Is it possible to swap s2800/s2805 mainboard to other model i.e. to s1800/s1900/s2400... or other similar? Has anybody tried this? I have compared s1800 with s2800 and they seem to be different. It is difficult to find s2800 at the moment but maybe there is -toshiba case/body compatible with this mainboard. Question asked because I have working s2800 mainboard 😉

przemek wrote on 2025-12-18, 21:45:

Is it possible to swap s2800/s2805 mainboard to other model i.e. to s1800/s1900/s2400... or other similar? Has anybody tried this? I have compared s1800 with s2800 and they seem to be different. It is difficult to find s2800 at the moment but maybe there is -toshiba case/body compatible with this mainboard. Question asked because I have working s2800 mainboard 😉

Sadly they're very different - I'm pretty sure the Satellite 1800 isn't even made by Toshiba themselves, more likely it's a Compal laptop. The compatibility of motherboards between models is a little worse than that though, there are essentially two generations of the Satellite 2800 series - the S3 version and the Geforce versions have differences in the casing around the floppy drive and I think the Geforce version added a smartcard slot. So the Geforce mainboard probably won't even fit in the earlier Satellite 2800 series housing.

MikeSG wrote on 2025-10-27, 11:54:

Do these have Tualatin CPUs? I dicovered on my Satellite 1800 (factory Coppermine) that a Tuatalin CPU worked. Desktop Tualatin Socket 370.

Nope, they have an Intel 815 chipset but they're not Tualatin, just coppermine socket 495. Some of them are soldered to the mainboard too so no swapping is possible.

As I thought, so even if I will find the faulty geforce version and I have s3 mobo, then it will probably not fit, good to know 😀 thx for the reply

A story happened that’s very much like something I’d do 😀

So here’s the situation: the 2805’s screen is kind of mediocre, but there’s a Toshiba 5205 with an absolutely awesome display. And I noticed the connector to the motherboard is the same. So I figured it was simple — I just hooked the 5205 screen up to the 2805. It didn’t work. And when I reconnected the original display, it was showing a white screen only. The image was still output to an external monitor.

I got a bit sad, but the problem turned out to be simpler than it looked. Next to the connector there are two fuses, and one of them had blown. I bridged it with a jumper and everything started working again.

But it was a good excuse to tear the laptop down completely, so I’m posting detailed photos of the motherboard.

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/_IGex9XVgZdh2w

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/OXjPSNLWqjmHkQ

vorob wrote on 2026-03-16, 08:15:

A story happened that’s very much like something I’d do :) […]
Show full quote

A story happened that’s very much like something I’d do 😀

So here’s the situation: the 2805’s screen is kind of mediocre, but there’s a Toshiba 5205 with an absolutely awesome display. And I noticed the connector to the motherboard is the same. So I figured it was simple — I just hooked the 5205 screen up to the 2805. It didn’t work. And when I reconnected the original display, it was showing a white screen only. The image was still output to an external monitor.

I got a bit sad, but the problem turned out to be simpler than it looked. Next to the connector there are two fuses, and one of them had blown. I bridged it with a jumper and everything started working again.

But it was a good excuse to tear the laptop down completely, so I’m posting detailed photos of the motherboard.

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/_IGex9XVgZdh2w

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/OXjPSNLWqjmHkQ

Yep, Toshiba did a good job of wiring up the screens but didn't account for so much with screens of different models or STN/TFT models with the same connector. I've done that and got a white screen but somehow didn't blow the fuse. That's great that it was just the fuse though 😁 white screen means the inverter is running but the LCD is not - that's probably why there were two fuses.

What res is the 5205 panel? Since they both have nvidia graphics, they're quite tolerant of different LVDS configurations if the wiring is all correct. Say an XGA panel would be 1 channel LVDS while the 1400x1050 and 1600x1200 panels are 2x lvds channels and the panel resolution would be decided by the EDID on the LCD panel itself. Potentially if you wired up the 2 channel LVDS to match the wiring of the 2805 then it could work? But that means knowing the pinout - you can guess by following the differential pair traces either on the mainboard or the LCD. Both those laptops are from a similar era so the LVDS used is very similar and each channel will always consist of 3x diff pairs for the RGB signals and 1x diff pair for the clock signal.
There is a 1400x1050 variant of the Satellite 2805 but it was Japan only, called the Dynabook A1 x85PMC and A1 X10PMC. Or the dynabook A2: https://dynabook.com/pc/catalog/dynabook/010821a2/a2hard.htm
Thing is though, I bet the mainboard on all models routes both LVDS channels to the video chip and different pairs are quite easy to spot since each pair sticks together and has significant spacing from other traces.

I wonder if the 5205 uses the same panel as my Satellite Pro 6100 UXGA. It's pretty good, not sure if it is IPS as we know it today but definitely has good viewing angles.

5205 I'm using has gorgeous 1600x1200 panel, bright and with good contrast - sharp lq150u1la03 some time ago I showed comparison:
Re: Toshiba 2805-s402 Ultimate retro gaming laptop

There is a 1400x1050 variant of the Satellite 2805 but it was Japan only, called the Dynabook A1 x85PMC and A1 X10PMC. Or the dynabook A2: https://dynabook.com/pc/catalog/dynabook/010821a2/a2hard.htm

Need to search for them on Japan sites... but I'm so lazy 😀

Just another question: is there any sense to buy the s2800 with s3 graphics if I have Toshiba sp4300? Both have S3 8MB graphics. I see only two differences: ymf754 in s2800 vs ymf744 in sp4300 and the S2800 has also the subwoofer. In the other hand the SP4300 has the docking station? Is the ymf754 much better over ymf744? I have tested ymf744 in the sp4300 and its general midi under Windows 98 is very good.

YMF744 much better over YMF754, just because it works in MS-DOS without SBEMU.

S3 have poor performance in games like Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, but for DOS games it's fine.

MAZter wrote on 2026-04-02, 14:05:

YMF744 much better over YMF754, just because it works in MS-DOS without SBEMU.

S3 have poor performance in games like Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, but for DOS games it's fine.

I think you might be mixing that up with the YMF752 or the AC-XG. The YMF744 and YMF754 are both DS-XG chips so their DOS audio capabilities are the same.

From what I recall, the Satellite 2800 with the S3 graphics is basically a Satellite Pro 4300 series with a subwoofer and DVD drive. Even down to the chipset, the Satellite 2800 with the Geforce graphics & 815 chipset is very different from the S3 version which I think has a 440BX.

Thermalwrong wrote on 2026-04-03, 01:28:

I think you might be mixing that up with the YMF752 or the AC-XG. The YMF744 and YMF754 are both DS-XG chips so their DOS audio capabilities are the same.

Oooops, yes, I mixed with YMF753, my bad. So both YMF744 & YMF754 are good.

I'm new to this site. I have a Toshiba Satellite 2805-s402 laptop that I bought new back in around 2001 or so. I found it sitting in my closet in its carrying bag. Just for fun, I tried to turn it on and to my surprise, it booted up to my Windows XP desktop from like 2003 or so. I tested all the keys, the mouse pointer stick and the mouse buttons and they all worked. The DVD/CD player read an audio CD and a DVD movie and the sound played good with a working volume knob. The specs show a Pentium 3 processor with 256MB of RAM and a 20GB HDD. It has a NVIDIA GeForce2 Go graphics card. Windows XP is service Pack 3. The only issue is it has very hard to open/close hinges. Is this worth anything or should I just e-cycle it? Thanks. -Steve

I’ll would sell it as an auction on Ebay!
Many people looking for just this modell.

Hughes500Pilot wrote on 2026-06-30, 06:26:

I'm new to this site. I have a Toshiba Satellite 2805-s402 laptop that I bought new back in around 2001 or so. I found it sittin […]
Show full quote

I'm new to this site. I have a Toshiba Satellite 2805-s402 laptop that I bought new back in around 2001 or so. I found it sitting in my closet in its carrying bag. Just for fun, I tried to turn it on and to my surprise, it booted up to my Windows XP desktop from like 2003 or so. I tested all the keys, the mouse pointer stick and the mouse buttons and they all worked. The DVD/CD player read an audio CD and a DVD movie and the sound played good with a working volume knob. The specs show a Pentium 3 processor with 256MB of RAM and a 20GB HDD. It has a NVIDIA GeForce2 Go graphics card. Windows XP is service Pack 3. The only issue is it has very hard to open/close hinges. Is this worth anything or should I just e-cycle it? Thanks. -Steve

Hughes500Pilot wrote on 2026-06-30, 06:26:

I'm new to this site. I have a Toshiba Satellite 2805-s402 laptop

You can sell it for $250-$300 on eBay.

[/quote]
You can sell it for $250-$300 on eBay.
[/quote]

Wow! You really think it would go for that much?

Hughes500Pilot wrote on 2026-06-30, 14:05:

Wow! You really think it would go for that much?

Why not? Last year I sold Toshiba 2805-S202 with defects for $255, and it has S3 video card, not NVIDIA. So today I recommend you to start from $350.

Hello, recently I bought Toshiba Satellite 2800-600 for a very low price, I've read about this model and it is very similiar to 2805-S402 - the main difference is the CPU, which in mine 2800-600 is 1 GHz Pentium III and the chassis of both laptops is the same, but I have massive problem with the hinges, the left one is fine, but the right one is broken, now in 3 pieces. Does anyone know where I can get new right hinge? The screen is 15 inch, I've read that the part number is p000311710. Thanks for any help:)

grubypizza wrote on 2026-07-14, 01:33:

very similiar to 2805-S402 - the main difference is the CPU

Main difference is yours for European market and other for US market.

MAZter wrote on 2026-07-14, 01:51:

grubypizza wrote on 2026-07-14, 01:33:

very similiar to 2805-S402 - the main difference is the CPU

Main difference is yours for European market and other for US market.

Yes, that's the second difference, 2805-s603 would be the US market equivalent I think. I found the hinge on parts.hq in america, the site says it is available, but not sure if this site is legit, I am trying to contact some sellers in China, but for now without success:(

grubypizza wrote on 2026-07-14, 02:02:

but not sure if this site is legit, I am trying to contact some sellers in China, but for now without success:(

There is little point in looking for the original hinges, as they are unlikely to last long after replacement due to the poor quality of the material.

For the Toshiba Satellite 5005-S504 (as example) I used steel hinges from a completely different model and brand; while it doesn't look perfect, everything works functionally.