Compaq Portable III

[ScutBoy]

Found a site that has the diagnostic diskette listed: https://forum.winworldpc.com/discuss...stics-diskette

Note: these might be images of the diskette, hard to tell.

360KB 5.25" Floppy: ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp0000-0500/sp0316.zip

720KB 3.5" Floppy: ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp0000-0500/sp0308.zip

GSETUP would also suffice: http://www.minuszerodegrees.net/5170...170_gsetup.htm

Yes - those are the correct disks. I used those files recently to make disks for my portable.

[Moondog]

Requiring a software program to set the BIOS was a long running Compaq thing. In 1998 their desktops had a second boot partition on their hard drive that housed the BIOs program. If a hard drive died, a utility disk had to be used to add the partition and BIOS software.

[compaqportableplus]

Since someone bumped this fairly recently, I figured I’d add to it.

The III was NOT the third model; it is the fourth (or fifth if you count the plus as a separate model, but since it’s still based off of the same motherboard that the original is, we’ll let it slide).

People always forget the Portable 286; this was a machine that came after the Plus, but before the II. It is a 286 AT class machine housed in the same case as the original and Plus. When it’s all buttoned up it looks identical aside from saying “Portable 286” on the outside. When you open the unit you are greeted with an AT keyboard, versus the standard XT layout of the original and Plus.

Just google “compaq portable 286” and you’ll see what I mean.