Hi Everyone,
Working on a slightly used tablet. Trying to load on software. If you can think of anything else I might try I would greatly appreciate it. Keep in mind, I know just enough to be dangerous. Problem is, I can't load anything on the machine b/c it has win 98 and can't get the drivers on for

This is what I've got, Fujitsu Stylistic LT P-600 with Win 98se. piii600 15gig 128ram

Ports: 1 PCMCIA
1 compact flash
1 internal modem RJ11 on Com2, Fujitsu LB Global LTModem
Infrared
1 usb

Mini-dock connection

I've tried connecting by dialup w/ internal modem, no go. Error 666 (machine of the beast) "modem not plugged in or out of service. connect a modem & try again" . Com 2 isn't listed in device mgr.

I've tried by infrared: "communication could not be initialized. Make sure ir is enabled on machine thru ir control panel applet", In control panel under ir, I get "error 45 ir software ecountered internal error. check ir device's software config under Network Properties. If external or installable, check connection, restart". All looks fine.

I put in my own modem card but of course win98 doesn't have the drivers & I can't put them on.

I put in a 10/100 network card but same deal, can't get the drivers on.

I was able to download a bunch of drivers I need onto a Sandisk 256mb cruzer mini usb flash. Wouldn't you know it doesn't need a driver unless using with win98 se! On any other machine, you just pop it into a usb.

I picked up a little usb 10/100 ethernet adapter to hopefully connect direct to another machine with a crossover cable. Darned thing needs to have driver uploaded.

I've got a usb serial adapter to hopefully connect to another machine. It plugs right into usb with a male 9pin out. It says "simple plug & play, no IRQs required, ok with win 98" I have not tried that yet mainly because I don't want to open the box only to find it as useless as Win98.

The only other thing I can think of is a pc-pc link with a Net-linq usb-usb cable. As long as I don't need to install drivers, I should be ok.
http://www.doubleberger.com/Data-Tra...Connectors.htm

There is a serial adapter that plugs into the mini dock connection. Haven't bought it because it's straight from fujitsu and more bucks.

I looked at some usb cd-roms and floppy drives but I know they'll need drivers to load on. A friend seemed to think there were some out there that didn't need any other drivers but I haven't found then yet.

I haven't tried a mini-dock mainly because I don't have one and they're about 200 bucks, a little more than I want to spend for a chunk of plastic with a few ports & because I'm going to use an 802.11g wireless card in it anyway if I can ever get the p.o.s. right.

My goal is to dump Win98, put on Win2kpro and load on all the other software I need, network wireless for home & office.

Whaddya think? If you have any ideas or can steer me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it. This machine's about as thick as a hockey puck and I've still got some ice on the drive...hmmm....tempting.

Thanks, Ben

... snip ...

Hi Ben,

Thanks for posting this in the forum. I know you sent a private message but maybe others can chime in this discussion.

First, if you were going to keep win98 then visit this link and make sure you have followed the procedures outlined.

However, you suggest you want to install Windows 2000 Professional, then let's talk about the operating system. This PC Magazine article suggests "The LT P-600 currently runs Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional plus CIC PenX 2.02 extensions for stylus input and handwriting recognition."

However, I believe the unit was also available from the factory with Win98 SE and the PenX. Therefore, you should be able to restore the system to factory defaults.

In terms of recovery, "The LT P-600 has a recovery application to guard against system failure and restore the unit to its original installed condition."

This app is called The System Recovery Tool developed by PowerQuest. "This application provides a secure area directly on the LT P-600's hard drive where data can be backed up to guard against system failure and restore the pen table PC's hard drive to the original installed condition. This system efficiently reduces downtime and eliminates the need for a system recovery CD.

Is this present? Is the hard drive space still present and usable?

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Thank you so much for your help. I have found "drive image se". Looks like it involves a partition with a factory image that can be restored.
I'll explore a bit more and let you know how it goes. Thanks again for steering me in the right direction.
Ben

Well I was searching for other utilities and clicked an icon to find out more about it. Apparently it is a utility called Caldera DR-Dos, started right up and said "loading floppy image, floppy image loaded... HIMEM.SYS 2.32". Now I've got a dos prompt for A:\>. I plugged in my usb keyboard for no response. Now I guess I'm stuck. I can't shut down, can't enter anyting with keyboard. I can't get to the off state and I guess I would just have to let the bridge battery drain then start back up? I didn't want to run this utility and was just looking for system recovery tools. Looks like I need to recover from recovering?

Uh oh. :down:

Definitely let the battery drain and then let us know what happens when you get it restarted.

In case you are curious about learning more about Digital Research's DOS, this short historical editorial is well done. I owned a company in 1991 that loaded DR DOS as the default OS but when the day Windows 3.1 was available we had a line of customers wanting MS Windows. We never sold another copy after the Windows 3.1 launch because the two were not compatible.

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Thanks so much for putting these posts in a "troubleshooting" discussion for us tpc newbies!
I let the bridge battery drain over the weekend and tried again this morning. It appeared to boot as usual but jumped right to the Caldera dos prompt. My usb keyboard was functional this time as it was attached at startup. Did a ctrl-alt-del to try to restart and it did but this time I lost the keyboard. I'm going to let the bridge batt drain again and let a friend take a look at it. Any ideas where to go with this?
Thanks ,ben

It seemed appropriate since we all run into problems with any computing device.

I believe the ctrl-alt-del and full power on are two different sequences for the BIOS so the identification and non identification of the USB device may make sense in terms of the BIOS.

Now, wrt the DOS prompt, :down: , I'd suggest reading over the guides available online for the unit and see if there is a way to do a restore when this happens.

Please let us know how your friend fairs.

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Would you happen to know where to download the new XP Tablet Edition OS? I am about frustrated with Win98.

Thanks

My real problem is that I would really like to upgrade to Windows XP. However, when I install Win XP on a Fat32 filesystem I get a bad boot error. Is there some other software I need to get the Tablet to boot from installing regular XP and then converting it to the "WIndows XP Tablet Edition" OS? Or are these two OS'es independently different?

Hi Ben,

Let me answer your first question, where can I download Windows XP Tablet PC Edition? Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is only available to manufacturers. However, Windows XP SP2 Technical Preview is available as a release candidate. This might be the direction to move -- install Windows XP and then Service Pack 2 release candidate 1. Please realize that the technical preview is not supported by Microsoft.

To answer your second question, I'll need more information from you. You have tried to install Windows XP on this machine and received a boot error? In which case, would you let us know the steps you followed.

Let us know.

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OK, got win98se back on the dead tablet, but just win98, hd was formatted and all else lost. Now I need to get all the other utilities and software that make it a tablet - any ideas where they may be found? I'm still fairly new to my tablet.
We have XP on the machine and will install the sp2 tonite. Is this essentially the same as XPtablet? I would think the full XPTablet OS has been refined a few steps from the SP2.
I do have a disc of the full XPtablet edition OS but no key. I've been trying to contact MS to purchase a key to no response. I've tried most every channel I could find. It's funny that on the MS website it states "XP tablet will be available free to existing tablet owners" but there's no way to find out how to get it. Do they mean the SP2 is what's free and available? I'm even trying to buy a copy or at least just the key. Free is nice but I don't mind paying. Never had so much trouble trying to pay for something. I understand that xpt is available only to original manufacturers.
I'll keep trying and thanks for any input!

Hi! I hope your tpc is now functioning perfectly.
I would like to buy a LT-600F but would like to know from a current user if it is responsive enough. I will use it mainly for internet browsing and text editing. Also, is the stylus responsive enough?

Thanks in advance,
Pedro
Lisbon - Portugal

Hello LPH,

You wrote: I see that the RC1 is no longer available for download since SP2 is being launched very soon.

Are you saying that if I were to install the Windows XP Professional upgrade on top of the Windows 2000 Professional that came loaded on my LT P-600 and then load the SP2 when it is available that I'll have the equivalent of Windows XP Tablet Edition?

I'm nervous about loosing my handwritting support that came with this device. I don't have the media for them. I'm going to create a drive image now before attempting any changes so that I can get back to where I'm at.

:-)

Thanks,

--John

Hi John,

Glad you have brought an old unit back to life.

No.

I think some issues have gotten a little confused.


1) Windows XP Service Pack 2:

- Still in beta testing
- Will be released sometimes in next 3 months (possibly this month)
- Release Candidate 2 was removed from the Microsoft site because it's getting closer to the time of release. You can see more information on Microsoft.com
- If your system uses Windows XP Home or Professional already then you will definitely want to install this service pack when it is released so you can get the new firewall, security updates, and more. It will not upgrade a Windows 98/2000 system to Windows XP Home, Professional, or Tablet PC Edition.

2) Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

- Available only when you purchase Tablet PC hardware or to software developers through MSDN Subscription
- It is a special version of Windows XP Professional that has everything Windows XP Pro has plus advanced handwriting recognition and speech recognition
- The next version of this operating system is called "Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005" and will be a free upgrade to current Tablet PC users. This upgrade will be available via download with Windows XP Service Pack 2. (It's all rolled together.)
- Systems that use Windows XP Home or Professional will not be upgraded to Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 when Service Pack 2 is installed. Sorry, just doesn't work that way :)
- If your system uses Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, you should install this Windows XP Service Pack 2 when it is released so you can get the security updates, improved TIP, and other new features.

3) Tablet PC versus Pen-Tablets

A definition of "Tablet PC" is an notebook computer with pen, digitizer, WLAN, without legacy support, and orginially shipped with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

The difference is that your system is called a "Pen-Tablet" and though it has a pen (pen-enabled) it was not designed for this newer operating system, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Pen-Tablets were the predecessors to "Tablet PCs". You won't be able to get the free upgrade because your system wasn't designed for Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

You can use special software for handwriting recognition on your pen-tablet, like Meanders' Annotator for Microsoft Office or PhatWare Inc. PenOffice English Edition. These will give you some handwriting recognition, but are still not the same as with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and supporting products.

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Had put this old tablet aside for awhile. Just found a 20gig hd from the same machine with everything original on it, 98se for os. Should I be able to just drop it in and everything work, with some tweaking, like before? Sounds like the lt-p600 can handle 2Kpro but not XPtablet. :whistling