[vcf-midatlantic] Compaq LTE 5280 5300 - Requesting assistance

[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 at 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 at 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
> >
>