nfs@cs.Princeton.EDU (Norbert Schlenker) (07/01/90)
In article <917@limbo.Intuitive.Com> taylor@limbo.Intuitive.Com (Dave Taylor) writes: >There are also third party cards available for less; I had one company >quote me $595 for an undisclosed card, and Portable Land in Encino (LA) >quoted me $395 for the Apricorn 2MB card. Amusingly, when I called PL >back to get on their waiting list (they're waiting for the cards to come >in from the manufacturer) the sales person said they were $495. I pointed >out that a previous person ("Michael") had quoted $395 and they backed off, >indicating that they'd "have to go with that price then...". Being interested in a 2Mb card for a T5100, I did some phoning around last week. It turned out that four phone calls, alternately to Unitex (800-533-0055) and Sigma Data (800-446-4525), lowered the price of a Kingston 2Mb board from $399 to $300 (+$2.52 shipping). I don't have the board yet, but expect to get it Monday from the UPSman. From previous experience, Unitex is absolutely topflight; this is the first time I've dealt with Sigma Data. (If they screw me, you'll hear about it.) I do not know if either deal in T1000 boards. On a vaguely related note, I'm interested in upgrading the hard disk in my T5100. It currently has a Conner CP-3042 (40 Mb IDE), and I want to replace it with a Conner CP-3104 (100 Mb IDE). Toshiba uses the larger drive, and will even swap drives for their customers. Regrettably, Toshiba thinks $1300+ is a reasonable price for installing a drive which costs ~$500 wholesale (and confiscating the old drive to boot, probably to stuff into T3100's whose owners want an upgrade). That's too much. There are complications when replacing a hard drive in a Toshiba laptop. One needs up-to-date BIOS ROMs - I've got those. One needs a machine that's out of warranty, since one is going to void it - I've got that. One needs a little bit of daring - I've got that. What I don't got is a replacement drive. The CP-3104s are in short short short supply these days. Does anyone know where to find them? Hard Drives Intl told me 60 days minimum. The local Conner distributor told me they expected no shipments from Conner for at least 60 days, and then they had a 6000(!) piece backlog to run through. Any bright ideas? And while I'm asking for advice, does anyone know how to disconnect the display on a clamshell laptop (obviously I'm interested specifically in the T5100) without breaking something permanently? It is really cramped inside these machines, and the real problem with work space is the too short cable to the display. Norbert