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Compaq Portable III.. worth it? What are the issues?

T

Twospruces

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2009
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781
Location
Canada
Hi I am considering buying a Compaq Portable III.

I think these have a couple of issues..
1. Connor drive will be dead
2. Keyboard cable will need replacement.

Do these machines have any other chronic issues?

Thanks!
 
All the model iii keyboard cables are degrading. You can peel off the old one and use heatshrink tubing to make a new one or find some curley cable and rewire the ends yourself.
 
The screens are the big problem. From what I've seen, there's a good chance it'll have lines missing or stuck on. Sometimes you can fix it by taking it apart and wiggling the cables, but sometimes not.
Maybe not the worst problem, but it's a very difficult one to solve, as working spares seem few and far between.

If you do manage to get one with a working screen though, the rest is fairly simple: replace the keyboard cable, replace some caps, maybe replace the HDD.
(by the way, is the III especially picky about hard drives, or can a CF card/DOM work fine?)
 
ITs true the first gen plasma screens seem to have alot of issues. I sold my model III with a perfect screen which I was proud of. Lots of them have lines.
 
The displays are prone to lines, but they can be had with perfect displays if you are patient. My Portable III I have had for about 8 years now has a perfect display, so I'd say if you get one with a good display and take care of it, it will most likely continue to work. I'm also running the stock 40MB Conner CP-341i hard drive which I will leave in there forever unless it fails.

The Portable III is a really nice computer though. I think they are absolutely worth it.
 
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