Plugged in. Green power light on. Turned on.
Passed smoke test but….
Boot failure: Battery CMOS checksum errors
Pressed F1 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 PowerPoint 97 Viewer
• MS Schedule removed from Start folder
• Personalized: Names, log on etc. changed
Further Testing: Hardware
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All three battery packs dead. Zero volts $$$
Screen dim and hard to read in some light
External monitor worked well to 1024x780
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_110cs.html
• Batteries, parts, accessories, etc found on eBay
including laptop in working condition $20 + S&H
Limitations: WYSIWYG
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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
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Laplink parallel connection? Cable $
Direct Computer Connection? Cable $
I have a an RJ 45, CAT 5 cable and router
Lykel had a PCMCIA 10/100Mbps NIC
D-Link DFE-690TXD CardBus PC Card
Will this work for me?
PCMCIA Network Interface
D-Link DFE-690TXD CardBus 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
• W95_OSR2 folder with
NETLKR4.INF & DLKRCB.SYS
PCMCIA NIC Installation
D-Link DFE-690TXD CardBus PC Card
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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!
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CardBus 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!
3Com 10/100 FE574BT
PCMCIA NIC + Dongle
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Other options?
Check Google & eBay
Cards existed
Old 16 bit W 95 NIC
eBay US$ 5.99 + $10 S&H
Ordered from EZcentral, Rochester NY
Software and documentation available?
3Com 3C3FE574B
10/100 Type III Lan PC Card
• Documentation and drivers from 3Com
http://support.3com.com
• Installation Disk 3fe574b.exe
• User Guide Manual 3c3fe574b/3c574.pdf
• Quick Start Guide, FE574BT family
10040463_qsg.pdf
• “C’est possible”
Test NIC Installation
• George lent me a suitable 16 bit W95 NIC
• Linksys EC2T PCMCIA Ethernet Card
W 95 Software Installation
• Requires files on W 95 installation disks
– “Install WIN95 floppy 19” etc
• George lent me a WIN 95 OSR2 CD, no
floppy version available
• WIN 95 OSR2 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
•MaxiDisk 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 W95 installation disc 19 for
required, in all
• Skipped forward to get a list of dll, vxd and
exe files files required
• Checked W95OSR2 CD cab files
• 1.67 MB cab files extracted to 5 MB of files
• W95_19.cab contained a few of the files
• W95_18.cab and W95_20.cab had the rest
• Saved 39 files, 1.32MB on a floppy for laptop
Dealing with linksys Drivers
• Googled “Linksys PCMCIA ec2td drivers
• http://www.pcdrivers.com/network2.htm
• had a link for Win 95 drivers “ec2told.exe”
ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pub/network/ec2told.exe
• “ec2told.exe” extracts from 335 kb to 1.9 MB
• WIN95B folder had: “ec2t.dos”, “es2t.sys”,
“netec24.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
• W95 installation files were installed with
a few minor glitches
• Ready for card and W95 networking
installation
Progress and Conclusions
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Connectivity within reach
A useful portable returned to service
Must and Want Objectives satisfied
Great learning experience:
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DOS, W95 operating systems & drivers
PCMCIA cards and network interface
Files and formats: dmf, cab
eBay, PayPal, OEM support pages
Great BB&C club experience: Thanks!
–Lykel, George, Randy, etc