Compaq LTE 5000 series, slightly OT (was: Re: Xircom NICs (was RE: OT: DELL SUCKS! Re: .... ))

From: Tothwolf <tothwolf_at_concentric.net>
Date: Mon Jan 14 18:50:27 2002

On Mon, 14 Jan 2002, Matt London wrote:

> Yeah - the LTE 5000 series is nice - I have a 5100 (now out of use -
> anyone in the UK want it with a docking station for a sensible offer - it
> cost me about 250 pounds, prolly worth <100 now) and a 5250 which is quite
> nice :&)

Here in the US, I've picked up both styles of docking stations for around
$10 used. The computers can typically be had for around $60-$150 depending
on the model and what kinds of upgrades have been installed.

> Yes :&) FDD, CDROM and batteries, although most of my batteries are dying
> now :&/ Replacements cost a fortune.

Yes, they do tend to be a little on the expensive side. I've found these
batteries do seem to last longer then the NiCads found in most other
laptops made around the same time, however.

> > The MPEG capture/playback module is still a unique feature of the 5000
> > series. It was a rectangular box with connectors on the rear that plugged
> > into the laptop's expansion connector. It would also fit into a special
> > opening on the docking stations.
>
> Never did get one of these, maybe I will someday :&)

I found a scrap dealer with some once, but he wanted *way* too much for
them. IIRC, he wanted upwards of $150 each for them about a year ago.

> Both of my docking stations have sound/midi/joystick IIRC, both the slim
> docking station (no ISA expansion) and the bigger one (ISA expansion and
> better speakers)

Right, the slim model did not feature the ISA slot. Both models of docking
stations also offer a built-in RJ45 ethernet jack and a forward looking IR
device.

> I've not noticed any problems from BIOS bugs, but there are a few things
> that annoyed me :&) Mostly problems resulting from plastic getting
> slightly brittle and the little clips that hold doors shut loosing their
> plastic spring. Also the sound on my 5100 is dead, but I doubt that's
> compaq's fault :&)

I've seen several 5000 series machines that would "hang" at bootup for up
to several minutes when not in a docking station. They were attempting to
find boot devices in multi-bays that are on the docking station. Their
boot device order was set properly in the setup menus, but there seems to
be a bug with the boot device selection.

A couple more issues are related to the cdrom drive. Sometimes the 5000
series won't see the cdrom drive in the computer's built-in multi-bay.
I've found that this most often would occur if a disc was in the drive
when the machine was turned on. These systems also lack the ability to
boot the cdrom drive. I'm not sure why Compaq didn't add this feature.

-Toth
Received on Mon Jan 14 2002 - 18:50:27 GMT