# OQO model 01 ### \[This page is a work in progress\] ### The stuff of dreams At a time in late 2004 when most laptops were ridiculously chonky, the OQO model 01 was a full-fledged Windows XP computer that you could (almost) fit into your pocket. ![[oqo-hero.jpg]]↑ An OQO UMPC Model 01+ About the thickness of three caseless iPhones, but slightly shorter and wider, it was an amazing feat of miniaturization. And I wanted one. Badly. However, the price was prohibitive – USD$1,899 (about USD$2,800 in 2024) – so I ended up putting it out of my mind. ### Rekindling my excitement For some reason, the OQO popped back into my mind in 2019. After a bit of scouting on eBay, I eventually found one from Japan. It had been fairly heavily used, but all of the parts were there: an OQO model 01+, power adapter, adapter cables, and most of the original packaging. ![[oqo-ebay.jpg]] ↑ Bidding on eBay I won the auction! After it arrived, I set about seeing what it could do. First off, it worked! The screen was dim - probably due to age and due to us collectively not realizing just how much better screen technology is these days - but the little baby Wacom stylus worked like new. ![[oqo-jp.jpg]]↑ Japanese WinXP It came with Japanese Windows XP, which I eventually replaced with the English version[^1]. But due to covid and transitioning into a new job, I ended up putting it in the box and leaving it there for a number of years. ### Restoring the OQO My son has been restoring our [[1967 galaxie|1967 Ford Galaxie]], and I think the project rubbed off on me, because I've suddenly gotten the urge to get the OQO up and running again. I hope to do the following with the OQO, and capture my progress on this page over time: 1. Clean up the body. It was originally covered with a soft-touch surface which has become sticky over time. [iFixIt has a great article](https://www.ifixit.com/News/93833/ask-ifixit-how-do-i-fix-sticky-plastics) on how to solve this. 2. 3D print a mesh cover for the fan exhaust vent, as the original one is missing. 3. The OQO came with a product key for Windows XP Tablet Edition, but I've not been successful in getting it to work. I seem to remember that Microsoft's key verification server is long since offline. I'll see if I can get that working. 4. If Windows XP Tablet Edition isn't working, I'm thinking about looking into Ubuntu or another variant of linux instead. 5. The battery is a long-since-dead 3.7 VDC, 4000 mAh Lithium Polymer model. It's extremely unlikely that I'd find a direct replacement, even for the cells themselves. I'm wondering if there's a way to 3D print a replacement with modern batteries, reusing the physical connectors. That'll require a lot of research into not turning the whole thing into a fireball. ### Step 00: Open it up ![[oqo-disassembled.jpg]] ↖ Top left: The battery ↗ Top right: Metal shield that covers the circuit boards, and provides a channel for the stylus ↙ Bottom left: Upgraded, non-OEM 16 GB 😂 SSD that was already installed when I bought it ↘ Bottom right: The OQO model 01+, wide open Of course, the first step with any technology project is to disassemble it and see what's inside, so that's what I did. I really want to look under the large gray heatsink on the right, but I've learned to avoid anything that involves old thermal paste. ### Step 01: Clean up the body ![[oqo-cleaning-body.jpg]]↑ Going after the sticky coating with a piece of Lego (to avoid scratching it). I'm not certain that the Lego was totally scratch-free, though. ![[oqo-cleaning-keyboard.jpg]]↑ What it looks like while in the middle of the cleaning process. You can manually remove those globs, but it's a lot easier with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton ball. ### Step 02: Replacing the exhaust vent My OQO has been missing the exhaust vent since I got it, and I wanted to put something in there to keep dust and particles from getting in when the device was off. I hopped over to my favorite 3D modeling site, TinkerCad, and put something together: ![[oqo-vents.jpg]]↑ Print attempts From left to right, the iterations: 1. Printer bed wasn't fully warmed up, so kind of lumpy. Also, too thick at 2mm to squeeze in from the inside. 2. Designed to insert from the outside; I added a tab (top) that would slip under one end of the slot, and bump-outs on the sides (bottom). Holes too large, cracked when handling. 3. Re-printed with smaller holes, but cracked upon insertion. 4. Removed the end tab and reduced overall thickness to 1mm. Too thin; upon insertion, it went too far in and slipped out of alignment. 5. Changed height to 2mm. Didn't drop in too far, but now too thick on one side. 6. Reduced thickness on one side to 1mm. Pretty much what I wanted, although ever so slightly off in thickness. Will reprint at some point. ![[oqo-vent-installed.jpg]]↑ Semi-final version in place ### More to come ... Still working on the project, a little here and a little bit there. ### Quick reference - To access BIOS, boot and hit Fn+2 repeatedly when OQO logo appears - Both the 01 and 02 can only be factory reset using the CD (or _a_ CD/DVD of a valid OS image). Both devices support booting from USB flash drives but do _not_ support installing Windows via USB flash. It is a limitation of the storage driver. ([src](https://www.reddit.com/r/OQO/comments/163apn0/factory_reset_on_oqo_model_2/)) ### Elsewhere - [OQO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OQO) on Wikipedia - [OQO](https://www.reddit.com/r/OQO/) on Reddit - [OQO Ultra Portable PC Model 01+ w/ Windows XP Tablet](https://www.woot.com/offers/oqo-ultra-portable-pc-model-01-w-windows-xp-tablet) on woot - [OQO Model 01+ & Debian Linux](https://jamie.lentin.co.uk/computers/oqo-01plus/) from Jamie Linton – nicely detailed writeup on how to get Debian running on the OQO - [Tips for getting OQO 01+ running Debian GNU/Linux](http://www.bayleshanks.com/tips-computer-oqo-hardware) from Bayle Shanks - [OQO-01 battery refurbishment](https://imgur.com/a/oqo-01-battery-refurbishment-QtgJDed) on Imgur - [Re-celling the OQO battery](https://web.archive.org/web/20090513003542/http://excalibur1.net/OQO01BatteryRebuild.htm) on archive.org – I have not done this; use at your own risk! [^1]: In retrospect, I should have left the original Japanese version on there because it made the OQO just that much cooler to play with. I may try to track down that ISO sometime in the future. ∎