... Dreambook ...scripted
EN Guestbook
Welcome to Dreambook, a nifty new free service from:
New Dream Network, Dreamhost, and Dreamservers!

If you have a minute, please sign my Dreambook too!

Name: Garry
E-mail address: Garry629@yahoo.com
Homepage URL: http://books.dreambook.com/noner
Comments:a good service Real nice site,
Please visit my GuestBook!
Thursday, October 16th 2003 - 07:41:52 AM
Name: Amy
E-mail address: Amy1051@yahoo.com
Homepage URL: http://books.dreambook.com/noner/main.html
Comments:Great !!!! Real nice site,
Please visit my GuestBook!
Tuesday, October 14th 2003 - 05:20:15 AM
Name: Tony Chau
E-mail address: tonykaonchau@rogers.com
Comments:Very detailed. Unfortunately, I do not read japanese characters. Pictures were very helpful.

Thank you.
Tony Chau
Toronto, Canada
Sunday, June 1st 2003 - 08:30:29 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://i-vaio.dyndns.org/
Comments:A new site address is here! Thanks!

http://i-vaio.dyndns.org/

The old URL will be terminated on 30 June.
Tuesday, April 29th 2003 - 11:00:42 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:What do you need help with, Marc?
Something you can't write about here?
Friday, February 14th 2003 - 11:05:13 PM
Name: Marc
E-mail address: marc@it-toolbox.net
Comments:Help
Wednesday, February 12th 2003 - 06:16:02 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Thanks for all the comments!
But no ads please:)
Tuesday, February 11th 2003 - 04:59:53 PM
Name: Jack
E-mail address: Jack924@yahoo.com
Comments:Real nice site
Saturday, February 1st 2003 - 03:35:52 AM
Name: Dilan
E-mail address: Dilan425@yahoo.com
Comments:Real nice site
Monday, January 27th 2003 - 08:56:38 PM
Name: Seattle
E-mail address: ss12@yahoo4.com
Homepage URL: http://www.maintour.com/hotfree.htm
Comments: Wow - Great Site - You deserve a Star!
What's your favorite adventure. Does it match any that I have on my URL? My favorite is to explore the other side of town. And how about when was the last time you went to Disneyland or some other fun place.
P.S. I wish you a pleasant day.
Thursday, January 9th 2003 - 04:10:49 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Happy New Year!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all who have continuously visited this site and provided and shared both useful information and interesting stories! i-VAIO could not have survived without such support and that is something I take highly important and is very much appreciated. I wish each one of you the very best in life in 2003 and beyond!

AdminCat Ibuki
Saturday, January 4th 2003 - 06:16:51 AM
Name: Setzer
Comments:Yo there,

actually.... i get hold of a copy of xp ver (-_-;)

p* version....

thx(?) to china ppl

rgds,
setzer
Saturday, December 21st 2002 - 12:44:32 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:I guess I was slacking off just too long. Here are my answers, useful or not.

To Peter:

There are many factors that account for the limitations of hard drive sizes. The BIOS causing such a problem is only one of them. What seems strange to me is the fact that you can use a 60GB hard drive with your current BIOS without a problem.

Still other factors such as the OS, disk BIOS/controller, or file system might play a part in your problem. Based on the fact that you can penetrate the so-called 32GB barrier and because the next limitation is the 137GB point (an issue deriving from LBA - Logical Block Addressing, and not from the BIOS), I think your problem is with the OS's file system; running Win98SE, you must be relying on either FAT16 or FAT32. Even the newer FAT32 can only handle partitions up to 32GB or smaller. With a 100GB drive, it seems likely that you have a partition beyond this point.

If this is the case (though I'm not confident) the only workaround is to upgrade to Win2000 or WinXP with the NTFS file system, which can handle partition and file sizes of up to 2TB (2000GB). If in the case that your BIOS does not "show" the drive's max size, the problem must be otherwise. Then honestly I have no clue why it can recognize 60GB but not 100GB for which BIOS upgrades should have no effect.

Hope this is any help in narrowing down the problem.


To setzer:

Thanks. Unfortunately the MUI can not be downloaded for free. You need to buy it through Open License or download via one of the MSDN programs. Sorry but this is a fact and I can't give you any help. FYI, OL isn't as expensive as you might think. Win2000/MUI w/ 5 licenses should be somewhere around US$400, which you might as well split among your friends who are also interested.


To Amy:

Thanks, Amy. What information did you find most useful? Let me know if you will.


To Nipul:

I see you are so much into hardware stuff. Sorry to say that I don't see it easy at the moment or in the near future to translate my entire site content into English. Neither do I have time nor energy to make it possible:( But I think that most of the hardware related content should be self-explanatory with loads of pictures and easy-to-understand tables. You can ask me directly if you don't understand something or need further explanation.

By the way, thanks for the information. I also am running 3 VAIOs (2 desktops and 1 laptop) on WinXP English, and all of them work without any serious problem. I have upped the info you have offered about memory upgrades. Such info is always very helpful and useful for others to see. Thanks and good luck in your next endeavors!


To Luke:

Thanks. Such an encouraging comment is always greatly welcome. Please check back once in a while!
Sunday, December 8th 2002 - 08:32:10 PM
Name: Luke
E-mail address: Luke659@yahoo.com
Comments:What a wonderfull Site. All the best to you
Sunday, December 8th 2002 - 04:34:56 AM
Name: Nipul
E-mail address: gune1@yahoo.com
Comments:I tried upgrading memory of Vaio PCGZ505V/BP without tampering the seal I could increase upto 320MB right now I am happy eith that If I need more I will open again

Greenhouse memory module used GH-SNW133/256M it works fine.

Thank you for information otherwise I would endup eitherwith sony's maximum memory capacity or I would wast 256bit memory module thanks lot again for information keep up and running this site when you have a free time.

I have a one requrst do you know any information abour overcloking PCGZ505V/BP or its counter part P3 model if any please let me know the web page or overcloking informaton.

Thank you very much for everything.

Hope you will give comment

Bye for the time being

Nipul
Thursday, December 5th 2002 - 08:45:50 AM
Name: Nipul
E-mail address: gune1@yahoo.com
Comments:Nice site with useful information for anybody. I am live in Japan sorry to say that I can not read your site without machine translation. any way I could manage to understand what you try to say in Japanese I would like If you could translate this to English(as you can use the same pictures it would not be much burdern to your site.

In addition I am also using Vaio PCGZ505V/BP and completely transformed in to English with use of both Japanese drivers and English Vaio original soft sound touch pad things are bilingual those worked fine This information would be helpful for you or somebody want to change the os

sorry too big
Monday, December 2nd 2002 - 01:21:32 PM
Name: Amy
E-mail address: Amy348@yahoo.com
Comments:Nice site ... !
Sunday, December 1st 2002 - 09:42:15 AM
Name: setzer
E-mail address: hoontitu@singnet.com.sg
Comments:Hi there,

Nice site! ^Q^

i would like to ask is it possible to dl the windows 2k/XP MUI?

Open License seems to be *quite* impossible ^^;)

Regards,
Setzer
Saturday, November 9th 2002 - 05:22:00 AM
Name: Peter Savigny
E-mail address: Peter.Savigny@hamburg.de
Comments:Hi,

I tried to send this message directly to one of the people who signed your dreambook - but the address doesn't seem to be valid any more. I hope that you (or anybody else who reads this) might be able to help me, too.
===============

I have seen that you have written in Ibuki's dreambook about a bios upgrade for your Vaio F-190.
I am wondering if you might be able to help me.


My problem is - I think - that my F-190 (running on Windows 98 SE) cannot at the moment handle a large external harddisk of 100 GB. (It is working fine with a 60 GB one.) I suspect that the BIOS version (R0105K0) isn't able to handle disks larger than 60 GB.


Since you have been successful in making a bios upgrade, I thought you may be able to help me.
On the Vaio-Link website, there only is a Phlash2 application, no Bios upgrade file for Windows 98. (There is one for Windows 2000. But they warn not to use that - even if I was using Windows 2000 - if my notebook was bought in Europe which it is.)


Can you tell me what I can do?


Any help appreciated!

Peter
Wednesday, November 6th 2002 - 08:52:34 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Thanks, Bill. Please do check back regularly:) Let me know if there's something you need explanation about that is in Japanese.
Saturday, November 2nd 2002 - 08:14:24 PM
Name: Bill
E-mail address: Bill@mail.com
Homepage URL: http://none
Comments:Good guestbook and good site !
Wednesday, October 30th 2002 - 02:58:02 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Hi Bob,

Sorry for the slowish reply. I just didn't expect so many people would write on this board. Anyway, the Japanese XR that is most similar in hardware configurations to the US XG29 should be the XR100E/K. You can view the specs here:

http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/PCOM/PCG-XR100F/spec.html

But I personally object to loading on a US system a BIOS that is engineered specifically for Japanese systems. It could render your laptop unable to boot up. Of course it might not but no guarantee there, right? Fortunately you can download one of the BIOSs below and see if you get the desired effect, just to play safe. These are for the very model you have and for two different OSs: Win2000 and WinXP.

http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/support/pc/pcgxg28xg29/windows2000/

http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/support/pc/pcgxg28xg29/windowsxp/

I am not sure what you are trying to achieve with a BIOS update but I guess you either want to upgrade your current OS or maybe swap CPUs. I have never worked on a US XG but I think it is going to work much the same way as the Japanese XRs. Good luck!

Ibuki
Wednesday, September 11th 2002 - 11:04:44 PM
Name: Bob
E-mail address: robert@east.co.jp
Comments:Ibuki-san,

Do you know the Japanese VAIO model equivilant to the to the US VAIO PCG-XG29? If so, do you know where to get the BIOS update for it?

Thanks!
Monday, August 12th 2002 - 05:28:34 PM
Name: robert
E-mail address: robert@easy.co.jp
Comments:Nice site. Thanks!!!
Monday, August 12th 2002 - 05:14:57 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Thanks for signing in my guestbook, Linette.

I see you are very much in love of bogs, especially of the
Akita kind. I love dogs, too, though as you can see I'm
more inclined to the cat side:-) All animals are great.
Sunday, April 21st 2002 - 08:22:38 PM
Name: Linette
E-mail address: linette@akita-dogs.com
Homepage URL: http://www.akita-dogs.com
Comments:Amazing job you have done with this site!
Friday, April 19th 2002 - 05:15:25 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Thanks, COBY. Sorry I didn't reply sooner but
Happy **th Birthday!:-), if not too late to say...
Hope things are going well in the States.
Wednesday, April 3rd 2002 - 11:45:54 PM
Name: COBY
E-mail address: masaki_sugawara@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www3.to/cobleskill
Comments:Happy Birth-Day Mr.Ibuki :-)



# my B-day is comming sooni
Friday, March 29th 2002 - 05:00:46 AM
Name: Susan Ward
Comments:Love ya. Thanks

[Message modified by webmaster]

No ads here, sorry.

Ibuki
Friday, March 1st 2002 - 11:32:21 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Thanks for signing in!

I have posted a message on your board in response to your request. I always find it difficult to correct someone's English, which is in no way my own language. But hopefully this will be of help to you and your studies.
Friday, February 22nd 2002 - 10:25:34 PM
Name: NOMO
E-mail address: fwpc3175@mb.infoweb.ne.jp
Homepage URL: http://homepage2.nifty.com/examinees/
Comments:Hi,Ibuki!
Thanks for responce to my HP's diary.
Today, I have written my diary about "copyright problem" in English.
Please visit my homepage and check a grammer, tense and so on.
If you find some mistakes, please inform me.

I want to keep in touch with you after this.
Thank you.
Tuesday, February 19th 2002 - 05:17:56 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Good job, Kong! Let me know when personal photos become available. Take care, amigo:-)
Wednesday, February 13th 2002 - 08:41:47 PM
Name: Kong Lee
E-mail address: konglee28@yahoo.com
Homepage URL: http://migo.uhome.net
Comments:Hi Sozen, long time no see la....
I've just done my first homepage, the link is shown as above. Surf it and give me comment. thx..
keep contact
Wednesday, February 13th 2002 - 11:18:26 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Happy New Year!
Monday, December 31st 2001 - 11:25:32 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Been a while since my last post.

Job, job, job... that is the question. Like everybody else around the world in the time of depression, I've been seeking for a better, more promising job. Things are more difficult than last year and will be more so next, especially for a wannabe engineer like myself! With the ever shrinking job market, the time has come for me to act and decide quick, and get what I really want.

So somebody give me a job, please!P~
Tuesday, December 18th 2001 - 11:24:03 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki
Comments:As I posted on the "What's up?" portion of the top page,
I'm in Bali, Indonesia on vacation, first time ever since I
had my current job. It' really muggy over here but people
are also warm and nice. The hotel (a villa) I stay at is
absolutely pretty and cozy.

Just wish I wouldn't have to go back to Japan in a few of
days where loads of work is awaiting me! Not that I don't
miss home at all:-)
Thursday, October 25th 2001 - 08:55:28 PM
Name: Pierre Calleros
E-mail address: pcalleros@ameritech.net
Comments:NICE WEB SITE!
Pierre
Friday, October 19th 2001 - 09:36:46 PM
Name: Pierre Calleros
E-mail address: pcalleros@ameritech.net
Comments:Hello Ibuki,
Seen that you are familar with CPU upgrades to the processor in the Sony Vaio PCG-F190. Using the Intel Utility the application is showing Packaging "uPGA/BGA2" for my 366 PII Mobile processor. Currently I have upgraded the HD to 20 gigs and memory is currently at 192 Megabytes. Bought this notebook new and want to make it last as long as possible. I have also upgraded BIOS to Sony Y2K version dated 01/24/00. What would the fastest processor be that I could upgrade to and can I also upgrade memory? Any help would be sincerely appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Pierre
Friday, October 19th 2001 - 09:35:27 PM
Name: Andy
Homepage URL: http://www.1couponcode.com
Comments:Hi,

Nice site!

Regards,
Andy
http://www.1couponcode.com - Online coupons and codes
Monday, October 15th 2001 - 01:13:28 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Hi Laurens,

Whether you can upgrade your CPU depends entirely on the kind of package that the CPU comes in: MMC-2, BGA, BGA2, Micro-PGA, Micro-PGA2. Considering the physical size of your Compaq and the speed of its CPU, it should be either an MMC-2 or Micro-PGA2, both of which can probably be replaced. But if you have a Micro-PGA2 CPU, upgrading it to a P-!!! will cause the memory clock speed problem that you have mentioned. With an MMC-2 CPU, you shouldn't have this problem, provided that the motherboard BIOS supports the replacement CPU.

If there's no technical documentation available at Compaq's site or other third party vendors', the only way to determine the CPU package would be to actually look at the CPU for yourself:P~ In any event, this isn't going to be an easy task and calls for greatest caution.

BTW, to the best of my knowledge, overclocking the P-II isn't technically possible. At the lower part of this board, you can find my version of explanation as to why this is the case. Let me know.

Good luck

Ibuki
Saturday, September 29th 2001 - 05:50:22 PM
Name: Laurens De VamPritt
E-mail address: vampritt@yahoo.com
Homepage URL: http://www.compaq.com
Comments:hehehe, just kidding about the homepage url.

I have compaq armada 3500 using pentium II 300 hz and 192mb memory and 6g harrdisk. is it possible to overclock it to pentium 450 ? it has 0.25 micron processor like the celeron 300A. However it has built in 64mb memory on the board ? ( which i guess it 66hz).. can someone help me to overclock this book to be my deambook ? thanks..
Thursday, September 13th 2001 - 03:05:05 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www4.xdsl.ne.jp/~ibuki/
Comments:Hey, Kong! Long time no see! Have you seen Calvin? We hung out together while he was in Japan on his way back home.

By the way, thanks for the message. Oh, Cable? Yeah I know it's a big thing around the world especially in North Ameriaca. Is Cable more popular in Hong Kong than ADSL? To my knowledge xDSL has been more popular in most Asian countries like Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

But what's heating up here in Japan is Optical Fiber. Fiber Optic access gives you much more bandwidth than other broadband services (up to 100Mbps up/downstream) and is best intended for servers.

Oh well, I look forward to your website and be sure to let me know as soon as it's been launched.

TTYL
Thursday, August 23rd 2001 - 11:55:48 PM
Name: Kong Lee
E-mail address: konglee28@yahoo.com
Comments:Hi Sozen,

Cool!!!!! it's a nice webpage. i may some contents from your page b/c i'll make a one soon. So once the page done, i'll give u the link.
Why just ADSL, no CABLE... not fair....
Cable is nice too b/c i'm using it now...hehe
Wednesday, August 22nd 2001 - 03:52:41 AM
Name: george
E-mail address: georgeau@home.com
Comments: Hi, this is the most wonderful notebook CPU ugrade guide web page i have ever read! It is EXCELLENT!!
I have a few question here for Ibuki. I have a SONY PCG-XR7 notebook which i bought from Japan two years ago. Im planning to upgrade my CPU after I found your MMC-2 upgrade guide. Mine is a Pentium2-366 cpu, can i upgrade to MMC-2 P-III 600 or higher?? If I upgrade to MMC-2 P3-600MHZ (just like how you did on ur guide), do i need to change the voltage on the motherboard or set any jumper for the changes? Second, I know that i need to upgrade my Bios before the upgrade, where did u find the new bios for your XR1, the latest one i found on Sony Vaio Japan support site is version R0109A0. Since I dont know japanese and i know that you have excellent english skills, so let me use this chance to ask your these questions.

GEORGE A.
Saturday, June 23rd 2001 - 06:16:27 AM
Name: george A
E-mail address: georgeau@home.com
Homepage URL: http://nil
Comments: Hi, this is the most wonderful notebook CPU ugrade guide web page i have ever read! It is EXCELLENT!!

I have a few question here for Ibuki. I have a SONY PCG-XR7 notebook which i bought from Japan two years ago. Im planning to upgrade my CPU after I found your MMC-2 upgrade guide. Mine is a Pentium2-366 cpu, can i upgrade to MMC-2 P-III 600 or higher?? If I upgrade to MMC-2 P3-600MHZ (just like how you did on ur guide), do i need to change the voltage on the motherboard or set any jumper for the changes? Second, I know that i need to upgrade my Bios before the upgrade, where did u find the new bios for your XR1, the latest one i found on Sony Vaio Japan support site is version R0109A0. Since I dont know japanese and i know that you have excellent english skills, so let me use this chance to ask your these questions.

Please email me for the reply...thanks so so much.

GEORGE A.
Saturday, June 23rd 2001 - 05:31:04 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Thanks, NAP-san, for signing in and for a great cat site! The site suits cat freaks like myself:-) Well, honestly speaking, though, I'm not a cat freak but an Ibuki freak:P~ Loving and thinking of my cat is a great way of having happy life. My homepage meows, and so does my cell phone. Everybody, meow! Only my computers (VAIOs) don't meow for some reason:-)

If you love cats, please visit "Tina's Cat Pajamas." Tina is one of my acquaintances, who generously looks after stray cats as well as those abandoned by their owners:-( You can jump to Tina's directly from my top page.

Cheers,

Ibuki
Wednesday, June 13th 2001 - 04:43:57 PM
Name: NAP
E-mail address: nap@excite.co.jp
Comments:Hi, I found a very cute HP called "Neko Land".
If you've never been there, you should go now!

http://nekoland.com/index.html?42&150&top/htm/heder.html&top/htm/menu.html&enjoy/otanosimi/play_top.html

CUTE, isn't it?

Chao
Tuesday, June 12th 2001 - 11:59:35 AM
Name: NAP
E-mail address: nap@excite.co.jp
Comments:Hey, I found a very cute HP that called "NEKO LAND".
If you've never been there, you should go now!

http://nekoland.com/index.html?42&150&top/htm/heder.html&top/htm/menu.html&enjoy/otanosimi/play_top.html

Cute, isn't it??

Chao
Tuesday, June 12th 2001 - 11:52:03 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Hi, there.

I also installed SP2 as soon as the English version became available for download. I haven't had any problems so far. Did you know that SP2 has an add-on option that allows you to run applications in Win 95 or NT4 compatibility mode? To achieve this, you first do the following at the "Run...." prompt:

regsvr32 %systemroot%\apppatch\slayerui.dll

Press "Enter" and open the properties of the shortcut to any application you want to run in compatibility mode. There you will find a "Compatibility" tab appears where you can turn it on and off with the checkbox. With this option you might as well get a way around running that 3D program under Win2000. Let me know how it goes.

Ibuki
Sunday, June 10th 2001 - 11:39:06 AM
Name: Yancharu
Comments:Hi Ibuki-san How are you doing?
Today I'm writing in English. A couple days ago I installed Win2000 SP2 in both JP and EN system. In English Systems that special 3D program has been so unstable, however after updating with SP2 it's more stable than before. It never crashed so far. So my impression is that win2000 SP2 is well.
Anyway regarding volume serial number, that program does not work properly. Maybe only for win95 or 98 I guess.
Ok have a great day.
Yancharu
Thursday, June 7th 2001 - 02:34:55 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Installed Red Hat Linux 7.1 w/ kernel 2.4.0 on my XR. All devices were automatically detected including the Xircom RealPort2 LAN card. But somehow it's not running well; it occasionally hangs.... Maybe KDE is unstable?
Sunday, May 20th 2001 - 11:33:53 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Installed Windows 2000 Service Pack 2. Seems to be working fine but who knows what happens next? MS should never be entirely trusted:P

Cheers
Friday, May 18th 2001 - 01:28:44 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Sofmap's JPY 40000 charge includes their upgrade service,
doesn't it? Otherwise, it's a rip-off! Most of the time,
it's unreasonably expensive to ask a shop to do upgrades.
What I would recommend you do is buy a real bulk HDD and do
the work yourself. I assure you it's a snap with the XR and
won't take more than 5 mins. Don't worry too much about
doing any damage to your XR as long as you do it with some
caution. Actually I replace my XR's HDD quite often for
testing puroses (I did today, too:P~. This way you get the
most out of your buck. If you have difficulties
communicating with sales reps or shopping online, I will be
glad to give you a hand.

I got my CPU (P-III 600MHz) from the UK through eBay and
paid about 210 pounds, which I think now was rather
expensive. eBay is the best place to find rare items like
Mobile CPUs. MMC-2 CPUs are very rare to be found other
than on action sites, anyway. Check out the URL below. Most
US sellers state that they will ship only within USA and to
Canada. But you can always negotiate with them and have
them ship to Japan. The chances are, I would say, rather
high. If you should fail, try another. The MMC-2 package
has recently been discontinued, maxing out at 850MHz. But I
guess it's still fast enough for most people's needs. If
you are lucky, you will find this fastest CPU. Else, you
can always compromise on one of the faster ones.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?
MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&query=%28MMC-2%2CMMC2%2CMMC-
II%29&query2=MMC-2+MMC2+MMC-
II&search_option=2&exclude=&category0=&ebaytag1=ebayctry&eba
ytag1code=0&ebaycurr=999&st=0&SortProperty=MetaEndSort

Thanks for your warmest comment, Dan.

Ibuki

P.S. Where do you originally come from?
Tuesday, May 1st 2001 - 01:48:45 AM
Name: Dan
E-mail address: danmoran@pop02.odn.ne.jp
Comments:Ibuki san

Thank you very much for the suggestion. I am not planning to get a drive over 20 GB since I don't want to spend more for my aging XR7. BTW, how much did you pay for the CPU upgrade? Just talked with the Sofmap PC clinic rep. and told him that I am going to replace the HDD and take back my PC. They are charging Y40,000 for a "bulk" 20 GB HDD upgrade, no way!

Anyway I like this page, this is ver useful for people who want to upgrade their VAIO XRs. Keep up the good work.

Regards,

Dan
Monday, April 30th 2001 - 10:07:10 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Been some time since I had the last guest sign in here before you did, Dan, so there's no reason I shouldn't try to muster all my power and knowledge to help you out with hard drive upgrades:-) The best way to find 2.5" hard drives is to shop online. With the XR7, you can happily upgrade to a 2.5" drive of any capacity, height (9.5mm or 12.5mm) and vendor (IBM strongly recommended). You don't even have to worry about the typical 8GB limitation of the older BIOS: the XR7's BIOS can take at least up to 32GB and probably break the 32GB barrier as well. For pricing look here first: http://www.kakaku.com/sku/price/hdd25.htm Of these stores in the long table, where you will find the lowest prices currently in effect, I would recommend "Sunshine." If you are familiar with the Japanese lanugage, Dan, this must be the end of the story, and have fun! But if not, you will probably need further help, and I will be more than pleased to assist. A piece of shopping advice: Toshiba has recently released a 9.5mm 30GB drive, the first of its kind. This one is available right now. If you can wait a bit, IBM will soon follow with the world's largest 48GB (12.5mm) as well as 30GB (9.5mm) and 15GB (9.5mm) drives with the implimentation of the so-called Fluid Dynamic Bearing technology. This, IBM claims, will produce quieter operation, which is being increasingly demanded by home users. Fujitsu also has announced 9.5mm 30GB drives with Fluid Dynamic Bearing, whose release date I'm not aware of. If cost is your major concern, you should consider a 20GB drive from IBM, Toshiba, Fujitsu or Hitachi. These drives are getting cheaper as new drives are being announced and released. You will be looking at around JPY 15,000 (see the URL above). Happy shopping! Ibuki the Cat (Tokyo).
Monday, April 30th 2001 - 12:58:54 AM
Name: Dan
E-mail address: danmoran@pop02.odn.ne.jp
Comments:I need to change the HDD for my XR7, please suggest any
inexpensive HDD that I can use and where to buy. Sony is
charging Y58,000 for a 10GB drive, I think this is too
expensive. Thanks in advance for the help.

Daniel

Nishinomiya-shi, Hyogo-ken
Sunday, April 29th 2001 - 09:23:29 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Been working on the promised MTU page for some time now.
Hopefully I can get it done and put it up here soon for
those who are interested in fine-tuning their broadband
access. I think I should get my hands on the rough edges of
this messy site. This holiday is the best time to make it
look sharper and to prove I'm not cutting corners! TTYL.
Saturday, April 28th 2001 - 09:14:04 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Upped a Japanese RasPPPoE page. Hey, why didn't you reply
to my request for your authentication to translate your
great work, Robert? My page now looks like an illegitimate
array of text :P~
Saturday, April 14th 2001 - 05:46:09 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Hi Tounela,

Your information about your laptop lacks details. Could you
post more details particularly about the CPU and
motherboard? Then, and only then, can I decide whether
overclocking your Compaq is at all possible. In general,
though, Mobile P-IIs are not overclockable because of their
fixed internal clock ratio (also see below). In this case,
you might want to find out what CPU package is used for
your CPU: BGA, Micro-PGA, MMC, etc, so that you know if
your CPU is "replaceable."
Monday, April 9th 2001 - 12:35:17 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Sorry for the late reply, Tama-san. Sure, I'd love to get
together in Tachikawa and go to the bar to have some nice
conversation over cocktails. As for the Yokohama Chinatown
battle (?), please let me know by e-mail or phone when you
have decided on the schedule. TTYL. Ibuki
Monday, April 9th 2001 - 12:25:36 PM
Name: Tounela
E-mail address: tonimarjomaa@hotmail.com
Comments:Can i overclock my Compaq LTE 5000 Laptop computer?
If Anybody Knows how to make it, please tell me.
Saturday, April 7th 2001 - 05:32:35 PM
Name: s
E-mail address: tamai@cybalion.com
Homepage URL: http://www.cybalion.com/
Comments:Thank you for the answer. Ibuki.
It is wonderful when English can be spoken.
The sentence which Ibuki wrote could be understood somehow.
Because, translation software,,,,, the following omission
(^^;.
Today, it goes to the bar with the friend of the company.
It is Tachikawa's favorite bar.
It is a very good place.
Ibuki will go together next time, too.
Though it is a little far because it is Tachikawa.
Wednesday, April 4th 2001 - 08:51:15 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Thanks for signing in, Tama-san! But Somehow, I have a
feeling that you used one of those translation tools on the
Internet(^^; Hmmmmm, let me take a wild guess..., Excite,
isn't it!? Anyway, you are the only Japanese ever to write
here, and I'm just too happy that you did. TTYL! <-- Can
you translate neatly?
Wednesday, April 4th 2001 - 03:10:14 AM
Name: s
E-mail address: tamai@cybalion.com
Homepage URL: http://www.cybalion.com/
Comments:I came to prove that English could be spoken, too.

The flower viewing held the other day was happy.
Oden was delicious.
Next time, let's go to the curry museum of Yokohama.

Well, again.

s

# Can you translate neatly?
Tuesday, April 3rd 2001 - 09:53:14 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Hey Calvin! Wasn't expecting your visit to my site.
Winnipeg? waiting for me? Nope. It's not Winnipeg that's
waiting for me. It's me waiting for Winnipeg, or more
accurately, for the Winnipegers I met there to drop by my
home:-) Come quick. Take care, man! TTYL
Tuesday, March 20th 2001 - 09:01:49 PM
Name: Calvin
E-mail address: beerer@ctimail.com
Homepage URL: http://http://Sozen.Ibuki.isgay.com/?loc=Winnipeg
Comments:Winnipeg is waiting for U...
Monday, March 19th 2001 - 06:12:01 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Another disastrous day.... I went to the office on Sat for
maintenance work during the power shutdown of the entire
building, and got off work in 2 hours that day. On Sun I
went to work at 6:00 PM to restore the systems I was in
charge of, one of which failed to restart and I was
screwed.... After more than 3 hours of struggle with that
JPY 7,000,000 piece of crap, I decided that a replacement
would be absolutely necessary. I had an SE from the vendor
bring in a working system, which he installed in about 1
hour. But this time half of the connections seemed dead;
stuff happens all at once. Only after trying to track the
connection problem did we decide we couldn't do anything
but leave it as it was and call our telecom dept first
thing in the morning. A hotel room had been reserved for me
and the other IT staff who were there doing their own job.
It was already close to 1:00 AM by the time we arrived at
the hotel, and I had to get up before 7:00 AM next morning
to go back to the office before everyone came in. The
problem was, as suspected, with the main jumper frame that
I had little to do with. The system was now fully up and
running with some initial problems, which were almost
negligible. I was through by around 6:00 PM and ready to go
home only to prepare for the next day's work. Damn! I tell
you it's not a bright idea to work in Japan! End of the
story. Good night!
Monday, February 26th 2001 - 11:50:40 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:It was hell of a day. I'm just so exhausted from work and
private life... Looks like I've come to realize that I
don't have much to do after work. Can't say my current job
is quite exciting, either; nothing much to fall back on...
Heck, I think I ought to try to look out for something new
to keep myself on the go. Got any idea?;-)
Monday, February 19th 2001 - 11:13:11 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326
Comments:Since nobody is signing in my guestbook, I've decided I
will use this space for myself to scribble down things that
daily pass my mind. i.e. B___S___ :P
Saturday, February 10th 2001 - 01:11:44 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326/
Comments:Uploaded my collection of photos of Ibuki, my cat. Hope you
like cats, or I'll kick your a**. Just kidding:-) I don't
think anyone is reading this guestbook but what can I do
about it!? I'll keep this page up to date anyway. Thx!
Sunday, February 4th 2001 - 09:54:26 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326/
Comments:A minor update notice. Added an MUI page for those wanting
to know everything about Windows 2000's multilingual
capabilities. Also added is a broadband and wireless
Internet access. Hope I'm up to the task:-(
Sunday, January 21st 2001 - 01:43:57 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326/
Comments:A minor update. Added an MUI page for those who want
multilingual einvironments in Windows 2000. Also added a
preliminary page about broadband and wireless Internet
access. Am I up to the task, though?:-(
Sunday, January 21st 2001 - 01:40:56 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://www.geocities.com/ibu326/
Comments:Hi all,

A late update notice. I have updated my homepage...at last.
I tried my best in making it as easy on the eye as
possible: no severe colours, no under- or over-size text or
whatnot. Sorry for the ever more Japanese contents. The
objective of my work still is one of globalization in the
hope of getting both ends of the world together! Maybe
Chinese contents would be a welcome addition. Stay tuned!
Friday, January 12th 2001 - 09:01:10 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~umsugiya/home/
Comments:Hi, Howard. It's Ibuki.

Sorry I haven't replied quickly. It took some time to
ask Brown Sugar for Information about overclocking laptop
CPUs, with which I'm in no way familiar. So the following
information is provided by Brown Sugar and translated by me
with some additional pieces of personal advice of my own.

Frankly speaking, it is extremely difficult, or in some
cases simply impossible, to overclock the mobile P-ll.
Because a mobile PII (and P-III) has a fixed internal clock
ratio, to overclock it requires clocking the FSB on the
motherboard. Given that the F190's chipset (Mobile 440BX)
supports FSB speeds of 66MHz and 100MHz, you can set it at
the higher (i.e. 100MHz) configuration, that is, only if
your unique BIOS lets you change the default FSB setting.
But 100MHz FSB speed runs the CPU at 550MHz (up from
366MHz), which will likely "cock" the CPU into crisp.
That's the reason why it can't be done.

The only way to give your CPU a significant performance
boot probably is simply replace the existing CPU with, say,
a mobile P-III. This is possible only if the F190 uses the
MMC2 socket architecture. The chances are it likely does,
but you can't tell until you dessemble your laptop and have
a close look at the motherboard. I myself (Ibuki) don't
know what an MMC2 module looks like, except that it should
look like a "replaceable" socket. If you are familiar with
overclocking, you can try to find out. Assume that it is an
MMC2 and you can find and buy a replacement MMC2 CPU, then
it is possible. Someone I know has done this, but his
system is the XR (XG series for US versions). Another
serious problem arises since your BIOS does NOT support
SpeedStep technology employed with Mobile P-IIIs currently
available on the market. So if you have a SpeedStep enabled
Mobile P-III, you need to upgrade your BIOS first. But this
is a risky task and perhaps impossible considering each
VAIO laptop uses its own proprietary motherboard and a
customized version of BIOS. In sum, I wouldnft recommend
overclocking or replacing your system. Even though
overclocking were possible, it wouldnft give you as much
performance boot as you might expect. Therefs more risk
than result.

Following is my personal advice about upgrading your laptop.

What I do recommend is replacing the hard disk drive. If
you havenft done this since you purchased your system, you
might want to consider replacing the existing 6GB drive
with a newer (thus faster) drive, which will likely make
your system noticeably faster. The thickest 2.5h hard
drive that can be used in the F series should be 12.5 mm.
The newest and biggest of the kind currently available on
the market is 30GB (32GB due to release a bit later this
summer). If you donft need this much disk space, an 18GB
drive will serve you well. Or if you want to stick with the
9.5 mm drive height, then the latest one is 20GB, and a
12GB drive is more reasonable. Either way, you want to
think carefully.

Hope this is of any help. If you need further information,
feel free to post it on my guestbook.

By Ibuki & Brown Sugar
Friday, June 30th 2000 - 11:47:24 AM
Name: Howard Chu
E-mail address: hyc@highlandsun.com
Homepage URL: http://highlandsun.com
Comments:Hello there, "Brown Sugar" said you might be able to help
me. I was looking for information on overclocking the VAIO
F190. There's a lot of info on Brown Sugar's web site but I
can't read Japanese and none of the info is in English.
Would you please translate some of the information for me?
Thanks.
Thursday, June 29th 2000 - 04:07:51 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~umsugiya/home/
Comments:Hummmm... Somehow I can't get this message board working
properly...

Well, anyway, I'll try to keep this site up and running for
the VERY few of those who are bored enough to visit
this "nothing significant can be found" Web site of mine :-)

Thanx in advance for your support!
Tuesday, May 2nd 2000 - 04:46:46 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~umsugiya/home/
Comments:Hey, Rick. Long time no see!
Thanks for signing in my guestbook.
I see you are going through a lot of difficulties there in
Japan...
I hope things will soon turn out better.
Keep in touch!
And hopefully you enjoyed the photo I sent you!
Ibuki

P.S. Am I too hairy!?(^^;;
Friday, February 25th 2000 - 05:54:45 PM
Name: Rick
E-mail address: rickb1@hotmail.com
Comments:Hey Sozen,

Still trapped here in Yokohama Prison aka.Kokugakuin
Dormitory. ^o^

Cool site, but I have no idea about the tech. stuff.
And lookked at your picture.... think you need a shave.
^o^

Ok, better get going before they know I'm missing!

Rick
Wednesday, February 23rd 2000 - 11:08:40 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~umsugiya/home/
Comments:Thanks for coming, Kate.
Actually, I know Tina personally. I'll be visiting her site
every so often so we might see each other there some time.
I'll add more pics to my gallery when I have the time.
Ibuki
Tuesday, January 18th 2000 - 11:43:28 AM
Name: Kate
E-mail address: chima7@mail.goo.ne.jp
Comments:Hi.
I just saw your message on Tina's message board.
(You know, Tina is a huge cat lover living in Tokyo.)
I too love cats and dogs.

Hope to see more pics of your lovely cat, and you. :)

Kate
Monday, January 17th 2000 - 10:09:14 PM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~umsugiya/home/
Comments:Thanks, Tony. I'll get more stuff up and running.
Talk to you later.
Saturday, January 15th 2000 - 04:14:50 AM
Name: Tony
E-mail address: tonyccc@home.com
Comments:Unique web site... keep it up...
Saturday, January 15th 2000 - 03:24:26 AM
Name: Ibuki
E-mail address: ibuki326@hotmail.com
Homepage URL: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~umsugiya/home/
Comments:Testing, eXgA
Friday, January 14th 2000 - 09:56:21 PM
[ Leave a Message | Home ]

This Dreambook brought to you by
New Dream Network, Dreamhost, and Dreamservers.