Portégé Laptops

[Goutamk]

Dear all

I am using Portege R100. I am not able to boot from usb cd drive and the cd drive is also not working in xp but all other usb devices are working okay and the very usb cd drive is working fine on other systems.

Can any one help me out

Thanks in advance

Goutam

[shel-hall]

The R100 won't boot from USB, except some USB floppy drives and selected CD/DVD drives.

However, it will boot from the PCMCIA slot, either using one of the compatible CD drives, or from a CF card in a CF-to-PCMCIA adapter. 

You can also boot from the network, using a PXE server.

What are you trying to do?  Re-install Windows XP?  If so, use the program "WinSetupFromUSB" on another computer to move the installation image to a CF card and use that in the PCMCIA slot.  It's a lot faster than using a CD, too.

-Shel

[Jerry_Lippey]

Portege R100

Not all optical drives are bootable on that computer, Goutam. 

You should be able to boot from these two drives, which are mentioned in the spec above.

   PA3401U-1DVD External DVD Drive

   PA3352U-2CD2 External DVD/CDRW Drive

According to Toshiba's Document 98081581, after the BIOS is updated you can boot from this one.

   PA3402U-1DV2 External DVD SuperMulti Drive  

[gusz]

I need to reinstall WinXP on my Portege R100. I do not have the recovery

disks but I do have an original bootable WinXP install CD. In the previous posts

on the subject thread it indicated I can:

"use the program "WinSetupFromUSB" on another computer to move the installation image

to a CF card and use that in the PCMCIA slot"

"boot from these three drives: PA3401U-1DVD External DVD Drive, PA3352U-2CD2 External DVD/CDRW Drive, 

 PA3402U-1DV2 External DVD SuperMulti Drive"

Since I have to buy the equipment to do this, can someone

confirm that both solutions work to reinstall WinXP? I note

the second solution indicates you can boot from the external

CD, but does not say you can reinstall WinXP from it.

Thnx, Gus

[jachol]

Hi all,

New to the board, and recently acquired a used Portege R100 that came without any OS ... I'd read of the problems re. a fresh install, and was thinking I'll have fun and games getting this up and running.

Don't know if I was lucky, but when investigating how to get into the BIOS to set the boot order, I found that pressing the F2 function key immediately after power-up I could select a boot option with the Left/Right shift keys...

1.HDD 2.CD 3. Floppy 4. Network and 5. PCMCIA adaptor

I opted to go with the floppy since the 6 XP bootdisks were to hand, so with the XP SP3 install CD in a borrowed USB drive, and running the floppies in order in a USB floppy drive the system installed like a dream, just as you would install win 98 in the old days.

All I can say is it worked for me guys, but I'd love to have feedback saying it worked for others too. ... Jack

[jachol]

I've been trying to attach a screen shot of the boot select screen I get when I hit F2 at power-up, but can't get the attachment to work, must be the way I'm trying this. ... Ideas anyone ?.

[jachol]

Quote from Message 5 above ...

27-08-2010 03:46 PM

Hi all,

New to the board, and recently acquired a used Portege R100 that came without any OS ... I'd read of the problems re. a fresh install, and was thinking I'll have fun and games getting this up and running.

Don't know if I was lucky, but when investigating how to get into the BIOS to set the boot order, I found that pressing the F2 function key immediately after power-up I could select a boot option with the Left/Right shift keys...

1.HDD 2.CD 3. Floppy 4. Network and 5. PCMCIA adaptor

I opted to go with the floppy since the 6 XP bootdisks were to hand, so with the XP SP3 install CD in a borrowed USB drive, and running the floppies in order in a USB floppy drive the system installed like a dream, just as you would install win 98 in the old days.

All I can say is it worked for me guys, but I'd love to have feedback saying it worked for others too. ... Jack

Initially when I did this install as above with  borrowed CD & FDD drives, it worked fine right off, it must have been a very fortunate combination both drives were recognised without any problem.

I've just tried to repeat the process with 2 different external drives, and neither one is recognised, so in this instance an install wouldn't be possible by this method ... I can only apologise if the info above raised any false hopes ... it was posted in good faith.

I think I should start negotiations to buy the borrowed drives from my friend, or arrange a fireproof back up of my present install.  (I haven't got my head around that one yet). ... Jack

[jachol]

Hi all,

New to the board, and recently acquired a used Portege R100 that came without any OS ... I'd read of the problems re. a fresh install, and was thinking I'll have fun and games getting this up and running.

Don't know if I was lucky, but when investigating how to get into the BIOS to set the boot order, I found that pressing the F2 function key immediately after power-up I could select a boot option with the Left/Right shift keys...

1.HDD 2.CD 3. Floppy 4. Network and 5. PCMCIA adaptor

I opted to go with the floppy since the 6 XP bootdisks were to hand, so with the XP SP3 install CD in a borrowed USB drive, and running the floppies in order in a USB floppy drive the system installed like a dream, just as you would install win 98 in the old days.

All I can say is it worked for me guys, but I'd love to have feedback saying it worked for others too. ... Jack

Initially when I did this install as above with  borrowed CD & FDD drives, it worked fine right off, it must have been a very fortunate combination both drives were recognised without any problem.

I've just tried to repeat the process with 2 different external drives, and neither one is recognised, so in this instance an install wouldn't be possible by this method ... I can only apologise if the info above raised any false hopes ... it was posted in good faith.

I think I should start negotiations to buy the borrowed drives from my friend, or arrange a fireproof back up of my present install.  (I haven't got my head around that one yet). ... Jack

[zalvasyl]

Dear all !

  Can I to boot  from usb-SuperMulti drivers PA3761U-1DV2 , PA3454U-1DV2  ? Thanks.

[shel-hall]

Or save both time and money by getting a CF card (a one-GB will do) and a PCMCIA adapter, then putting the XP installation image on it with WinSetupFromUSB. The R-100 will boot from the PCMCIA card, and installing XP from a CF card that way is _very_ quick. -Shel

[Labtech52]

I have purchased a Toshiba R100, so am very interested in this post. I have also purchased (yet to arrive) a 2Gb PCMIA HDD (Hard Drive, not CF memory or PMCIA memory). Will I be able to install Windows if I format this drive on my desktop PC and copy all the files from the original Portege R100 3 CD set? I do not have a PCMCIA CD-ROM, so that option is not possible.

[Jerry_Lippey]

---

PCMIA HDD

---

If that's supposed to be PCMCIA, I'm not aware of any BIOS that boots from it. That is, you would require a driver from some OS just to see the drive.

[jachol]

Hi All,

Since my last post, I've experimented with the method I outlined above with various borrowed USB FDD & CD drives, and find that the method does work most of the time, but does seem to depend on the drives used ... I've never been able to find why some combinations work, and some don't ???. Personally I now have a Toshiba USB1 FDD type PA 3214U-2FDD and a generic CD reader/writer of nondescript make bought on ebay, this combination works fine and I don't find the slow  speed of the USB1 FDD a problem.

Hope this helps others in installing this excellent notebook. ... Jack

[Jerry_Lippey]

Portege R100 

---

 does seem to depend on the drives used

---

Exactly, Jack.

These should work, since they are mentioned in the spec above.

   PA3109U-1FDD Toshiba USB Floppy Disk Drive Kit

   PA3401U-1DVD External DVD Drive (USB 2.0)

   PA3352U-2CD2 External DVD/CDRW Drive (USB 2.0)

Compatible optical drives for some for other Portege models are given here.

   Bootable Recovery CDs -- supported external CD and DVD drives

[jachol]

Hi Jerry,

Glad you agree, ... After reading of other peoples installation troubles when I was waiting delivery of the R100,

I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of my initial installation using the method described, but I agree I must have

been very fortunate  insofar as the borrowed drives were compatible.

The method is exactly how we had to install Win95/win98/win millenium in their day. ... Jack.

[Daschiba]

via USB - that one works for me: Liteon DVD/R CD/RW LSC 24081MX google it - it's still and cheap on the market regards Damian