Upgrading Vaio Tx

Oscar2, yes that TX3 connector looks like a 50 pin Micro IDE connector. I realised that after I posted it. I did purchase a TX5 HD connector when i broke my original connector. I've gone through my emails and ebay auctions and the part I purchased was A-1222-416-A or FPC-68. I was also instructed by Vaiorefurbs to purchase that part for a TX5 that takes zif drives. They have extensive experience of upgrading Sony Vaio's.

I just threw this spare part out not long ago.

It's this part
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Sony-Vaio...156?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item1c1a900044

I think that they all have the required connector on the MOBO but especially with very early models please check before purchasing.

This is a TX7 and it does appear to be ok.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-VGN-TX750-...564920001?pt=Motherboards&hash=item27b67622c1

 

So, are you saying that if I want to adapt it to use a zif drive, it's not a matter of just getting the cable from the newer tx, but rather I have to change the motherboard itself?

 

The motherboard used in the TX7 is an MBX-153, it's the same motherboard that is used. Looking at the FPC-67 I cannot see the underside of the FPC-67connector from pictures. I know that i could use one of these 50 pin connectors in a TX5 that takes zif drives. If you've opened your TX may be you could confirm how the HD is connected to the MBX-153 MOBO.

 

Thanks for your help. I'll take a peek in there. And a +1 to you.

 

Hi Rachel, I would greatly appreciate some advice on upgrading my vaio. I have a TX3XP/B with a 50 pin ide 1.8 HDD. I have purchased a kingspec SSD which is recognised by the laptop but wont boot the OS (which i copied onto it). It also wont boot a new OS from CD (XP) so it seems to recognise the SSD but wont do much else.

I have seen this issue posted on this thread but can not seem to see a simple solution. I would dearly love to keep my tx3 as its been superb and giving further life to an old faithful laptop would be great. Any help would be greatly apreciated...

PS: If i knew i could fit a optical drive caddy to put the ssd in that i would but 1.8 optical drive cady's for the vaio dont seem to exist.

 

Hi, it seems like you've done all the correct things. I presume that you've changed your boot order to make boot from dvd drive the 1st boot option.
When i upgraded to a SSD I installed the OS with an after sale recovery CD. It's not uncommon for people to have a problem with their Sony recovery discs after a HD upgrade.
You could try formatting the SSD inside your laptop.

 

Thanks for the speedy reply (much appreciated). I didn't try to change the boot order as the optical drives comes up before the internal hdd so i assume changing the order doesn't make a difference. Another reason is I can put a standard hdd and my original recovery disc i created from the partitioned space on the pc when new and have rebuilt xp a few times when it needs a rebuild. Hence i cant understand why the original boot cd will work with the original drive but wont with the ssd, formatted or otherwise. The vaio just seems to not want to boot with the drive in. Another thing, i have a usb hdd enclosure for a 1.8 and it works with the ssd so its not the drive. Hope this makes sense....

thanks again btw...

 

Try getting hold of an OEM disc.
The problem of using recovery discs on a different HD was touched on in this thread.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/554032-sony-f12-5400-7200-rpm-upgrade.html
The recovery discs can be very hit or miss.
You say that you cloned the SSD though so i don't really see why you should have a problem. May be there was something not quite right with the installation.
I know some TZ owners' have had problems with some Kingspec drives but I haven't read of anyone having a problem with the 50pin drive.

 

Hi,
Were you able to use U7700 CPU on the vgn-txn17p? Also, which SSD drive did you use?

 

My laptop is VGN-TXN27 U1500/2Gb RAM/64Gb SSD/Win7 x32. Moved TEMP to small RAMDisk and turned off pagefile.

Performance is good but the most of the time I have low memory that results the problems with GMA/Win7 hung so I'm trying to upgrade RAM.

No luck so far. I have 1Gb soldered and 1Gb QUIMONDA SO-DIMM in slot. Trying to replace 1Gb by 2Gb SO-DIMM - no one tested RAM works. Tested 2Gb modules Samsung, Micron, Kingston and even 2Gb so-dimm from VGN-TZ250 (?elpida). No one works (even from TZ).

Read somwhere that people upgraded RAM on this serie (at least on TXN15) but I can't find the working 2Gb module. So anybody who did the RAM upgrade on TX/TXN please let me know which modules were used/worked and what were the results (full amount in bios and in windows if different).

 

Yui, i can't remember which ram i used. I did do this upgrade though and Windows showed 2GB. I bought 667mhz DDR2 ram and it downclocked to 533mhz.
In the owners' thread though some forum members mentioned what brand of ram they used.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony-owners-lounge-forum/203261-tx-txn-series-owners-lounge-27.html
I wonder if you have some hardware issue.
I posted this info from Everest in another thread, i don't know if it's helpful at all-

 

Hi Rachel

Thank you for your post.

Am I right you system had 2,5Gb but only 2Gb was accessable from Windows? I'm asking just because the first post on the link you have provided said "... In computer properties shows 2GB of memory. When I checked system information shows 2560 MB Total Physical Memory..." So do you remember what was the status of your 512Mb above 2Gb?

 

That's correct, 2GB was available.
This is what i posted earlier on in this thread-

 

so 915 chipset TX model can't upgrade CPU? if possible, what is best choice of CPU upgrade? And I also want graphic/motherboard upgrade info too.

Thanks.

 

Well I finally did it....
After using the TX for 3+ years I finally decided it was time to upgrade.
Sold the TX-670 and purchased a used SZ-440.
I removed W7 Pro SP1 from the SZ and loaded in XP Pro SP3 for more speed.

 

Hello Rachel,
I saw your post about the mod that you did on the sony vaio tx5xn for teh wwan card. I also own a tx5xn and managed to get hold of the wwan card from tx650(US model I suppose). I also managed to put the protruding rubber antennae on the right hand side hinge. Everything is a perfect fit but I am not able to get it to work at all. I tried all the possible software including the oneclick but to no avail.

I saw the two pictures that you have posted. the one that I have used looks like the board on the right hand side in your picture. Can you please let me know how I can get the wwan working? Do I have to use a different wwan card or any specific driver. I dont think that my laptop even recognizes the wwan. I have upgraded my TX5XN to 1.5Gb RAM and using windows 7 Enterprise. Everything works like a charm except the mod that I tried with the WWAN.

I am new to this blog and registered to get some help with the wwan card. You can mail me on my personal id at [email protected]

Look forward to your help
Cheers!

 

I want to install a WWAN module in my VGN-TX57GN/B can someone please tell me is it possible to install a WWAN, if yes then which WWAN module should I install

 

Those that own the TXN models which is thicker might possibly be able to upgrade their wwan card. Possibly a Option 378 or 382 could be tried. The TXN chassis is thicker on this series and well TX owners are restricted to using the EDGE modem or possibly they can replace their chassis with a TXN chassis.
If you buy a EDGE modem you may find that it is locked. Getting Sony to unlock it may not be easy. If you search on UX Edge modem in a search engine i'm sure that you'll find more information on this process.

 

I am a bit late to the thread here, as I just found this today via Google.

I was looking into a SSD for my TXN15p and was under the assumption I needed a 50 pin PATA drive, but after reading a post about it could change depending when the unit was made I went to the device manager and found that I have a Toshiba MK8009GAH which is a ZIF connector and there are many more choices.
So thank you for that information...

My last question which I seem to be quite confused of was about this post by Rachel....

http://forum.notebookreview.com/7045441-post61.html

 

You're in luck newbie I was practically given a TXN ($100!!!) which I decided to buy and upgrade for the wife as her school laptop as she finishes up her masters since her UL30VT is just soooo heavy So I have done the research for you! Any 1.8" Zif PATA ssd will work, I went with the Renice k3vlar-e. http://forum.notebookreview.com/sol...nice-k3vlar-e-ews720-zif-ssd-user-review.html

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

motherboard + U7600

Another choice is what I am going to do. I found a BGA U7700 for $55
Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile U7700 SLAUR support 945 chipset | eBay

There is a member here on the forum that can do the cpu switch as it requires tools and skills most dont likely have here.

I would have just gone with the motherboard with cpu already (even though it's slightly slower) soley because i'm impatient and I'm STILL waiting for my CPU to get here from China.

 

Thanks for the info Qwaarjet!!!

I will check out that SSD that you linked!

Now if I am understanding the part about the CPU....

I have two options....

1) buy the motherboard you linked thats on eBay for $285 that has the u7600 chip on it and then just install that.
or
2) buy a u7700 chip that you posted the link to and use my existing motherboard?

If i have #2 correct, who would I talk to on the forum here to talk about the CPU swap? That seems to be the fastest processor I can get and the cheapest way to do it?

Thank you all for all your help.

 

correct, those are your options.

There's only a $30 difference between both options as it's quite expensive to have someone swap soldered cpu's

Talk to this guy if it's the route you end up going.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/member.php?u=5534

Before you go that route though, try using your TXN with just soley the SSD upgrade. It's a bigger real world upgrade than the CPU unless you're doing something CPU intensive. Win7 + SSD = smoothness even with a single core. As the wife only uses it to surf and use MS Office in class, she really doesn't have any complaints as of yet, she doesn't notice a difference between this and her dual core UL30VT. I'm just going to go ahead with the CPU upgrade during her winter break for two reasons A) I already ordered the CPU before doing the SSD upgrade and B) Because it's cool

 

I talked to the guys today who are on eBay. They said that besides this MBX-153 1.2GHz CPU MotherBoard, they also have a MBX-153 1.33GHz U7700 CPU for the same price.

I just asking, but that should work the same as the 1.2 U7600 unit right? Nothing special going on? Just swap the motherboards and fire it up?

Might be a dumb question, I have built many desktops, this is my first experience with modifying a laptop.

And this MX-153 motherboard is the same that is what's in my current TXN15P laptop? I won't have to modify anything?

 

from what i've read, the main motherboard of the tx and txn are the same.

 

what TX or TXN laptops came with u7600 or u7700 cpus?

 

none. it appears that they did the upgrade but the fact that they don't advertise it (since it's a pretty big deal) is what throws me off

 

Ok, thats why I can't find any with the CPU's then.

Yeah I was wondering which ones came with that CPU setup, but the more I look into it, the more confusing it seems to be.

So No Tx or TXN came with u7600 or u7700 CPU's but somehow you can buy a MBX-153 motherboard (used in tx and txn laptops) with the u7600 or u7700 cpus already in place.....

 

TX and TXN are totally different.
TX uses Pentium M with 915 Chipset.
TXN uses Core Solo with 945 Chipset.
Only TXN board can be upgraded.

 

Hi Ahn,

remember me? you modded my UX1XN

I also have a VGN-TX5MN (with an intel 945 chipset) run with a Core Solo 1.2ghz

Just to mention i replaced the DVD-drive by a sata caddie adapter, and installed inside a CRUCIAL REALSSD 128gb drive.
In the same time, i dumped the native 80gb zif PATA drive that was so damn slow.

A 2.5" SSD drive IS definitely the thing to add to your sonyTX if you want speed on that little machine...

see ya!

 

That is great to hear, as my 128GB SSD is shipping today

 

Which one did you use?

 

i used that one, bought on ebay.

This one is expensive. i am pretty sure one can find others less expensive, provided it has the good rear connector...
edit: don't buy it! It lasted only 5 days before burning !

you need to make little adjustments to get it fit in:

1) unscrew the original DVD drive (4 screws).
2) unmount little part on the left side of the DVD drive (2 screws).
3) mount this little part on the left side of your caddie adapter. YOU HAVE TO BEND 2 VERY LITTLE PIECES of that little part. This is really easy to do.
4) insert and secure the SSD
5) unmount the native PATA drive (my UX5MN didn't want to boot with both drives...). Means i dumped it
6) install OS again using external USB drive (don't forget to activate an option to boot from external drive in the BIOS).

The caddie is just screwed from its left side. But it doesn't move at all once the top shell is screwed back... So i leave it like that.

4.5) OPTIONAL: unmounted the top cover of sata caddie adapter (just to get it lighter).

 

Bad news,
Today my caddy adapter burned. No boot. Fortunately, SSD is 100% ok.

I have ordered a new caddy adapter, from a different brand.
Don't buy "FENVI" brand guys!

Junk from China...


(previous post edited in red)

 

Hoping someone can give me a hand...........

I swapped out my 1.8" 80GB hdd for a 128GB ssd

I have the OEM recovery disc and I insert one and boot off of them, and I am just prompted on my screen a blinking cursor and nothing I press does anything.

I figured this would be just like a normal SSD you boot up and into the bios and then change the boot order to CD and away we go.
How do I get into the bios???
I have tried DEL, F10, F12



***EDIT***


F2 is the magic key

 

update..........


Well I boot into the bios (F2) and I can see the new SDD in the bios as it shows 129GB and the internal CD drive, then I change the boot order to have the CD drive be first, and F10 to save and exit, and I hear the CD drive spin up and I wait and wait, and nothing happens.

I have tried the OEM Sony Recovery Discs 1of 2, and a Windows 7 64 bit, Windows 7 32 bit and a Windows XP disc and all just sit at the blinking cursor with nothing going on.

After about 15 minutes it says, "Operating System not found."

Any ideas???


***EDIT***

Little background on myself, I have built around 50 high end $$$$$ machines and never had an issue.
This is my first time modifying a laptop, and its not going so well....
I am surprised how difficult this is.

 

rob650, i had to use Norton Ghost and clone the HD/or do full backup to get any OS on the drive. You may want to try and purchase an external 1.8 hd and do it that way.
Edited to add:
Of course if you are doing a backup then you don't need to purchase the external enclosure.

 

UGH that doesn't seem like it is the correct way to do it.

I will investigate and see what I come up with.

I will report back

 

Hi rob650,

The only explanation is : your DVD-drive can't read the DVD and can't manage to boot on it. Check if you did allow your TX to boot on external devices (option easy to find in the first panel of your bios).

Rachel, there is a way to copy your system partition without purchasing anything (provided you already have a third party HDD to write backup):


1) plug another external hard drive or a big USB key (with enough room to backup you entire system)
2) boot with a Norton Ghost 15 CD (no need to buy it, it is free to use for cold backups).
3) backup your system partitions (including the first 100mb partition)
4) turn off
5) dump your HDD, and mount your new SSD
6) boot again with Norton Ghost 15 CD (the external backup drive is plugged)
7) restore your backup on the new SSD:
- in Ghost, click on recover
- choose images to recover
- in the next panels, create every partition you need (100mb boot + system + whatever third party partition you previously backed-up, in the same order and with the same size approximately). Don't forget to activate the first partition to boot on before launching the recovery.
8) when finished, reboot

This what i did for me, and Norton did the job pretty nicely.

If you don't succeed the first time, don't panic. Nothing is lost. Just do it again and don't forget to activate the first 100mb partition.

 

I have had these problems more than once with these gen ultraportables and these 1.8 SSD drives. After i posted the above it dawned on me that i probably experienced these problems with a very similar spec ultraportable and not the TX. I only used Samsung SSD's in the TX and i think that they were ok at reading at least OEM discs.

The people at the kunkoku blog had issues with some SSD's using the recovery discs and didn't experience this with other SSD drives that they tried in the TX. This is not an uncommon problem with older Sony models though. Although not getting the laptop to boot of any OS is something i've experienced before but not with a Sony. The only way round it though was a backup or clone. It's most likely down to the settings of the drive.

They had issues with a Photofast drive which is the same drive that i had issues with, I had issues with two of these drives (V2 V4) in another similar laptop.

It's often a little tempting to get one again and use it as a backup and also do the C2D upgrade but i think the fan is a little too noisy for me.

 

what you can also try is booting from an external USB DVD drive.

I now remember that my SSD is located inside a caddy DVD adapter... as it is a Crucial RealSSD C300 128gb...
i don't have DVD anymore in my TX5

 

Hi again,

i received my new DVD caddy adapter for my SSD!

i wanted to know if it is possible to keep both drives (original mechanical zif pata, and the SSD drive into its IDE to SATA DVD caddy adaper)...

I'm asking, because i can't manage to get the bios seeing both drives. Maybe because both drives would be "master"? unfortunately there isn't any switch to get the mechanical zif pata go slave...

Or maybe i'm missing something?

 

I've read about successes installing an SSD in these babies so I went ahead and ordered a 64GB Solidata zif SSD the other day.

First, I opened up an older T1XP, but when I got to the HDD, I saw it had a PATA interface, not ZIF. Ok, ok. I haven't actually read anything about the T1XP, but i thought ZIF was the way to go anyway. I've now ordered a PATA/ZIF converter from DealExtreme and will see if that works.

Anyhow, in the mean time, I thought I'd put the SSD in a TX1XP that my son uses, cause I've really read that ZIF is the only interface that were used for those. Guess what?? I just opened it up and it's a freakin' PATA in that too!

Am I the only one having a PATA drive in a TX1XP?

 

The older models used the PATA connectors but the TX4 possibly and the TX5 definetly used the zif connectors. You can get the zif connectors for the TX on ebay and they should be interchangeable. I know it was possible to use the earlier TX connectors when i couldn't source a zif one. Well, according to my upgrader it was possible. You have discovered as well that you can buy a zif connector anyway and that is the cheapest way to go about it anyway.

 

Hello -

I'm looking to upgrade my VAIO VGN-TX3HP European laptop's hard-disk, I have the following question:

The present hdd is a Toshiba MK8007GAH ATA, which is a 50-pin IDE disk. I understand I need a compatible IDE disk, like the KingSpec: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&isIU=1&item=250997212162 OR with a 1.8" ZIF to 1.8" IDE PATA hard drive HDD adapter, I can use: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KingSpec-...158?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cc1f4edfe -though there is no cost advantage, is there a technological one?

Additionally, for 20 pounds (gbp) less, I can buy: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Transcend-4...4H8I/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1329425137&sr=8-4, which appears to use the same interface and have a higher read/write speed (90/60 v 66/49), is it as simple as this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

The CF is not a good method. You won't have TRIM, and it may be slow somehow... And 32gb is ridiculous nowadays with Windows 7 monster OS.

But you have a solution that i know should work (please someone confirm):
You can buy a ZIF flex cable for your TX3 (which the same as for TX4 and TX5 that are also PATA machines with zif) to replace your actual PATA flex cable. For example, here you have a zif flex cable along with a hdd caddie adapter specificaly for a 1.8" zif drive
eBay | SONY VAIO TX3XP TX3HP HARD DRIVE CABLE, CADDY & SCREW SET

or the zif flex cable only...
eBay | Sony Vaio VGN TX3XP PCG 4H1M Hard drive and DVD drive connector cable

After that, you can buy a zif SSD drive.
DON'T BUY A KINGSPEC SSD. YOU WILL HAVE SPEED AND DATA LOSS ISSUES. I personnaly own a 80gb kingsped, and i have never been able to install windows onto it. Data loss and blue screens all the time.

You can buy a Runcore Pro IV instead. Very fast and robust SSD that supports TRIM
eBay | RunCore 64GB Pro IV 1.8" PATA ZIF SSD (Trim Version)

EDIT : BE CAREFULL, I JUST HAVE READ SOME COMPATIBILITY ISSUES WITH THE RUNCORE PRO IV AND SOME PC (example :! Acer Aspire One ZG is not compatible)...


ANOTHER COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SOLUTION is to buy a IDE to SATA caddie adapter (replacing the DVD drive), and put inside a 2.5 SSD. A Crucial RealSSD 128gb is a good choice. You'll have to dump your actual hard drive to avoid master/master conflicts...

This last solution is what i have installed into my Vaio TX5XN, and it is rock stable with a 100mb/s data rate...

 

Did you ever get both drive (2nd HDD) and ZIF HDD to work simultaneously?

I've ordered 2nd hdd caddy that replaces DVD-ROM for my TR3AP.

So hopefully the 2nd bay works.

 

Nope,

I never managed to make both drives recognized by the bios.
I think this is because they both declare themwelves MASTER on the flex cable... And no way to make one work as slave. The DVD is originally slave i guess...

Is the TR3AP sata or pata?

If it is SATA you wont have problems. If it is PATA you'll have to dump the original 1.8" hdd

 

I do find that bit strange. I seen others with VAIO TR had successfully added second 1.8" HDD instead of optical dvd drive.

Here is the link: forum - silicon pop culture

That person used ide cable to connect 2nd 50 pin 1.8" toshiba HDD, whereas you used ide->sata.

Well, guess I would have to wait and see. I'll keep you updated with the results when the 2nd caddy arrives

 

@egaille

thanks for your advice.

So, I can buy a Zif flex cable instead of an adaptor. I heed your warning about Kingspec drives, my looking at them is driven by financial consideration rather than their desirability. Once this upgrade heads toward £200 gbp, I struggle to justify it over a second-hand tablet. Replacing the DVD is a good and cheaper solution but that would push me even further towards a tablet.

Many thanks.

 

Just to update, I've successfully upgraded my optical bay to 2nd hdd bay.

I have 40gb 1.8" sitting as a primary hdd and another 120gb as secondary hdd.

So the end result is that, I have kept both hdd unlike egaille.

I have yet to replace my hdd to SSD but that shouldn't be problem.