The luggable computers of the 1980s were portable in name more than practice — sewing-machine-sized CRT machines that weighed 25 to 30 pounds. This section covers restorations of Compaq Portables, the IBM 5155, and the Commodore SX-64, including common repairs, storage upgrades, and getting these machines back on a network.
Portable Computers
Restorations of vintage portable and luggable computers from Compaq, IBM, and Commodore
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Osborne 1
The 1981 luggable that fit under an airline seat — and whose dangerously unkeyed +12V floppy connector cooked multiple drives during the restoration
Kaypro II
The 1982 all-aluminum CP/M luggable — too tough to yellow, needing only a fabricated keyboard cable to boot
Commodore SX-64
The first full-color portable, with the original Sony Trinitron CRT swapped for a modern 5.6" LCD
Compaq Portable I
The 1983 luggable that beat IBM with a clean-room BIOS — and needed every Key Tronic foam-and-foil keyboard pad replaced
Compaq Portable II
Compaq's 1986 286 portable, lighter than the I and hiding a mysterious dual-plunger Enter key from an abandoned firmware design
Compaq Portable III
Compaq's 1987 portable with a flat amber gas-plasma screen and the first genuinely good keyboard in the line
IBM 5155 Portable
IBM's rushed answer to the Compaq Portable, with its scroll-blanking CGA card swapped out for an ATI EGA Wonder running in CGA mode