Hi all,

Does anyone know what the model number for the DVD/RW drive is that is used in the TR3A Notebooks?

Thanks!

Emi ^_^

The DVD/RW drive is a MATSHITA UJ-812.

I should have specified that the drive is in a TR3AP3.

Thanks VAIO Jet,

Miraculously, Sony Parts had the optical drive in stock for $275. (minus the bezel and mounting brackets which range from $10-20)

When I get it later this week I’ll post some pictures of the upgrade.

Emi ^_^

hello emiisdev,

Where bouts did you find the part?  I too am interested in puchasing the drive.  Your help is appreciated.  :D

Cheers,

Victor

Hi Victor,

I just received the drive today.

You can call Sony Parts & Accessories (800-488-7669) or order it through their website here http//www.sony.com/accessories.

You are searching for part number 179689212.

I’ll document the upgrade process in the same way I did for the hard drive and wireless card. If I run into problems with the drivers or hardware detection I’ll post my findings.

Emi ^_^

P.S. some people have asked what model I was upgrading - it’s a TR1

Thanks Emi!

Do keep us informed of your progress, as I’m quite interested myself.  Btw, did you need to order the additional matching panels for the drive?  Or were they included?

Thanks again,

Victor

Hi again -

Upgrade is done. Everything went pretty smoothly. The DVD-RW drive now appears in windows and *seems* to be working fine.

I say *seems* because I haven’t written anything with it yet. (reads fine though) It turns out that the latest version of Nero (what I personally use to burn with) doesn’t (yet) support the UJ-812

This is probably of the more complicated upgrades you could do to the notebook. The pieces are small and there are quite a few of them that you have to deal with. Your best bet is to work slow and write down where you pulled things from.

No problem with the brackets (more like a cage that holds the optical drive) or any of it’s pieces. The plastic cover had me stumped for a little until I noticed a *very* small hole on the right used to unlock a plastic tab. You’ll want to be careful here - the plastic is probably easy to break. You don’t need to purchase anything but the optical drive - all of the pieces you need can be used from the existing drive.

Now here’s a question I can use some help with. My next step is to upgrade the drive to the current firmware which is available from the Sony Support site (for the TR3). I run it and of course it tells me that it wasn’t made for my product (TR1). I was hoping it would just validate the hardware (optical drive) but it doesn’t. Any ideas on how to get around this?

Thanks much!

Emi ^_^

Hmm..

Found it here
ftp//ftp.vaio-link.com/PUB/Vaio/Optical/UJ812B_FW.zip

This will upgrade version k100 (factory setting) to version k101 (most recent update on support site)

This one does not have the hardware check initiated through installshield.

Emi ^_^

Thanks for the info! I’m loving how modular the TR is turning out to be.

I know…with this upgrade + the 802.11a/b/g + Bluetooth Upgrade + hard disk upgrade (for TR1 owners), everyone can have a TR3/SP!

I was thinking the same thing. The 1GHz ULV Pentium-M may be tricky to come by in a retail box though…

Holy crap! I just ordered the drive at 11:30 AM yesterday via 2-day air and I’m staring at it right now on my desk as of 10:00 AM the next day.  :shock:

This link wil take you to a web page where you can enter the part number and can purchase from there.

http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/web/productSearch.do

Hi, been surfing here for a while and bought a TR2AP because of this site’s reviews. Only had it a week and considering tinkering with a screwdriver.

Has anyone considered using the PCGADVRW1 firewire optical drive, ripping it apart and using it inside the TR. Advantage of this is of course DVD+/- I have from my old Picturebook an external firewire DVD/CD RW and the drive physically looks identical to the one in the TR.

Any thoughts whether or not this would work?

just curious, have u post the upgrade procedure yet?

thanks