Compaq LTE 5280 5300 - Requesting assistance
Good Evening VCF East, I'm new to this group(but not to IT in general [30 years experience ]) I love vintage computers. I'm also in the process of restoring several vintage notebooks. Two in particular are Compaq LTE 5280 and 5300 models. Both have moderate problems. The 5280 is the better model. I'm trying to salvage parts from both to make one good system. I need to replace the Multifunction bay(Floppy/CD-ROM), hard drive bay, and battery bay from the 5280 with the floppy, hard drive, and battery from the 5300. Here is my problem, I'm unable to eject these components from the bays in the 5280. The release buttons seem to be locked and won't slide all the way forward. There are supposedly locking screw holes on the bottom of the unit, but there are no screws in them( they were already missing when I obtained them second hand.) I'm very much stuck! LOL I also have Cerebral Palsy with mobility and dexterity issues (I have one good arm/hand to work with. This makes the disassembly of this notebook even more problematic. This system will be for myself for early/mid 90's DOS games BTW. I spoke to another VCF East member and they suggested I send a message out to the group with this request. I'm in the Toms River, NJ area and I'd even be willing to discuss reasonable compensation(or a trade for other vintage systems( I have others and vintage spare parts)) for someone with the expertise in the Compaq LTE 5000 series for their time and effort. Let me know. Thank you in advance. Take Care, Russell LeChard
Russell, I am not sure how hard they are to find, but it was me, given they're not too old, I'd try to find a replacement drive and be done with it. Otherwise you will have to find a working drive and compare and contrast yours to the other one to get a feel for exactly where the point of failure is. When there are missing screws that's the sign of a failed attempt to repair. It could be someone put a replacement drive in there already but it was not an exact match and thus does not eject and then gave up. Another option - Can you find a PCMCIA external 3.5 drive, or even USB dongle or CD of some sort to bypass the need for the 3.5 drive altogether? Just thinking as I type how to approach. Bill Degnan On Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 9:52 PM Russell LeChard via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Good Evening VCF East,
I'm new to this group(but not to IT in general [30 years experience ]) I love vintage computers. I'm also in the process of restoring several vintage notebooks. Two in particular are Compaq LTE 5280 and 5300 models. Both have moderate problems. The 5280 is the better model. I'm trying to salvage parts from both to make one good system. I need to replace the Multifunction bay(Floppy/CD-ROM), hard drive bay, and battery bay from the 5280 with the floppy, hard drive, and battery from the 5300.
Here is my problem, I'm unable to eject these components from the bays in the 5280. The release buttons seem to be locked and won't slide all the way forward. There are supposedly locking screw holes on the bottom of the unit, but there are no screws in them( they were already missing when I obtained them second hand.) I'm very much stuck! LOL
I also have Cerebral Palsy with mobility and dexterity issues (I have one good arm/hand to work with. This makes the disassembly of this notebook even more problematic.
This system will be for myself for early/mid 90's DOS games BTW.
I spoke to another VCF East member and they suggested I send a message out to the group with this request. I'm in the Toms River, NJ area and I'd even be willing to discuss reasonable compensation(or a trade for other vintage systems( I have others and vintage spare parts)) for someone with the expertise in the Compaq LTE 5000 series for their time and effort. Let me know. Thank you in advance.
Take Care, Russell LeChard
Bill, Good Morning. Thank you for responding to my message. I appreciate it greatly. If I understand you, you suggest that I replace the existing hard drive? Well, that is exactly what I'd like to do(along with the multifunction[MF] (floppy/CD-ROM ) and battery bays.) I'd like to replace the HDD w/ an IDE to CF adapter. The real issue is I'm unable to eject the HDD, MF, and battery from the 5280. The release buttons for the expansion bays on each side of the notebook seem to be locked and will not release any of the bays(even though there are no locking screws present.) The mechanism seems to be broken. I suspect the 8250 will need to be disassembled to correct the issue. Unfortunately my Physical mobility issues makes that a very difficult task. It's very frustrating.. I hope I explained the problem more clearly. That is why I'm requesting help from someone with the physical aspect of this task. Tony Bogan Suggested that I reach out to the VCF East membership to seek a solution. Take Care, Russell LeChard On Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 10:09 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Russell,
I am not sure how hard they are to find, but it was me, given they're not too old, I'd try to find a replacement drive and be done with it.
Otherwise you will have to find a working drive and compare and contrast yours to the other one to get a feel for exactly where the point of failure is. When there are missing screws that's the sign of a failed attempt to repair. It could be someone put a replacement drive in there already but it was not an exact match and thus does not eject and then gave up. Another option - Can you find a PCMCIA external 3.5 drive, or even USB dongle or CD of some sort to bypass the need for the 3.5 drive altogether? Just thinking as I type how to approach.
Bill Degnan
On Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 9:52 PM Russell LeChard via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Good Evening VCF East,
I'm new to this group(but not to IT in general [30 years experience ]) I love vintage computers. I'm also in the process of restoring several vintage notebooks. Two in particular are Compaq LTE 5280 and 5300 models. Both have moderate problems. The 5280 is the better model. I'm trying to salvage parts from both to make one good system. I need to replace the Multifunction bay(Floppy/CD-ROM), hard drive bay, and battery bay from the 5280 with the floppy, hard drive, and battery from the 5300.
Here is my problem, I'm unable to eject these components from the bays in the 5280. The release buttons seem to be locked and won't slide all the way forward. There are supposedly locking screw holes on the bottom of the unit, but there are no screws in them( they were already missing when I obtained them second hand.) I'm very much stuck! LOL
I also have Cerebral Palsy with mobility and dexterity issues (I have one good arm/hand to work with. This makes the disassembly of this notebook even more problematic.
This system will be for myself for early/mid 90's DOS games BTW.
I spoke to another VCF East member and they suggested I send a message out to the group with this request. I'm in the Toms River, NJ area and I'd even be willing to discuss reasonable compensation(or a trade for other vintage systems( I have others and vintage spare parts)) for someone with the expertise in the Compaq LTE 5000 series for their time and effort. Let me know. Thank you in advance.
Take Care, Russell LeChard
Russell, The VCFed has workshops almost monthly (in Wall, NJ same place as the festival), you could always bring your laptop to the next meeting and there will be people there who can give you a second option or help out. I now understand better what you mean, it's not as simplistic as I originally thought. Bill On Tue, Oct 19, 2021 at 10:36 AM Russell LeChard via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Bill,
Good Morning. Thank you for responding to my message. I appreciate it greatly. If I understand you, you suggest that I replace the existing hard drive? Well, that is exactly what I'd like to do(along with the multifunction[MF] (floppy/CD-ROM ) and battery bays.) I'd like to replace the HDD w/ an IDE to CF adapter. The real issue is I'm unable to eject the HDD, MF, and battery from the 5280. The release buttons for the expansion bays on each side of the notebook seem to be locked and will not release any of the bays(even though there are no locking screws present.) The mechanism seems to be broken. I suspect the 8250 will need to be disassembled to correct the issue. Unfortunately my Physical mobility issues makes that a very difficult task. It's very frustrating.. I hope I explained the problem more clearly. That is why I'm requesting help from someone with the physical aspect of this task. Tony Bogan Suggested that I reach out to the VCF East membership to seek a solution.
Take Care, Russell LeChard
On Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 10:09 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Russell,
I am not sure how hard they are to find, but it was me, given they're not too old, I'd try to find a replacement drive and be done with it.
Otherwise you will have to find a working drive and compare and contrast yours to the other one to get a feel for exactly where the point of failure is. When there are missing screws that's the sign of a failed attempt to repair. It could be someone put a replacement drive in there already but it was not an exact match and thus does not eject and then gave up. Another option - Can you find a PCMCIA external 3.5 drive, or even USB dongle or CD of some sort to bypass the need for the 3.5 drive altogether? Just thinking as I type how to approach.
Bill Degnan
On Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 9:52 PM Russell LeChard via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Good Evening VCF East,
I'm new to this group(but not to IT in general [30 years experience ]) I love vintage computers. I'm also in the process of restoring several vintage notebooks. Two in particular are Compaq LTE 5280 and 5300 models. Both have moderate problems. The 5280 is the better model. I'm trying to salvage parts from both to make one good system. I need to replace the Multifunction bay(Floppy/CD-ROM), hard drive bay, and battery bay from the 5280 with the floppy, hard drive, and battery from the 5300.
Here is my problem, I'm unable to eject these components from the bays in the 5280. The release buttons seem to be locked and won't slide all the way forward. There are supposedly locking screw holes on the bottom of the unit, but there are no screws in them( they were already missing when I obtained them second hand.) I'm very much stuck! LOL
I also have Cerebral Palsy with mobility and dexterity issues (I have one good arm/hand to work with. This makes the disassembly of this notebook even more problematic.
This system will be for myself for early/mid 90's DOS games BTW.
I spoke to another VCF East member and they suggested I send a message out to the group with this request. I'm in the Toms River, NJ area and I'd even be willing to discuss reasonable compensation(or a trade for other vintage systems( I have others and vintage spare parts)) for someone with the expertise in the Compaq LTE 5000 series for their time and effort. Let me know. Thank you in advance.
Take Care, Russell LeChard
Bill, Good Afternoon. Thank you for that additional information. I may take up the offer with the next scheduled workshop. No worries of the confusion on the issue at hand. I look forward to participating with the group. Take Care, Russell LeChard Email - Russell.LeChard@gmail.com On Tue, Oct 19, 2021 at 12:42 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Russell, The VCFed has workshops almost monthly (in Wall, NJ same place as the festival), you could always bring your laptop to the next meeting and there will be people there who can give you a second option or help out. I now understand better what you mean, it's not as simplistic as I originally thought. Bill
On Tue, Oct 19, 2021 at 10:36 AM Russell LeChard via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Bill,
Good Morning. Thank you for responding to my message. I appreciate it greatly. If I understand you, you suggest that I replace the existing hard drive? Well, that is exactly what I'd like to do(along with the multifunction[MF] (floppy/CD-ROM ) and battery bays.) I'd like to replace the HDD w/ an IDE to CF adapter. The real issue is I'm unable to eject the HDD, MF, and battery from the 5280. The release buttons for the expansion bays on each side of the notebook seem to be locked and will not release any of the bays(even though there are no locking screws present.) The mechanism seems to be broken. I suspect the 8250 will need to be disassembled to correct the issue. Unfortunately my Physical mobility issues makes that a very difficult task. It's very frustrating.. I hope I explained the problem more clearly. That is why I'm requesting help from someone with the physical aspect of this task. Tony Bogan Suggested that I reach out to the VCF East membership to seek a solution.
Take Care, Russell LeChard
On Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 10:09 PM Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Russell,
I am not sure how hard they are to find, but it was me, given they're not too old, I'd try to find a replacement drive and be done with it.
Otherwise you will have to find a working drive and compare and contrast yours to the other one to get a feel for exactly where the point of failure is. When there are missing screws that's the sign of a failed attempt to repair. It could be someone put a replacement drive in there already but it was not an exact match and thus does not eject and then gave up. Another option - Can you find a PCMCIA external 3.5 drive, or even USB dongle or CD of some sort to bypass the need for the 3.5 drive altogether? Just thinking as I type how to approach.
Bill Degnan
On Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 9:52 PM Russell LeChard via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Good Evening VCF East,
I'm new to this group(but not to IT in general [30 years experience ]) I love vintage computers. I'm also in the process of restoring several vintage notebooks. Two in particular are Compaq LTE 5280 and 5300 models. Both have moderate problems. The 5280 is the better model. I'm trying to salvage parts from both to make one good system. I need to replace the Multifunction bay(Floppy/CD-ROM), hard drive bay, and battery bay from the 5280 with the floppy, hard drive, and battery from the 5300.
Here is my problem, I'm unable to eject these components from the bays in the 5280. The release buttons seem to be locked and won't slide all the way forward. There are supposedly locking screw holes on the bottom of the unit, but there are no screws in them( they were already missing when I obtained them second hand.) I'm very much stuck! LOL
I also have Cerebral Palsy with mobility and dexterity issues (I have one good arm/hand to work with. This makes the disassembly of this notebook even more problematic.
This system will be for myself for early/mid 90's DOS games BTW.
I spoke to another VCF East member and they suggested I send a message out to the group with this request. I'm in the Toms River, NJ area and I'd even be willing to discuss reasonable compensation(or a trade for other vintage systems( I have others and vintage spare parts)) for someone with the expertise in the Compaq LTE 5000 series for their time and effort. Let me know. Thank you in advance.
Take Care, Russell LeChard
Russell, welcome aboard! Was good seeing you and your family at VCF East last weekend, I’m glad we were able to meet in person so many years after our first meeting. This is the place to go for help. Great people on here with a wealth of knowledge and skills to help with your problem. (Unfortunately I’m not one of them! ;-) Thanks for joining the list. Hopefully you’ll be able to make a future workshop and get to meet some more of the great people involved with the Vintage Computer Federation. Tony Bogan Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 18, 2021, at 9:52 PM, Russell LeChard via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Good Evening VCF East,
I'm new to this group(but not to IT in general [30 years experience ]) I love vintage computers. I'm also in the process of restoring several vintage notebooks. Two in particular are Compaq LTE 5280 and 5300 models. Both have moderate problems. The 5280 is the better model. I'm trying to salvage parts from both to make one good system. I need to replace the Multifunction bay(Floppy/CD-ROM), hard drive bay, and battery bay from the 5280 with the floppy, hard drive, and battery from the 5300.
Here is my problem, I'm unable to eject these components from the bays in the 5280. The release buttons seem to be locked and won't slide all the way forward. There are supposedly locking screw holes on the bottom of the unit, but there are no screws in them( they were already missing when I obtained them second hand.) I'm very much stuck! LOL
I also have Cerebral Palsy with mobility and dexterity issues (I have one good arm/hand to work with. This makes the disassembly of this notebook even more problematic.
This system will be for myself for early/mid 90's DOS games BTW.
I spoke to another VCF East member and they suggested I send a message out to the group with this request. I'm in the Toms River, NJ area and I'd even be willing to discuss reasonable compensation(or a trade for other vintage systems( I have others and vintage spare parts)) for someone with the expertise in the Compaq LTE 5000 series for their time and effort. Let me know. Thank you in advance.
Take Care, Russell LeChard
Russell, You might want to reach out to Chris Lenderman: https://www.retrotechchris.com He’s an expert on LTE and other Compaq laptops. - Alex On Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 10:13 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Russell, welcome aboard! Was good seeing you and your family at VCF East last weekend, I’m glad we were able to meet in person so many years after our first meeting.
This is the place to go for help. Great people on here with a wealth of knowledge and skills to help with your problem. (Unfortunately I’m not one of them! ;-)
Thanks for joining the list. Hopefully you’ll be able to make a future workshop and get to meet some more of the great people involved with the Vintage Computer Federation.
Tony Bogan
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 18, 2021, at 9:52 PM, Russell LeChard via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Good Evening VCF East,
I'm new to this group(but not to IT in general [30 years experience ]) I love vintage computers. I'm also in the process of restoring several vintage notebooks. Two in particular are Compaq LTE 5280 and 5300 models. Both have moderate problems. The 5280 is the better model. I'm trying to salvage parts from both to make one good system. I need to replace the Multifunction bay(Floppy/CD-ROM), hard drive bay, and battery bay from the 5280 with the floppy, hard drive, and battery from the 5300.
Here is my problem, I'm unable to eject these components from the bays in the 5280. The release buttons seem to be locked and won't slide all the way forward. There are supposedly locking screw holes on the bottom of the unit, but there are no screws in them( they were already missing when I obtained them second hand.) I'm very much stuck! LOL
I also have Cerebral Palsy with mobility and dexterity issues (I have one good arm/hand to work with. This makes the disassembly of this notebook even more problematic.
This system will be for myself for early/mid 90's DOS games BTW.
I spoke to another VCF East member and they suggested I send a message out to the group with this request. I'm in the Toms River, NJ area and I'd even be willing to discuss reasonable compensation(or a trade for other vintage systems( I have others and vintage spare parts)) for someone with the expertise in the Compaq LTE 5000 series for their time and effort. Let me know. Thank you in advance.
Take Care, Russell LeChard
Alex, Thank you for that suggestion. I'll check him out. Take Care, Russell LeChard On Tue, Oct 19, 2021 at 12:12 AM Alexander Jacocks via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Russell,
You might want to reach out to Chris Lenderman: https://www.retrotechchris.com
He’s an expert on LTE and other Compaq laptops.
- Alex
On Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 10:13 PM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Russell, welcome aboard! Was good seeing you and your family at VCF East last weekend, I’m glad we were able to meet in person so many years after our first meeting.
This is the place to go for help. Great people on here with a wealth of knowledge and skills to help with your problem. (Unfortunately I’m not one of them! ;-)
Thanks for joining the list. Hopefully you’ll be able to make a future workshop and get to meet some more of the great people involved with the Vintage Computer Federation.
Tony Bogan
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 18, 2021, at 9:52 PM, Russell LeChard via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Good Evening VCF East,
I'm new to this group(but not to IT in general [30 years experience ]) I love vintage computers. I'm also in the process of restoring several vintage notebooks. Two in particular are Compaq LTE 5280 and 5300 models. Both have moderate problems. The 5280 is the better model. I'm trying to salvage parts from both to make one good system. I need to replace the Multifunction bay(Floppy/CD-ROM), hard drive bay, and battery bay from the 5280 with the floppy, hard drive, and battery from the 5300.
Here is my problem, I'm unable to eject these components from the bays in the 5280. The release buttons seem to be locked and won't slide all the way forward. There are supposedly locking screw holes on the bottom of the unit, but there are no screws in them( they were already missing when I obtained them second hand.) I'm very much stuck! LOL
I also have Cerebral Palsy with mobility and dexterity issues (I have one good arm/hand to work with. This makes the disassembly of this notebook even more problematic.
This system will be for myself for early/mid 90's DOS games BTW.
I spoke to another VCF East member and they suggested I send a message out to the group with this request. I'm in the Toms River, NJ area and I'd even be willing to discuss reasonable compensation(or a trade for other vintage systems( I have others and vintage spare parts)) for someone with the expertise in the Compaq LTE 5000 series for their time and effort. Let me know. Thank you in advance.
Take Care, Russell LeChard
participants (4)
-
Alexander Jacocks -
Bill Degnan -
Russell LeChard -
Tony Bogan