I've got an old Panasonic Toughbook CF-27 laptop. Unfortunately,it came without a CD drive.Floppy drive only. It was running W98,until the hard drive died. So I'm trying to install ME,on a new 40 Gig hard drive, but since there is no CD drive,I've tried installing the HD in another laptop,install ME,then swap it back.Doesn't work.Reinstall,then swap at first reboot,no good. Tried booting from a PC CD drive hooked up to the USB port,didn't work. No matter what I've tried,I either get a cursor,and the keyboard doesn't work,or if I use a floppy Boot Disk, I end up with A:\> This model has a real cool touch screen,so I'd like to keep it. Any suggestions how to do this ? I'm not tied to ME,I just need something that works. Thanks.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Can you spell GOOGLE? External CD drives are available here and other sources too: http://www.telrepcopcstore.com/pantougacbat.html


On Thursday, July 12, 2007 at 5:40 pm, Unkzilla wrote:
>I've got an old Panasonic Toughbook CF-27 laptop.
>Unfortunately,it came without a CD drive.Floppy drive only.
>
>It was running W98,until the hard drive died.
>So I'm trying to install ME,on a new 40 Gig hard drive,
>but since there is no CD drive,I've tried installing the HD
>in another laptop,install ME,then swap it back.Doesn't work.Reinstall,then swap at
>first reboot,no good.
>
>Tried booting from a PC CD drive hooked up to the USB port,didn't work.
>
>No matter what I've tried,I either get a cursor,and the keyboard doesn't work,or
>if I use a floppy Boot Disk,
>I end up with A:\>
>
>This model has a real cool touch screen,so I'd like to keep it.
>
>Any suggestions how to do this ?
>I'm not tied to ME,I just need something that works.
>
>Thanks.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

A search should've collected dozens of answers for you. This same thing comes up relatively frequently (I think my own question about it, back 4-5 years or so, maybe a little less, is what first brought me here!)

All you have to do is copy the contents of the CD to a folder on the Hdd, use the "Sys" command while running a Win9X OS to put a basic DOS 7 bootup OS fragment on the drive, and then run the install from the Hdd folder.

You don't need to go to the trouble and expense of trying to use an external CD drive for the purpose at all (and a question comes up about how many BIOSes are flexible enough to allow booting from external CDs, which would be the simplest method, it it could be used . . )

.

Kiwi

**


On Thursday, July 12, 2007 at 5:40 pm, Unkzilla wrote:
>I've got an old Panasonic Toughbook CF-27 laptop.
>Unfortunately,it came without a CD drive.Floppy drive only.
>
>It was running W98,until the hard drive died.
>So I'm trying to install ME,on a new 40 Gig hard drive,
>but since there is no CD drive,I've tried installing the HD
>in another laptop,install ME,then swap it back.Doesn't work.Reinstall,then swap at
>first reboot,no good.
>
>Tried booting from a PC CD drive hooked up to the USB port,didn't work.
>
>No matter what I've tried,I either get a cursor,and the keyboard doesn't work,or
>if I use a floppy Boot Disk,
>I end up with A:\>
>
>This model has a real cool touch screen,so I'd like to keep it.
>
>Any suggestions how to do this ?
>I'm not tied to ME,I just need something that works.
>
>Thanks.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

I got the idea. But how can he copy the installation files from the CD to hard drive so that he can run setup?


On Friday, July 13, 2007 at 11:47 am, Kiwi wrote:
>A search should've collected dozens of answers for you. This same thing comes up
>relatively frequently (I think my own question about it, back 4-5 years or so, maybe
>a little less, is what first brought me here!)
>

>All you have to do is copy the contents of the CD to a folder on the Hdd, use the
>"Sys" command while running a Win9X OS to put a basic DOS 7 bootup OS fragment on
>the drive, and then run the install from the Hdd folder.
>

>You don't need to go to the trouble and expense of trying to use an external CD drive
>for the purpose at all (and a question comes up about how many BIOSes are flexible
>enough to allow booting from external CDs, which would be the simplest method, it
>it could be used . . )
>
>
>
>

.
>

>Kiwi
>

>**
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

That requires temporarily mounting the 2 1/2" drive in another PC that does have the needed CD-drive. I bought an adapter cable for about $3.50 to run mine (lying loose on the work table next to the PC, which was lying down with its access panel off) in one of my desktop PCs as a slave drive.

.

Kiwi

**


On Friday, July 13, 2007 at 2:42 pm, anu wrote:
>I got the idea. But how can he copy the installation files from the CD to hard drive
>so that he can run setup?
>
>
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Laplink

http://www.laplink.com





On Friday, July 13, 2007 at 2:42 pm, anu wrote:
>I got the idea. But how can he copy the installation files from the CD to hard drive
>so that he can run setup?

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

I had the older LapLink, with Serial and Parallel port plugs only on the cable, and my laptop had neither of those that I recall now (can't look at it, my daughter in law took it with her on a trip back east). The 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 adapter was considerably less expensive than a newer USB version of LapLink.

.

Kiwi

**


On Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 10:44 am, Ed wrote:
>Laplink
>
>http://www.laplink.com
>
>
>
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

I just noted that the OP has already connected the HDD into another. I am thinking he could have copied the installation files in a folder then use a Windows 98 or Me boot floppy to run setup. Is it workable also?


On Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 9:15 am, Kiwi wrote:
>I had the older LapLink, with Serial and Parallel port plugs only on the cable, and
>my laptop had neither of those that I recall now (can't look at it, my daughter in
>law took it with her on a trip back east). The 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 adapter was considerably
>less expensive than a newer USB version of LapLink.
>
>
>
>

.
>

>Kiwi
>

>**
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

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