Toshiba M400 S5032-Core 2 Duo

[crockman]

I picked up this M400 (Link) Laptop from a local Salvage Yard for $20.

It's in pretty sound physical shape but is missing some parts. The HDD is missing, but the built-in Sata-150 Plug-in is still there. Also the AC Adapter's end plug, part that plugs into the Laptop, is damaged. Other than that nothing outwardly appears to be wrong.

Some Questions please:

1. The HDD will be no problem to replace, but does this M400 require a Caddy ?, and where to get said Caddy without selling my First-Born.

2. AC Adapter (Link):
The Insert on the Laptop End of the wire was broken out.
So I bought this Adaptaplug Q (link) from Radioshack. Then proceeded to remove the damaged wire end from the AC Adapter. Then proceeded to Solder the Adaptaplug Q on to the Adapter Wire.

Now I got lost lol. For the life of me and hours of Websurfing I could not figure out the Polarity of the 2 Adaptaplug Prong's.

2a. Which Prong is Positive, which Negative ?

Step 3. I then went to Radioshack again and bought this Replacement Adaptaplug Socket

That then solved the Polarity problem of the Prong's. Adaptaplug Q plugs into the Replacement Socket. It can be plugged in 2 different ways. On this M400 I want the Center Positive & outside Negative, no problem there.

Problem now lies in 3. How do I connect the "Replacement Adaptaplug Socket" to the AC Adapter Wire ? 3a. Of the 2 Replacement Socket Wires, Which Connects to which on the AC Adapter Wire(s) ?

I could just buy a New AC Adapter on Ebay for less than $15 but I don't really want to wait for it to be shipped when I'm not yet sure if this M400 is even going to run or not.

If it does run: Then I'll also need all the Drivers for the M400. But I do not know much about Laptops so I really don't know which Drivers I need nor which order to install them.

I plan to use a Windows XP-Home Edition OS for this Laptop. (It's not used anymore ever since I switched this Desktop to Vista).

Any Assistance would surely be appreciated, Thanks in Advance.

 

[IlllI]

Originally posted by: crockman


Then I'll also need all the Drivers for the M400. But I do not know much about Laptops so I really don't know which Drivers I need nor which order to install them.

I plan to use a Windows XP-Home Edition OS for this Laptop. (It's not used anymore ever since I switched this Desktop to Vista).

Any Assistance would surely be appreciated, Thanks in Advance.

in your first link click the 'downloads' tab
oh and if theres more than one for the same thing get the most recent version

 

[crockman]

in your first link click the 'downloads' tab oh and if theres more than one for the same thing get the most recent version

Thanks.

I had previously flipped through those Drivers in the Download Tab but wasn't sure If all of them would be needed or not (don't want to install drivers that aren't being used). Also there is no mention of a Drivers Installation Order. Nor does it mention any Driver Install Order in the Users Guide (also found in the Downloads Tab). Almost certainly some of those Drivers will need to be installed ahead of others but I see no mention of it.

 

[crockman]

Problems All Solved.

The Polarity of the Adaptaplug Q was figured out by using a 10$ Multimeter. I did a very simple Ohm Test ( a suggestion from a very helpful older gentlemen at my local Fleet Farm) which quickly Identified the In-Line connection points. The Splicing of the old ac adapter did answer my question that at least this M400 does in fact run. I did however go to Ebay and buy a new AC Adapter anyway.

As for the Mess of Drivers for this M400 I wasn't alone. Surfing through the Toshiba Forum I found a few threads all asking for help with the myriad of the drivers in the download tab. The Forum Moderator's Reply was, "I suggest using the Laptop's original Recovery CD", followed by a given 800 number to Toshiba Customer Service.

The Recovery CD was 25$ 5/7-day Ship, 30$ 3-day ship. The Recovery CD includes absolutely every software (& Drivers) that came on it when shipped from the factory, including the Vista Business Edition OS. On the bottom of this Laptop the Windows Authentication Sticker is still present. The Recovery CD becomes a 'Steal' at 30 Dollars if that Windows Vista Key Code is still good

Also found out on the Toshiba website that this M400 is still under warranty til' July of 2010. Not sure if the Warranty is transferable or not though.

Btw. I bought an Open-Box Hitachi 80GB 7200 rpm 2.5 Sata-150 HDD for this M400 from Newegg (30$ shipped). Any of you have experience with "Open-Box" parts from Newegg ?

 

[Hacp]

Did you make sure that the laptop at least works before spending all that money in it? It could be something like a fucked up motherboard that will ruin your day.

 

[crockman]

Did you make sure that the laptop at least works before spending all that money in it? It could be something like a fucked up motherboard that will ruin your day

Yes, soon as I had figured out the Polarity of the Adaptaplug Q (by Ohm Test) then I plugged it in and turned it on.

It ran just fine, The Cpu Fan did turn on, the Battery did charge & I navigated thru Bios with no problems at all. Although atm it has no Hard Drive so have only seen it running in Bios mode.

And I really have not spent that much money on it. $12-Shipped for a new AC Adapter, $13-shipped for a HDD Caddy, $30-Shipped for the Recovery CD & $30-shipped for the Hard Drive. Add that on to the $20 I paid for the Laptop itself brings the grand total to $105 Dollars(US). The Original Factory Ship Date of this Laptop was July 2007, so for a 2 year old laptop $105 is not a bad price imo.

I also had bought a Prostar Model4F, 3.2 Ghz Cpu, Laptop from the same place for again $20 (US). It as well runs fine but was missing the HDD & HDD Parts. Problem is finding the Proprietary HDD IDE Cable for the Prostar has been a lesson in futility. So for the moment I've decided to Repair the Toshiba for the Toshiba is newer, more powerful and easier to find parts for.

 

[Don66]

Wow, sounds like you got yourself a killer deal.

Too bad there isn't any place like that where I live.