Panasonic CF-20 Track pad issues

[HKS00]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Haris and, I am new to the forum. I would appreciate any help I can get.

Little back story on me and the issues that we are dealing with...
I work on a fleet that uses Panasonic CF-20s we have about 65 of them. Up until the beginning of the year they all had warranty so all the repairs were covered. Fast-forward to now and all of the units are out of warranty and it can't be extended past this point. We don't have the budget this year to replace them, so we will be stuck trying to fix any issues that may come up.

One big issue that we are dealing with is sourcing parts for the repairs. Our supplier takes forever to get the information back to us and I am not sure if the problem is on the Panasonic side or the supplier side. In most cases they are not able to get us the parts that we need. If anyone has any better ideas of where we can source all the cf-20 PARTS WE WOULD GREATLY APPRICIATE IT!

Now to the issue at hand. We have a number of CF-20s that the trackpad would stop working completely. In most cases the issue is the connection between the base and the tablet, but there are a number of units that the track pads would stop working while connected to a charger, a number of units the trackpad would stop working randomly and disconnecting the base and connecting it again would get it work again for another 2-3 minutes.

BUT there is also a number of units that won't recognize the track pads at all no matter what base is connected. Meaning that connecting a good known base to it would not work. We have tried Firmware and driver updates and no luck. When this happens, it takes out the USB ports as well, but the keyboard remains functional. If anyone can provide any input or possible solutions for any of this, we would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you!
Haris

[JUCED]

Re: Panasonic CF-20 Track pad issues

Hello Haris,

I bought a toughbook cf-20 Mk1, 1 year ago, and i have the same issue (maybe even worse) i have 2 major issues:

1. My screen randomly starts to flicker, the screen goes black and start working again, there are lines appearing and disappearing. If i disable the gpu driver (using microsoft basic video adapter driver) it works without problems but is not really smooth. To make it work again with the intel driver i made a script that disable and enable back the gpu. Doing this will stop the problem for a while, until it appears again and i need to run the script another time (sometimes the problem come back after 5 minutes, sometime after 1 hour, i have a quick shortcut to the script binded to custom keys so i don't waste time trying to reach it with the screen blinking).

Other than this, if the screen turns off due to standby settings, it doesn't turn back on (the laptop completely freeze with black screen, caps lock not working, completely stuck, and if i leave it like this, i can feel it becomes hot on the back) so i need to shut down the laptop (so i had to edit standby settings to never turn off the screen). The same happens sometimes (not always) when i close the laptop to put it in standby or when i power it off (it stays black and doesn't shut down), more rare but happens.

2. The same problem as you. Touchpad randomly stops to work, together with usb ports, but keyboard works without issues. Tried to swap the base, clean the contacts, no way to make it work. The touchpad completely disappear from the task manager. I noticed it happens especially when the cpu temperature goes high (65°C>). The only way to make it work again is to power it off, detach from base, remove back cover, remove battery, hold power button down and put everything back. Doing this will make the touchpad work again, very annoying.

In my opinion, it's a problem related to the BGA CPU that is damaged (notice also that the CPU runs under passive cooling, so during summer it will reach higher temps).

Your laptops are all mk1 models? Or also mk2?

[Throwaway900]

Re: Panasonic CF-20 Track pad issues

Hello Haris,

I bought a toughbook cf-20 Mk1, 1 year ago, and i have the same issue (maybe even worse) i have 2 major issues:

1. My screen randomly starts to flicker, the screen goes black and start working again, there are lines appearing and disappearing. If i disable the gpu driver (using microsoft basic video adapter driver) it works without problems but is not really smooth. To make it work again with the intel driver i made a script that disable and enable back the gpu. Doing this will stop the problem for a while, until it appears again and i need to run the script another time (sometimes the problem come back after 5 minutes, sometime after 1 hour, i have a quick shortcut to the script binded to custom keys so i don't waste time trying to reach it with the screen blinking).

Other than this, if the screen turns off due to standby settings, it doesn't turn back on (the laptop completely freeze with black screen, caps lock not working, completely stuck, and if i leave it like this, i can feel it becomes hot on the back) so i need to shut down the laptop (so i had to edit standby settings to never turn off the screen). The same happens sometimes (not always) when i close the laptop to put it in standby or when i power it off (it stays black and doesn't shut down), more rare but happens.

2. The same problem as you. Touchpad randomly stops to work, together with usb ports, but keyboard works without issues. Tried to swap the base, clean the contacts, no way to make it work. The touchpad completely disappear from the task manager. I noticed it happens especially when the cpu temperature goes high (65°C>). The only way to make it work again is to power it off, detach from base, remove back cover, remove battery, hold power button down and put everything back. Doing this will make the touchpad work again, very annoying.

In my opinion, it's a problem related to the BGA CPU that is damaged (notice also that the CPU runs under passive cooling, so during summer it will reach higher temps).

Your laptops are all mk1 models? Or also mk2?

Without intending to bump this. My CF-20 MK1 exhibits the exact same behavior and has caused me great frustration. Im considering a Mk2 or maybe a CF-33(I kinda want a little more performance if I can and having both batteries in the screen instead of the base and screen is nice) to solve the issues but I think I'll just buy a Different brand rugged laptop if these issues persist in newer models too. Shame my CF19 MK8 was the best little laptop I swear I ever used, just old enough and wanted a better screen.