My TZ-Story -dissecting the TZ

Hey there!

Here comes my TZ-Story.
Summary: TZ-Software and buying-modalities, the One-seg-tuner, disassembly-guide.

Last year I worked in Japan. When the heatwave killed my old rotten-rugged Pavillion (HewPaq) I decided: "Hey, you are in Notebook-Land, get a new one!"
So my feed found the way to a local "Compmart" and "Miste' Kohno" helped me.
As I wanted all possibilities, full mobility, ulta-portability and medium workpower, we chose the Vaio-TZ as "Ownermade" with
Intel Core2Duo-ULV 1.06 GHz
2GB of RAM
80GB HDD
Optical Multidrive
L-Battery (the XL looks like a tumor and is almost 2times heavier than the smallest one -including the computer!)
N-Type-WIFI
Bluetooth
Fingerprint-Sensor and TPM (in Japan it is an option!)
Webcam
and finally (as I wanted to return to Japan later) a built-in TV-Tuner.

Mister Kohno admitted that he doubts that the Tuner (although its a hybrid multiband-tuner) would work outside Japan, but I threw the coin and decided to give it a try.

=====End of Part 1=====

 

===== Part 2 =====
As I can only speak medium Jap. and writing is a secret to me (only Katakana, Hiragana and some Kanji-Essentials) Mister Kohno offered me a discount on the Vista-Ultimate-Upgrade and was willing to switch it to German after the Upgrade.

So when the comuter reached the store, I had to buy a Anytime-Upgrade-license and Mister Kohno and I started the installation. After conversion to German, I had a German Vista-Ultimate, with some Japanese Applications and tons of Addware from Vaio-Computers. I took it home and finished my job in Japan.

Here I'd like to describe the TZ:
Its literally spoken "ultraportable". Its very small, but just on the edge, still very operationable. It's ultra lightweight and seems to be very durable. All peripherals worked and most of the applications could be switched to German or English, except the Tuner. But nevertheless, I got used to it. Some Kanji are kind of self-explaining and many words like "sa-he" (safe) or "Ko-N-Pi-Yu-Ta" (written in Katakana) are lovely Jap-Style-details, that make my Computer to MY Computer.

Returning to Germany, I found that Sony had already sent me the DVD and as I got used to Vista meanwhile I backuped my data, burned a "recovery-DVD", and tried reinstalling the OS.

1.: The SN on my laptop is not valid for German DVDs
2.: The "recovered" Vista rejects cooperation with the German AU-DVD
3.: The Tuner-Driver rejects installation under German Vista
4.: SONY speeks itself free from any responsibility for delivering the wrong DVD.
5.: VAIO Germany can not and in no future time serve me a Japanese DVD
6.: "Miste' Kohno" is very sorry for all that mess, ("gomen nasai") but can't change anything about it... especially NOT testify how it came to this dog's breakfast!

So I decided to visit Miste' Kohno next time I'm in Japan and show him my 64-legs-Chip-removal-forceps... and to continue with this interim-state (German Business-license) before I get hands on a Japanese Anytime-Upgrade-DVD.

===== End of Part 2 =====

 

===== Part 3 =====
The Tuner-Story:
Before reinstalling my computer i gave the tuner a quick try and watched some minutes of netherland's digital TV, but as I did not understand the Online-manual of the tuner-suite clearly, I couldn't switch it to German parameters. (it is a multi-band, hybrid-tuner and should be able to work on any ether... by the way)

After German Reinstallation, besides of the tuner, all devices were working: the FN-Key, the AV-Bar, the card-readers and even the N-Type WIFI, but I soon found out that Sony had built in some breaks to keep international users from get the Tuner working. The hotlines did not provide any support as soon as i mentioned the word "tuner".

So I googled and soon found out that the device is the so called "one-seg-tuner" (aka oneseg, 1-seg, 1seg...) and that is is rarely used: only on a playstation-mod, and on the TZ. Damn! So there are NO reference drivers, and not even the windows-media-edition would neither recognize nor identify the tuner and show a picture...
===== End of Part 3 =====

 

===== Part 4 =====
I gave Ubuntu 10.7 (Gutsy-Gibbon) a chance and found that even Ubuntu does only see the device as a "vendor-specific-device".

So I startet dissecting the Laptop to find out more about this ghost-like device which Sony does not talk about to foreigners...

===== End of Part 4 =====

 

===== Part 5 =====
Before we begin: I have deep microsurgical Experience, I know how to handle integrated circuits, where to be lazy, where to be a sergeant-major, how to hurt, how to heal and all that stuff. I don't thrust any hands except mine after one week of abstinence...
What I want to tell by this: I am not to be taken responsible foreverwhat you do with your computer. This is in No Way a guide how to rock your mashine, I just give back what I exerienced when taking it down and reassambling it later (successfully: i am currently writing on that computer).

Not everyone should do what I did, but anyone could be successfull with it. The Computer has a very simple layout, is built very clearly, the structures are logical and only at 3 places, you need some well dosed force... I'll come to that later.

For the first, we get some tools together:
2 slot-microscrewdriwers,
1 cross-slot microscrewdriver,
1 magnet-lifter,
1 forceps,
5 small boxes for screws,
a pencil for leaving marks on the system,
a camera for finding the way back out,
a needle for finding weather there is a scree+screwhole behind those rubber-feet without ripping them all of,
clean fingers,
an old toothbrush,
a magnifier,
a cotton-towel (for under the laptop),
all pure and only cotton-clothes against static discarges,
an earthed piece of metal (heating radiator etc),
a wooden toothpick for removing glued parts without damaging the hull.
AND: Your Computer.

Now do a prayer, light a candle, whatever you prefer. It would be a shame if we fail and did not try this!

I suggest you think of the Jin that fills the computer with life and as it is a Japanese system you should say "gomen-nasai" (I am very sorry) and please mean it so. You enter the sanctuary of a working computer without being forced by anything than a researcher's spirit!

(NO, I AM NOT KIDDING)

Place the computer on the towel (upside down)

Here you see the whole Site:

Say " Onegai-Shimasu!" when starting to announce that what you do is your will and that you are not playing.

First eject the flash-memory-cards, use the toothpick to remove the BT/Wifi-Switch and remove the battery. Press once the start-button, for discharging any capacitys that might still contain electric power.

===== End of Part 5 =====

 

===== Part 6 ======
Use the needle to search for hidden screws.

There are only 4: one in the left-upper corner (near the lid-hinge) and 3 under the plastic-covers in front. (but be aware that models change and that Sony might spare some screws or add new ones to face experinced problems)
Use a flat-screwdriver or the toothpic to remove the plasic-buttons at the lower front.

You will find another 3 silver-screws in the battery bay and one in the RAM-Bay. Remove them all, assort them according to size into the small boxes (or dishes or whatever) and mark the hole with your pencil. As I am German, I chose "s" for silver, "k" for "kurz" and "L" for long. Inside the mashine you will face another type of Ultra-short black and fat silver scew (but also this could change...)

When all Screws are out, lets watch the hinges.
Start with removing the cap on the charger-plug-side "left side when under usage" its the easier one and has only one notch to bend away before pulling it of (also this could change when they improve the laptop!)


The right hinge is a little more delicate, it has 2 notches and there are some cables. Please do only use the wooden toothpick for not piercing the cables!
Here you see the right cover taken off the notches are to be found at 1°° and at 6°° I hope you will treat yours a little smarter than I did with mine... now as my laptop is reassambled I don't see any scratches anymore... but it could be!

Finally one makro of the hinge-site:

DON'T do that Oger-style, or you will pierce the cables. They are silicone-covered and very soft!
===== End of Part 6 =====

 

===== Part 7 =====
Now open the lid and press these (view from inside, marked with the screwdriver) zwo notches on each side of the hinge.

On the left side (cooler outlet) and at the middle front you will find some small "snap-lock"-notches, which will give way, when using your fingernails with patience and always carefully!
You will now notice that the lid-frame connection seems to be unstable. IT IS! Handle with care or you might rip out one of those now unsecured hinges!!!
Now you should be able to take off the keyboard without any resistence. (if there is: some srews are still in position!

Above you can see the the keyboard-unit lifted up. It is connected with one cable, that leads the wires for the fingerprintreader, the mousepad, the speakers, the soundcard and the soundjacks, the AV-panel and the keyboard. Unplug the cable at the motherboard's jack.

Now to the drives. Open the DVD-drive using the pin and slide it out.
remove the two screws (the fat-black type) in the upper right (marked by the screwdrivers)

there is again a notch, where there is written "sus" on the metal frame

Now two screws at the bottom, the left one holds the hard-disk-frame.


Now two at the USB-Board


This here is the connection from the LAN-jack to the LAN-adaptor. DAMN! I ordered Gigabit, and here you see: unshielded twisted pair *ROFL*


Beneath the USB-Panel we find the WLAN-card. You might notice that there is a lot of space for another device when necessary.


In the upper right we find the Tuner. (after removing the hard disk and flapping the DVD-drive to the left. -it looked to dangerous to take off those cables!)
Remove the black screws at the left and right (holding the platina and the plug) and then the silver ones in the upper and lower right/left.


Now we have enough space to twist the unit around.

One makro of the connectors

and one of the device itself


OK that's it for this time. Now i will search for an international tuner to build it in there. There's lot of space around it and all cables are connected with standard-plugs.

When putting everything back together, don't mix up the screws and check if the fan is running sufficiently (use a whet finger to check the air outlet).


After giving the whole setup a clean and a polish I have a picture here of my keyboard...
Looks older than a year, but in fact it is only 5 month old!!!




===== End of Part 7 and the whole story =====

 

wow that keyboard looks worn out. Great story man. Hope it works really well.

 

it does look tore up i hope thats not a foreshadow to all tz owners keyboards

 

i heard soem1 said u can get the tz keyboard replace for a mere 100dollar.

 

Thanks for story, pictures of dissected TZ, guide for disassembly....... all of them...

I am dissected my SZ660 too.. But i dont find enough courage myself for change exhaust fan

I have two SZ.. SZ650 fan is noiseless, I want to swap fan ... SZ exhaust fan look like TZ.. is it easy way to out this thing ??.. it's look like soldered to mainboard... no screw. ???

 

Excellent write-up on how to take apart the TZ !. That keyboard pic though is scaring me!

 

All laptop keyboards will look like that after prolonged typing on them, just inevitable wear and tear as on my 1.5yr old Compaq. Become worn down and shiny.

At least I can tell which keys I press the most, my right shift and Ctrl keys still look brand new as I never use them.

I don't like it myself like you guys, but if you want to avoid it, then I suppose get a keyboard skin. Anyone know a reputable dealer that sells the Cooskin TZ keyboard skin?

 

If I have to rate all sony keyboards, the

TX/TXN keyboard was most durable, followed by the TR, T and the TZ rates the least durable.

Within 6 months, my kbd is beyond recognition

 

Thanks for the flowers.

I don't mind that the kb looks a little... used as it is. A good pair of jeans gets only better by wearing it^^ I use my Laptop for 1000 hours now (120 days 8-10 hrs/day) most of the time typing and if it doesn't get much worse... (for example if the printed letters would wash away) I'm happy with it.

It's nice to know that there's lot of space around the tuner and the WLAN-card for some modding jobs^^ What do you think?

J.

 

Could anyone remove the term "under construction dont answer" from the headline of this thread... and also this posting? thanx in advance

 

Your TZ's keyboard look that bad huh? Not surprising, these black matte keyboards will get worn down and smooth/shiny very quickly. Your right, I liked the TX series keyboards, silver and the keys were already smooth so they would look pretty much brand new even after long usage.

Hope they bring that back and the dedicated volume/mute buttons from the TX to the next T series.

 

the av button can be mute too. as for the volume, WHY?

 

I do a lot of typing on my notebooks and I always wear the letters right off the keys within a year or so. It's irritating. I never thought about replacing the keyboard -- cool if that can really be done for $100 on the TZ?

 

actually its like 120 something and it replaces the whole keyboard and palm rest and the glossy area

 

I changed my keyboard 2 times over a 1year 7months on my T350. Cost 76$ at nexttronix.com. I am still looking for a us part reseller that sells the TZ keyboards though. It won't exceed 100$, since SRC charges $149 for palmrest/keyboard on the TZ. Danni, if you do it yourself, you don't need the palmrest. SonyStyle Repair Center replaces the palmrest as a part of the cosmetics 'repair'

 

The palmrest includes the front corners... might be necessary to replace after some "unclean-landings"... I think its a useful repair.

The glossy area around the keyboard has some light scratches on my TZ. Maybe its useful to think about replacing the whole unit in some months...

What other "spare parts" are available? Can you tell?
THX, J.

 

everything

 

URL?
(you mean EVERYTHING?)

 

do you have a list of the part numbers or a disassembly guide? Without it, you won't find anything. Try nexttronix

 

Where would I find such a guide/Part-list?

Add to my disassembly-guide: Its seems to be not necessary, and neither useful to remove the two silver-screws near the lid-hinges... they dont hold the keyboard-frame but only the metal joint inside the hinge.

 

Service Centers have them and you can buy a service manual. All the parts are listed in there. I have a service manual for TR, T, TX, TXN and S but not the TZ

 

Oke... danke^^

 

I am looking for the service manual myself. If you find it, please share it with the poor

As for the parts, most of them are available here: http://www.nexttronics.com

You just need to know the P/N

BTW, where are you Hannover, Bremen or Hamburg?

 

Hi johannes-77, nice guide. Any idea if it's possible/easy to replace the LCD lid? I want to swap to a premium carbon fiber one. Thanks.

 

Hi SONY!
Of course I will.
BTW: In Dortmund, but I might move to Hamburg in some month (or go back to Japan... not only for buying another Sony^^ depends on if they reissue my project... of course they will, but maybe they will think that I might be useful to this...)

Hi Outie!
Thanx for your laud, mate.
I haven't looked into the lid-frame so far, as it looks really tight made and I had no reason for risking anything.
I will lookup my photos taken and maybe post them here into this thread. So just subscribe to it.

It really is a shame that Sony does not offer all mods they have in their "owners'-made"-product-line all over the world. I don't know why...
When I bought mine, I really thought about that some minutes:
a: buy the cheaper "black-plastic-finish" and do a carbon-mod myself?
b: buy the more expensive vaio-premium-carbon?

I chose the premium-carbon, because "Miste' Kohno" said that it is tougher as its not only faked carbonfibre but real carbon armed resin. It's true. You will find the same plating in the lower chassis of your case protecting the bottom-surface of your laptop from getting pierced.

If you do the mod, please post photos!
J.

 

Fabulous guide. Thanks for sharing!

Speaking of the TX/TXN keyboard being the most durable, were the keys on those ever metal? I seem to remember checking out a metal-keyboarded TXN a year ago at Compusa, but my girlfriend just got one on eBay, and the keys are plastic.

 

Thanx mate!

Speaking about durability:
1. even worn off, the keyboard of the TZ looks nice. I'm not going to replace it, a l a I can read the letters ^^
2. it has already been said here in the forum: all surfaces of the TZ are reinforced with carbonfibre-sheets, no matter what finish or design-mod they have. That protects the guts of the notebook well against piercing injury.

But what about the scratchproofness of the surface?
Using a magnifier on my lid, I can clearly say: the premium-carbon plating is very tough and totaly scratchproof. The frame (normal glass-fibre-enforced resin) shows small scratches, but the nearby located carbon does not. I wonder why they did not build the whole lid in carbonfibre...

Comparing it to my girlfriend's Asus U1F the TZ looks a little oldfashioned and cheap. THe U1F is so shiny, so flat, so round-cornered! BUT:
1. the U1F has no optical drive
2. the U1F has the same weight
3. the U1F has 1 month after delivery already small scratches in the "piano-black"-finish.

Rock on!
Johannes

 

Thanks!!!! it was a great step-by-step, thorough and detailed description of opening up the vaio. I have finally installed a 3G HSDPA Mini PCI on my TZ 298 N/XC today, couldn't done it without your description there mate

Thanks Again

Cheers

 

It should be possible to glue a sheet of carbon to the lid to make it more stable. Guess 2- 3 mm would be enough for it not to flex. And it wouldn't add wheight. But only if this still allows for removing the LCD screen. I need to replace mine 'cause it's cracked.

 

Note to OP the TV tuner is Mini PCI-Express, you can actually buy PAL DVB-T Tuners in that form factor..

 

I owned the TZ18 model which has the 32GB SSD, 160GB Hard Disk and without DVD-ROM.

My model doesn't have the WWAN and TV tuner, and the Wifi is still based on Intel ABG 54mbps. I was looking for the following upgrades:

- European DVB Tuner
- Intel 496 ABGN Wifi
- perhaps 500GB Hard Disk (replaces the 160GB HD).

I have doubts in these upgrades because

- My model was shipped without WWAN and TV tuner, so I doubted the antenna is not built-in. Is it true? How do I find out the antenna is already built-in? Installing TV tuner without antenna is useless. That's why I need to be certain here.

- The Intel 496 Wifi has 3 antenna hooks whereas the original Intel ABG Wifi has only 2 hooks. Can it be upgraded at all?

- The 500GB capacity is probably more straightforward, but I won't do it unless one of the two upgrades above is feasible.

Please help if you have similar experiences.

-

 

I need to exchange my HDD of my Vaio TZ. I already removed everything but now I don't know how to remove the cable from the HDD (please see the image attached). Do I have to remove the screws from the HDD box?

 

You need to remove the metal "cage" , 1 screw on the wireless card & usb ports . Its alot easier than it sounds .

This will give you enough room to flip the drive over & you will see a ZIF connector on the drive . You will need to use your fingernail to lift the black tab up , this will release the cable . The cable is very fragile so be very careful not to break it .

Heres a good tutorial on removing a zif drive .

http://www.digitalintelligence.com/support/zif_hard_drive_enclosure/

 

Thank you for your reply and providing me the link. Anyways I still feel not able how to disconnect the cable from the HDD. I can flip around the HDD, even though I did not remove the screw on wireless card and USB ports. Could you please have a look at the attached image and tell me if that is the correct connector which I have to remove? And how I can remove it?

 

That black bar/gate lift it up and then you will be able to tease the zif connection cable out.

 

In my opinion, all disks over 400 gb are bigger than the one we have inside?