Sunday, April 24, 2011

Toughbook Drivers & Manuals Sources

This is where you find Drivers and Common Manuals for your Toughbook. It will hopefully be updated as new sources are found. You will need to find the support area on most of these sites, the addresses are mostly for the home pages.The comments are mine.

Look for a text folder on the driver sites that are laid out with folders. It will contain information on decoding the sometimes confusing file names given to earlier drivers

If you are new to this, be aware that drivers can be very model specific. Be sure you use the driver for your Model and Series, they are all marked in one way or another. Also note any instructions for order of installation, typically the .inf chipset driver should be installed first.

USING INTERNET "DRIVER FINDERS" LIKE DRIVER DETECTIVE IS NOT RECOMMENDED. YOU MAY WELL END UP WITH THE WRONG DRIVER OR THE RIGHT DRIVER WITHOUT NECESSARY ADD-ONS. GET YOUR DRIVERS FROM PANASONIC.



This is the procedure for the most common driver problem that we come across on our Toughbooks

This explains “how to get your touch screen working”


joecox2 wrote this up:

Ok, for someone that knows how to do this...reading this will be painful, but for someone that has no idea what they need to do, this a a step by step set of instructions. It should be near impossible to screw this up.

1. Click on "Control Panel"

2. Click on "System"

3. Click on "Hardware"

4. Click on "Device Manager"

5. Click on "Mice and Other Pointing Devices"

6. Click on "generic mouse"

7. Click on "Driver"

8. Click on "Update Driver"

9. When it asks if you want to automatically check for updated drivers, select "no not at this time"

10. Click on "install from a list or a specific location"

11. Click "don't search I will chose the driver to install"

12. Click "have disk"

13. Click "browse"

14. Click "Local Disk C Drive"

15. Click "util"

16. Click "drivers"

17. Click "mouse"

18. Click "Fidmous"

19. Click "open"

20. Comes up with "C:utildriversmouse"

21. Click on ok and select "touch pad"

22. Click "next" and you're good to go

All of this would mean you actually downloaded the proper drivers from Panasonic...if you haven't, this will not work.

This mini tutorial will work for all drivers, just change the driver name and location to suit.



http://www.panasonic.ca/english/cust...stomercare.asp My personal favorite, very clear descriptions of drivers and instructions if required. Best for our French speakers.You will sometimes find an odd omission.



http://www.panasonic.com/ Main Panasonic site in US. Follow to support, sometimes needs login, no big deal.



https://ftps.panasonic.com/

Username: drivers

Password: Toughbook32

This is the link for legacy/discontinued Toughbook models.





http://pc-dl.panasonic.co.jp/cgi-bin...hbook/dl01.cgi Main Panasonic site not good for older models prior to CF-28 MK3



ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasoni...ers/notebooks/ File transfer site at Panasonic.com, legacy drivers, look here for stuff that has been taken down on the main sites.



http://www.panasonic.at/intro/index.asp Austrian Site, good for our German speaking members.



http://www.panasonic.co.uk Rule Britannia!



http://www.panasonic.ru/ Need drivers comrade?



Unfortunately, Panasonic seems to have gathered all of their European Sites under one umbrella removing some of my old favorite locations for drivers and Service Manuals.

I suspect you can just add your country to Panasonic.xx and find all of the European info in your home language.



http://toughbooktalk.com/public_downloads/ Graciously hosted by JB007Rules. Lots of good stuff here, wallpapers, drivers organized by model, more personal than the corporate sites. He will put stuff up for everyone,sharing is good!



http://www.modly.net/Toughbook/ Modly's site, some good stuff here.Modly is back up, note now .net not .org 4/24/09





http://vzw.smithmicro.com/download/download.aspx Verizon Drivers for WWAN, courtesy of JB007Rules.



For Service Manuals, Schematics, and other advanced literature you will need to dig a little deeper unless a member wishes to post availability in this thread.



For OEM Parts:

https://www.pstc.panasonic.com/



http://www.heartlandsi.com/contact/contact_us.aspx

Heartlands Services is the US parts supplier for new parts. You have to call them on the phone, try to combine orders as shipping costs are very high.



If you need help with drivers or manuals and it isn't here, post your question in a new thread in the main TB forum.







Enjoy, PM me if you find something you think should be added,thanks,

CAP

Thinking of a maxed out SB but see a lot of negative reviews?

Hi,



I'm thinking of buying an SB with all the options for about $2500-3000. I live on the road so this will be my main computer, mostly internet applications and office programs but I also spend a lot of time gaming. I also like to watch Blu-Ray discs that i get through netflix on the road (I know I'm weird for still using discs). I was considering the Lenovo X220 but it doesn't have the blu-ray or graphic processor.



As a road warrior, am I fool for choosing a Sony? On this forum people seem to complain about their fragility. While I do travel constantly, I never check my laptop and always try to treat it well. I currently have a Sager NP2090 15.4" but it's just too big and heavy, plus it's 4 years old and is starting to have some problems (6.5 lbs and big).



I'm planning on getting the i7 2620m, Windows 7 pro, Radeon HD 6630m, 256mb solid state, 8gb DDR3, and Blu-Ray burner.



Any advice? Should I be looking elsewhere or might I be happy with this laptop? Can it last 4-5 years like my sager did? Thanks!

Reply 1 : Thinking of a maxed out SB but see a lot of negative reviews?

If you're willing to spend that amount of money on a computer, have you ever considered the Sony Z or the upcoming SA? SA will be the same as the SB but offer a lighter frame construction made of carbon fiber, SSD as standard, and will have a higher res 1600X900 screen.

Reply 2 : Thinking of a maxed out SB but see a lot of negative reviews?

Hmmm, yeah....I will look into the SA. I spend my life on the road (20+ days per month) and a lot of that time is spent on the computer. As a result, my laptop is a big part of my life, which is why I'm willing to spend money on a good one. Thanks for the tip on the SA, I will check out the thread about them.

Reply 3 : Thinking of a maxed out SB but see a lot of negative reviews?

Otherwise the current Z may be up your alley as well. It's lighter than the SA/SB some have a 1080 screen as apposed to the 900 screen. A minor downside is that it uses the previous gen Intel chips- there's no Sandy Bridge update until June but the form factor of the computer will change to an external optical and graphics combo which may not be what you want if you're always on the go.

Reply 4 : Thinking of a maxed out SB but see a lot of negative reviews?

Speaking about build quality and fragility, the SB is actually pretty darn robust. You won't find much problems even if you're quite a careless user.



The Z is also a nice competitor. However, as a Z user myself I consider the SB superior. The only edge the Z has over the SB is the 1080p screen as well as 300 grams less weight (which is quite a bit). The SB does have a inferior screen though, the colors seemed a bit washed out, but shouldn't be a problem if you're not a screen-snob.



One thing to mark though-the current SB series is much more robust than the Z series-at least for the screen. The SB is just as (if not more) robust as the Macbook Pro. I wouldn't go too far saying that it's more robust than a thinkpad though.



If I were you I'd go with the maxed out SB. You won't be disappointed by the purchase

Reply 5 : Thinking of a maxed out SB but see a lot of negative reviews?


Quote:








Originally Posted by Brianho1337
View Post

Speaking about build quality and fragility, the SB is actually pretty darn robust. You won't find much problems even if you're quite a careless user.



The Z is also a nice competitor. However, as a Z user myself I consider the SB superior. The only edge the Z has over the SB is the 1080p screen as well as 300 grams less weight (which is quite a bit). The SB does have a inferior screen though, the colors seemed a bit washed out, but shouldn't be a problem if you're not a screen-snob.



One thing to mark though-the current SB series is much more robust than the Z series-at least for the screen. The SB is just as (if not more) robust as the Macbook Pro. I wouldn't go too far saying that it's more robust than a thinkpad though.



If I were you I'd go with the maxed out SB. You won't be disappointed by the purchase



Look through the Sony forum. I could have sworn there was someone that just took delivery of a maxed out SB that didint want it. Maybe you can buy it off him and save a few bucks.

Reply 6 : Thinking of a maxed out SB but see a lot of negative reviews?

Hmm, well the more I look the more I think I might want to wait for the SA series. This always seems to happen to me when I shop for laptops



The bad mouthing of the SB displays has me a bit wary. If I'm going to spring for a machine with a blu ray drive I might as well have a full HD display, although I seriously doubt I could discern the difference in resolution on a 13.3" screen. In the end, I guess waiting another few months will save me money in the long run!

Reply 7 : Thinking of a maxed out SB but see a lot of negative reviews?


Quote:








Originally Posted by maven1975
View Post

Look through the Sony forum. I could have sworn there was someone that just took delivery of a maxed out SB that didint want it. Maybe you can buy it off him and save a few bucks.



Ehh, I'm not that rich to get to swap computers every few months or so, but from the impressions I get from my dad's SB (not even a maxed out config to speak of-a Radeon HD 6470M and a 500 GB 7200rpm instead of a Radeon HD 6630 and a 256 GB SSD), it was still quite a good machine, though my Z does perform a bit more smoothly and streamlined. I'd expect the top end SB to be just as good as the Z, if not better.

Reply 8 : Thinking of a maxed out SB but see a lot of negative reviews?


Quote:








Originally Posted by maven1975
View Post

Look through the Sony forum. I could have sworn there was someone that just took delivery of a maxed out SB that didint want it. Maybe you can buy it off him and save a few bucks.



Ehh, I'm not that rich to get to swap computers every few months or so, but from the impressions I get from my dad's SB (not even a maxed out config to speak of-a Radeon HD 6470M and a 500 GB 7200rpm instead of a Radeon HD 6630 and a 256 GB SSD), it was still quite a good machine, though my Z does perform a bit more smoothly and streamlined. I'd expect the top end SB to be just as good as the Z, if not better.

Reply 9 : Thinking of a maxed out SB but see a lot of negative reviews?


Quote:








Originally Posted by Brianho1337
View Post

Ehh, I'm not that rich to get to swap computers every few months or so, but from the impressions I get from my dad's SB (not even a maxed out config to speak of-a Radeon HD 6470M and a 500 GB 7200rpm instead of a Radeon HD 6630 and a 256 GB SSD), it was still quite a good machine, though my Z does perform a bit more smoothly and streamlined. I'd expect the top end SB to be just as good as the Z, if not better.



Did you notice anything bad about the display? Is the SB display as bad as a few reviews on here have made it out to be? To be honest, the SB seems like it'd be perfect for me except for concern about black level and yellow hues on the screen....



I'm also seeing reports that the SA won't even have a different display than the SB now...the half pound savings of the carbon fiber SA chasis isn't a huge deal to me, but if the display on the SB sucks it could be a deal breaker.

New Samsung Verizon 4G LTE Modem (Needs Software Update)

Got the new Verizon 4G Modem on Friday. Prior Modem was Sprint Overdrive. There is no display on the Samsung Modem. It only has LED lights. They work OK, but there are some glaring deficiencies.

The WORST is that the GREEN LED glows SOLID when CHARGING and when FULLY CHARGED. The only way to know if the Modem is charged is to log onto the Router Web Page and look there. That is not efficient or acceptable.

The software should be UPDATED to have the LED BLINK during charging and become SOLID when FULLY CHARGED. This is a normal practice in the electronics industry and is a major oversight in this new product. This should be an easy software update that can be pushed to the device.

Reply 1 : New Samsung Verizon 4G LTE Modem (Needs Software Update)

Only Sprint could issue new firmware. It's possible the same is true from Verizon.

Reply 2 : New Samsung Verizon 4G LTE Modem (Needs Software Update)

My Overdrive was updated several times by Sierra Wireless, the manufacturer, not Sprint.

And, in fact, the first Samsung update DID come out a few days ago directly from SAMSUNG on its website and had nothing to do with Verizon.

Reply 3 : New Samsung Verizon 4G LTE Modem (Needs Software Update)

It makes it impossible to tell if we have an update except by checking at the source(s).

AIM messenger does not work on my G73JH 64bit? "Connection Lost"

I recently reformatted my Asus G73JH laptop and installed all the necessary drivers. For some reason, I am not able to connect on AIM messenger. When I try to log in, it says "Connection Lost." I am currently using AIM 7.5. I've tried older versions from 5.9 to 6.5 with the same problem. Even Aim Express doesn't work for me. I have no 3rd party antivirus or firewall programs. I even disabled my firewall, still no luck. I tried running as administrator and that does not work as well. What seems to be the problem here? For some reason, I am able to connect to aim with meebo.com. It does not have to do with my internet connection because I am currently connected to the internet and my roomate is connected to AIM perfectly fine. Any suggestions? Thanks

Reply 1 : AIM messenger does not work on my G73JH 64bit? "Connection Lost"

Why do you think this is specific to G73jh or should be posted in an Asus Notebook forum? Shouldn't you post this in an AIM forum for Windows 7 x64?

Reply 2 : AIM messenger does not work on my G73JH 64bit? "Connection Lost"

Sounds to me the router is setup to route the ports for AIM only to your buddy's machine.

Reply 3 : AIM messenger does not work on my G73JH 64bit? "Connection Lost"

When you say you disabled you firewall , do you mean the windows firewall? I would guess a port needs to be open if the firewall is on... Is there any options/help file in AIM interface about port opening?



If the Win. firewall is on have you verified that an exception is set for this app?



good question laptopfan88

Reply 4 : AIM messenger does not work on my G73JH 64bit? "Connection Lost"

this was a very odd problem, but I finally found the solution. The problem was that my computer clock was not correct. After setting the proper date and time, I was able to connect immediately. Thanks

ThinkPad X1

ThinkPad X1 picture is out, expected announcement date: May 17



Source: Neue ThinkPad Modelle



ThinkPad X1ͼƬˮ - ר - רҵıʼDZԼվ



• Centrino2 vPro, Intel Core i5-2520M Prozessor, 2.50 GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB

• 8 GB DDR3 Arbeitsspeicher

• 160 GB Solid-State-Drive (SSD)

• Intel Integrated HD Graphics

• 13.3 ″ HD (1366 768, 350 Nits)

• Gigabit, Intel 6300 AGN Wireless, Open SIM, Fingerabdruckleser, BlueTooth, 4in1-Kartenleser (SD / SDHC / SDXC / MMC Slot), Integrierte HD 720p Kamera und 2 HD Mikrofone

• 6-reihige Przisionstastatur mit Hintergrundbeleuchtung

• Rapid Charge Akku, 38.4 Wh

• WIN 7 Pro 64



New added photo:



Source: http://www.51nb.com/viewnews-64972.html



The volume control button and blue Think Access button were moved to the right to give more room for the TrackPad.



Also, according to this source: http://www.51nb.com/viewnews-64943.html

The screen resolution is only 1366 768, but it's IPS screen, this machine does NOT come with a optical drive.



According to this source: http://shop.tell-it.ch/index.php?pag...uct&info=34798























X1 comes with Gorilla Glass * 350 NITS LCD, USB 3.0, eSATA.



Most exciting thing! According to this source: http://www.51nb.com/viewnews-64917.html

The ThinkPad X1 will come with the new battery technology. It's a thin battery with triple capacity compare to other batteries. The battery comes with Rapid Charge technology. The battery can be 80% charged in 30 minutes.





I will update you the latest X1 news.

Reply 1 : ThinkPad X1

The X1 looks like a 13 in version of ThinkPad Edge without optical drive.

Reply 2 : ThinkPad X1

Glossy screen? Or at least looks like very reflective if those are real pictures (photographs I mean).

Reply 3 : ThinkPad X1

Can We Please Get A 1600x900 Option?

Reply 4 : ThinkPad X1

Interesting, although I don't see why this computer would have to have a different name than the X120e and Edge series: it seems to be pretty much the same type of laptop. Specs are nice, although not all that impressive. A 1600x900 screen would be nice to see, but its absence is also not surprising.

Reply 5 : ThinkPad X1

That is what I was thinking. I know how you feel, I was hoping for an x301 successor with HD+. I feel so disappointed about Lenovo's release this year. Why can't they release a laptop with decent HD+ screen for 12-14 from factor.

Reply 6 : ThinkPad X1

Even sony is dragging its feet with the Vaio SA, which is supposed to have a 1600x900 premium display. Very frustrating, I have excellent eyesight, and I want high resolution.

Reply 7 : ThinkPad X1

Ouch. X1 is not even a convertible tablet. It's so 20th century.

Reply 8 : ThinkPad X1


Quote:








Originally Posted by jumpycalm
View Post

13.3 ″ HD (1366 768, 350 Nits)



I really hope the resolution isn't 1366x768

Reply 9 : ThinkPad X1


Quote:








Originally Posted by Thors.Hammer
View Post

I really hope the resolution isn't 1366x768



In fact they are transitioning to the more advanced resolution, 16 pixels by 9 pixels. Each pixel will be represented by a light bulb. And if you have a dead pixel you can simply go to a Walmart store and replace it with a new bulb. Yea!

VGA Keyboard&Mouse

I connected my Inspiron 910 netbook to the Vizio tv with a VGA (RGB) cable and a stereo mini jack cable. It works great. But the cables are strung out across the floor with the netbook with me.
I'm wondering if I can use shorter cables and leave the netbook by the tv and use a wireless keyboard and mouse? And if so, does it need to be laser also? Would this be the combo to use if this can be done with a netbook?
Logitech Wireless Combo MK520
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/keyboards/keyboard-mice-combos/devices/7305
Thank you.....

Reply 1 : VGA Keyboard&Mouse

Range is in a few feet so I move the receiver closer with the supplied cable.

Reply 2 : VGA Keyboard&Mouse

I've decided on trying the Logitech MK520. It's unifying and says long range.
Thank you.

Dell XPS USB 3.0 Issues

I am having random disconnection issues with the 2 USB 3.0 ports on my newly purchased XPS L702X.
It is completely unrelated to the device and occurs at no specific interval and is only recoverable with a reboot.
Based on a Dell Support Forum - XPS 15 - USB 3.0 Problems, this issue has existed since the 1st generation release late 2010 of the current XPS series and appears to affect many users.
Based on feedback, consumers who contact Dell for resolution end up with no resolution despite motherboard/daughterboard replacements.
Also, a Renesas controller driver upgrade or rollback does not cure the issue either.

I am starting this discussion to find others who have encountered this issue as well and have either found a resolution to actually using the 3.0 ports or who may have not yet spoken up... This issue has gone on far too long without resolution and in order to get Dell to take this defect seriously, everyone affected needs to read the forum and take part in the descussion,
Please post any information you have... even if you have an XPS Laptop current model 1st and 2nd generation without 3.0 issues... you too can help find the solution.

Thanks

Reply 1 : Dell XPS USB 3.0 Issues

I've seen this happen for years with no "one thing" being the cause. I have run into folk that think it's a driver or the maker but let me share I have ZERO PROBLEMS with this today.

However I know to look at the various control panels to remove, uncheck power saver settings, change the drive to not spin down (if that's what I want) and a few other things.

Sadly, I've never found it to be one thing. One time it was the same old USB power issue. That is, using a wall wart to power the drive fixed it.

Then again, I run into folk that want Dell to fix it so the wall wart is not required.
Bob

Reply 2 : Dell XPS USB 3.0 Issues

Bob,
What model XPS are you running?
What Renesas driver version/firmare version are you on?
Also if you can list all the settings you changed to get to zero problems, that would be great.... would help the rest of us possibly.

Many of us in the dell forum have already tried setting all the power options etc. that we are aware of as well as a few "suggestions" from Dell.
The issue occurs when you use anything that cannot be powered by a wall wart... ie. mouse, controllers, modems, keyboards, you name it.
A few have reported issues even with powered 3.0 hubs with multiple drives attached... they were unable to use the hubs and had to go with only a single ext. drive per port and depending on the drive used, some still have issues as it appears a few drives will not work with the port.

Most everyone has no issue with the USB 2.0 or eSata/USB 2.0 combo port.

Reply 3 : Dell XPS USB 3.0 Issues

But I'm away from the office for a few weeks.

The drivers are whatever Dell supplied. At the office we never update or chase down new drivers.

But the fail to work USB 3.0 drives are returned as defective. Let the makers eat those.
We learned long ago Dell is not going to change their stuff with work with someone's drive. So we took the easy exit.

I'm sure folk wanted a better answer and for that I apologize.
Bob