Toshiba were top of their ultra-portable game in the late 90s with models like this and the Libretto series. I wanted a Libretto so much, the very idea of a full-function, real PC the size of a VHS tape was amazing.
7:20 Wrong. The small 3.6V pack is your CMOS battery, ther larger 7.2V pack is suspend-to-RAM backup, so the machine can fully turn off (if the main battery dies) but leave the RAM powered. They've done it this way since the 486 days, except back then the 7.2V battery pack was multitudes larger (about the size of the shield in the bottom left corner) and NiCd.. this killed A LOT of 486 class Toshibas unfortunately, as when the pack leaked, the acid traveled through the wires straight onto the mobo (MUCH worse than in this video). In some early Pentium machines, they even put the battery pack in a plastic holder tray thingy right above the TCP CPU package, with predictable results :(
I have a 650CT and not only the battery had leaked ....but the plastic got insanely brittle, even in strong or reinforced parts. I Took batteries out from similar models where varta hadnt leak yet and the plastic was like new. To me, the vapor from the battery reactiwith the case. IT almost detroyed my 650CT. The 650Ct is a P1 133 VRT with 28.8 modem. Floppy and CDROM are external. Last one is a Panasonic PCMCIA SCSI interface.
Really great content. The second (larger) ni-mh battery pack is likely to keep the RAM contents alive when the system is in standby, in case the main battery runs out, you'll have enough time to swap out the main battery or run to a power outlet with the laptop in standby without losing your work.
@@Epictronics1 thinkpads had a similar thing when the main system battery died that battery would keep the memory going so when u plugged it back in everything was were u left off when u powered back on. i think the feature died off when windows 98 came out since it had that hibernation thing and i believe windows 95 didn't have that built into it.
Great vid! I have to replace the batteries in my working 50ct and 100ct. I saw some NIMH batteries out there to replace the old one with. Hopefully they hold up so I don’t have to open those cases again.
Toshiba seemingly offered about a million different models all in a very similar form factor around this time. I have a Satellite 110CD (1995) and a Satellite Pro 4300 Series (~1999). The 110 suffers from a dead floppy drive and dead CMOS battery, unfortunately the cell had been in there since 1995 and spewed it's guts out. I cleaned it up, but the pins inside the socket to connect the battery completely rotted away. I will one day remove the socket and solder in some sort of replacement (when I get around to it...). The 4300 however is in perfect condition. The build quality of these laptops is superb, especially compared to todays offerings.
I didn't check but I'm pretty sure the connector for the CMOS battery was a regular JST. You should be able to find one on ebay or your favourite electronics supplier. I'll probably use mine without batteries. I'm not in to time anyways ;)
@@Epictronics1 I dont think they sold many they were also slightly less practical than you might first think on account of windows being in ROM. I was thinking maybe your 2nd cmos battery was for something simular.
@@Epictronics1 Cool. It's really impressive how complex the laptops were at this time. The first one i dismantled was a whie comapq armada, I dont remember the model number and it was almost impossible to re assemble it with all functions operational. Almost as if the made themintentionally so that you would have to send it to the manufacturer even for something simple like a memory or hdd upgrades.
@@rimmersbryggeri I would have been the guy who fixed it for you then! I was a Compaq tech at that time. I still have a stack of Compaq laptops destined for future videos : )
In the future it would be ideal if you added a warning before sounds like those at 21:44 appear in a video. Or better yet, to mute that part of the sound. Many people (myself included) find high pitched squeaking like that to be incredibly uncomfortable and difficult to listen to.
I remember taking apart my fathers Portege. More precisely I remember what could be called a near death experience when he found out! Did you get the T1000 running on battery and charging btw?
Haha, I took our camera apart as a kid and never got it back together lol. The T1000 runs of standard rechargeable AA's. I don't dear to charge them with the onboard charger though. The onboard charger works but I would have to build an original battery pack to use it. There is very little to gain from that so I haven't decided if I should
The plastics on these are also extremely bad, I managed to rescue my bosses unit from a corrosive death but at what caused?... there's a large hole in it now where the plastics just shattered like cheese These things need to have 3D printed parts made ASAP
It was pretty weird actually. There wasn't much in that aspect ratio back in those days. We didn't really have movies on our PCs yet. It wasn't very useful
Good job. 24:52 That laptop is probably using ATI or something close graphics card. You can probably scale to full display if you go to the BIOS and it should be there an option to expand. My thinking is that cebtered image was default on purpse from manufacturers because scaling was crap back in the past. The image was mostly pixelated. If you install the drivers, it will expand of coulse. Depending from the panel, if it is 1024x768 and you set to 800x600, there will be a centered image. You can also build a cd yourself. Windows 95 or 98, some tool to mod the installation for unattented installation, some drivers that work with the laptop (based on trial and error) et voilá.. You can also try compact flash as hdd storage. There are boards that adapt CF cards to 44 pin mini ide. You just also need to find a CF card that allows other than removable storage. 4GB cards will probably have the hdd mode storage, just need to be modified using some tool.
This machine is actually a very early wide screen. Way ahead of it's time! If I remember correctly I had it set to 1024x768 when playing BS. That way the top and bottom was not visible and I had to scroll to get access to the menu. CF card in the PCMCIA slot is an excellent file transfer method. I used it in my Internet Advisor video because that machine did not have usb or CD-ROM. Yeah, I actually prefer a clean Win95 OEM install but I don't have the drivers for that unfortunately. Hopefully someone kind will sort us out through the comments here
This laptop does not have two CMOS batteries - one of them is for suspend/sleep mode. You do not need to have this suspend/sleep battery, it is expensive and useless nowadays.
@@Epictronics1 Just extract three cells from it and solder a wire and connector from the old battery. Don't forget to soak old wiring in vinegar for couple of minutes as battery base that leaked from old cells runs inside those wires.
Toshiba were top of their ultra-portable game in the late 90s with models like this and the Libretto series. I wanted a Libretto so much, the very idea of a full-function, real PC the size of a VHS tape was amazing.
yeah, I'd love to have a Libretto too : )
7:20 Wrong. The small 3.6V pack is your CMOS battery, ther larger 7.2V pack is suspend-to-RAM backup, so the machine can fully turn off (if the main battery dies) but leave the RAM powered. They've done it this way since the 486 days, except back then the 7.2V battery pack was multitudes larger (about the size of the shield in the bottom left corner) and NiCd.. this killed A LOT of 486 class Toshibas unfortunately, as when the pack leaked, the acid traveled through the wires straight onto the mobo (MUCH worse than in this video). In some early Pentium machines, they even put the battery pack in a plastic holder tray thingy right above the TCP CPU package, with predictable results :(
Wow that's a glamour shot at the end :D Nice!
Thanks : )
I have a 650CT and not only the battery had leaked ....but the plastic got insanely brittle, even in strong or reinforced parts. I Took batteries out from similar models where varta hadnt leak yet and the plastic was like new. To me, the vapor from the battery reactiwith the case. IT almost detroyed my 650CT. The 650Ct is a P1 133 VRT with 28.8 modem. Floppy and CDROM are external. Last one is a Panasonic PCMCIA SCSI interface.
Interesting, another viewer also commented that his case was very brittle. I guess it's quite possible that the battery caused it
2 days ago I picked up a Portege from the early 2000s, didn't know the line went back this far in age.
Awesome, these are really cool machines. Toshiba use to do really good laptops
I recently removed the same batteries from my 660CDT. Fortunately, no damage.
Good to hear! Let's spread the word and get as many of those damn VARTA's out as possible from vintage Toshiba's :)
Hope you upgrade it as much as it could in a future video
I probably will. If this video gets enough views.
Really great content. The second (larger) ni-mh battery pack is likely to keep the RAM contents alive when the system is in standby, in case the main battery runs out, you'll have enough time to swap out the main battery or run to a power outlet with the laptop in standby without losing your work.
ah, that would make sense. I guess I could actually test that. I'll see if there will be a part two. thanks
@@Epictronics1 thinkpads had a similar thing when the main system battery died that battery would keep the memory going so when u plugged it back in everything was were u left off when u powered back on. i think the feature died off when windows 98 came out since it had that hibernation thing and i believe windows 95 didn't have that built into it.
@@mraaron1584 I definitely will try this out. I'll make a video if there is enough interest. Thanks
Varta, creating interesting videos for decades! 🤣
hahaha
@@Epictronics1 Check your "spam" comments. I posted a reply that they have deleted.
@@ted-b Sorry Ted, I can't find the comment. YT hides it from me too :/
@@ted-b Oh, have you seen a factory image someplace?
@@Epictronics1 Only a generic one for the 300 series, but you could extract some goodies, maybe?
The plastic on my 1998 Tecra 8000 is absolutely crumbing and is hopeless. The computer itself still works great, other than the dim backlight.
Great vid! I have to replace the batteries in my working 50ct and 100ct. I saw some NIMH batteries out there to replace the old one with. Hopefully they hold up so I don’t have to open those cases again.
Oh, wow, the 50CT and 100CT are very cool. I decided to run my 300CT without the battery for now. Maybe I'll make a CR2032 MOD someday
I have about two dozen Toshiba's, ranging from late 80's to early 00's. Almost all have varta's, and all leaked, not a single exception. sadly.
Damn VARTA's I'm glad you saved some of them Toshiba's :) I think I only have about four
Toshiba seemingly offered about a million different models all in a very similar form factor around this time. I have a Satellite 110CD (1995) and a Satellite Pro 4300 Series (~1999). The 110 suffers from a dead floppy drive and dead CMOS battery, unfortunately the cell had been in there since 1995 and spewed it's guts out. I cleaned it up, but the pins inside the socket to connect the battery completely rotted away. I will one day remove the socket and solder in some sort of replacement (when I get around to it...). The 4300 however is in perfect condition. The build quality of these laptops is superb, especially compared to todays offerings.
I didn't check but I'm pretty sure the connector for the CMOS battery was a regular JST. You should be able to find one on ebay or your favourite electronics supplier. I'll probably use mine without batteries. I'm not in to time anyways ;)
The two cmos batteries seems really weird. Especially in an ultra portable where space is at a premium!
Kind viewers have responded with "The second (larger) ni-mh battery pack is likely to keep the RAM contents alive when the system is in standby"
Used to sell these in the late 90's early 2000s. The coolest onereally was the Libretto though even if the specs were lower.
yeah, I'd love to have one of those Librettos. They are damn pricy now though
@@Epictronics1 I dont think they sold many they were also slightly less practical than you might first think on account of windows being in ROM. I was thinking maybe your 2nd cmos battery was for something simular.
@@rimmersbryggeri That larger battery apparently is for suspend-to-RAM backup. It's not really needed for vintage PC usage :)
@@Epictronics1 Cool. It's really impressive how complex the laptops were at this time. The first one i dismantled was a whie comapq armada, I dont remember the model number and it was almost impossible to re assemble it with all functions operational. Almost as if the made themintentionally so that you would have to send it to the manufacturer even for something simple like a memory or hdd upgrades.
@@rimmersbryggeri I would have been the guy who fixed it for you then! I was a Compaq tech at that time. I still have a stack of Compaq laptops destined for future videos : )
In the future it would be ideal if you added a warning before sounds like those at 21:44 appear in a video. Or better yet, to mute that part of the sound. Many people (myself included) find high pitched squeaking like that to be incredibly uncomfortable and difficult to listen to.
Sorry to hear that. I had no idea. Thanks for the feedback
I remember taking apart my fathers Portege. More precisely I remember what could be called a near death experience when he found out! Did you get the T1000 running on battery and charging btw?
Haha, I took our camera apart as a kid and never got it back together lol. The T1000 runs of standard rechargeable AA's. I don't dear to charge them with the onboard charger though. The onboard charger works but I would have to build an original battery pack to use it. There is very little to gain from that so I haven't decided if I should
@@Epictronics1 I have a T1000 here to repair myself so that video has helped me quite a bit 😊
@@the_leathermushroom Glad to hear : ) There will be a part two but it's a bit further down the queue
The plastics on these are also extremely bad, I managed to rescue my bosses unit from a corrosive death but at what caused?... there's a large hole in it now where the plastics just shattered like cheese
These things need to have 3D printed parts made ASAP
Gotta say, there's something slightly cursed about a 16:9 aspect ratio on a Windows 95 laptop.
It was pretty weird actually. There wasn't much in that aspect ratio back in those days. We didn't really have movies on our PCs yet. It wasn't very useful
Good job.
24:52 That laptop is probably using ATI or something close graphics card. You can probably scale to full display if you go to the BIOS and it should be there an option to expand. My thinking is that cebtered image was default on purpse from manufacturers because scaling was crap back in the past. The image was mostly pixelated. If you install the drivers, it will expand of coulse. Depending from the panel, if it is 1024x768 and you set to 800x600, there will be a centered image.
You can also build a cd yourself. Windows 95 or 98, some tool to mod the installation for unattented installation, some drivers that work with the laptop (based on trial and error) et voilá..
You can also try compact flash as hdd storage. There are boards that adapt CF cards to 44 pin mini ide. You just also need to find a CF card that allows other than removable storage. 4GB cards will probably have the hdd mode storage, just need to be modified using some tool.
This machine is actually a very early wide screen. Way ahead of it's time! If I remember correctly I had it set to 1024x768 when playing BS. That way the top and bottom was not visible and I had to scroll to get access to the menu. CF card in the PCMCIA slot is an excellent file transfer method. I used it in my Internet Advisor video because that machine did not have usb or CD-ROM. Yeah, I actually prefer a clean Win95 OEM install but I don't have the drivers for that unfortunately. Hopefully someone kind will sort us out through the comments here
I have a Portege 660 CDT, all i have to do in order to get fullscreen is enabling LCD display stretch in BIOS.@@Epictronics1
@@Epictronics1 For fullscreen display you should enable LCD display stretch in the BIOS
@@km-xr5im I'll check, thanks!
This laptop does not have two CMOS batteries - one of them is for suspend/sleep mode. You do not need to have this suspend/sleep battery, it is expensive and useless nowadays.
Thanks!
@@Epictronics1 CMOS battery is the smaller one, if it is 3-cell it should be 3,6V.
@@86smoke Oh, I bought the wrong one then lol . I think I'm gonna skip both batteries for now. The machine seems to do without them : ) Thanks!
@@Epictronics1 Just extract three cells from it and solder a wire and connector from the old battery. Don't forget to soak old wiring in vinegar for couple of minutes as battery base that leaked from old cells runs inside those wires.
@@86smoke That's good thinking. I could reuse the wire from the new suspend/sleep battery I had mistakenly bought as a preparation for this vid.