Vaio VPC-Z128GG & Blu-ray Drive UJ-242 result.

Hi, I have a VPC-Z128GG, and I successfully added a blu-ray drive "UJ-242", but I got a problem which is the eject button of the Z "on top of the keyboard" wont work with this drive, but it works when I use the default DVD dive.

Any ideas?

 

did the other fuction button working? For example the hybrid graphic switch?

 

yeah it works fine

 

It's most likely a firmware issue.

You probably bought a UJ242a that has a firmware that the BIOS on the VPC-Z doesn't recognise (thus won't intergrate the BIOS shortcuts, ie the button).
I don't know if Sony has released a firmware update for their UJ242a BD writers yet. I THINK they have with their older UJ232a but that's a big if itself...

The other scenario is your new drive (or heaven forbid the Z itself) is locked onto UJ242a intended for VAIOs. Usually, optics drives parts for VAIOs have no company branding whatsoever, and next to their model code they have a long barcode next to the manufacture date. If you bought your drive from a ebayer and it was a 'Lenovo' or 'Dell' OEM part, then that probably explains why.

As for why the drive still works per se; it's a removable USB drive for all the Z cares. Only the BIOS related functions intended for specific firmware versions will not work.

Though technically, that 'eject' button on the keyboard merely links the 'eject' function that windows uses (go to COMPUTER, right click your drive and choose EJECT). Did you let Windows set the drive up automatically, and does it recognise that it is indeed a BD drive?

...Here's me hoping my UJ862as to UJ232a replacement will work...

 

Hi 5ushiMonster, sorry for the late replay, I did bought the drive from an ebay seller, but it was Mata OEM, so it's not branded to dell or Lenovo. And yes the Windows 7 recognize the drive as BD-writer.

I'm hopping to find a firmware that it works with my Z128GG, and I hope some one would post more information in this topic.

By the way, I read about someone have a Z which comes with UJ-242AS from sony, so there is a chance that someone here at this forum have it and hopefully have a firmware for it.

 

hello,
I have a same probleme with my new vpc-z12z9e/x (French ref) when i try to change my dvd-rom the eject button don't work

i have an old vgn-z21zn/x with bd-re UJ-232
but when i put the uj-232 in the new vpc-z12z9e/x the button eject don't work
what is your uj-232 firmware 5ushiMonster ?

sorry for my bad english

 

@levil1
Actually, I JUST bought a new UJ232a (for US$133). I have been planning my optics mod (along with a load of other hardware swaps) on my VGN-Z; only was barred from doing so with university finances racking up...

I'm using the stock UJ862AS, which I had replaced under warranty back in June this year. My old drive was running on 1.01 and this replaced one is running on 1.21

I'll tell you what my UJ232a is running when I get it later this week. I know for a fact that the one I just bought is designed for Sony machines (the labels on the drive shells are different for varying manufacturers).

You should note that the VPC-Z uses 9.5mm that differ in form factor to the ones that the VGN-Z was using. Basically, the drives from VGN-Zs will not be compatible with the VPC-Z in a structural sense (the bezel outlay is different between the 2x drives).

That said, from what I'm reading above the VPC-Z's BIOS might only allow certain drives with corresponding firmwares to work with the EJECT button on the keyboard. So, the EJECT button technically will NOT work unless eventservice (or some other process name I don't remember) is loaded in Windows. Which is one reason I understand you can't use the EJECT button while in BIOS or before an OS is loaded. In addition, I'm assuming the VPC-Z BIOS just simply doesn't like the UJ232a, period.

The higher-end VPC-Z come with UJ242a drives. Basically saying, you should be using that on a VPC-Z not the UJ232a...

 

I believe the eject button in the VPC-Z is working differently than it did in VGN Z. If you remember, VGN Z had a tiny eject button on the actual drive. This was because the keyboard button did not work until windows and the sony event service was loaded. VPC Z doesn't have the second eject button and the keyboard eject button works without windows and the vaio event service.

My guess is something's going on with the firmwaare in the vpc z. Since there hasn't been a firmware update released, you'll need to figure out a way to extract the firmware from a VPC Z BD drive (and someone with one to do it for you).

 

I totally agree with you.

 

In order to initiate the hacking of the firmware, I would suggest UJ242 users to do the following:

Download DiscInfo 1.70b here: LINK
Start the tool and post the Mata Drive Section of the Summary page (Ctrl+I) here.

Then try MataWinDump in order to dump the firmware of the drive. (Download here: http://ala42.cdfreaks.com/Matsh1ta/Matsh1taWinDump.zip, replace the two "1" with "i")
Unpack the file and start MataWinDump.bat

I am curious if we can get forward with that.

 

Got a UJ232a now (but faulty, so will be replacing it within the week).
The UJ232a I have at the moment has a firmware 1.10. If my memory serves correct, Sony released a firmware 1.08 a few months back (late last year...?). I'm not too sure what firmware their 5th gen VGN-Z and their UJ232a came with.

The UJ232a I have now is a warranty part for VAIO machines. That said, it's the last few intended for the older Sony machines (TT, VGN-Z, VGN-SR etc etc). The drive was manufactured in January this year.

 

I got hold of a UJ-242 drive for less than a 5th of the (ridiculous) price Sony charges you for the drive being preconfigured. I will be replacing my DVDRW in my VPC-Z11 with that when I return from holiday. I will come up with a comprehensive guide/howto in a week or two making the eject button thing and the installation of the drive clear.

 

Where did you get a hold if it that cheap?

 

Hi guys!
I upgraded the drive in my Z117 to a U242 a few months ago.
The eject button worked without me tinkering with anything.
I got the drive from Ebay.

 

Probably a second hand Vaio Z drive then, ya think?

 

could you please upload it?, as the link is already down.

Thanks in advance

 

Is that a Lenovo branded one like they sell on ebay at the moment?

 

I think so from what I remember.
The drive works perfectly.

 

Okay. I bought one on eBay for $238 including shipping, item location Washington DC.

 

Wait Enny02, didn't you replace your DVD drive with the Samsung SSD?

 

nope, I replaced the Toshiba SSD's with a Crucial and a Samsung (see my signature).

 

Ohhhh, you replaced each toshiba with another drive. I get it... Haha sorry for the brain fart ><

 

For anyone that is interested...I bought my drive here on Ebay from the following seller.

Panasonic Lenovo UJ-242 UJ242 Sony UJ-242A blu-ray BD-R - eBay (item 180561258054 end time Oct-14-10 20:55:40 PDT)

Send him your best offer

 

Well, it has an eject button on the drive itself anyway... beats going to "My Computer" and telling the drive to eject.

And Ota-Con, after a brief search on ebay, there's another UJ-242 for 229.00+9.00 shipping.

 

Thanks for the info!
I bought my drive around 6 months ago and only this seller was selling it back then. Plus, I sent an offer which is alot lower than the listed price.

I have been requested for a dump of the drive...anyone has instructions on how to do it?

 

I got my UJ242 drive today and installed it. The Sony Eject button works with this drive. The only downside so far is that two of the screws cannot be used because the frame from the original drive (UJ892) does not fit.

I bought this drive: IBM LENOVO BLU-RAY DRIVE T400 T500 W500 UJ-242 NEW! - eBay (item 270636135428 end time Oct-16-10 08:16:40 PDT) it now costs $199 .

 

What about the bezel? is it sticking our or is it flash with the system's bottom? Any pics?

 

You have to swap the bezel on the new drive with the one from the old one. I'll post some pics later.

 

Hi everybody,
I have a SONY Z VPC-Z12X9E with a MATSΗITA DVD-RAM UJ892AS drive.
I would like to upgrade to a blu-ray drive but I feel a bit confused about which one to order. So, any help appreciated on the following:
1). My dvd-drive does not have an EJECT button, I use the EJECT keyboard button for that. Does the SONY original br drive have an EJECT button on the drive itself?
2) Which is the original SONY VPC-Z12 Blu-ray model? Can I get an identical one through eBay cheaper?
3) Do I need a firmware patch to make the keyboard eject button work? Some of you say no. Which model did you use?
4) I was looking at this ebay BR drive Panasonic UJ-242A 242 4X Blu-Ray Burner Slim DVD Drive - eBay (item 250680928847 end time Oct-09-10 18:58:12 PDT). It's supposed to be for LENOVO's. Is it the same for SONY Z's as well? Will it be any different?
Thanks, and sorry for the long list of questions.

 

Buddy, did you bother reading this thread? in fact, did you read Enny02's post 3 posts above yours? It contains all the answers to all your questions (except #3)

 

That's a known issue. Depending on what type of model your Z is, and depending on the country of purchase, some Zs have more parts than Zs found in other countries. Or, as in your case, the parts just differ altogether.

I know for VGN-Z CTO models, they have an array extra holders, mounts and screws to hold the blu-ray drive, but the non-CTOs have just 2 screws holding the drive in place (with just one holder). I'm in the latter situation and am wondering if I should purchase the holder part (the UJ232a in my machine was rather loose and shaky)

 

Anzial of course I did read all the posts. However I think that it would clarify things for many users who also want to change their DVD's for BR's if anyone could specifically answer my questions. Enny's post although helpful does not answer if the drive he bought is identical to the original SONY BR, or if it's got an EJECT button on the drive in comparison with the SONY original one. And if it is the same drive why don't the screws from the 892 match (EDIT: last part answered by 5ushiMonster, while I was posting this)? Plus is the original BR for VPC's a Panasonic, or a MATSΗITA drive?
I don't mean to make anybody's life difficult, I was just trying to make things clear (and wouldn't like to buy the wrong part anyway). Nonetheless I would be grateful if anyone could answer...

 

All UJ242a are the same. They just have different labelling on the top casing depending on the company that the drive is being sold with. There is also a UJ242as which do NOT come with the external shell (though apart from that there is no hardware difference).

The screws don't match because there is a difference in CTO and non-CTO models. I guess there are slight hardware differences in the CTO models to make them easier to assemble on demand. Heck, my VGN-Z is not a CTO and I had a hard time removing my UJ862as (as it required the mid-plate to be removed... bloody stripped some screws in the process). The VGN-Z's manual says that with CTO's all one needs to do is slide the drive out from under the midplate...

Matashuita (or Matash!ta as it's known sometimes) is Panasonic's chemical optics division, much like Sony BGM is Sony's music division.

I don't know about the VPC-Z's UJ242a, but with the VGN-Z's UJ232a, the drive has a specific label to indicate that it is indeed intended for Sony machines. It has a long barcode, and the date of manufacture. No brand branding whatsoever. Though that shouldn't matter since all UJ242a are (or should be) compatible with the VPC-Z with the right firmware anyways.

The UJ242a eject button on the drive is useless on the VPC-Z; the drive bezel on the machine doesn't allow for one and all it has is that emergency eject pinhole. So forget about the eject button on the drive; VPC-Z users are stuck with that button on the keyboard...

 

Bump. Anyone with photos or instructions yet?

Very excited about this. Thanks for all your hard work.

 

I have the drive on my desk, but due to a lot work atm, I had no time to document the surgery yet, I will come up with a step by step comprehensive guide with an OEM UJ242 drive (not that Lenovo drive) in a few days, if no other guy here has already uploaded one until then.

 

Hi Pyr0,
Would it be possible to post a link for the oem drive you are using? Thanks

 

pyr0, keep up the good work, looking forward to see the guide here soon

 

I replace my drive last weekend. The UJ242 writes Blu-Ray also in Dual Layer, I think the older UJ232 does only single layer.

I bought the Lenovo branded UJ-242 here Lenovo FRU PN# 45N7459 IBM PN# 42T2604 (UJ-242a)

Warning:
If you never took a notebook apart consider to ask someone, who already did it, to help you.
I'm not responsible for damage maybe caused by following the replacement procedure.
DO NOT touch or scratch the lenses of the optical drive!

You need:
- Philips screw driver PH.1 , PH.0, PH.00 , PH.000 (I have one from Husky with swappable tips/bits), tip should magnetized
- your BluRay drive Panasonic/Mata UJ242
- magical optical drive eject tool, short MODET (straightened paper clip)

That is how the Blu-Ray drive (Lenovo branded) looks like

remove the top cover be removing the screws from the top cover and the tape from the sides. Also remove the black plastic thingy in the back next to the sata connector.

Vaio Z disassemble video that someone took is here: Sony Vaio VPC-Z11 videos

After removing the keyboard the optical drive looks like that


Remove the tape over the screw and then the screws


eject the drive with the MODET at the pinhole and then remove the screw


remove this bracket from the side of the DVD drive and put it on the Blu-Ray drive


this bracket cannot be mounted on the Blu-Ray drive, so leave it on there.


To remove the bezel from the DVD drive: put the drive upside-down on the desk (watch out for the lenses), push the nose down with a screw driver, twist the bezel a little bit towards the drive bottom and move the bezel to the right (white arrow).

Just be careful and patient and you wont break any plastic noses on the bezel.

Do they same at the Blu-Ray drive and swap the bezel's. You need the bezel from the DVD drive on the BluRay drive otherwise you are not able to close your notebook because the one from Lenovo is too thick/high.


put the drive in the notebook put in the screws
The drive is now only fixed with the one screw and the pin on one side. The other side is loose but it does not wiggle around with the drive closed because the bezel holds it in place.
Close you notebook

When you want to close the drive now, do that with your fingers at the loose end (the one towards the VGA connector), otherwise the drive is difficult to close.

Have fun with your Blu-Ray drive.

You should keep all parts in a good place in case you have to put everything back in there when you have to send in your notebook for warranty .

Any suggestions for improvements?

 

Yeah. Use double-sided adhesive tape on the loose side

 

Thanks for the helpful illustration Enny, rep added!

I just wonder how the SONY original drive is kept into place (so that we wouldn't have the problem with the loose side of the drive). Is there a special mount? I've also seen this drive on eBay Panasonic UJ-242A 242 4X Blu-Ray Burner Slim DVD Drive. It has no LENOVO branding on it (judging from the picture), so could it be any different and fit our SONY better?
It would be a great help if anyone with an original BR drive could post a picture.

 

I will post that once I have my drive installed (which is the same you linked to).

 

It don't think it would fit better. The only way that both sides can be fixed is when the thinner side of the Blu-Ray drive can be replaced with the bracket from the DVD drive.

 

It should be (some where) a Blue-Ray drive that have the same structure that the Sony one. In that case the bracket can be attached!!!

 

That won't be easy to find to meet all the requirements like slim SATA connector, bezel, eject button etc.

I just "burned" my first Blu-ray dual layer rewritable disc with 38.7GB of data in 1h 20min.

 

I think that Sony get these Blue ray drive from some where? It seams to me that I sow a picture of the drive used by the z in some Japanese web site but unfortunately I don’t read Japanese or Chinese or any of that languages, if any one hear can check taht of us

 

Panasonic Matashuita drives (that includes the UJ242 and its 'a' and 'as' variants) are all Japanese designed and built.

That said though, they're the cheapest in terms of quality and raw price, which is why many manufacturers use them. Heck, Samsung use them as well despite them having their own TSST (Toshiba and Samsung Techs Partnership) OEM brand.

@Enny
You just reuse the bezel and connection...

I'm not too informed in regards to the UJ242a, but I recall it does NOT have a top cover / shell for the VPC-Zs that come with it from the factory. So, considering the UJ242a people here are buying from elsewhere and come with top shells, can't you just unscrew the shells off? And connect and screw the drives in as you would with the brackets / holders of your DVD drives?

 

The brackets on the left and right side of the DVD drive are custom made for the Sony Vaio because the drive is mounted in the notebook and not like in a Lenovo just in a bay. The side where the DVD drive is thinner it has these two screw holes (one standing out and one under the tray when you eject the drive).
The drive from Lenovo does not have that but the metal frame is already there and cannot be removed thus you cannot replace it with the bracket from DVD drive. Damn I wish I had taken a picture.

 

Enny thanks so much for the photos and description. Excellent job.

Was it plug and play, or did you have to do anything in terms of bios/firmware?

 

That probably explains why Sony can charge up to $500 USD for that blu-ray drive as an option on the CTO models.

 

You're welcome. No BIOS/Firmware upgrade needed.

Well it is not a big deal that one side of the drive is not fixed, it cannot move around anyway. I rather have it this way than paying twice as much for the drive.

Another thing about the DVD and Blu-ray drive. With both drives the Region free tools don't work (that is with most Panasonic/Mataa drives). Which annoys me the most because my DVD collection is region 1 and 2.