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Toshiba T4900CT

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First post, by Arson

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This was my very first laptop and when i found one available on ebay, i snatched it up! However, because it lacked a power adapter, i cannot determine it's working condition!

I have browsed around the forums and have come up with several upgrades I would like to add upon it. Anyone have a source as to locating an AC adapter that will power it up? One i bought on ebay that -claimed- to be compatible was a bust.

Last edited by Arson on 2018-09-24, 23:21. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 2 of 65, by henryVK

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There's two of those on Ebay. The model number is right there in the picture. Otherwise get one of those adjustable power adapters and make sure it comes with the right "tip".

Reply 4 of 65, by Arson

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Update! I've gone ahead and removed the HD out of it to check what was on it. Windows 3.1! If the laptop is in perfect condition once I plug it in, I will be quite happy! Although, i still plan to swap out the HD and use a CF to IDE adapter with a CF card in it's place. I also need to locate a 32MB memory card to add to it.

Reply 5 of 65, by Arson

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My plan is simple. Determine if it powers on with no issues. Replace floppy drive, add PC card CD-rom, SD card reader, and a network card. Despite it being too slow to browse the Internet in this era, I can still have some use of network transfering files to and from it.

Reply 8 of 65, by Arson

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The cord is a little sensitive to touch as i have to wiggle it a few times in order for the laptop to detect it. I suspect it has to do with the power adapter, not the laptop itself. Now that it has powered on, i have determined that it has windows 98 installed and the floppy drive does not work. It won't complete windows load due to lack of system memory. So my next bit will be getting a CC type memory card for it.

Reply 9 of 65, by Arson

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The battery condition is not certain but I have hopes that it still works? I also noticed a blunt area where the screen may have been damaged. Image goes through but it is obvious that it will need to be replaced.

Reply 10 of 65, by Arson

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I keep having trouble with this power adapter. Either it's really wonky or the power connector on the board may have gone bad. Only way to determine that would be to get a second power adapter of a different variety and test it that way. If it truly is the connector, i may have to completely disassemble this laptop and unsolder the connector from the board and resolder a replacement connector. Hopefully this is not the case. Never soldered before.

Reply 11 of 65, by Arson

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I have ordered a CC style memory card for the laptop but it's located in Israel so it's going to take a few weeks to get here. The toshiba power brick should be here sometime next week. Hoping that the issue will be with the adjustable power cord and not the laptop power port itself.

Reply 12 of 65, by Arson

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UVd7HGs.jpg

Unusual bubbling or heat damage. Picture goes through but it's obvious that the LCD screen should be replaced. Could I find that part for sale or maybe an earlier model that is compatible with the T4900CT?

Reply 13 of 65, by Arson

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I have found an official power adapter that is for this model of laptop and based on this experience, i have determined that the AC adapter is fine. I suspect that the power issues is a result of the dead CMOS battery.

eRpYt5J.jpg

Win98 will not run without the 32MB memory card addon as evidence in this photo.

BPkrnim.jpg

Reply 15 of 65, by peido

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Hi.
That's a nice laptop. Hope you can completely restore it.

About the CMOS battery, Toshibas of that era usually have bad batteries (Warning: Leaking BIOS/CMOS/Resume Batteries Damaging Laptops). I store my Toshibas without any batteries, to prevent further damage.

Arson wrote:

Unusual bubbling or heat damage. Picture goes through but it's obvious that the LCD screen should be replaced. Could I find that part for sale or maybe an earlier model that is compatible with the T4900CT?

That's strange. Does the LCD heats up to an unusual temperature? Or do you think that the damage was made with an external heat source?

Reply 16 of 65, by Arson

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peido wrote:

Hi.
That's a nice lapt--

I suspect it was the result of an external source. But it still shows up just fine. As for the batteries, Yeah. I noticed some leakage from one of the batteries so after some digging, I found a replacement. At the moment, everything is in pieces. Waiting for several more replacement parts before i try and reassemble it.

Reply 17 of 65, by Arson

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I have reassembled the laptop and replaced the CMOS battery, standby battery, and floppy disk drive. I found a 26-pin zif cable that hopefully will work in replacing the one ripped during disassembly. I have also added a memory card to max out the laptop's ram to 40MBs. The power cord works just fine. However. The issue with the power continues. I have determined a possible answer as to the problem. Issue is with the power supply board. Either one of the capacitors is flimsy or failing or the power supply board is failing. Anyone have a broken/not working T4900CT that they'll sell me? I could replace the power supply board that way.