Types Of Chassis By Model - The original UltraLite Versa shares it's platform with the detachable screen Versa E, Versa M, and Versa P models. The non-detachable screen Versa V is similiar in base-unit to a Versa Ultralite or E-unit until you get to the keyboard bezel and screen assembly itself. The VersaPad and Versa S are their own platforms entireley and excluded from this document due to a lack of details about them. So we're focusing on this page just on the Versa Ultralite, Versa E, Versa M, Versa V, and Versa P models made between 1993 and 1996.

Ultralite Versa Non-Trackball Base Unit - These base units can be told from later ones by their long memory door (shared with the versa V), no trackball in the front (this was provided with a Microsoft ballpoint mouse as an option), and they tend to be the most cracked up computers of the lot due to a different plastic formulation that gets darker, and a bit more brittle. They have 7 screws on the bottom - three across the top back, one extra one around the screen connector port, two in the middle which are the longest screws and hold the keyboard in place by staking through it to the keyboard bezel, and then one more screw up front near where a trackball would be if it were a later model. The back has PS/2 Keyboard, PS/2 Mouse, 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 1 VGA, and a docking station port. All the ports have a single cover-door - except the docking port which has it's own sliding door that opens and slides into the case when in use to dock the PC. The power and standby labels are silkscreened onto the case in white. This all also applies to the AT&T Safari 3180 units (rebranded UltraLite Versa 33) - which differ in a brighter gray Keyboard Bezel, neon teal power switch and standby buttons, and secondary lettering on keyboard keys in that color (Medium Blue on NEC Branded models). International keyboards have WHITE keys instead of gray. There is also a blanking plate over a slot for the corded active stylus for the touch screen CP and P models.

Versa "E" Series Base Units - The Versa E units look similiar to the ultralite, except they have a shorter memory door, and a cutaway in the front for the "VersaTrak" Trackball feature. These were also sold, in 50MHz format, as the AT&T Safari 3181. The screws on the bottom have been slightly re-arranged with Screw #7 (closest to the trackball, being moved up and staking through the power supply board.

Versa "V" Series Base Units - These are easily told apart from the Versa "E" in that the screen is not detachable, and they have the long memory door with the CR2405 button cell visible - so replacing the CMOS battery does not require disassembly. Instead of two butterfly latches on the upper corners, the keyboard rest is blank, and there's no latch assembly in front, instead the latch is on the screen - which has a rounded top section and a long latch bar. There are 7 screws on the bottom, just like the Versa E, in the same spots, minus the two where the screen connector is on the bottom - as it no longer needs these. There's also three separate doors for the PS/2 and serial - parallel - and then the docking station port in back.

Versa M Base Units - The Versa M is where things gets confusiong as there were FOUR models of NEC Versa M, and two are incompatible with the rest of the line. First are the standard Versa M - these are told apart from the Versa M/xxTC models by the fact that the screen connection is NOT keyed. The Versa M/75TC and M/100TC have a screen connector with some offset molding, and a pair of notches in it to prevent a TC screen from being installed on a regular versa, and the box is offset to stop a regular screen from going on a TC - as it can damage the laptop/screen on both models due to wiring differences. Other than the model number and this difference, they look identical. Another telltale of a Versa M, is the slide switch and standby buttons are still in the older position, and there is a series of speaker holes close to the memory door. The rear ports have been reduced to one PS/2 port, one serial, and one parallel, to make room for 2 audio jacks in the middle of the back of the unit for microphone and headphones.

Versa P Base Units - The Versa P looks almost identical to a Versa "M" model except they only came with the standard screen port, the power and standby controls are moved further left toward the edge of the system (probably to make more room for the Pentium CPU), and it now has three audio jacks in the middle of hte back. It also only has six screws, as the screw to hold the power controller board - same as the one from the Versa M believe it or not - is now a coarse thread plastic screw INSIDE the computer.

And each of the detachable screen base units is compatible with certain screens, with the Versa M and Versa P having the widest variety of screens available.

SCREEN TYPE	COMPATIBLE MODELS	DESCRIPTION
Monochrome DSTN	UltraLite Versa 20 Ultralite Versa 25 UltraLite Versa 33 Versa 40E Versa 50E Versa 75E Versa M/75 Versa M/100 Versa P/75 NCR Safari 3180 AT&T Safari 3181 AT&T Safari 3182 AT&T Globalyst 250 AT&T Globalyst 250P	The Monochrome DSTN LCD is told apart from the others by a wide bevel on the right side of the panel when facing the screen, and 2 sliders for brightness and contrast. It also has a large bump on the back of the screen as the actual screen assembly is overall thinner than the other models. It seems this most often was shipped on very early NEC Versa models such as the UltraLite PC-400-1511 and UltraLite Versa PC-410-1511 in limited quantities. It seems it was offered somewhat late into the Versa's lifespan, all the way into the "M" series, and may have even had a color equivalent at some point. However, this panel was not that popular, but it's by no means a rare piece of hardware, as it turns up most often on the two models mentioned. It seems these don't suffer from the cracked hinge problem so many Versa LCD panels suffered from.
Mono DSTN w/PEN	UltraLite Versa 20 Ultralite Versa 25 UltraLite Versa 33 Versa 40E Versa 50E Versa 75E Versa M/75 Versa M/100 Versa P/75 NCR Safari 3180 AT&T Safari 3181 AT&T Safari 3182 AT&T Globalyst 250 AT&T Globalyst 250P	This extremely rare LCD panel is one I have not seen - so the view of it is likely all speculation. Monochrome DSTN's with Pen were probably not common because most people who wanted pen computing that badly at the time, probably went with the UltraLite Autograph/VersaPen model, or they went with another brand and/or model entirely. I have yet to see one, but what I do know is it likely had a 3M Microtouch 10.4" LCD Touch Screen Glass - 5-wire - with a 9.5" active area on the screen. If anyone has some pictures of these I can use for the site, it'd be great.
Color TFT 640x480p	UltraLite Versa 20 Ultralite Versa 25 UltraLite Versa 33 Versa 40E Versa 50E Versa 75E Versa M/75 Versa M/100 Versa P/75 NCR Safari 3180 AT&T Safari 3181 AT&T Safari 3182 AT&T Globalyst 250 AT&T Globalyst 250P	This was the most popular LCD across ALL models of NEC Versa. These panels had multiple part numbers tied to their model, but they were all basically the same assembly. A 3/4" thick gray plastic casing, with a centered 9.4" NEC NL6448AC30-03/06/10 Active Matrix TFT LCD panel in the middle. They had a single slider for brightness, and that's it. They premiered with the original Ultralite Versa 20/25/33Mhz models, and carried on all the way through the production of the Versa P/75 until end of production in 96'. The original ones were tagged "UltraLite Versa", the Versa E-series panels just said "VERSA" on them, the Versa M series panels were labeled with "VERSA M/75" or "VERSA M/100" depending on model, and the Versa P Series said "VERSA P/75" on them. But they all work the same on all laptops with detachable screens in this range, and are among some of the best screens on a 486 era laptop you can ask for. The one thing that IS bad about these screens - is the hinge. All Versa Screens have a single hinge down the right side, and this hinge can get really stiff with age, and that combined with the brittle brominated plastic, causes the right side of the assembly to shatter, sometimes into pieces. It seems they changed the formula on later models so most Versa E laptops just break one crack through, and a lot of Versa M and P models are still in perfect condition after 30 years.
Color TFT w/PEN	UltraLite Versa 20 Ultralite Versa 25 UltraLite Versa 33 Versa 40E Versa 50E Versa 75E Versa M/75 Versa M/100 Versa P/75 NCR Safari 3180 AT&T Safari 3181 AT&T Safari 3182 AT&T Globalyst 250 AT&T Globalyst 250P	A rarity, though not as much as the Monochrome Touch panel. The TFT with Pen - aka "VersaPen" were the same thickeness as the regular TFT - except the NL6448AC30-03/06/10 LCD Panel was offset by about 1/4" to make room for a large controller board down the right side of the screen for the touch circuitry - provided by 3M's MicroTouch division. This was a 5 wire, capacitive touch digitizer with active wired stylus that plugged into the right side of the screen via a 1/8" Phono Jack. There's only one control on the screen - brightness, but it has the wide bevel on the right side just like the Monochrome non-touch LCD.
True Color TFT	Versa M/75TC Versa M/100TC	These look almost identical to the regular 256 Color 640x480 and True Color 800x600 256 Color LCD Panels, except upon close inspection. For starters, they are about 3/16" thicker than the stock color LCD. The hinge cover is also a hair different, being rounded on top, and the metal mount for the electronics being more inset into the bottom - and the ends of the "legs" the butterfly latches grip being open. Inside they are electronically quite different, with an entirely different, 2 to 3 connector wiring harness, and a special NEC NL6448AC30-09 LCD Panel inside that's specially designed for True Color. This panel looks very different from the back as well - as it has 4 dip switches and a bunch of trim pots all over. The special thing was these screens could do 640x480 at 32-bit True Color - quite impressive for 1994. One other difference is the KEYED connection at the bottom that allows these screens only to fit the laptops they were designed for.
High Resolution Color TFT (9.4")	Versa M/75 Versa M/100 Versa P/75	In late 1994, the "HC" screen level was introduced. These panels look pretty much identical to the regular 256 Color LCDs, even use the same chassis, and even one of the two connector boards used inside. The panel is a NL8060AC24-01 - a 800x600 TFT Active Matrix 9.4" LCD panel with three connectors on the side - common to the NL6440AC30 series panels, and electrically idencial. The screens, however, only come with a VERSA M/75, VERSA P/75, or VERSA M/100 badge on them - so testing is needed to verify if these are the "C" or "HC" level screen.
High Resolution Color TFT (10.4")	Versa M/75 Versa M/100 Versa P/75	In late 1995 or early 1996, the Versa P-series got upgraded to a 10.5" LCD, likely due to complaints of how eye-straining the original 800x600 9.4" panels were due to the tiny size of the pixels by the tiny size of the screen, as well as a reduction of screen real-estate when running older DOS programs at their native resolution (Letterboxed). It's very likely these screens will also work on an M/75 or M/100 (or AT&T D250 non-P). They look similar to the 800x600 and 640x480 TFTs, however, the screen is obviously bigger due to the thinner borders between the edges of the screen and the edge of the screen assembly.

Only certain models of Versa came with certain screens when new. These were put into marketing literature but never shown on the case ie "UltraLite Versa 20CP" for a Color TFT with Pen 20MHz Versa UltraLite, or a "Versa M/75TC" for a 640x480p true-color capable Versa M/75, or a "Versa P/75HC" for a 800x600 Versa P/75. No designation was the base model, "D" Meant DSTN Color or Monochrome screen dpeending on year/model line, C meant 640x480 TFT 9.4" (the most common), TC was the two M/75/100 True Color models, HC was only available on the M and P and was the 800x600 256 Color panel, P= early models with monochrome and Pen, and CP were the odd color touch/pen models.

Two different styles of power supply were used. The earliest power supplies were literally the size of a brick, and used a standard IEC 3 prong power cord, usually issued in a dark gray color. Later on these were revised into a box the size of a Juice Box carton for the Versa E and later models.

All laptops could use the 3400-4000mAH "dumb batteries" with 4 terminals. But the 1.44M "Short Connector" Floppy Drives only fit the Versa Ultralite, Versa E, and Versa V models. The Versa M and Versa P could make use of the "Smart Batteries" which had 6 connectors - 4 large, 2 small, but were still compatible with the old "dumb batteries" as well. They used a newer "long connector" Floppy Drive instead - with which the port was also compatible with various "VersaBay" modules such as a dual PCMCIA or VersaVideo modules. Whereas previously, the floppy could only be replaced with a second battery on the older versions.

BASE UNITS

1.) Removing The Screen (Versa UltraLite/E/M/P Only) - Unless it's a Versa V - you have a detachable screen. These are removed by turning the Butterfly latches on the upper corners up and outward away from the laptop computer. The screen assembly lifts right out. If you have a Versa M - make note which screen connection port you have. If it's keyed - it's a Versa M/xxTC model, if it's not keyed, then you have a regular 256 color model.

2.) Remove Devices From All External Ports - The VersaBay devices (battery and floppy drive usually) are removed by sliding 2 latches on the bottom closest to the device to be removed. The Versa M and P series also have a handy-dandy release lever that you can slide as well on the bottom, though I'd use my judgement on that. If it takes any amount of force to push the battery or floppy out beyond that of an ant - then you might want to just carefully grip it and pull the floppy/battery out with your fingers while pulling the latch. Sometimes this "e-z removal" slider thing breaks due to the brittle plastic. Remove all PCMCIA expansion cards (if any) by opening the door on the top left under the power/standby buttons.

3) Removing the Screws - if you have not already, flip the laptop over and have the hinge side facing away from you. At the top, you will have 2-4 short screws - two on the outer edges (all models), and 2 in the middle (detachable screen models) in a diagonal pattern. Then in the middle "row" there are two LONG screws - these hold the keyboard in. These screws are the 1" long ones and they attach right where the controls are staking the motherboard, CPU board, and palm wrest to the bottom of the case. Then at the bottom you MIGHT have another screw near the trackball or latch - undo this one. This is another short screw. Versa P models don't have this screw.

4) Removing the Palm Wrest/Keyboard Bezel - Now is where the delicate fun begins. The area near the screen is entirely held by screws, but snaps start on the thin, often brittle bars that go around the top of the battery/floppy slots, and a few big ones up front. I find what's best is to stick a battery/floppy drive in each versa bay, and then carefully work the bezel loose from the snaps - then, once I have some forward leverage - I'll twist the front over by grabbing the thick area beneath the arrow keys and the spacebar on both sides to unlatch the bezel, it should snap off. If it breaks in the middle, it's easily fixable with superglue, baking soda, or epoxy and maybe a wire from a twistie tie for reinforcement. If the two trim bars on the bottom plastic break, no worries either, they will snap into the top bezel and hold in place as well, they don't need to be "fixed" but you can if you want using superglue-baking-soda/epoxy, and tiny wire like I do as well.

5) Removing the keyboard - The keyboard at this point should just lift right off the case. It connects to the CPU board via 2 ribbon cables on the lower left corner of the board. Most Versa models use a regular metal backed keyboard with a nice action and feel, but the Versa V for some reason has a plastic backed keyboard that does not feel as good in my opinion. Not sure why they had 2 different keyboards, since they both work on all models.

6) CPU Board & Details - The CPU Board is the next "layer". It's a 10"x2" multi-layer PCB with a SMD 486 or Pentium CPU chip on it, sometimes the CMOS Battery, and in the case of the Versa M, a couple daughtercards on the bottom. It attaches to the "T" shaped mainboard via 2 connectors. All of these have the same four DIP Switches - normally accessible from under the memory door.

UltraLite Versa Mainboard - This CPU Board will feature a i486 DX SL in 20, 25, or 33MHz (also applies to AT&T Safari 3180). It will have a button-cell CMOS battery soldered to the bottom of it, and a total of 4MB of RAM on-board in a group of eight chips on the bottom as well. There's a little internal speaker on it as well.

Versa E Series Mainboard - These have a 486 DX2 SL CPU in 40 or 50MHz, or a 486 DX4 CPU in 75MHz soldered to it. On top is a holder for a CR2450 button cell CMOS battery only accessible by removing the keyboard bezel. There is 4MB of RAM tacked to the bottom in a group of eight chips.

Versa V Series CPU Board - Same CPUS as the E-series, but the board is a little more spartan, and the button cell is located more toward the right hand side to allow for the longer RAM door to grant access to it. 4MB of RAM soldered to the bottom.

Versa M Series CPU Board - a 100 or 75MHz Intel 486 DX4 CPU, and a bleeper on the top. The CMOS battery attaches via a molex connector on the front, but is stuck to the inside of the aluminum subframe in the form of a Varta-style battery (nicely out of the way of anything it can rot I might add - way to go NEC) - so you'll either need to disconnect the CMOS battery, or remove the battery, cage, and CPU Board as one assembly (plenty of wire to do that). On the bottom are not one, but two daughter cards - one that adds an additional 4MB of RAM to make 8MB Base MEmory on-board, and another card that I think has something to do with the Power Management features.

Versa P Series CPU Board - Most noticeable will be the larger, modern-style, unmarked CPU chip - this is a early production 75MHz Pentium chip for mobile applications, and it's heatsink is the top fo the case of all things - which connects to a Heat Pipe assembly built into the subframe and vents below the power circuit. The controls of course are further off to the side, and the CMOS Battery is a CR2302 style button cell battery in a shrinkwrap case connected to the bottom center of the cPU board via a Molex connector.

Aluminum Subframe Piece(s) - with the CPU board out of the way, we now have the Aluminuym Subframe to deal with. On the Versa UltraLite and Versa E - these are three seperate cages connected via mere metal on metal contact alone. There's a large, wide, long one that covers both versa bays and the power circuitry, then two smaller ones that hang over the hard drive and PCMCIA slots respectively. The one over the PCMCIA slots has the button for the lid-close-screen-off feature on it so make sure to disconnect that 4 wire FFC from the CPU Board before removing the CPU board. The PCMCIA and HDD cages also hold the "bridge batteries" - two small Lithium Ion batteries intended to give the PC power for 5 minutes while you change batteries out when your batteries die. Lift the subframe and unplug these from their molex connectors. Starting with the Versa E, there's only one of these above the HDD cage, UltraLItes have 2 - the smaller one goes above the PCMCIA cage.

All Aluminum subframe pieces have small, 1/4" wide screw guides that are fit into holes in the subframe. Make sure not to lose these as they are a part of the Versa's structural ridgidity. These are located where the two long screws for the keyboard and top bezel are located.

Versa M, P, and V models have a ONE-PIECE subframe that covers all of this. This can be lifted out. all at once with the bridge battery - which is stuck to the cage above the HDD bay. The P version has a heat pipe designed to carry heat out of a vent beneath the "T" shaped mainboard.

6) Versa M & P Accessory Cards - Beneath the CPU board, right between it's two connectors in the middle of the laptop, there is a special board on vErsa M and Versa P models.

On Versa M models the board is used for the LCD Controller type - this is what makes your Versa M series laptop a PC-570/580 (true color) or PC-470/480 (regular 256 color) model. The 256 color board has a large NEC IC in the middle of it and a bunch of tiny SMD devices around it. The TC board has just four smaller chips on it.

On the Versa P series, this is the ESS688 SoundBlaster Compatible audio board. It is NOT Pin compatible or even spaced right to fit a Versa M so don't even try. Unfortuantley, there is no factory option for ESS support on a Versa M-series outside of the "MediaDock" accessory. This also has a FFC that connects to the rear ports that needs disconnected.

7) Power Board - On Versa E, V, M, and P models, the power board is removable. Versa E and V models use the same power board, while the M and P models share the same power board. The original UltraLite Versa had a larger, pin-through-hole connector that was SOLDERED in place at the factory and cannot be removed without a desoldering braid. On the Versa P, you will need to remove a bronze colored coarse thread plastic screw to remove the board. On all other models, it's staked through by one of the keyboard screws and possibly a second, smaller screw.

6) Front Latch - On all versions except the non-removable screen Versa V, the front latch is held in by encasement of the keyboard bezel. There are two pins on each side that hold onto a bent up spring. The spring is supposed to push against the front inside wall of the versa to latch the screen shut when the lid is closed - or flipped over into "Tablet Mode".

7) VersaTrak Trackball - On All versions except the UltraLite, there's a small trackball located under the spacebar. This was referred to as the "VersaTrak" Trackball, and it is held in by one screw through a black connection, and has a 4-wire connection to the "T" shaped mainboard via a 4 pin molex connector near the front of the laptop. The whole assembly can be removed and lifted out.

8) Removing the Mainboard - This is probably the trickiest part of the process. The mainboard is a huge, "T" shaped, multi-layer PCB which is home to the chipset, glue logic, sound chip (if equipped), PCMCIA Controller chipset, and all the other stuff that glues everything together. It does have some detachable elements, some universal to all models.

To remove the mainboard, lift up some from the front, and then start working on the top right to free the PS/2, Serial, and Parallel Port daughtercard of the back of the case. These all fit in a groove along the right hand top side of the case, and that too contributes to rigidity and stability of the case. Once we have those free - it should lift right out of the case. It can take some work, and patience to remove, as rushing can cause the brittle gray plastic to crack.

9) Removing the Rest of the Parts - The doors mostly just pull off with a slight bend (be careful not to break), and the rear door for the docking station socket can be just lifted out. I would not bother removing any of the latch mechanisms for the versadock from the bottom.

1) Removing the Bezel - The bezel has two long snaps at the bottom of the longer "edges" of the bottom of the screen, smaller snaps come loose along the perimeter of the edge. Be careful not to crack it if possible, if so, it can be repaired using either thick tape or baking/soda/superglue or epoxy. The most delicate parts are the bottom edges.

2) Removing the LCD Panel - The LCD Panel is the next part to be removed. It has 4 screws holding it in - it seems to be a basic, standard, Industrial LCD. The screws have little metal clips around the holes which you should be careful not to lose. The screen connects to a wire running down the left side, and it has 3 connectors on it - carefully remove these. All three are different so they will only fit the correct ports on reassembly anyway. Note what model panel you have....here's a quick ref below...

NL6448AC30-03 - Early 640x480 9.4" 256 color 2CFL (top and bottom) LCD with Modular backlights
NL6448AC30-06 - Later 640x480 9.4" 256 color 2CFL (top and bottom) LCD with non-modular (hardwired) backlights)
NL6448AC30-09 - 2 Backlight 9.4" True Color 640x480 9.4" TFT w/ 2 Modular Backlights
NL6448AC30-10 - 9.4" 256 Color 640x480 9.4" TFT w/ 1 Modular Backlight
NL8060AC24-01 - 9.4" 266 Color 800x600 9.4" TFT w/ 1 Modular Backlight


Also remember to disconnect the 2-wire molex style connector for the brightness slider, Alternatley, you can just unscrew this and remove it at this time, it's held in by one screw that also is shared with the hinge.

The hinge itself is held in by 3 screws, one common to the LCD brightness slider, the other for the hinge near the bottom right corner of the LCD housing. These all attach - like the screen - to brass inserts molded into the back of the case. It attaches to the hinge-cover in one of two methods - either a "-" shaped tip that fits into a "-" shaped hole (UltraLite and earlier Versa displays), the other is a larger flat-head screw-type affair with a screw going through it.