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--- blog:sony_vaio_z_series [2025/02/05 09:45] – john
+++ blog:sony_vaio_z_series [2025/03/18 14:06] (current) – [Sony Vaio PCG-Z505/Z600] john
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== Sony Vaio PCG-Z505/Z600 ======
-I bought a pair of two old Sony Vaio laptops; a PCG-Z600RE and a PCG-FZ600TEK in February 2025 as more candidates for a top-end DOS gaming laptop.
+I bought a pair of two old Sony Vaio laptops; a PCG-Z600RE and a <del>PCG-Z600TEK</del> in February 2025 as more candidates for a top-end DOS gaming laptop.
+//Actually, on delivery and closer examination, the PCG-Z600TEK turned out to be a **PCG-Z600HEK** - The difference being it had the better Pentium III 800MHz, rather than the 700MHz.//
 The PCG-Z600xxx models are the UK/European version of the **PCG-ZR505**, and hence not really mentioned much. There are a //lot// of variations of these machines.
@@ Line 50: / Line 52: @@
    * Missing hard drive caddy (but not cable)
    * General scratches and wear
+   * Snapped trackpad cable
+   * Very worn keyboard cover/wrist rest
-In addition, only one battery is present.
+In addition, only one battery is present (and appears dead).
+It is important to note that while the 2.5" IDE HDD is completely standard, it uses another of these unique, bespoke flat flex cables to interface with the motherboard:
+{{:blog:pentium:vaio:vaio_z505_z600_ide_cable.png?200|}}
+Without that cable you //cannot// connect a hard drive.
+=== Hardware Inventory ===
+   * Ricoh RL5c475 Cardbus Controller
+   * Intel 82557/8/9 EtherExpress Pro/100B Ethernet
+   * Conexant HSF 56K Data/Fax Modem
+   * Yamaha YMF744B DS-1S Audio
+   * Sony CXD3222 i.LINK FireWire Controller
+   * PIIX4/E/M Power Management Controller
+   * PIIX4/E/M USB Controller
+   * PIIX4/E/M IDE Controller
+   * PIIX4/E/M ISA Bridge
+   * 440BX/ZX PCI to AGP Bridge
+   * 440BX/ZX CPU to PCI Bridge
+   * ATI Rage P/M Mobility AGP 2X
 === Documentation ===
+   * {{:blog:pentium:vaio:pcg-z600re.pdf|Sony PCG-Z600RE User Manual}}
    * {{:blog:pentium:vaio:pcg-z600te.pdf|Sony PCG-Z600TE User Manual}}
-   * {{ :blog:pentium:vaio:pcg-z600re.pdf|Sony PCG-Z600RE User Manual}}
+   * {{:blog:pentium:vaio:pcg-z600he.pdf|Sony PCG-Z600LE/HE User Manual}}
+=== Software ===
+   * **DOS**
+      * PCMCIA
+         * Cardsoft - This works, but only with the generic //SS365SL.EXE// driver. This means 32bit Cardbus cards won't work. Neither of the Ricoh drivers (//SSCBRI.EXE// or //SSRICOH.SYS//) work.
+      * Yamaha Audio
+      * Intel Pro/100 LAN
+         * {{ :blog:pentium:vaio:e100pkt.zip|}} E100PKT.COM - Detects card, but is unable to configure it correctly (shows error //"Error! PORT self-test failed"//)
+         * {{ :blog:pentium:vaio:ibm10_100.zip|}} E10PPKT.COM - Does not work, unable to detect PCI card
+         * {{ :blog:pentium:vaio:ibm10_100.zip|}} E100BPKT.COM - Does not work, unable to detect PCI card
+   * **Windows 98 Second Edition**
+      * PCMCIA - detected and installed by Windows installer and uses built-in driver
+      * Yamaha Audio
+      * ATI Rage Mobility VGA
+      * Firewire - detected and installed by Windows installer and uses built-in driver
+      * Intel Pro/100 LAN - detected and installed by Windows installer and uses built-in driver
+         * {{ :blog:pentium:vaio:pro98.zip|}} - Intel Pro/100 driver suite for Windows 95/98
+The Yamaha audio driver(s) do not install by default, as the PCI device ID of the particular chip in the Z505/Z600 is slightly different to that in other, similar models.
+To install it, edit the setup.inf file and add the following entry:
+TBC
+The ATI Rage card can be installed using ATI XL based drivers, it is not detected by the standard Windows 98 SE installation.
+==== Restoration Decisions ====
+Since there wasn't enough parts to make two good, working systems, I decided to pull the better parts from the PCG-Z600RE (the NeoMagic VGA model) and fit them to the PCG-Z600HE (ATI VGA model). This included:
+   * Internal trackpad flex cable
+   * Mini-USB plastic surround trim
+   * Keyboard/wrist rest panel
+   * Hinge covers
+   * Keyboard
+This leaves me with one missing screen hinge cover, the audio/iLINK trim piece, and the volume/USB trim piece to find.
+==== Cleaned PCG-Z600HEK ====
+After spending some time de-gunking the case, removing stickers and polishing up the general grime, the PCG-Z600HE came up looking quite nice:
+{{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250207182450.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250207182616.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250207182533.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250207182548.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250207182602.jpg?400|}}
+{{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250207182520.jpg?400|}}
+==== Size Comparison ====
+{{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250207190132.jpg?600|}}
+Sony Vaio PCG-Z600HE on the left. IBM Thinkpad 240/240X on the right.
+Considering the Sony has a 12" screen compared to the 10" on the IBM, there's really not a lot in it.
+==== Cooling Upgrade ====
+Both laptops, when tested, had cpu fans running almost constantly, and when I investigated by taking apart the heatsink/fan from the PCG-Z600RE (both machines have identical cooling solutions) I found the thermal interface material had degraded to the point of going rock hard and extremely brittle. Clearly //not// conducting much heat at all!
+{{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250208102328.jpg?400|}}
+I'll replace this on the working PCG-Z600HE with some modern material. Clearly thermal paste is not an option due to the thickness of the pad.
+I cleaned the original material off (it had gone completely hard) and replaced with a small section of Honeywell PTM7950:
+{{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250318131918.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250318131929.jpg?400|}}
+This seems to have stopped the fan from running at full speed all of the time. The little heatsink definitely gets rather warm with that PIII-800 though!
+==== Trackpad Connection Repair ====
+Both machines arrived in quite a state, with the cases loose, lots of screws missing, and in particular the trackpad cables chewed and torn.
+The header for the trackpad on the motherboard (this is the Neomagic motherboard) looks like this:
+{{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250316143310.jpg?400|}}
+On the ATI motherboard it was broken (retaining clips for the cable snapped), so it was desoldered, leaving the solder pads looking like this:
+{{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250316143341.jpg?400|}}
+The original flat cable is an **8-way**, **0.5mm** pitch part, but only around 10cm long - which definitely contributed to it getting damaged by the previous owner(s) upon disassembly of the laptop. I first tried cutting down another I had, but it was just easier to buy a ready made, generic 8-way, 0.5mm pitch cable. Original left, replacement right:
+{{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250316143540.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250318123807.jpg?400|}}
+==== Testing ====
+Installing Windows 98SE
+{{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250316082659.jpg?400|}} {{:blog:pentium:vaio:img20250316093941.jpg?400|}}
+One major difficulty in getting an OS on these machines is the lack of any built-in removeable media. The CD-ROM unit was a proprietary PCMCIA drive, and normal USB floppy drives are not supported as boot drives.