Vaio TT upgrades: adding TPM, fingerprint reader & 2.5'' HDD?

Hi. I recently bought an used TT on ebay (it ended up just slightly more expensive that a good netbook, but sure have more quality/features). Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to get a fingerprint/TMP-equipped one. The second drive is standard DVD, no 2.5'' HDD love, too.

So I basically have 2 upgrade/parts-related questions.

1. Does somebody tried to install a fingerprint reader into TT without it?

I investigated a bit, looks like the reader itself resides on an another version of touchpad buttons plate; looks like the reader-equipped version of the plate is calling "SWX-297".
I think the two other components I need is some ribbon that connects the reader with the mainboard, and the shortened touchpad button covers with a space for a reader between them. Can somebody tell me what ribbon connects the reader with the mainboard, how it looks like and what's the part number on it? Is it separated from touchpad/touchpad buttons ribbon? I failed to find photos dissecting the exact touchpad/tp buttons/fingerprint reader block.
Also, is it possible to detach touchpad button covers from the touchpad itself? Every used touchpads I found on ebay were combined with that buttons, maybe they are one single physical unit?

2. I haven't found any info on manually replacing the DVD drive with 2.5'' HDD, I found a complete topic for TZ with all spare part numbers and photos, but nothing for TT, except the info that it was an option in Japan. Didn't read through all TT owners lounge yet, but googling didn't help at all.

Did somebody replaced ODD with second HDD at all?

Also, I found a cheap chinese caddy for placing 2.5'' HDD instead of ODD, but looks like it has incompatible DVD connector. ( there are macro photos of connectors: NEW SATA 2nd HDD caddy for 9.5mm Universal CD/DVD-ROM on eBay (end time 26-Dec-10 02:24:55 GMT) )

Can anybody comment this? Is there some special sony socket for TT stock DVD? It looks for me that TT's stock DVD ribbon won't fit this connector:

 

1. From what I've experienced with modding a VGN-Z, all TTs are the same regardless of what option parts they come with, or what country they're sold from. As such, a fingerprint pad SHOULD fit without issues to your TT. But yes, I think you'll need a new connector / flex cable. The motherboard shouldn't be an issue though.

The touchpad and buttons are the same part (well, the pad area has a tray bit which goes onto the mouse assembly, but they're the same thing) with the Z. But again, I can't fully confirm with the TT; it should be the same case as both machines are of the same 'time'.

2. SATA Hard Drive caddy replace UJ232A Blu-Ray DVD Drive - eBay (item 400147701900 end time Dec-24-10 05:42:59 PST)

The TT I know comes with the UJ232a as an option; that's a blu-ray writer. The link above is meant to replace the UJ232a for a 2.5' incher HDD. The macro shot you provided DOES look the same, but unless the seller explicitly says it can replace a UJ232a (or a UJ862 if memory serves correct; that's the DVD writers that the VGN-Z and TTs come with), I would steer clear.

 

The parts you need to do second mod are all contained in this post that i posted in the TT owners thread.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/6878970-post1811.html

The copy.txt contains the actual part numbers for the numbers listed in the pictures. This will get everything working as Sony intended to be without hitch. Others methods could give you some problems.

 

5ushiMonster, thanks for the input. The only possible issue I can imagine is an absence of TPM on motherboard, that thing really differs between various models. I found a complete touchpad/buttons/fingerprint module on ebay, trying to buy it.
Regarding DVD swap, I took a more detailed look at the photos @ raid ssd TT topic, you're completely right, the connector is just the same as caddy's. I just looked at HDD connector all that time, my bad, sorry

Then I'll try to purchase that caddy -- even if won't fit, it doesn't cost much, and it will be a useful info for community anyway.

Rachel, thanks, I didn't read the whole topic yet, though I'm in progress. If I fail with the ebay caddy, I'll try to get original sony parts.

By the way, did anybody measured the TT's stock DVD burner's dimensions?

 

It's a slim 9.5 drive. There were two different drives used. One was a Panasonic that allowed for straight upgrade to the BD UJ232A. The other was a Sony drive AD 7XXX which used a different bezel which does not allow for a straight upgrade to the BD drive.

Check which drive you have in the device manager and you probably can find measurements online.

I don't know what stock drive you have but you might have a problem with the bezel.

Those who bought their TT with a 2.5 HD, those TT's came with an extra usb port which is built into the bezel.

 

Rachel, if I already had my notebook arrived, I'd just took the drive out and measured it instead of asking on forum

At least the height is ok, ebay caddy is 9.5mm, too.

Though the extra USB port is a very strong argument to use the Sony parts, besides the factory look-n-feel.

 

@Zero_endorphine.
Thing with the HDD caddies is that 99.99% of them do NOT support the bezel to fit over them. Basically, you're going to be left with the snap-off-plastic-and-superglue-them-on option, or just leaving the thing as it is with a rather big gaping hole on the side.

The 0.01% of the caddies I'm referring to is Sony's own part. That's going to be a mission to source, and if you somehow are able to, it won't be cheap.
sparepartswarehouse.com might help if you decide to go down that path.

But then I might be wrong and the one I directed you to might be part of the 0.01%. You never know how lucky you'll be with 3rd party bits and bobs.

As for the TPM; I thought that would be a straight-forward plug-in chip like the VPC-Z (and the VGN-Z as well to an extent)? Basically, the TPM is a thumbnail sized chip with a connector at the bottom. It plugs straight into the motherboard, which has a plug to accept a TPM.

I would assume all TT motherboards are the same, but in the unlikely (yet possible case) that they are not, then yeah... a new motherboard for TPM security? Well, I guess that's worth it if your work demands it. Though again, you might have an issue tracking one down compatible with the TT as the ones used in the VPC-Z and VGN-Z are different to each other, meaning there's little chance that the chips from those two might fit a TT. And this is assuming that the TT mobos have clip-on-and-off TPMs and nothing soldered on...

Though regardless, good luck with the mods.

 

5ushiMonster, well, I understand that the chance to get ebay caddy to fit perfectly is small, I just think that I can give it a try, since it costs 10 bucks or so. If it won't fit at all, I can easily let it go and either go with sony parts, or drop the dvd swap idea at all.

Also, thanks for the input regarding TPM chip.
I found some photos of mb at ebay, can you please give me a clue if a TPM (or it's empty socked) can be seen on some of these photos?

SONY VGN-TT series motherboard MBX-191 - eBay (item 140352767350 end time Dec-10-10 06:22:11 PST)

Thanks

 

On that listing you referred to. The last picture where you see the PCSUPER FREAK sticker.

That small white connection below the RAM slots is the TPM socket (no TPM module in that auction though). Though compared to the VPC-Z and VGN-Z, it looks longer?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/att...y-vaio-tt-series-owners-thread-explodedtt.jpg

Rachel's exploded TT shot highlights that as well (albeit hard to find through that lybirnth of lines and text)

 

I thought you had the TT to hand already.

I went through the parts list and these are the parts you need for the mod using Sony parts.

X-2318-659-1
ASSY _BEZEL_HDD_25/NONE_BSS [Black/Premium Carbon/Red] $51.54
X-2318-661-1 ASSY_BEZEL_HDD_25/NONE_NSS [Gold]


4-000-514-01 BRACKET_HDD_25/NONE/FS $13.24

185716011 PWB, FPC-142 FLEXIBLE PRINT $30.84

400048401 SHEET_DOOR_DOCK $3.54


3-106-291-01 SPACER HDD 25 $6.49

4-120-190-01 SHEET_BRACKET_HDD25 $5.65

4-000-515-01 BRACKET_ARM_25/NONE/FS $10.31

A1599757A COMPL_FPC-140(VG_NO)(B) COMPL_FPC-140(VG_NO)(W) (S) [White] $33.42
A1599756A COMPL_FPC-140(VG_NO)(B) (S) [Black/Premium Carbon/Gold/Red]

You'd also need screws which are listed in the copy.txt. Some of the above you might also be able to do without and some you can get on Ebay. In terms of pricing that's not cheap and the non OEM caddy for some might be a good solution. If you want something more elegant and would like to have the third usb i guess it is not that bad. All parts are in stock with Sony bar one. Of course again check parts if you're going to purchase.

Btw, i order all my parts through the Sony spare parts store here and get a friend to mail it to me-
https://servicesales.sel.sony.com/e...tSearch.do?sessionId=V4ii4SBhp7hOOlyom_UpyCQ#

Sparepartswarehouse international shipping is quite high and of course you may have to factor in customs charges as well if you live overseas.

You can also buy the Panasonic TT BD bezel from Sony as a spare parts.

 

5ushiMonster, whoa, what a useful JPG! I tried to find the service manual for vaio TT to look for myself, but didn't succeed that time.

So, for TPM I should search for IFX-521 board?

Unfortunatelly, there's no clear visibility of touchpad/fingerprint area wiring =\

 

Rachel's post on this thread (post 3) has the images and the text file specifying the parts and their respective part nos.

As for the TPM. I'm not too sure whether the TPM module has a part no. IFX-521. I thought the IFX prefex was reserved for larger non-motherboard intergrated parts like the WWAN board. As this is Rachel's area of knowledge, I think she'll be better able to explain. But I THINK that's the part you're after.

If you buy and install, you might need to flash your machine with a BIOS update from a model which comes with a TPM from factory. Again, Rachel would be of more informative assistance there than meself...

I researched the SR and TT to get a better grasp on the VGN-Z (the three came out pretty much at the same time). Unfortunately, once in the motherboard, my knowledge wears thin for the TT and SR, unless it's a Z...

 

Rachel, I see.

Basically, the most important things is the bezel and FPC, right? The one to close the hole in the body, and the second to hook HDD to the mb; the others are just fixings. BTW, are these parts provide an additional USB, or it's just for ODD>HDD conversion?

 

Those parts will provide the additional usb. The last part is also important.

 

regarding TPM, I've contacted vaiorefurbs, they told me that TPM is not soldered, but it's not possible to buy it new officially, only with the whole mainboard. =\

 

No, it is NOT soldered.

The TPM chip did cause some USA VPC-Z owners some grief a few months back (started with the Z11 if memory serves correct). The search function fails to bring up the exact thread, but no one was able to order a TPM module seperately. Apparently Sony advertised their Zs with TPM and silently pulled it. The thing is, in the early days when the TPM was an advertised feature in the States, the VPC-Z did not come with it. ...hence the anger (misleading advertising). All the more so after the silent pull...

The sad fact is, Oceania models come with TPM without fail (and are always adverstised with it). I guess the American CTO factories ran out of parts or something, considering Oceania models are not available CTOed (ie, we get Sony laptops fresh from Japan's assembly line).

It will indeed be an expensive exercise for the sake of a TPM chip. Motherboards are not cheap as that auction demonstrates...

 

further info in subject: vaiorefurbs confirms that fingerprint conversion only requires the SWX-297 board with the scanner itself + touchpad assy with shortened buttons; the regular SWX-297 wire should be fine.

 

5ushiMonster, well, I won't buy a whole MB just for TPM; if I won't be able to find the TPM board from the parts seller, I'd try to ask some used MB sellers at ebay to remove it from the mb and sell to me separately, updating the MB photos/description. If I won't find it for sane money, I'll just abandone this idea.

BTW, does anyone know the exact function of TPM, is it a private key generator/holder, or a whole cryptographic co-processor, capable of crypting/decrypting significant amounts of data on the fly without CPU load?

 

I do have a TT with TPM installed but have it disabled and have never used it so cannot help you there.

If you want the service manual send me a PM and i will email it to you.You might not be able to PM just yet as your posts have just reached ten and it takes a while for the system to update.

 

Rachel, PM sent

 

Trusted Platform Module - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In essence, it encrypts your passwords to a piece of hardware which is specially matched to your motherboard (once activated and you start storing passwords onto it). Because it's not a software-based save and it's saving to a seperate piece of hardware, it's harder to hack and retrieve user info. Though that's not to say that a TPM is fool-proof, just more secure.

 

So, what I've managed to get in one day.

1. Touchpad assy with fingerprint reader & button board (used)



got it damn cheap, $30 including shipping off ebay.com

2. (tada!) TPM Board from Vaio TT (used)




a little more expensive, got it by privately quering various stores who sells used laptop parts.

all is ordered & paid for.

and now I shall suspend for a while, I'll continue my research when I got my laptop and all the parts I've ordered arrived.

Stay tuned

P.S. Can anybody rename the topic, adding TPM to its title?

 

5ushiMonster, thanks.
What I'm planning to do is a full disk encryption, possibly via Windows Bit Locker Drive Encryption. MS documentation says that hardware TPM could provide some help, I'm going to investigate that topic once I get the laptop and install biometric & TPM.

edit: BTW, I already noted, what BIOS should I try to flash in case my laptop won't see new devices: VGN-TT21XN/B, the same generation as my TT21M/N, the only differences are 1.4 CPU, 128GB SSD (which I believe is irrelevant from the BIOS perspective) and TPM / Fingerprint Reader.

edit: nope, it should be VGN-TT21WN/B, as the XN/B lacks WWAN which I have.

 

[hijacking my own thread]
By the way, does anyone know, is there an USB port wired to Mini-PCI slot where TT's WLAN card resides?

I wonder if I can install an Intel WIFI/WIMAX combo card. It requres both PCI and USB pins of the Mini-PCI slot to be wired to the respective buses, while the USB is often left un-wired in many notebooks.

 

Someone added a wimax card in the past and it required soldering.
The pictures in the post are dead but may be you still may have an idea of what they did.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/5496510-post26.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/5513892-post29.html

 

Rachel, can't thank you enough, once again
Required soldering = no USB in Mini-PCI, that's sad.

 

An update regarding the cheap ebay HDD caddy:

SATA 2ND Hard Disk Drive HDD caddy/adapter to replace UJ232A DVD drive, you may want to swap the faceplate for better match to your laptop, a free straight faceplate is included for free.

SATA Hard Drive caddy replace UJ232A Blu-Ray DVD Drive - eBay (item 400147701900 end time Dec-24-10 05:42:59 PST)

Looks like we can just take this caddy, attach an existing TT DVD faceplate, and it will go relatively fine? Besides it won't give us the extra usb, sure.

 

I mentioned this in one of my earlier posts but only some TT models had the bezel that will allow a direct upgrade to the UJ232A.

Some TT's shipped with the Panasonic UJ862AS and some shipped with the Sony Optiarc AD-7910S. It's the former that allows for the direct swap and reuse of the bezel.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/5568235-post42.html
You need to really wait to you get your TT and if you have the latter drive you could have more problems reusing your bezel.
Not just any bezel will work with the TT because of the colour and shape.

Like i mentioned before may be just getting the FPC-142 and bracket might be the best low cost way to go.

 

Rachel, it's ~$50 for FPC-142 (including shipping), I still dunno if I want it for that price.

BTW, did somebody tried to hook to the place on the MB where the extra USB port comes from? It could be used to wire a wimax modem without embedding USB hub into laptop.

 

OMG LOL, I got the TPM module arrived.

The irony is that it's the only thing that arrived so far, besides the MIIM shoulder bag I've ordered from Amazon.

The laptop itself and the touchpad/biometric assembly are still somewhere in unknown location and status -- both tracking dropped after export.

The TPM board is really tiny, I didn't get it from the photos I post a bit later. It's about 1cm in it's longest dimension.

 

So, I got all spare parts I ordered so far, and the laptop itself is being sorted in Russian EMS, should be in my hands within a week or so.

The relevant parts I'm about to install, on top of my good old dusty SZ7:
+ Touchpad/Buttons assy, it looks like it's from golden TT, too
+ TPM board
+ SWX-297 with fingerprint reader and some ribbons



BTW, does anybody know what's the switch on SWX-297, on the left end of the board?

 

The switch on the end is for the Felicia FPC. This was only sold in some Asian countries.

 

Hi Rachel. What does it change actually?

Thanks.

 

The Felicia pad is primarily used in Japan.

It's an inductive pad (wireless interaction) used more commonly in website shopping and for identification purposes, and also for paying for public transport rides. Think inductive technology like the Oral-B rechargable toothbrushes. They recharge despite the lack of metal contacts (heck, they charge through plastic...)

Most Japanese cellphones come with Felicia built-in, and when you're buying stuff online, give your phone a quick swipe near the pad and voila; your purchase is complete. No address filling, no credit card data input... It all gets charged to your phone account (which is more or less considered a bank account). If I recall correct you can link your phone account to your bank account in Japan, and use your phone as a credit card (like a debit card kinda thing).

I know Singapore uses similar induction technology but they call it Octopus.

Then there's Korea, but I've only seen wireless RF cards being used more commonly on public transport systems (and vending machines found within). Cells have similar paying functions, but in Korea they use the CDMA network for that (no inductive RF implementation).

So basically, to answer your question.
Assuming you bought that SWF board used from a non-Japanese TT, I would not try flicking that switch. Might cause device recognition errors in Windows since you probably don't have the induction board in the first place. Felicia is only useful in Japan mind you, so unless you visit the country often, you won't be missing out on a lot.

 

5ushiMonster, I see, thanks

 

Also, I won a black TT keyboard today. Maybe I'll try to achieve some kind of macbook-style with golden TT and black keys.

 

I hope it works out well for you.
I prefer the silver keys. It is very easy for the black keys to look all worn and shiny but it doesn't really show up on the silver keys. Also, it is quite easy to see the keyboard in the dark with the silver keys. Those who own with the black KB find this much harder.

 

...so I finally get it.

I have to admit that the golden case is a very practical one -- the laptop is used, has some minor scratches, but they almost invisible. Also, the silver keyboard shows no any signs of wear, so most likely I give up at the black one.

In several hours after getting the laptop I opened it up, installed TPM, and replaced the whole touchpad/board assembly with biometric scanner equipped one. The color match of touchpad is 100%, looks like it was taken from the exact golden tt.

As soon as I assemble the laptop back (somehow I didn't even think about checking the laptop after upgrade, I applied every little screw before powering it up), it shows all new devices as working. The TPM options appeared in BIOS SETUP (I enabled TPM and rebooted), and the device manager shows Fingerprint scanner. So I didn't even update BIOS with the one from TPM/Biometric enabled model.

Unfortunatelly, I was so hurry so I skipped some useful moments I shall shot.
Here's the photos I've managed to do:

TPM board near it's socket prior to install:
(note that TPM board socket is symmetrical, but you can't place the board in the wrong direction: it won't fit, cause the memory socket is too close)


TPM board installed:


Fitting the reader-equipped SWX-297 in place:


Modified laptop and it's original touchpad assy:

 

Also, the switch on the SWX-297 is just the "WIRELESS" switch on the front of the laptop

 

Good work, btw for some reason i was looking at that incorrectly.
The Felicia connector is on the furthest to the left in this picture here. http://photos.lostpoint.ru/lostpoin...1024_768_69290e1f9075024dd758cbd511d10fa7.jpg

And you have there the drive that may make it easier if choose to do the 2.5 HD and go for the non oem enclosure.

 

Hi Rachel
You mean I have the bezel that should fit that cheap ebay caddy?

 

^
Yes....

 

hello, i want adding TPM into my tt23, the tpm which you buy is IFX-521 or others? and the tpm works correct, should you modify the BIOS?
thanks.

 

houchangdong, I believe it was IFX-521, since it was taken off the TT-series motherboard. And no BIOS modification was done -- I just assembled the lappie, turned it on, entered SETUP and discovered TMP/Fingerprint related options. Later, after Windows boots up, all devices appeared in Device Manager, too.

 

@zero endorphine
Thanks.
i upgrades to 256 * 2 SSD Raid 0 and inside WWAN.

 

Oh my. I'd kill for 512GB SSD. (x_x)

 

I just wanted to say thanks; great information here.

I am also interested in converting my BD-equipped TT into HD. OEM parts seem a bit pricey though.

@zero endorphine
Did that eBay universal HD caddy work out for you? How does it look? Did the bezel fit?

@Rachel
Can I have that TT service manual as well?

 

You're welcome, desune.

As for caddy, I didn't give it a try at all. There were several times through last months when I found internal DVD burner very helpful, so I still undecided if I really want to take it off.

 

@desune, send me a PM with an email address and i will send it to you.