Pimp my Cf-31 Mk 5

I just wrapped up a project laptop build for all my radio programming work. I went with a Panasonic Toughbook CF-31 Mk5 (CF-3112149CM) because I needed something that could boot both Legacy BIOS and UEFI, and I wanted to run multiple OS’s:

Windows 7 (32-bit)

Windows 7 (64-bit)

Windows 10 (64-bit)

Linux Mint

The CF-31 was perfect since it can support up to 3 drives, which let me separate systems and have a shared storage drive.

Why I chose the CF-31:

True, dedicated serial port (huge for radio work)

PC Card slot (PCMCIA 2.0)

ExpressCard slot (54mm)

RAM upgradeable to 16GB DDR3

Rugged and reliable

How I fit 3 drives into it:

Drive 1 (Bootable): Standard 2.5" SATA III (HDD/SSD or JBOD span bridge) →

Drive 2 (Bootable): Multipurpose bay with CD/DVD replacement caddy → adapter here

Drive 3 (Non-bootable): ExpressCard slot with NVMe adapter → https://ebay.us/m/syXN5k (the adapter fits 2232/2242 NVMe drives nicely, it can take up to 2280 but it will stick out and you will not be able to close the port cover, and it will not take NGFF drives—those will bluescreen)

The NVMe drive shows up on Windows 7 (32 & 64) with some hotfixes via Legacy Update.

Other expansion options:

PC Card slot can add 2 more USB 2.0 ports → adapter here

Helpful tools:

Snappy Driver Installer

Legacy Update

DiskGenius

Panasonic “one-click” driver bundles for Windows

This project has been a super fun learning experience, and I finally have a rugged all-in-one machine for my programming needs.

TL;DR: Built a Panasonic CF-31 Mk5 Toughbook into a multi-OS radio programming laptop with 3 drives (2 bootable, 1 NVMe via ExpressCard), a true serial port, and tons of legacy expansion options. Runs Win7 (32/64), Win10, and Linux Mint with everything playing nicely together.

I want to charge my Panasonic Toughbook from 12VDC without using the big charging brick.

I’ve been looking into two options and would love your thoughts: 1.Buck converter to step up 12VDC to ~16VDC (Toughbook input), but I’m having a hard time finding one that’s small and has a nice clean enclosure. Most of them look sketchy or are bare boards. 2.USB-C PD route — using a trigger cable that negotiates 15V (close enough?)from a PD power bank or car adapter. Like this one: Adafruit USB-C to Barrel with PD trigger (15V) https://www.adafruit.com/product/5451 Has anyone tried either method successfully? Any suggestions for a reliable, compact, enclosed buck converter, or is USB-C PD the better way to go these days?

Thanks!

The FZ-A2 is an android toughpad. Happens to have a locked down BIOS, on an Intel CPU. As such, the bios is locked to android via an inaccessible secure boot option and proprietary Panasonic uefi keys. After dumping the bios, and sending the dumonto chatgpt, I got back a bios with all the uefi disabled. After flashing back, was a similar process to installing on a pc. Just figuring out issues with the touchscreen not working at the moment, along with the cameras and barcode reader.

I have a CF-31 Mk2 which has a PCI-e ExpressCard slot. But what to put in it?

"PCIE ExpressCard to M.2 NVMe SSD Adapter Card" was the listing on a popular online store. Allegedly supports single-sided 2230 and 2242 M.2 NVMe SSD solid-state drives.

I was pretty dubious about this whole thing, so I bought a (very) cheap "Intel Optane Memory M10 SSD M.2 2242 16GB" just to try it out. And that worked!

Then I bought a Kingston NVMe 2230 in 2 TB. And that works too!

Just wanted to share my success with the community. There are worse ways to spend a couple bucks.

So I bought my first Toughbooks. I actually ended up winning 7 of them. I really only wanted 2 but I figured I might be able to pull parts from the others and sell off a few to help offset the cost. They are CF33 models. I think 4 of them are MK1 and a few are MK2 or MK3 (Not real sure how to figure that out CF-33HCLT-KM)

I had an extra Samsung 1TB hard drive NVMe that I installed then let the TB charge for 2 hours and now it shows fully charged but when I powered it on, the HD is not showing.

Also, is it being in Supervisor mode going to be a problem? I was hoping to install Windows 11 Pro as I don't think Windows 10 Pro will work (No longer supported?)

I am computer dumb so I don't have a clue what I am doing. This is my first entry into this kind of thing.

I have ordered a cf33 with Gamber-johnson docking station I'd like to use with my sdrtrunk. I saw mention somewhere that people mod these toughbooks to integrate the dongle inside. Does anyone have a direction to point me so I can see how someone did it?

Okay, so I have this crazy idea—it might work, or it might not. I have no experience wiring computers or any technical PCB knowledge, but my idea is to take the back cover listed above and create another 3D-printed cover to sit on top of it, with one of those cheap USB hubs inside.

What I would really like to do is wire it internally, maybe by hot-wiring it to the existing USB port or even using the connection for the barcode reader. Like I said, I’m not sure if something like this could work or if it would get too complicated.

Shoot me your ideas and let me know what you think!

I bought a toughpad with barcode reader, I replaced the reader with a LAN port bought on Ebay (seller claims it's fully working), however it refuses to work. Ethernet adapter isn't shown in device manager. I updated the bios in hope to fix this, still no luck. If anyone has ever installed a LAN port on a thoughpad that originally haven't had one, have you encountered any issues with it?

I triple checked twice that the LAN port is connected properly to the motherboard.

Bought from rugged books for 100 bucks. Came nicely packaged and 5 screws later I have extended battery ability. Normal batteries still fit also.

The CF-54 only supports A+E keying, meaning you won’t be able to use the Intel BE200 WiFi 7 Card without an adapter. The Qualcomm WiFi 7 card should work though.

As for upgrading to an AX200 Intel card, you will need to mask two pins on the back or the card will not function. I used this guide and it worked perfectly: https://thecomputerperson.wordpress.com/2016/11/04/how-to-mask-off-the-wifi-power-off-pins-on-m-2-ngff-wireless-cards-the-old-mini-pci-pin-20-trick/

Lastly although the CF-54 is keyed for NVME, it only supports SATA M.2 drives.

Just got my cf33 to supplement my old cf19s. With the help of notebook review I decked my main cf19 out with glonass, fingerprint reader and dual touch (that was fun). Any nifty stuff I can add to a cf33 Just for fun? I did the wayback machine to look at the last day of the forums but didn't find much cf33 stuff, was looking for the service manual so I can pull this apart and paint it to match my cf19.

So I recently got a second hand Fz55 which is completely intact except for the motherboard which has a single problem, the 30 Pin EDP socket that usually sends video to the screen is really mangled. Like irreparably so. Is there another place on the laptop that puts out EDP signals? Like maybe the dock port or one of the mod bays or something? Lmk please if you have any info

Does anyone know I'm able to find a STL for the battery door on a cf u1 one or the Best way to create a 3D model for this.

I really want the better performance of the 54 but what’s holding me back is the marginal price difference and the classic keyboard, so i was wondering if there is a way to mod the 54 to have a 53 style keyboard?

Is this like the CF-20 and it has soldered on RAM?

Added an SSD to my Toughbook 18 through an adapter, loaded a lite Linux OS, and connected to my desktop through remote desktop. Holy Guacamole! My little 18 is blazing fast as a terminal. I have always loved the little pen, too, and it works well with one note. Too fun!

Hi,

are there any higher resolution touchscreen panels available?

I love my Toughbook CF-19 MK6, but 1024x768 is a bit limiting, a 1200x1024 screen or more would be nice.

Cannot find much on the internet unfortunately.

Thanks

Does anyone know if I can use an EM7565 or EM9191 in an FZ-G2? I was able to use the EM7565 in a FZ-G1 mk5, but I cannot get it to work in my G2. I have an EM9191 on order, but I'll be bummed if I can't get it to work. Of course, Panasonic support was not helpful.

I saw that the fz-55's hot-swappable ssd module is actually just a regular 2280 nvme ssd on the inside

Officially a 2TB ssd is the max they'll sell you and to get 4TB you'd need to buy the second drive xpak

What im wondering is, if I were to take the module appart and swap in my own 4TB ssd, would it just work is is there some kind of hardware limit in place? Would like to know before i sink a few hundred dollars into getting one just to find it isn't supported

Im considering the FZ-55 mk2 as one of the options for when I upgrade to a new laptop, however I'm unsatisfied with the keyboard it ships with and plan to replace it with a mechanical keyboard that uses low profile switches. The whole mech keyboard assembly is about 1cm tall so I need to know if it will be a drop in replacement or whether I will have to do further modifications to get it to fit

Width and length dimensions of the fz-55's keyboard module would also be very helful as i have been unable to find anything more than rough estimations online

I do want to change the cpu, but the cpu is soldered to the board. What to do?

Inspired by a thread over on /r/thinkpad , I've been wondering. I might have a contender, I'll post it in a comment.