Ok , so the other sodimm port is side by side to the other, separated by their support ...


For the problem of the bios you have changed the battery or not ?...

On mine I just let it recharge itself. I don't know if yours will recharge or not.

Finally , the rocky runs perfectly with XP pro SP3 , or solaris 10


The system seems to be very reliable , i decided to use Win 98 SE ,

Hello
New here just got two rocky's online already cracked the tops on them. One had no memory which installed 256mb of pc133 to find out has pentium III 700mhz cpu. I am using linux puppy 4.01 o/s (thanks for the info) never used linux before but like it so far. This one doesn't have touch screen per Bonnie at Amrel "if screen feels soft is not touch if feels hard like glass it is"...Hope she is right. I got an update disk online also and Amrel sent me an owners manual via email (kinda worthless spec wise though). The second unit I have is a pIII 650 mhz came with 20 gb hdd that will not recognize and I have a 6gb with caddy on the way. I also had to order cddrive with caddy and powersupply (damned milsppec connectors) Back to what I was trying to get help with...I have found info that shows you can update the cpu upto 1.0 ghz but haven't tried yet . When systems "tops" were open saw one has agp where the other shows pci chipsets does anyone know the difference ? I know from looking online they are using intel coppermine mobile 495 pin processors but am unsure what motherboard they are using or if it is custom? Also if anyone can tell the difference between the rt 686 and the rt 686ex it would be appreciated..hopefully I have found the enthusist who know more than Amrels techs and how to upgrade to their max capability when done thinking of using ssd hdd or making cf hdd, installing wireless minipci card and getting my gps installed thru serial port ( also old like laptop garmin etrex from Marlboro miles before quit smoking) may even repaint case for that special touch...where cost is a factor it is more about "accomplishment" and the fact these are real toughbooks.

Thanks

Howdy woodrow, I never bothered with upgrading cpu on my Rocky Rt 686 or My Rocky Rt 686 EX so I aint gonna ne much help there. Maybe Liam from England will see this thread and chime in later. As far as Hardrives, any old IDE hardrive will do. Not sure solid state HD is gonna be a option. Bios will help out on identifying whether RT 686 or RT 686EX. Award 4 bios usually is in regular RT 686. Award 8 bios in the EX model. Award 8 has more boot options in boot order menu. USB being one of them. Award 4 only has the usua 4 options. CDROM, HD, Floppy,Network. i HAVE PUT A 100 GIG hd IN ONE OF MY CADDIES. Right now both my Amrels are in need of repair. Pulling keyboard to upgrade ram broke off the motherboard female plug for the touchpad on the EX. On the other the flat ribbon cable for the keyboard doesn't send a signal when enter key is pressed. So one for right now uses external mouse. the other external keyboard. Leaving them as is till I have a whole day dedicated to working on em with full concentration. Plan is to lengthen touchpad wires 6 to 8 inches and hardwiring to mobo for the EX. Will try cleaning contacts on ribbon cable and cheesy snap plug to fix the other rocky.

On another note when you pulled the keyboard, did you notice the empty com1 and com2 plugs on mobo. Maybe those could be utilized for what you are looking to do.
If you search through this forum I'm sure jephree and I came real durn close to identifying make of mobo and its a little known okd one that limits what can be done with it. One easy thing you can do is to flash your award 4 bios up to a award 8 bios to give you more bios options, Ram is upgradable to 512mb. You saw what I was able to do with HD. I run a Belkin F5D 7010 wireless G pcmcia cardbus, that works with Puppy Dingo, Mepis AntiX 8, Xubuntu 8.10, NimbleX 2008, and now Mint Fluxbox RC1 also. Just some other linux options for ya. Touchscreen I haven't bothered with getting working in Linux, but if you want to try then go for it. Easy way is to find yourself a Windows 2000 pro cd and amrels touchscreen drovers will work with it. I don't know if Linuxes ndiswrapper program will work for touchscreen driver or not. These laptops are so durn rare you can't find any info. When I do a search, my name is the only one that comes up. Any hows good luck with your project. Let us know how it goes. As ya noticed, this is probably the only amrel hardware thread on the net. So the more info the better. Happy trails and Welcome to DAL woodrow,

EDIT; for CF hardrive you can try this toute if you wish

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-PCMCIA-Compa...QQcmdZViewItem


http://cgi.ebay.com/SanDisk-8GB-CF-C...QQcmdZViewItem