The T5100 is a personal laptop marketed by the Japanese technology giant Toshiba since 1988, as well as one of the first laptops based on Intel 386 processors launched on the market. Equipped with 2MB of RAM, a 640x480-point plasma display and a 40MB hard disk, it offered comparable or superior performance to most of the desktop PCs of the era. Unlike modern laptops, it did not have a battery, so it had to be connected to the mains to be used.
Insights - Fun facts
The Toshiba T5100 has a 2 MB RAM, expandable to 4 with the addition of a memory card, a 1.44 mb floppy disk drive and a 40 or 100 MB hard disk. As with many coeval computers, the motherboard has a socket where it is possible to install the mathematical coprocessor 387, in order to improve the efficiency of the floating point calculations.
The keyboard was available in two versions, from 84 or 101 keys, to the buyer’s choice. , As a monitor the T5100 uses a plasma display with a resolution of 640x400 points at 4 tones. Note that, as a result of the use of this technology, the image shown on the screen has a red-orange coloration. However, an external RGB monitor could be connected to the T5100 to display up to 16 colours.
On the back you can find, in addition to the connector for the power cable and a proprietary expansion slot (typically used to add an internal MODEM of 1200 baud), an RS-232 serial port, a Centronics parallel port that can also be used to connect an external floppy disk drive, and an external CGA-EGA compatible display port.
Originally supplied with MS-DOS 3.30, during the T5100 marketing period this version was replaced with 4.01 and 5.0. It could also be supplied on request with OS/2 1.21, operating system with advanced multitasking.
Technical Data Sheet
Name of the asset: Toshiba T1600/40
Category: Portable computer
Manufacturer: Toshiba
Place of production: Japan
Year of production: 1988
Dimensions: 310x360x91 mm
Weight:6,6kg
Processor: Intel 80386 16 MHz (mathematical co-ocessor 80387 optional)
Memory Unit: 2 MB standard (4 MB maximum)
Hard disk: 40 or 100 MB
Floppy disk driver: 1.44 MB 3.5 inches (external reader 360 KB 5.25 inches optional)
Display: IBM EGA plasma monitor compatible 640x400 dots 4 shades (you can connect an external color monitor)
Portscentronics parallel, RS232 serial, EGA video
OtherOptional 1200 bps internal modem
Operating system: MS-DOS 3.30, 4.01 or 5.0 depending on the marketing year (OS/2 1.21 optional)
Bibliography
-Toshiba T5100 Maintenance manual
-InfoWorld 18/07/1988
