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:'( Sony PCG-Z1 Series Hard Drive Upgrade

post #1 of 10
12/18/05 at 9:27pm
Thread Starter 
Does anyone have the procedure to replace the Hard Drive of the Z1 Series, I have been searching on the net for a procedure to take this box apart, but the drive seems to be in the lower left quadrant of the notebook, but I connot find a service manual.

Please Help
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post #2 of 10
12/21/05 at 8:22am
Thread Starter 
I have now contacted sony support and all their registererd dealers and none would give me a copy of the circuit diagram, this is crap, I also have a compaq armada and the full circuit diagram is available for download. What is wrong with this company ???

There has to be someone out there who can help me , please guys HELP!!!!!!!!!
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post #3 of 10
2/17/06 at 4:05am
I feel your pain... I'm having the same issue right now.
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post #4 of 10
2/18/06 at 9:03am
Z1 Series hard drive is under the palmrest and theres about 6 screws I believe that allow this to come off.. (Keyboard before palmrest).. I'd suggest you dump the Z1 laptop as you will have issues down the road with th Integrated Video chipset or the CPU Chipset sooner or later.
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post #5 of 10
3/4/06 at 12:43am
Actually Z1 is one of the most reliable laptops from Sony I have ever seen. They are also relatively easy to repair (I mean motherboards). It's easy to take it apart. First remove the battery. Remove all the screw covers on the bottom. Unscrew all the screws on the bottom (4 under covers, 3 in deep holes on the black part, 4 small ones and 3 under the battery). Remove the keyboard. Unscrew 2 screws under it. CAREFULLY remove the palmrest. You can now uncrew the crews of hdd caddy and replace your hdd. Don't forget to attach the mouse pad cable when you assemble it back!
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post #6 of 10
8/15/06 at 2:11pm
I got a copy - both parts & service, let me know your email and I'll send you the copy.
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post #7 of 10
8/26/06 at 9:09pm
Michele356 I appreciate that offer and hope that I can take advantage of it as well. I sent you a private message with my e-mail address. The hard drive in my notebook is making noise when the notebook is moved.

Are there rcommendations on what hard drive to use?
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post #8 of 10
3/7/07 at 6:09am
I'm gonna revive this thread which is on my point , hope its ok .

I got a Sony Z1 which won't post ( just blink for a sec ) .

1. Can anyone send me the service manual ?

2. Can a missing HD lead to non post ?

3. I'm trying to do a home DIY BGA reflow of the GPU ? someone mentioned CPU chipset also prone to failure . Would that be the CPU itself which I know to identify or another BGA chipset to look at ( there are at least 4 BGA chips on this board not including the built in memory ) .

Any help would be appreciated ,
Gilo
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post #9 of 10
12/23/07 at 4:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 9il0 View Post
I'm gonna revive this thread which is on my point , hope its ok .

I got a Sony Z1 which won't post ( just blink for a sec ) .

1. Can anyone send me the service manual ?

2. Can a missing HD lead to non post ?

3. I'm trying to do a home DIY BGA reflow of the GPU ? someone mentioned CPU chipset also prone to failure . Would that be the CPU itself which I know to identify or another BGA chipset to look at ( there are at least 4 BGA chips on this board not including the built in memory ) .

Any help would be appreciated ,
Gilo
In terms of getting your hands on the service manual, the simplest way is to use the following service manual: www.eserviceinfo.com/downloadsm/27304/Sony_PCG-Z1.html

It's free, and it essentially covers the PCG-Z1A (the differences are immaterial). I used this service manual when I swapped the HDD out of my PCG-Z1A earlier this year. If, however, you really simply must have the Z1A-specific manual, I may still have a copy of the one I purchased from an online manuals store floating around - post a message here to that effect, and I will see whether I can find it - just remember, I may not check this forum for several days to a week, so don't get snippy if you don't get an instant reply

In terms of the failure to POST, a missing HDD will not cause the sort of POST failure you describe. When the HDD in my Z1A crapped out, the system would still go through POST, it would just tell me that it couldn't find the HDD, and would give me the option of going into BIOS setup to select an alternative boot source. I don't have a lot of experience in this area, but it sounds more like you either have a bad BIOS, or else you have damage to the CPU and/or motherboard.

What you describe sounds a little like what happened to me after I monkeyed around inside an old Dell desktop I used to have - I tried to add more ram to the motherboard and, in the course of doing so, forgot the elementary rules of computer work and (a) inserted a new stick of ram without a static-discharge wristband, and (b) I pushed like all hell to get the stick of ram to seat. One of those two lapses caused serious damage to the motherboard, after which the system would start normally, and then almost immediately tell me that it had a temp out of range problem and was shutting down to protect the system from a catastrophic failure.

Since you're not even getting into POST, I would make a guess (relatively uneducated, remember), that it's either a corrupted BIOS (which I believe can be fixed) or a damaged CPU/chipset - which would basically make the motherboard worthless. You might try a BIOS fix to see if that solves anything; otherwise, unless someone with more wisdom gives a better answer, you may just have to write off the motherboard.
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post #10 of 10
4/2/08 at 3:31pm
Just found a site with great pictures and a walk through on changing a Sony Z1VAP HD.

http://vaioz.com/opening.html

Side note: I love my Z1VAP2. I've had it since new. I have already had to replace the CD/DVD drive and screen though and now HD is failing. This laptop is used heavily everyday and pushed. I think I damaged the screen but was disappointed with the CD/DVD going as I rarely used it. All in all, would buy again and would buy used.
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