Toshiba T1200XE

Resources

Wiki (T1200 version)
oldcomputer.info
Specification
Maintenance Manual
ROMs (local file)

Please also check the predecessor: Toshiba T1000XE.

Internals

Motherboard

To change BIOS settings, you need a special SETUP1.EXE tool.

DSC_0006 (1)

Power Supply Board

Display

Toshiba TLX-1631-C3B

Backlight Inverter Board

Keyboard

Accessory

Batteries

It is possible to replace all the batteries with modern cells, for example here are AA rechargeable batteries place in the original casing by the previous owner of the machine:

DSC_0450

Hard Drive

The original T1200XE contained 20MB JVC HDD, which configuration was hard coded in BIOS. This HDD comes from T1200XE-40 version, that was upgraded to 40MB JDE2850P30-2 HDD. I noticed two versions of the BIOS (written on EPROM). Version 083A seems to support 20MB drive and version 083B supports 40MB drive.

The drive can be replaced with a modern Compact Flash to IDE adapter. I have not tried to make it boot, it probably requires installation of a solution like ANYDRIVE.

DSC_0436

Floppy Disk Drive

2MB Matsushita ZA0856P01 EME263-TL. It is a really problematic drive with its rubber belt propelling the disk rotation. The belt dissolves with time. It can be replaced with a new belt, I fortunately had some belt that just fit, but I don’t know the exact parameters needed.

Power Supply

Briefcase

I am not sure if this bag is 100% accurate for this model, but it is Toshiba, it is retro and works well and look great here.

Reassembly

20 thoughts on “Toshiba T1200XE

  1. Did this machine have the blinking red LED issue ? I see the caps on the power board are all new and modern and not the original caps.

    Like

  2. I’ve not had sucess recapping the power boards on these, of the 2 I’ve attempted to recap they still had the blinking red led problem. Not sure if those small caps the bottom main logic board also need replacing, as I usually skip the smaller ones.
    The power board was soaked in old electrolite and stunk my house out, smelt awful for weeks 🙂

    Like

    1. I think I remember that I powered it on by connecting regulated power supply to the battery terminals. Possibly there were problems with powering it on through the normal PSU and I didn’t know if it was because of missing battery. But I don’t remember if it was the red led blinking.

      Like

  3. Thanks for all the info and photos! I’m in the process of dissasembling a 1200XE at the moment with the help of your excellent photos. How did you remove the small plastic cover over the screen hinge with TOSHIBA logo stamped on it ?
    I don’t want to break anything and it looks like it should just clip off to access the the screws behind it.

    Like

  4. This was the first laptop I ever owned. It was old and mostly obsolete by then, but I did a lot of work with it and it changed my life. Nice little machine for its time.

    Like

  5. I have a working T1200HB en route to me this week it seems to be somewhat different to the XE. Do you know anything about the memory expansions for these devices? I have spent days searching but can’t find anything more than part numbers.

    Like

  6. Looking for a power supply for T1200 Model number TA7048U W. Need a power supply is there a source of or an alternative power supply that would work for this machine?

    Like

    1. Any 12 volts power supply with 6.3 mm connector and 25 Watts or more output power will work. Regular 12 power supply has 5.5 mm connector. So you can find on Ebay 5.5mm to 6.3mm adapter for them. But if you need exact TA7048U model then best way “save search” on Ebay and wait.

      Like

  7. Hello. i have a T1200XE I have not used for many years. It doesn’t power up now. The battery pack is a PA8705U. It warms up when plugged in. Is there a replaceable battery side the pack? How does it open? Thanks.

    Like

    1. Hi Richard. I would suggest disassemble it and check for capacitor leaking. Also check for batteries leaking. You may not see the leak right on the board so better to swing capacitors a bit and check under capacitors for leaking. If you find some leak then wash the board immediately under warm water. You will need to disassemble it almost completely for sure. Be ready and careful with wires. All capacitors must be replaced. Don’t make it run too long if doesn’t power up, don’t make it warm because capacitors can leak more and even explode.

      Like

  8. Hi, do you know what are the CHS values of that 40MB JVC drive? I removed that drive from broken T1200XE, hooked it up to Asus A7V133-C based “test bench” and made the mistake of reformatting it, now I can’t boot from the drive even though I can install operating systems and access files on the disk just fine. Before reformatting I was able to boot from this drive to DOS 3 with that Asus board.

    Like

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s