VOGONS


First post, by nzoomed

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I have acquired a bunch of vintage toshiba laptops that I hope to set up for DOS gaming along with early windows games.
The best spec one I've got thats in working condition is my 4000CDT, unfortunately it has some dark patches on the screen as you can see in the photo, it's not unusable however and the viewing angle affects the visibility of them, is there any way to fix this, or is it permanent?
I'm not sure if it's the polarizing filter to blame, but pressing on the affected spots and letting go appears to temporarily improve the image for a second or two.
Are spare screens available? I was sure I saw brand new ones listed on ebay at some point for other early toshiba models.
It's a bit of a worry going forward and trying to keep alive this aging technology.
I've got a 300CDS, 300CDT and a 460CDT.
I suspect the LCD on the 460CDT and 300CDT might be the same part number?
The 300CDT works, but the screen has a green line running down, might be the cable, not sure yet.
The 460CDT doesn't start up but may be fixable, likely it's the CMOS battery but I haven't pulled it apart yet.
If it's got a good screen it might be a good donor machine for parts possibly.
Anyone else who has suggestions on what I can do is much appreciated.
Also was wondering if anyone here has ISO images of their factory windows installation media.
Want to either install win95C or 98SE

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Reply 1 of 14, by megatron-uk

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I have a 480CDT and 550CDT and had to take them apart to remove the CMOS battery packs. Warning! - they all leak on Toshiba laptops of this age!

Fortunately mine had only leaked to the point of travelling along the battery cable, and the motherboard wasn't damaged. If you haven't done so yet, please disassemble those Toshibas and remove the CMOS battery (and standby battery- in certain models). The 4xx models all seem to have the battery pack(s) in the front left of the case, below the keyboard wrist rest (and next to the memory slots!). The 5xx models are in the rear right, in front of the screen hinge (and requires almost an entire disassembly of the machine).

I'd be very surprised if the screens were not used in other models of similar age - there's a lot of parts re-use across the Satellite and Tecra ranges from machines of this era. I'd hazard a guess that most of the 800x600 TFT screens of the same physical dimensions are possibly common across multiple models - of course you would need to check, the CDS-suffixed models are, of course, (D)STN and totally different..

The only other thing I can say is that be very careful with the ribbon cables on the hard drive connectors - they are extremely fragile and really difficult to find replacements for!

My collection database and technical wiki:
https://www.target-earth.net

Reply 2 of 14, by nzoomed

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I suspect the battery has leaked on the 460CDT, but hopefully i don't have to fully disassemble any of these to access it. I pulled the keyboard off the 300CDT and nothing was visible under that one, soni expect it will need to be stripped down.
Hopefully no leaks have occurred but is a big killer on early computers.
If the screen is shared across many models then I should be in luck of finding a suitable replacement if nothing else.

Reply 3 of 14, by MAZter

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nzoomed wrote on 2025-01-16, 09:30:

I suspect the LCD on the 460CDT and 300CDT might be the same part number?

According to impactcomputers website, yes:

https://www.impactcomputers.com/lcd-panels/to … -lcd-p000218950

Doom is what you want (c) MAZter

Reply 4 of 14, by Thermalwrong

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nzoomed wrote on 2025-01-16, 09:30:

I have acquired a bunch of vintage toshiba laptops that I hope to set up for DOS gaming along with early windows games.
The best spec one I've got thats in working condition is my 4000CDT, unfortunately it has some dark patches on the screen as you can see in the photo, it's not unusable however and the viewing angle affects the visibility of them, is there any way to fix this, or is it permanent?
I'm not sure if it's the polarizing filter to blame, but pressing on the affected spots and letting go appears to temporarily improve the image for a second or two.

It is the front / outer polarising film on the LCD that's damaged, I've seen mouse pointers and the buttons do the same thing on some of mine. The oil on the mouse buttons reacts with the polariser and permanently alters the composition / look for the polariser. Usually where there's been a heavy weight on the laptop pressing the buttons into the polarising film.
Pressing it would temporarily lighten the image in that area but it can't be fixed in that way, you need a replacement polarising film on the front.
From how it looks I think it could be permanent, but do try giving it a clean with a damp (not wet) cloth & soap / washing up liquid.

Are spare screens available? I was sure I saw brand new ones listed on ebay at some point for other early toshiba models. It's a […]
Show full quote

Are spare screens available? I was sure I saw brand new ones listed on ebay at some point for other early toshiba models.
It's a bit of a worry going forward and trying to keep alive this aging technology.
I've got a 300CDS, 300CDT and a 460CDT.
I suspect the LCD on the 460CDT and 300CDT might be the same part number?

The 460CDT, 300CDT and 4000CDT all use basically the same screen, they're all 20pin LVDS with 5v power supply which is fairly unique to Toshiba laptops. This list has a lot of part codes to look up, perhaps they're more available in your region: http://www.lcdsearch.com/0-Toshiba-Laptop-Not … s-Reference.htm

The 300CDT works, but the screen has a green line running down, might be the cable, not sure yet.

Usually that's a damaged panel, I've never managed to fix single line faults on an LCD 😒

The 460CDT doesn't start up but may be fixable, likely it's the CMOS battery but I haven't pulled it apart yet.

Very common on these now unfortunately, the BIOS battery leaks and damages a bunch of traces because all the memory connections go right under the area that the BIOS battery leaks. It requires a lot of troubleshooting and some quite fine soldering work to repair. Have a read of this if you'd like to see if it can be repaired: Re: Toshiba Satellite Pro 440CDT Not Booting, Showing Blinking Code

If it's got a good screen it might be a good donor machine for parts possibly. Anyone else who has suggestions on what I can do […]
Show full quote

If it's got a good screen it might be a good donor machine for parts possibly.
Anyone else who has suggestions on what I can do is much appreciated.
Also was wondering if anyone here has ISO images of their factory windows installation media.
Want to either install win95C or 98SE

That 460CDT could be a good screen donor yet though 😀

Reply 5 of 14, by megatron-uk

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Thermalwrong wrote on 2025-01-16, 16:41:

It is the front / outer polarising film on the LCD that's damaged, I've seen mouse pointers and the buttons do the same thing on some of mine. The oil on the mouse buttons reacts with the polariser and permanently alters the composition / look for the polariser. Usually where there's been a heavy weight on the laptop pressing the buttons into the polarising film.
Pressing it would temporarily lighten the image in that area but it can't be fixed in that way, you need a replacement polarising film on the front.
From how it looks I think it could be permanent, but do try giving it a clean with a damp (not wet) cloth & soap / washing up liquid.

Another tidbit of advice - the rubber trackpoint buttons on Toshiba laptops of this vintage are actually rubber covers over hard plastic buttons; i.e they are two-part. If they are worn/melted/gooey-horrible then you can disassemble the buttons from the case and peel off the rubber coating. It's not like the spray-on coating on a Thinkpad, it's an actual rubber outer layer that comes apart without resorting to meths/sandpaper/alcohol etc.

It doesn't look *too* bad without the rubber layer on (the buttons are generally light grey underneath - matching the case), but the biggest plus is not having to touch that *horrid* gooey mess when using the mouse/trackpoint.

My collection database and technical wiki:
https://www.target-earth.net

Reply 6 of 14, by MAZter

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Thermalwrong wrote on 2025-01-16, 16:41:

It is the front / outer polarising film on the LCD that's damaged, I've seen mouse pointers and the buttons do the same thing on some of mine.

This is why I store all my laptops with opened lids.

Doom is what you want (c) MAZter

Reply 7 of 14, by nzoomed

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MAZter wrote on 2025-01-16, 14:24:

According to impactcomputers website, yes:

https://www.impactcomputers.com/lcd-panels/to … -lcd-p000218950

Thats good news, confirms my guess was right.

Thermalwrong wrote on 2025-01-16, 16:41:
It is the front / outer polarising film on the LCD that's damaged, I've seen mouse pointers and the buttons do the same thing on […]
Show full quote
nzoomed wrote on 2025-01-16, 09:30:

I have acquired a bunch of vintage toshiba laptops that I hope to set up for DOS gaming along with early windows games.
The best spec one I've got thats in working condition is my 4000CDT, unfortunately it has some dark patches on the screen as you can see in the photo, it's not unusable however and the viewing angle affects the visibility of them, is there any way to fix this, or is it permanent?
I'm not sure if it's the polarizing filter to blame, but pressing on the affected spots and letting go appears to temporarily improve the image for a second or two.

It is the front / outer polarising film on the LCD that's damaged, I've seen mouse pointers and the buttons do the same thing on some of mine. The oil on the mouse buttons reacts with the polariser and permanently alters the composition / look for the polariser. Usually where there's been a heavy weight on the laptop pressing the buttons into the polarising film.
Pressing it would temporarily lighten the image in that area but it can't be fixed in that way, you need a replacement polarising film on the front.
From how it looks I think it could be permanent, but do try giving it a clean with a damp (not wet) cloth & soap / washing up liquid.

Are spare screens available? I was sure I saw brand new ones listed on ebay at some point for other early toshiba models. It's a […]
Show full quote

Are spare screens available? I was sure I saw brand new ones listed on ebay at some point for other early toshiba models.
It's a bit of a worry going forward and trying to keep alive this aging technology.
I've got a 300CDS, 300CDT and a 460CDT.
I suspect the LCD on the 460CDT and 300CDT might be the same part number?

The 460CDT, 300CDT and 4000CDT all use basically the same screen, they're all 20pin LVDS with 5v power supply which is fairly unique to Toshiba laptops. This list has a lot of part codes to look up, perhaps they're more available in your region: http://www.lcdsearch.com/0-Toshiba-Laptop-Not … s-Reference.htm

The 300CDT works, but the screen has a green line running down, might be the cable, not sure yet.

Usually that's a damaged panel, I've never managed to fix single line faults on an LCD 😒

The 460CDT doesn't start up but may be fixable, likely it's the CMOS battery but I haven't pulled it apart yet.

Very common on these now unfortunately, the BIOS battery leaks and damages a bunch of traces because all the memory connections go right under the area that the BIOS battery leaks. It requires a lot of troubleshooting and some quite fine soldering work to repair. Have a read of this if you'd like to see if it can be repaired: Re: Toshiba Satellite Pro 440CDT Not Booting, Showing Blinking Code

If it's got a good screen it might be a good donor machine for parts possibly. Anyone else who has suggestions on what I can do […]
Show full quote

If it's got a good screen it might be a good donor machine for parts possibly.
Anyone else who has suggestions on what I can do is much appreciated.
Also was wondering if anyone here has ISO images of their factory windows installation media.
Want to either install win95C or 98SE

That 460CDT could be a good screen donor yet though 😀

Funny you say that about the mouse buttons, the rubber has gone a little sticky and lines up perfectly with the blemishes, I might put up with it for now, I expect that some sort of additives have migrated out of the rubber and into the screen, I wonder if any solvent can remove this safely? NileRed might have some idea.
My 460CDT will be a great donor if i confirm its past repair, but looks like I might have a chance of sourcing a new display.
Right now as you say I need to get the battery out of all these units.

MAZter wrote on 2025-01-16, 18:59:
Thermalwrong wrote on 2025-01-16, 16:41:

It is the front / outer polarising film on the LCD that's damaged, I've seen mouse pointers and the buttons do the same thing on some of mine.

This is why I store all my laptops with opened lids.

Another option would be to place a sheet of plastic between the keyboard and screen as a barrier.

Reply 8 of 14, by nzoomed

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My satellite pro 460CDT is toast unfortunately after confirming the battery leak, but the upside is i potentially have a good spare screen but wont know until i test it, looks like the keyboard is the same too.
Im too scared to know what damage has happened in my other 3 units that appear fully operational, but will pull these apart soon.
I managed to find a recovery disc image for the satellite 4000CDT on archive.org, but can only find a german edition image for the 300CDT.
Has anyone slipstreamed a disc image of windows 95C with all the drivers required for these? Im hoping I can find a driver pack for this model to save time, ideally if i can get a bootable windows ISO image with the driver files included will save me the hassle of floppy discs, but once USB is working I can use a flash drive which will make it super easy to transfer data.

Reply 9 of 14, by Thermalwrong

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nzoomed wrote on 2025-01-21, 01:17:
My satellite pro 460CDT is toast unfortunately after confirming the battery leak, but the upside is i potentially have a good sp […]
Show full quote

My satellite pro 460CDT is toast unfortunately after confirming the battery leak, but the upside is i potentially have a good spare screen but wont know until i test it, looks like the keyboard is the same too.
Im too scared to know what damage has happened in my other 3 units that appear fully operational, but will pull these apart soon.
I managed to find a recovery disc image for the satellite 4000CDT on archive.org, but can only find a german edition image for the 300CDT.
Has anyone slipstreamed a disc image of windows 95C with all the drivers required for these? Im hoping I can find a driver pack for this model to save time, ideally if i can get a bootable windows ISO image with the driver files included will save me the hassle of floppy discs, but once USB is working I can use a flash drive which will make it super easy to transfer data.

Any pictures of the damage to the 460CDT? I'm interested in seeing how bad it is 😀

The 4000CDT and 300CDT are fundamentally the same platform but one is Pentium MMX and the other is Pentium II, the circuitry that connects up the RTC and standby batteries is mostly the same though. Fortunately unlike the Satellite Pro 440>490 models, the circuitry around those battery connectors is in my experience less damaged by battery leakage and less prone to damage.

The Satellite 300 / 305 / 310 / 315 / 320 / 325 / 330 / 335 CDS & CDT are the same chassis / platform, but the restore cd *might* get picky. Archive.org's search facility is pretty good, try this:
https://archive.org/search?query=toshiba+%283 … OR+reinstall%29

Looks like the restore CD for the 305 & 315 is the same and the 300 is the same as the 305 - like the same hardware but a different retail package. So this should work for you and it seems to be english:
https://archive.org/details/satellite-305-315-recovery

Reply 10 of 14, by nzoomed

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Thermalwrong wrote on 2025-01-22, 00:54:
Any pictures of the damage to the 460CDT? I'm interested in seeing how bad it is :) […]
Show full quote
nzoomed wrote on 2025-01-21, 01:17:
My satellite pro 460CDT is toast unfortunately after confirming the battery leak, but the upside is i potentially have a good sp […]
Show full quote

My satellite pro 460CDT is toast unfortunately after confirming the battery leak, but the upside is i potentially have a good spare screen but wont know until i test it, looks like the keyboard is the same too.
Im too scared to know what damage has happened in my other 3 units that appear fully operational, but will pull these apart soon.
I managed to find a recovery disc image for the satellite 4000CDT on archive.org, but can only find a german edition image for the 300CDT.
Has anyone slipstreamed a disc image of windows 95C with all the drivers required for these? Im hoping I can find a driver pack for this model to save time, ideally if i can get a bootable windows ISO image with the driver files included will save me the hassle of floppy discs, but once USB is working I can use a flash drive which will make it super easy to transfer data.

Any pictures of the damage to the 460CDT? I'm interested in seeing how bad it is 😀

The 4000CDT and 300CDT are fundamentally the same platform but one is Pentium MMX and the other is Pentium II, the circuitry that connects up the RTC and standby batteries is mostly the same though. Fortunately unlike the Satellite Pro 440>490 models, the circuitry around those battery connectors is in my experience less damaged by battery leakage and less prone to damage.

The Satellite 300 / 305 / 310 / 315 / 320 / 325 / 330 / 335 CDS & CDT are the same chassis / platform, but the restore cd *might* get picky. Archive.org's search facility is pretty good, try this:
https://archive.org/search?query=toshiba+%283 … OR+reinstall%29

Looks like the restore CD for the 305 & 315 is the same and the 300 is the same as the 305 - like the same hardware but a different retail package. So this should work for you and it seems to be english:
https://archive.org/details/satellite-305-315-recovery

I can get some photos tomorrow, there was a spot of blue oxidation on that board and likey has gone through the vias on the board.
I'm surprised how well the electrolyte wicks up the wire and corrodes the board.
I didn't bother pulling the whole board out, but the corrosion was visible enough when I pulled out the keyboard.
I did wonder if there was a fair bit of similarities between these models as the drive out of the 460CDT booted up fine in my 300CDT and found all the drivers.
I thought that a pentium II model may have had some differences in motherboard chipsets however.
Another difference is the type of RAM in each model, the 300CDT uses EDO memory and the 4000CDT has SDRAM.
I've got the 4000CDT running windows98 quite well and it's had its RAM expanded with a 128mb stick installed in the slot.
The battery had leaked in this unit, so I stripped it down and cleaned the best I could.
Luckily the corrosion on the board was minimal, but I scrubbed in some deoxit which dissolved it and I washed it down.
Just need to find some CMOS / standby batteries for it now.
My 300CDT looks ok, but I'm going to remove the battery anyway.
I will check out those disc images.
I was also reading a bit about this unofficial service pack. Is it possible to perform an upgrade to windows 95c?

Reply 12 of 14, by megatron-uk

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That looks fairly repairable. I mean, those battery headers haven't even fallen off yet! 😁

Give it a good clean (outside of the case) with white vinegar and a toothbrush to remove the bulk of it. You may need to desolder those two headers to get it properly, but to me it looks like you could save that with a little bit of work.

My collection database and technical wiki:
https://www.target-earth.net

Reply 13 of 14, by nzoomed

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megatron-uk wrote on 2025-01-23, 10:19:

That looks fairly repairable. I mean, those battery headers haven't even fallen off yet! 😁

Give it a good clean (outside of the case) with white vinegar and a toothbrush to remove the bulk of it. You may need to desolder those two headers to get it properly, but to me it looks like you could save that with a little bit of work.

I suspect its corroded through some of the vias on the board.
All I do know is it does not boot up, perhaps it might work after a good clean?
My 4000CDT had less corrosion than this and thankfully cleaned up OK.
Im not too sure what else to look at on these if they dont boot, possibly the voltage regulators or caps might be at fault?

Reply 14 of 14, by nzoomed

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Thermalwrong wrote on 2025-01-16, 16:41:

The 460CDT, 300CDT and 4000CDT all use basically the same screen, they're all 20pin LVDS with 5v power supply which is fairly unique to Toshiba laptops. This list has a lot of part codes to look up, perhaps they're more available in your region: http://www.lcdsearch.com/0-Toshiba-Laptop-Not … s-Reference.htm

Usually that's a damaged panel, I've never managed to fix single line faults

The 460CDT doesn't start up but may be fixable, likely it's the CMOS battery but I haven't pulled it apart yet.

I've taken the 300CDT apart today and the battery was only just starting to leak, so saved this in the nick of time.
Now it appears some cowboy has broken the screen connector on this unit.
See photos attached, one pin was broken and the other was bent and broke off as I disconnected it, so now 2 pins broken.
Could the green line be a result of a broken pin?
Will be interesting to see how it goes with the second pin missing.
Still unable to get the 460CDT going, so was hoping I could have unsoldered its connector off the motherboard, but unfortunately it's a different size.
Even though the screen is supposed to be the same, it appears a larger type, one is 25 pins and the other 20 pins, See photo attached.

Any ideas where I can find a replacement? I have no idea what part number these connectors would be.
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