Compaq Portable II
| Industry | Computer hardware |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 |
| Products | Compaq Portable series, including Compaq Portable II |
The Compaq Portable II, introduced in 1986 with a price tag of US$3499, marked the fourth installment in the Compaq Portable series produced by Compaq Computer Corporation. This model enhanced the capabilities of the Compaq Portable 286, which was equipped with a 6/8-MHz Intel 286 CPU and originally housed a rapid 10 or 20 MB hard disk within its chassis. The Portable II upgraded to an 8 MHz processor and offered a design that was both lighter and more compact compared to its predecessors.
There were four distinct versions available: Model 1 came with a single 5.25" floppy drive and 256 KB of RAM; Model 2, priced at $3599, added a second floppy drive; Model 3 included one floppy drive, 640 KB RAM, and a 10 MB hard disk for $4799; while Model 4 featured a 20 MB hard drive at $4999. The weight of Model 1 was notably reduced to just 23.6 pounds, compared to the Portable 286’s 30.5 pounds. MS-DOS 3.1 was not bundled but required separately, with only a demonstration disk provided.
Two incidents were reported involving units that had been improperly repaired, resulting in explosions caused by problems with the non-rechargeable lithium battery on the motherboard when powered—fortunately, no injuries occurred. The Compaq Portable II was eventually replaced by the Compaq Portable III in 1987.
Hardware
The Compaq Portable II allowed for various aftermarket memory expansions through four options: ISA memory cards offering either 512 KB or 2048 KB, along with motherboard-mounted boards of 512 KB and 1536 KB. Combining the built-in 640 KB RAM with all expansion possibilities enabled total memory capacity up to 4.125 MB. An optional 80287 math coprocessor could also be installed on the motherboard. Although there were two versions of the motherboard differing in size, their functionality remained consistent. The system included four ISA slots—two supporting 8-bit cards and two for 16-bit cards; however, the first 16-bit slot was occupied by a Multi I/O board providing serial, parallel, PATA, and floppy connections, while the second 8-bit slot held the CGA graphics card, leaving two slots available for additional cards. The keyboard connection was fixed but utilized PS/2 signaling, enabling modifications to accommodate DIN or PS/2 connectors for standard keyboards (USB devices were not supported).