That seems like a long shot but possible I guess. I'd first try to get the docking station. Maybe something like this?

That toshiba of yours has almost the same specs as Satellite 310CDT that I bought this weekend. The real difference is that mine doesn't support a docking station so no game port for me.

sgraffite wrote:

Maybe something like this?

Ooh... I didn't see that before because nothing came up on eBay for "Card Station III" - I guess "Enhanced Port Replicator III" is another name for it. Well, that helps things a little, but I'm not sure I want to shell out ~$30+ for this thing. EDIT: I could make them an offer though... I don't know what I would put. $8-10 maybe? I wish the shipping was less, or free even.

Half-Saint wrote:

That toshiba of yours has almost the same specs as Satellite 310CDT that I bought this weekend. The real difference is that mine doesn't support a docking station so no game port for me.

Accessing... accessing... Hey! Yours has a 200 PMMX, while mine has a 166... how much of a performance difference is that? Not that it matters for me - heck, I'd be happy with a 486DX2/66! 🤣 You can get PCMCIA gameport cards, however (that's my plan B) and there are also USB to gameport adapters you can buy on Amazon (plan C). Hopefully those work in Windows 95? 😕

Would be good to see pics of the dock connector. There is a Desk Station V Plus, which I've been trying to find for my Tecra 740CDT and your model is a very similar form factor. Your model is not on the list but then neither is mine but I know for a fact it's compatible. Minuszerodegrees.net had a service manual for the Desk Station that has a pinout in it - could be worth a shot?

I just checked at home and I've got the Satellite 4015CDT which is a Pentium II 266. Looks very similar.

According to this site the PA2717U model docking station supports these models:

1Toshiba Portege 610CT
2Toshiba Portege 650CT
3Toshiba Satellite 220CDS
4Toshiba Satellite 4030CDT
5Toshiba Satellite 4080XCDT
6Toshiba Satellite 4090XDVD
7Toshiba Satellite Pro 4260DVD
8Toshiba Satellite Pro 4280ZDVD
9Toshiba Satellite Pro 4340
10Toshiba Satellite Pro 440CDT
11Toshiba Satellite Pro 445CDT
12Toshiba Satellite Pro 460CDT
13Toshiba Satellite Pro 465CDX
14Toshiba Satellite Pro 480CDT
15Toshiba Satellite Pro 490XCDT
16Toshiba Tecra 8000
17Toshiba Portege 620CT
18Toshiba Portege 660CDT
19Toshiba Tecra 500CS
20Toshiba Satellite Pro 490CDT
21Toshiba Satellite Pro 470CDT
22Toshiba Satellite Pro 460CDX
23Toshiba Satellite Pro 445CDX
24Toshiba Satellite Pro 440CDX
25Toshiba Satellite Pro 4360
26Toshiba Satellite Pro 4320
27Toshiba Satellite Pro 4280XDVD
28Toshiba Satellite 4100XDVD
29Toshiba Satellite 4085XCDT
30Toshiba Satellite 4060CDT
31Toshiba Satellite 225CDS

As another vintage Satellite owner (4005CDS here), I was also investigating possible dock options earlier but have found it to be a bit of a crap shoot.

Many eBay sellers claimed to support my model or its CDT variant with various docks (namely the PA2717U and PA2731U), but given the connector's position relative to the I/O ports on my laptop (connection seems to be parallel or similar-looking proprietary, but my laptop's parallel port is off-centre and I can't find a proper image of it or a pinout) and a lack of official info on specification sheets for either laptop or docks to support the other, I am not really sure either.

Well, if those turn out not to work there is always the elusive PCMCIA game port / MIDI synth option....

I am necroing this thread since I just got a fully working 490XCDT laptop. I bought it "for parts" since the seller didn't have a power adapter to test it.

It got here and is in immaculate condition so I ordered a power adapter which just arrived today. Plugged it in, and it booted right up and the battery even takes a charge.

Anyway, I am searching for a dock. The official specifications say the PA2717U is the one I need but I can't find any that aren't priced through the roof.

Recycledgoods does have the PA2724U, which is officially for the Tecra 8000.

If I were to try this dock, I would have to remove the plastic that opens the dock port on the Tecra 8000 as it is in a different place than the PA2724U and the dock would also not be centered with the laptop which I really don't care about.

My only concern is that they may have changed the pinout and I don't want to fry the laptop or the dock if I try it out.

Has anybody else tried this or tried the PA2717U on a Tecra 8000 or similar? Even better would be knowledge of the pinout of the dock connectors.

I've got a Tecra 8000 here and some older Tecras like the 750DVD - looking at them together, the docking connectors look to be in the same place:

• Front docking hooks - same position, the older Tecras are slightly narrower, so a front docking hook on the 8000 is spaced slightly out on one side
• Docking connector - same vertical position and centred between the docking hooks
• This brochure - says it's compatible with the Deskstation V, which is what my Tecra 750DVD (light grey) is meant to use, so the pinout must be the same (nearly busted out the multimeter)

I've got to try making a PCB to break out the game port + midi on the docking connector at some point, it'd be easier than trying to find these docks now.

Sadly the Tecra 8000's release coincides with Toshiba's service documentation no longer including the dock pinout, so we can't just easily compare the two, it'll require checking ground positions if you want to be 99% sure. It's most likely the 10/100 network interface would be using some un-used pins. You can check the pinout in the 730CDT maintenance manual in appendix C4.

Hmm, I Think the networking is integrated into the dock as a PCI / PCMCIA interface rather than dedicated pins, since the laptop itself lacks Ethernet. It says this in the brochure, the manual matches this too:
"Integrated 10/100 Ethernet controller in optional Port Replicator
10/100 Network Port Replicator -PA2724U E10/100Mbps RJ45 Fast Ethernet Port usingIntel®82558 LAN controller "
And the manual says the same thing:
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/203430/Tosh … page=219#manual

So it should be fine 😀

I have one of the PA2724U docks on the way as well as the 490XCDT user manual which the same seller just happened to have. It is not available online anywhere that I could find.

I'll check the pins as much as I can before trying it out. I hope they didn't change the pinout.

You can see there's a pin 1 mark on the dock connector itself, so looking at the docking connector from the back of the laptop, pin1 is on the right side, and pin2 is to the left of it
Pin 1 - 60: top row, upper pins
Pin 61 - 120: top row, lower pins
Pin 121 - 180: bottom row, upper pins
Pin 181 - 240: bottom row, lower pins

I checked with the multimeter after all 😁 the first 8 pins have grounds in locations matching the pinout in the 730CDT manual, so I think it's safe.

Thermalwrong wrote on 2021-04-11, 01:45:

You can see there's a pin 1 mark on the dock connector itself, so looking at the docking connector from the back of the laptop, […]
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You can see there's a pin 1 mark on the dock connector itself, so looking at the docking connector from the back of the laptop, pin1 is on the right side, and pin2 is to the left of it
Pin 1 - 60: top row, upper pins
Pin 61 - 120: top row, lower pins
Pin 121 - 180: bottom row, upper pins
Pin 181 - 240: bottom row, lower pins

I checked with the multimeter after all 😁 the first 8 pins have grounds in locations matching the pinout in the 730CDT manual, so I think it's safe.

I recently obtained a 730cdt loaded with DOS 6.22. I was hoping to hook my old CH Products Flightstick Pro up to it....only to find the 730CDT has no game port.

If you are able to come up with a Docking Port adapter or some sort of solution, could I buy one from you? I'm not to handy with soldering (or I guess I could try if I had some instructions)

I have a PA2724U on the way for my 730CDT. Hopefully it will allow my flightstick to live again.

It's just something in the 'pondering' stage right now, I need to finish off some other projects first. But it looks like these guys just had some luck with the Compaq equivalent: Looking for Compaq Presario 1800 docking station connector (found: I-PEX MINIDOCK 30030-080T)

I was thinking it would be a hassle because the docking connector is something I don't know the part# / name of and the joystick / midi connector pins are on a couple of different rows, so it would need 2 PCBs. I'm thinking you could use the gameport to hold the two together though

The docking station I ordered just came today and it won't work. The connector on the dock is about twice as wide as the one on the laptop... uggghhh.

ahh, that makes sense. That's unfortunately, but it does make sense. It looks like the PA2724U will only work for the Tecra 7xx, the Tecra 8000 and the Tecra 5xx laptops. It seems the 240 pin docking connector may be unique to those models.

The Satellite 4xx and 2xx laptops do use the smaller width connector, like my Satellite 410CDT. And it apparently includes even the very late 490CDT laptops, sorry 🙁

Yikes, I just dug out my 230CX laptop since that one's similar to your 490XCDT and it's no wonder the docks are so rare. The Toshiba Satellite Pro 230/460/480/490 laptops all use a smaller, higher pin density connector.

The docking connector is squarer and its pin density is about double what the older Satellite 410CDT has, despite being a similar size docking connector. Sorry I said it would be fine, I didn't realise Toshiba had quite this many dock connectors.

I can't find the pinout anywhere, but the later Satellite Pro 4xxx models appear to use the same one, which looks the same as my 230CX laptop's connector:

In the Satellite 4200/4300 user manual, the expansion options are:
PA2717UYN - CardStation III
PA2731UE - Port Replicator
PA2730U - Spacer (for CardStation III)
PA3024UE-1PRP - CardStation IV

There are some good pictures of the PA3024 and the docking connector on that looks like it'll fit your 490XCDT, but it has game port 😀 The PA2731U does though

Well... I just located and ordered a couple more docks... part numbers given on the web site were:
PA2717 - site said it is compatible.
PA2717UN - Site said it was compatible with some of the same models the PA2717 and PA2717U are compatible with.

I'm wondering if the PA2717 is the same exact as the PA2717U and they just didn't mark the part number correctly. Or maybe it is just the adapter for the Desktation V.
The PA2717UN should be the PA2717U with Networking.

Crossing fingers they actually ship and that they are what they say they are and that they work.

I couldn't find any info about either of these specific numbers except a reference to a couple different laptop models.

Yeah, the PA2717 variants should all connect up to the same laptops as far as I'm aware. I wonder if the N suffix is for the colour, I have seen the 2731U in both the older Toshiba light grey, then in the dark grey that the 2000-ish models use.
Great that you managed to find it 😀

edit: ooh, check out this options brochure from 2000, it has a compatibility table for the different dock types:
https://web.archive.org/web/20000831015221/ht … ions_6_00_E.pdf

and 1999: https://web.archive.org/web/20060704202932/ht … ions_E_6_99.pdf

And 1998, woah, this one even has the 490CDT but it uses some different part code numbers? https://web.archive.org/web/20030428171125/ht … tions_09_98.pdf