Tablet PC!!

[iamdigitalman]

Ok, so it's not a shiny new modbook, or even one of those shiny HP tc2000s (me wantie!! ), but it will do for the application I need it for. I have actually been thinking of doing this for a couple years now, but never had the ambition until now.

I plan on building a carputer out of this tablet. I actually looked for a slate trype, because that is the best kind in this situation.

Anyways, it's a stylistic 3500, seen here. It comes with a wireless card, and the dock. The dock is critical, because I plan on taking the machine out at night so it won't get stolen and the battery won't freeze.

It has windows 98 installed on the 6gb, but I am going to swap that out with a 40gb fujitsu (how appropriate) with the windows 2000 setup files ready to go. I am going to put in a 802.11g card in place of the b one. I also took the 256mb module out of my pismo, swapped in a 128mb, so I can max the machine out at 256mb, which is why I chose 2k over XP.

I plan on putting in a USB GPS module and a ODB-II serial cable, but for now, it will run my iTunes collection until I can get the other bits. If I also ever get the inclining, I will get a 16gb CF card (I found one for $51), and a 2.5 inch adapter, I will convert it to solid state storage.

I will keep you all updated on my progress.

Oh, and what's better, a 500mhz Pentium II based celeron (what my 3500 has), or a actual Pentium III at 400mhz, which the 3400 has? I am sure I won't notice a difference, but just wondering, but the Pentium III is my favorite x86 processor.

-digital [/url]

 

[TheNeil]

Ooooo I got one of those a few months back (well the 3400 but what the hey) and they're funky.

A word of warning though, mess with the hard disk at your peril. My machine came with no OS and no end of playing with it would get it up and running again. Apparently the Stylistics use a strange disk geometry and you need to partition it and reformat the hard disk in the machine itself (despite what many sites say about setting up the drive in another machine and then installing it into the tablet...it doesn't work). I tried what you're intending to do (copy the install CD onto the drive on another machine and then install when installed in the tablet)...but hit big problems.

In the end I managed to get a Fujitsu external floppy drive and build a boot disk which allowed USB to be used from DOS (and then access an external USB drive and...).

My machine only allows 160Mb RAM and 2K sucked on it big time (can't remember the CPU/speed) - Win98 runs sweetly though.

One thing that's totally essential though is to make sure that you have some sort of onscreen keyboard (2K may come with one but, if not, there are a few decent fre ones out there) - life's impossible without one

 

[iamdigitalman]

ah yes, I do remember reading about your acquisition of one. I was only following this site, which tells me to do that. I don't know how many sectors this hard drive has, but if it's more than 63, I am screwed. Are you sure the 3500 has the same geometry problems as the 3400? I seem to remember reading that even though they are similar in styling, some things are different.

Oh, and after I got it, I found someone selling 3400s NIB on ebay for $120 shipped. On monday the price was knocked down $20 too. Go figure.

Oh, and if I end up with the same problems as yours, I will need to find a floppy drive for it, since it has non bootable USB. Would you mind sharing the boot disk you made if that's the case?

You could have installed windows ME on that 3400. I know, a lot of people hate it, but I don't. If you have the hardware to run it, it's great. Plus it has a built in on screen keyboard like 2000 does, and built in ZIP support.

-digital

 

[Temetka]

What neat little machines!

There seems to be a sale on the LT 500 series right now. For $120 I might pick one up. I can think of a number of different uses for which such a machine is suited for. For that price it's worth checking out.

Congrats on the 5300, they have a 2" larger screen than the LT 500's I am looking at.

 

[TheNeil]

Could be that the 3500 doesn't have the same hard drive 'quirks' as the 3400 (I hope so - it'll make life sooooooooooo much easier for you) - not 100% sure though so probably best to take it as a 'if things start going screwy then maybe...' bit of info

No problems sharing the boot disk (if I can find it - in the middle of trying to move house so a lot of things have been packed away)(if I can't then I should be able to remember enough to help out). From memory there are some drivers out there that allow USB drives to be accessed via DOS...and then everything gets very easy

Wish my 3400 had cost $20

 

[iamdigitalman]

Alright, I got it today. I unpacked it, and it fired right up to windows 98 SE. It was in portrait mode, I could not figure out how to change it. I took the hard drive out, swapped in the one with 2k installer, and it fired right into the installer. It's finishing up now as I type. going PDQ too. Oh wait, it just finished.

I unwrapped the wifi card, and I was shocked to find out it is just a rebadged wavelan. It's a Cabletron Roamabout. I wonder what firmware it has on it, and if it will work with the wavelan drivers... No matter, since I have a belkin 802.11g going into it.

My only probblem is the 256mb stick I pulled from my pismo is not working in it, so I swapped back the 64 for now. When I booted with 256, the fan spun and continued to spin, but nothing else. No disk activity, and no video. Anyone want to help me out on this one? Thanks.

-digital

 

[Temetka]

Maybe it doesn't like that chip.

What is the bus speed of the tablet? Some PC-100 modules don't work so well (or at all) on 66MHz BUS speeds. It's seen more in laptops than towers IME.

 

[iamdigitalman]

actually, I stuck a 64mb PC66 stick in it, it booted right up, but it beeped with an error saying it expected PC100 and can not work with this, system halted.

Here is what it says on the chip:

MT8LSDT3264HG-10EB1

PC100-222-620

256mb, synch, 100mhz, CL2

it works just fine in my pismo. I swapped in a 128mb module I found. it's better, and 2k seems to be running smooth.

I installed all drivers except the modem one, since it "requires" a floppy disk, and the bios, since it needs to be written to a floppy as well. BIOS is version 1.04 and the update is 1.05. IDK what the diff is, but it's probably not significant.

the whole digitizer seems a bit off, and the area in that photo on the auction page is actually a dead area, not "mushy" as they said. I can't get it to register. The hotpad also is giving me problems, it needs a lot of pressure to get it to work.

Installing all updates to 2k now, then I am going to see if I can't merge the 2 partitons I ended up with.

-digital

 

[benjgvps]

I always wanted a tablet, need to look around for these.