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Toshiba T5200 mods and upgrades

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Reply 201 of 534, by IanB

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OldCat wrote:

This calls for another hardware mod by IanB!

I have looked at this and it should be possible in one way or another.
There are two microcontrollers used in AT or PS/2 keyboard communications, one in the keyboard to scan the keys and send the data stream and one on the motherboard to received the data stream and pass it to the main CPU. With the T5200, both are on the motherboard, the 40 pin microcontroller next to the BIOS EPROM scans the keyboard and a surface mount one further back on the PCB receives the data (approx under the HD).

Often when more than one keyboard is possible, the receiving microcontroller will have more than one pair of keyboard lines so it can use internal or external keyboards at the same time. I don't know if the microcontroller in the T5200 supports that but if it did, it would require soldering to unused pins on the surface mount package which would be difficult. An alternative solution might be to intercept the pair of keyboard lines coming out of the keyboard scanning microcontroller and switch them between an external keyboard and normal operation. It should be relatively easy to do this as the microcontroller is a 40 pin DIP package.
I used a scope to look for the clock and data lines on that chip some time ago but haven't actually tried connecting a keyboard so far.

Hamby wrote:

I wonder if a PS/2 to serial adapter would work with a keyboard like it does with mice?

No, that won't work as standard keyboards always need an AT or PS/2 type connection and don't work over serial ports.

Reply 202 of 534, by Vipersan

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Well ..if you do succeed with a KB mod Ian ..
I for one would certainly give it a go.
The Idea that I could run my T5200 with the lid closed thus less wear an tear on the aged plasma screen ..and using an external VGA is very appealing.
rgds
VS

Reply 203 of 534, by Vipersan

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Since I have already made so many changes to my T5200 ...and no longer consider it orginal ...
I began to wonder about replacing the Plasma screen as well ..which might be useable in the 3200 ..(working but no screen)
So ..
after some searching ..found this ..and made an offer of £70 including delivery ..
It was accepted ..

VGA-LCD-Controller-Board-Work-With-10-4-034-AA104VH01-640x480-LCD-Screen

So ..more fun to be had I guess..
we shall see.

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Reply 204 of 534, by OldCat

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Vipersan wrote:

Since I have already made so many changes to my T5200 ...and no longer consider it orginal ...
I began to wonder about replacing the Plasma screen as well

That's a bit too far...
(as in: Pablo Francisco skit "the movie trailer guy")

Vipersan wrote:

..which might be useable in the 3200 ..(working but no screen)

Yes it is usable. I have done the transition both ways: T3200SX to T5200 and the other way round. That's the same screen and wiring. Works fine.

Reply 206 of 534, by Hamby

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Vipersan wrote:

Yep ..it may well be a step too far ..but at least this way ..I get a working 3200 as well ..
and dont get me wrong ..this wasn't a quick or easy decision to make..
🤣

If the T5200 and T3200 screen are the same...
And this new screen works in the T5200...
Why not just put it in the T3200?

The main reason I got a T5200 was the gas plasma display. The 2nd reason was the two expansion slots.

Reply 207 of 534, by Vipersan

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Yep ..that is certainly a possibility I'm considering ..
I'll decide when it gets here ...which will be a while I think coming from China.
What I am wondering is ...
can I drive it directly from the signals which would arrive at the plasma header ....or the easier route of splitting the vga out from the rear 15 pin port ...and use the included vga driver board.
??
this will require further investigation I think.
rgds
VS

Reply 208 of 534, by OldCat

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Just noticed: T3200 or T3200SX? T3200 has EGA graphics card and suitable EGA plasma screen (4 levels of intensity) - same as T5100, except in larger form factor. T3200SX on the other hand has VGA screen (16 levels of intensity) that can be swapped with T5200.

Reply 209 of 534, by Vipersan

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OldCat wrote:

Just noticed: T3200 or T3200SX? T3200 has EGA graphics card and suitable EGA plasma screen (4 levels of intensity) - same as T5100, except in larger form factor. T3200SX on the other hand has VGA screen (16 levels of intensity) that can be swapped with T5200.

Mine is a T3200SX ..so I guess I have options..
cheers OC

Reply 210 of 534, by Hamby

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more mixed news from my T5200 front...

Worst news: my T5200 (Oscar) isn't saving CMOS info, even though I installed a new battery.
Maybe when working on the other stuff I disconnected and failed to connect it.
Or maybe the battery got drained already?

Not-good news. I got myself a Zyxel MWR102 portable router/access point.
Although I didn't appear to be able to connect to my network with it (and especially the internet)
My main router *did* find Oscar. In the network map it had Oscar's IP address.

Not the access point's address... the computer's address.

On the good news front:
I got myself another Logitech trackball, a "marble" (I like the ones you control with your thumb).
Works just fine.

I got a Quickshot game pad and a Gravis joystick (I can't remember the model designation; the black, elegant looking ones).
The latter seems to have some spatterings of paint on it, easily fixed.

If you recall, I installed my ESS1688 sound card in the 8 bit slot and my network card in the 16 bit slot. So I was kind of concerned whether the joystick would work or not.

Commander Keen 4 worked just great with the joypad.

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Wing Commander worked just great with the joystick.

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WFW 3.11 still locks the machine up when it exits, requiring a cold boot. I think it has something to do with the fact that I copied the configuration over from the desktop dos machine, and have been tweaking the settings.

So I'll open her up tomorrow, see what could be wrong with the cmos, and take another crack at cleaning the enter key.

Reply 211 of 534, by REFCODES.ORG

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Hello everybody,

IanB wrote:
Vipersan wrote:

As the T3200SX is very similar, I've patched some of the BIOS versions for that as well:

having my T5200 up and runnung thanks to the BIOS patches, I now work on my T3200. I pulled the BIOS(?) from two chips under the keyboard with an EPROM-Reader. Them chips were labled "033E" and "034E" residing in M27C256K from Mitsubishi. The chips seem to be only of 32KB size. I attach the dumped BIOS (the dumps start with the words "ODD" and "EVEN" for each dumped chip repectivley). Does anybody have an idea if I can use the patched BIOSes somhow for my T3200?

Thanks beforehand! Siegfried

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Reply 212 of 534, by Vipersan

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Turns out ..there is space in that useless modem compartment underside of a 3200SX ....big enough to fit the CF adapter ..
with a bit of plastic trimming.
Probably been done before I guess ..but makes for easy CF access ..
So file transfer or plug in OS ..
both are good.
rgds
VS

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Reply 213 of 534, by Hamby

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Way cool, VS!

I tried getting myself a 2nd T5200 off of ebay, but I was outbid 🙁 Would have made a great backup.

But I'm afraid I've a more serious problem.

I replaced the 2032 button battery with a fresh one... when I did a cold boot again, it retained the cmos info...

But a few hours later when I went to turn the computer on... it again will not remember the cmos data.

Could it be the wires are crossed?
It plugs in to the same connector as the old battery... I wonder if the wrong pins are connected?

But why did it work once? Suddenly discharged? A short?

Reply 214 of 534, by Vipersan

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Hamby wrote:
Way cool, VS! […]
Show full quote

Way cool, VS!

I tried getting myself a 2nd T5200 off of ebay, but I was outbid 🙁 Would have made a great backup.

But I'm afraid I've a more serious problem.

I replaced the 2032 button battery with a fresh one... when I did a cold boot again, it retained the cmos info...

But a few hours later when I went to turn the computer on... it again will not remember the cmos data.

Could it be the wires are crossed?
It plugs in to the same connector as the old battery... I wonder if the wrong pins are connected?

But why did it work once? Suddenly discharged? A short?

That's a mighty tricky one Hamby ..
Possibly a cap leaky ..and pulling on the battery causing a discharge over a short period of time.
could you hang a meter in series with the Cmos supply from the battery (current range) ...and monitor discharge perhaps ?...
Theoretically only the bios chip should be drawing any current ..so remove the bios chip and monitor to see if there is a load.

Personally I prefer AA sized rtc batteries in both the 3200 and 5200 ..
Those older UV erasable 40 pin chips ..I would assume to be a heavier load than modern day EEprom or SPI flash chips.

Reply 215 of 534, by jaZz_KCS

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Sporadic behavior like for example:

- Sometimes saving CMOS, sometimes not.
- Sometimes external keyboard detected, sometimes not....

...etc.

Usually means that capacitors fluctuate in their values indicating them getting old...

Reply 217 of 534, by chozilla

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Hello, chozilla here... got myself a T5200 now.

So I am working on 3... effectively 2 Toshiba notebooks now (great job starting and never finishing a thing...)
About the T5200 I have a few questions that probably anyone can answer.

  1. Does the onboard IDE support two harddisks? I am unable to boot when I plug in two CF cards and one CF card runs fine. Could it be the Hardware only having one channel or is it a BIOS limitation.
  2. What sort of memory do I have to buy for the system?
  3. and what type of Floppy drive can I use to replace the broken internal one? (It makes noises and when I remove it the boot takes forever...)
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The mystery T5200/100 came with a full size IO card that I can not identify, and with a modem expansion card.

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Inside was a badly damaged harddisk and a strange bios chip that I can not read from. (images attached)

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Any ideas how to setup the system?

best reg4ards
\ chozilla

Reply 218 of 534, by Vipersan

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Hamby wrote:

Has anyone heard from IanB lately?

Sadly not ..
..and I'm hoping he just took a vacation.
When it comes to the old gas plasmas..he provides much needed expertise.
his input is very much appreciated.

btw Hamby ..
Do you have working original 30 pin memory simms in a 3200 ?
not sure if it was you or JZ ..but I seem to remember someone has ?
If so I'd very much appreciate some good quality closeups of a working stick (both sides)...
to help with my research into suitable memory
rgds
VS

Reply 219 of 534, by Vipersan

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chozilla wrote:
Hello, chozilla here... got myself a T5200 now. […]
Show full quote

Hello, chozilla here... got myself a T5200 now.

So I am working on 3... effectively 2 Toshiba notebooks now (great job starting and never finishing a thing...)
About the T5200 I have a few questions that probably anyone can answer.

  1. Does the onboard IDE support two harddisks? I am unable to boot when I plug in two CF cards and one CF card runs fine. Could it be the Hardware only having one channel or is it a BIOS limitation.
  2. What sort of memory do I have to buy for the system?
  3. and what type of Floppy drive can I use to replace the broken internal one? (It makes noises and when I remove it the boot takes forever...)
T5200_twoCFbootFail.jpg

The mystery T5200/100 came with a full size IO card that I can not identify, and with a modem expansion card.

T5200_cards.JPG

Inside was a badly damaged harddisk and a strange bios chip that I can not read from. (images attached)

T5200_BIOS_HD.jpg

Any ideas how to setup the system?

best reg4ards
\ chozilla

If that was the hard drive used in the system ..then one could only assume it already hasbeen fitted with a modded bios ?
AFAIK ..you could only ever user Conner drives with the original bios.
I would strongly suggest pulling the bios chip and reading it with a programmer such as the TL866 ..
..and letting Ian check out the 'chip dump' ..If he ever returns..?
rgds
VS

Last edited by Vipersan on 2018-05-13, 10:05. Edited 1 time in total.