Toshiba Satellite & Libretto

I own a number of Toshiba Satellites from the T19XX series, the most notible of which is a T1960CT. Most are hampered by a passive matrix LCD, or a rather slow 486, however this one escapes that fate by being the highest end model of the line. It makes an excellent portable platform for early Windows 95 software. However, it lacks any sort of optical drive or sound card, and only seems to accept hard drives as big as 512MB. It can also be a real pain to disassemble, so only open one if you have to.

Model: Toshiba Satellite T1960CT
Year: 1994
Processor: Intel 486DX2 @ 50MHz
RAM: 4MB stock + 16MB DRAM card, total: 20MB
Display: 640x480 18-bit color TFT LCD
OS: Windows 95B w/ Plus!
Storage: 1GB CF card (512MB accessible by BIOS)
Network: 10/100 Ethernet

If you want more information to help fix a Toshiba machine, especially a 486 Satellite, I recommend the following resources. I was able to successfully replace the failed capacitors in my unit using this information, and turned a bricked machine into a working one:
Vobarian Software - Fix for Power-on Problem in Toshiba 486 Laptops
Unofficial 486 Toshiba FAQ (via wayback machine)
Vogons - Fixing T19XX series laptops
The Basement - T1910 repair video
VCForums - Toshiba flash codes
Minus Zero Degrees - Toshiba Service Manuals

I'm currently looking for suggestions on how to cleanly disassemble my NiCAD battery packs for the Satellite, so that I may repack them and take this thing on the go. I'm also curious to hear any suggestions for external sound card options that are compatible with Windows 95 so that I can stop using a janky PC speaker driver to get any sort of sound from the system.

I also own a Toshiba Libretto 70CT, one of the first generation of subnotebook laptops. Mine has been upgraded with a CF card replacing the hard drive. While it is a useful machine, it does happen to be rather overhyped due to the reduced formfactor. Thus, typing on the keyboard or viewing the screen can be rather difficult. It does make a good high portability Windows 95 machine, but if you want to do anything serious with it, a port expander or dock is essential. I've used mine to run slideshows at events or as entertainment on a plane, but its battery life is nearly gone. The mouse style is a variation on the trackpoint concept, mounted on the right side of the screen as a thumb-controlled joystick.

Model: Toshiba Libretto 70CT
Year: 1997
Processor: Intel Pentium MMX @ 120MHz
RAM: 16MB stock
Display: 640x480 18-bit color TFT LCD
OS: Windows 95B w/ Plus!
Storage: 8GB CF card

This page was last updated on 1-25-2023
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