Finding Rare, Old Hardware

So, I've been searching on this one for the past few months to no avail...and it seems to be something that should be much easier than it is...so if someone knows something I don't...

I have acquired an old UMAX laptop that the office got rid of. Note that UMAX doesn't even do laptops anymore, so that should give you an idea of how old. The model number isn't posted on it, but I'm pretty sure it's a 312T.

So anyway, it's in good working order except for one wee, minor thing -- The cable connecting the hard drive to the mobo has torn, so now I need a replacement cable. Bad news is it doesn't use a standard IDE cable. The connector that fits the actual hard drive is almost half the size of a typical IDE connector (I'll post a pic this evening when I get home).

UMAX isn't answering e-mails and I can't find ANYTHING on eBay or googling all over God's green earth. Meanwhile, there that laptop sits, in otherwise good health, collecting dust.

Who makes the HD that has the weird connector on it?

Oh duh!! Why didn't I think of that? I'll take a look at that tonight...

http://www.oldcomputers.net/

Hrmm.. I remember Umax doing a series of PowerPC clones when Apple allowed clones. After a bit of searching your model is part of a line that was formerly called "ActionBooks". I did find this blog that might have some insight into what you have (he had a 333T). It sounds like you might have an earlier AMD chip on that laptop.

Umax doesn't support these things but a search on Google looking for "Umax+ActionBook" should generate tonnes of info. The cable you're referring to sounds like it's a standard laptop IDE cable.


I also found the following specs:

Quote:

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System Type: Laptops
Manufacturer: UMAX
Model Name: ActionBook 312T
Bus Type: PC Card (PCMCIA)
HD Bus Type: IDE
CPU: 233MHz AMD K6
Standard Memory: 32 MB (removable)
Max Memory: 128 MB
Number of Sockets: 2 sockets
Native OS: Windows 95/98

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have you the equipment to solder the cable back together? doing this could be tricky, it depends on the tear in the cable. are you sure the cable isn't a 2.5" IDE?

Since it's an old laptop, it's probably using a 40 pin IDE cable and not the 80 pin cables, hence the reason it's half the size of a usual IDE cable :p...

AK - if you don't find it in the links and resources posted up, let me know the model number. There's a guy who deals strictly in legacy boxes here in town - I'll check him and see if he has any.

Thanks everybody, I've got some things to explore now.

When I get home from work this evening I'll pull out that laptop and get all that info, and post a pic of that little cable I'm talking about.

That legacy idea is a valid point, but I still think that it's an old 40 pin IDE... Could I be wrong?

Here ya go, this is the connecting cable in question:

http://www.jameswebsite.net/images/ide.jpg
http://www.jameswebsite.net/images/ide2.jpg

By the way, you can see the tear right smack in the middle of the second picture.

HDD is a Toshiba. Not sure the model, but it has these numbers on it if it tells you anything (sure as heck is greek to me):

HDD2912
MK3205MAV

It has 3235MB.

The Plug in Question Is a MINI-IDE// you can buy adaptors to adapt the HDD to a standard IDE.. complete with power plug


the cable is a metalised plastic ,, forget Solder... replacement is the only reliable option..

in your case.. you may be able to make one useing IDC plugs and a length of cable..

BTW.. IDE is only 40 pins.. the extra 40 in the 80 core cables are for shielding..prevent crosstalk at the higher data speeds..

Awesome. So where can I find one of these adaptors? Will that be all I need? I'm googling about but not finding much...

<edit>Would something like this help?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...&rd=1&tc=photo

Is that even the right number of pins? It's kinda hard to tell from the pic...
</edit>

Angelic: I might have what you need at home. My roommate has a laptop that makes an arching noise (think welding) when started. I believe that when we took it apart it had just about the same cable. I will check tonight since its just collecting dust in our office. I do know that it had a Toshiba drive, so it could be a similar cable.

Awesome! That'd be great!

my goodness what a retarded comment from me.

Quote:

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.the cable is a metalised plastic ,,

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but for anyone who has had to work with this "stuff" will refer to it as **** wire.. with the right type of solder and a low temp iron it is possable to repair..but it is brittle and easy to break..

seeing as a possable solution in a likley replacement is at hand we won't have to resort to this method of repair..

Quote:

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BTW.. IDE is only 40 pins.. the extra 40 in the 80 core cables are for shielding..prevent crosstalk at the higher data speeds..

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I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to mention this fact. Try explaining this to someone who is convinced by what they have read in their TigerDirect Catalog and has never actually looked at one. :rolleyes:


Und3ertak3r, I would have greened you for your post but I need to spread my antipoints around first. :D

Sorry Angelic, it looks like a different cable. (Just opened it this weekend)