Laptop help needed

[ArmchairActivist]

I guess DU is my last, best hope.

I've googled high and low, but to no avail, I've called support lines and tech businesses and the best advice I've gotten is "Go to compuserve.com, they have a chat room."

Anyways, I've got an old laptop (It's a Pentium 133, Toshiba Satellite Pro CDT) and I want to tinker with it, put in a bigger HD, etc. Now I've done plenty of stuff like this with desktop machines, but this is my first laptop, and so I'd like to get some specific technical info if possible.

There doesn't seem to be any, anyplace on this vast internet.

So barring that, what generic info do I need before going at this little sucker with a screwdriver? What do I have to watch out for with disassembly, etc?

Thanks in advance...

-AA

[pocoloco]

1. I would try the Toshiba forum

at:
http://forumsb.csi.com/gvforums/default.asp?SRV=Toshiba

also Toshiba support has updated bios and drivers at:
http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_sc_modSel.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1179147058.1074664311@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccchadckhhmmkehcgfkceghdgngdgli.0

Good Luck

[ArmchairActivist]

5. The forum looks interesting...

... The Toshiba website has some downloads I'll need, but they're pretty slim on the technical details. In the 'upgrading hard drive' section, you get a file that says 'only licensed, authorized Toshiba technicians' blah blah blah....

[lcordero]

2. Be very, very gentle

remember when pulling out the keyboard, just pull it out a couple of inches and look underneath it. The strip connecting the keyboard to the motherboard is very fragile.

[ArmchairActivist]

4. Ah, ok...

...sounds like good advice. This is the kind of stuff I'm looking for... pitfalls and such that I'd like to avoid... thanks.

[gbwarming]

3. Try this

The hard disk is probably located on the bottom of the laptop under a cover (about 2.5 by 3 inches) with one screw (or possibly on one side 2.5 inches wide and about 1/2 inch high). Memory modules probably go under the keyboard which can (probably) be removed by lifting a snap in strip above the function keys.

The 'technical support center' link on this page will take you to a selector for your particular machine - get the user manual and see if the locations of the disk and memory options are listed. The drivers and BIOS updates will also be there.

http://www.csd.toshiba.com/

even if you aren't planning to use Linux, there may be some useful information here
http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/toshiba.html

Good Luck!