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These instructions explain how to take apart a Sony Vaio VGN-FZ220 series laptop. I had to replace the DC-IN power jack because it was broken. The jack is soldered to the power harness and can be easily replaced if you have basic soldering skills. Use this guide on your own risk.
You can search for spare parts for Sony Vaio VGN-FZ series notebooks here.
I created these instructions while taking apart a Sony Vaio VGN-FV220E but I think you can use them for entire VGN-FV220 line.
STEP 1.
Unplug power adapter. Unlock and remove laptop battery. Remove one screw securing the memory cover and remove the cover. Remove one screw securing the hard drive cover and remove the cover.
STEP 2.
Remove three screws securing the hard drive. Slide the hard drive to the left side and disconnect it from the connector on the motherboard. Remove the hard drive. Remove both memory modules (spread latches on both side of the memory module and carefully pull it from the slot).
STEP 3.
Remove two screws securing the DVD drive. Carefully pull the DVD drive from the laptop and remove it.
STEP 4.
Remove all screws (marked red and green) from the bottom of the laptop.
If you are taking apart the whole laptop, you’ll have to remove all screws.
If you are using this guide just for removing or replacing the keyboard, you’ll have to remove just four green screws (they secure the keyboard bezel) and after that you can proceed to the steps 7-9.
Again. If you want to disassemble the whole laptop, you’ll have to remove all screws from the bottom (red and green).
STEP 5.
Carefully disengaged three latches in the battery compartment. These latches secure the keyboard bezel. Push on latches with a small flathead screwdriver until they are unlocked.
STEP 6.
Carefully unlock two more latches in the DVD drive compartment. I wasn’t careful enough and broke one latch. :)
STEP 7.
You can remove the keyboard bezel with a small flathead screwdriver.
STEP 8.
Remove two screws securing the keyboard.
STEP 9.
Carefully lift up the keyboard and place it upside down on the palm rest. The keyboard cable is connected to the motherboard.
First, unlock the connector. Remove clear tape securing the connector. After that slide the LOCK (this part of the connector secures the cable inside) about 1-2 millimeters to the left using your fingernails. This will release the keyboard cable. Now you can pull keyboard cable from the connector and remove the keyboard.
WARNING! If you break the keyboard connector you’ll be screwed big time. The keyboard will never work again (until you find a way to repair the connector or replace the whole motherboard). Be careful.
STEP 10.
Disconnect cables pointed with red arrows. Disconnect three wireless card antenna cables pointed with yellow arrows.
STEP 11.
Release all disconnected cables. Remove screws securing display hinges (three screws securing each hinge).
STEP 12.
Lift up and remove laptop display panel.
IMPORTANT! You’ll have to go through steps 10-12 only if you want to remove the display panel.
In order to remove the laptop base cover and access the power jack, it’s not necessary to remove the display panel. It occurred to me only after I removed the display panel.
Here’s what you have to do. Leave all cables mentioned in the step 10 connected to the laptop and go to the step 11. Remove only two red screws from each hinge and do not remove green screws. Now you can close the display and proceed to the step 14 (removing base assembly).
STEP 13.
The display panel has been removed. I didn’t have to remove it but I did.
STEP 14.
Turn the laptop upside down and remove the base cover.
STEP 15.
Now you can access and replace the DC-IN power jack located in the top left corner of the laptop.
Do you see the RTC (CMOS) battery? I’ll explain at the end why I mentioned the battery.
STEP 16.
The DC-IN power jack was broken in many pieces. I unsoldered the broken jack and replaced it with a new power jack.
The power jack has been replaced. Now you can assemble the laptop following steps 16-1.
IMPORTANT! After I replaced the jack, I assembled the laptop back together, plugged in the power adapter, pressed on the power button and NOTHING! The laptop was dead! There were no LED lights or any activity at all. I tested power jack continuity with a voltmeter and didn’t find any problem. The motherboard was getting power but didn’t turn on. I thought the motherboard was fried. Just in case I unplugged the RTC (CMOS) battery from the motherboard, waited for 30 seconds and plugged it back in. Tested the laptop again AND it started like new!!!!
UPDATE:
Do you have a problem with video on your Sony VGN or VGC series laptop? Keep reading!
Distorted video, random characters or blank screen issues due to failure of the NVIDIA graphics chip. More details here.
As a part of our commitment to quality, for any customer who requires repair of their VAIO computer due to the NVIDIA graphics processor issue, Sony will cover the cost of repair (parts and labor) at no charge during the first four years following the date of purchase of the models in question (see list below).
In case your model is shown in the list below, we invite you to contact VAIO Support to arrange service for your VAIO.
The following Sony laptops are affected by this issue:
• VGN-FZ11x, VGN-FZ18x, VGN-FZ21x, VGN-FZ31x, VGN-FZ38x
• VGN-AR11x, VGN-AR21x, VGN-AR31x
• VGN-C1Zx, VGN-C2Zx
• VGC-LM1xx, VGC-LM2xx
• VGC-LT1xx, VGC-LT2xx
If you find this article useful, please consider making a donation to the author. Thank you!
March 31st, 2010 at 3:38 pm
GP,
It’s hard to tell what’s going on. Could be motherboard/video card failure.
If you suspect the hard drive, you can remove it from the laptop and try booting from a Live Linux CD (Knoppix for example). If the laptop works fine running from Knoppix CD when the HDD is removed, it’s possible that your hard drive is not working properly. This is just a guess.
Where exactly your laptop hangs? In the BIOS or while loading Windows?
Can you run hard drive test? I found that Hitachi’s drive fitness test work well with most laptops. You can use Hitachi DFT to test the hard drive.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
i reqire to open touchpad button of my laptop can you please further go diplly in this demostration please……
March 27th, 2010 at 8:22 am
I have Vaio VGN FZ 340 E. Few days ago, I had a blue screen indicating memory Parity Error. I contacted Sony Tech Service and did everything they asked me (reset BIOS, Tried disconnecting Memory one at a time, even triedreplacing memory with new memory). Computer does not boot, it seems that it stops the boot process after a while and than just hangs. If I force it shut, it starts OK in a safe mode, but once I shut it down properly, it will not boot again.
Any suggesstions? Could this be a corrupt HD, driver issue? Will system recovery help?
BTW I am using Windows Vista Home Premium.
Thank you,
GP
March 14th, 2010 at 7:40 am
Thanks so much for this. Sony quoted me £220 UK for replacing the power socket. Instead I bought the power socket for $15 and did the work myself. What a saving – shows how much they rip people off.
March 5th, 2010 at 5:16 am
Great guide and fantastic opportunity to save ££s by doing the repair yourself. I have just replaced the keyboard on my Sony FZ11M using this guide
Note if replacing keyboard you can jump straight to Step 4 and miss out Steps 1-3 but dont forget to remove the battery first
At Step 4 you not only have to remove the four green circled screws, you also have to remove the four red circled screws where the battery compartment is in addition to the one red circled screw where the memory housing is
On my model FZ11M (UK) these screws secured the keyboard in place in addition to the other screws
Once I realised this it was relatively straightforward to remove the keyboard and fit a replacement one in. Also be aware the keyboard cable connector lock flips upwards and you have to slide the keyboard under the lock and then secure it.
This isnt explained clearly in the guide but in fairness the guide refers to the removal and not replacement of the keyboard
All in all well chuffed i was able to use this guide and fit my keyboard
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Jason,
I think the display (and because of that keyboard) has to be removed because screws on the hinges are connected to the back cover.
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Is it required to remove the screen and keyboard to remove the back cover? I just want to see if it is possible to take out the heatsink and apply a better thermal grease.
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:52 pm
GratefulJimmy,
I was very surprised when disconnecting the CMOS battery worked for me. That’s why I mentioned in my guide.
March 1st, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Hi, thanks a lot for putting this brilliant guide up! My laptop (VGN-CR11S) died last night, no lights any or anything coming on.
As most of the results for google suggested the comp was destined for the bin, I thought I would have a look inside to see if I could identify what went wrong.
I found this page whilst looking for disassembly instructions and that battery trick has saved me a few hundred pounds.
Thanks again.
January 15th, 2010 at 5:53 am
Do you know that someone is making money by selling this free guide over the ebay?
not really correct, IMHO.
January 12th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Hello again, I was just wondering if you had any suggestions to my previous post about possibly buying a new USB or express card ethernet adapter. Thanks.
December 22nd, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Hi again, I tried what you mentioned with reinstalling Windows; I actually upgraded to Windows 7 from Vista, but I’m still having the same problem. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Would you recommend getting a USB or Express Card ethernet network adapter and just bypassing the original network jack? It seems like replacing the motherboard is out of the question, as it would be too expensive. Thanks.
December 21st, 2009 at 2:30 pm
moda,
You should contact the seller and ask him this question. It’s possible that you have a different jack but I cannot tell without looking into the laptop.
December 19th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
hi all,
I have got the same problem i.e. broken DC Jack. I would like to know that if the DC jack is same for various series of vaio laptop.As the link is provided on ebay. I have got VGN-FZ18E. Looking for your help
best regards
November 27th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Jeremiah,
It’s possible that you have a software related problem. Check all network settings on the laptop. I cannot tell you what is wrong with software without looking at the laptop.
As a last resort, back up all files and reinstall Windows and device drivers from scratch. If the network port still doesn’t work, it’s a problem with the hardware.
Could be bad network jack or faulty motherboard.
There is no such thing like eithernet modem. The network card is integrated into the motherboard and when it fails, the whole motherboard has to be replaced.
November 25th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Thanks Lt Tech. You guys Rock!
November 25th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Manny,
From top to bottom: black, white, gray.
November 25th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
OMG GUYS PLZ HELP LOL:|, I disassembled my laptop and I am stuck on one step:| BECAUSE I FORGOT THE WIRING:| ., HOW STUPID OF ME.
STEP 10.
Disconnect cables pointed with red arrows. Disconnect three wireless card antenna cables pointed with yellow arrows.
What order do the three wireless carrd antenna cables go?? theres a black, grey, and white atennas!!
HELP PLZ:(
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Great writeup! I have a Vaio VGN-FZ340E and it seems the modem isn’t working because nothing happens when I have an ethernet cable plugged in. I tested it with other cables that I knew had internet access, so I know it’s something with my computer. Did you happen to notice if the modem is soldered in like the power jack is or how it’s connected?
November 22nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Brawo…. THX !! :]
November 17th, 2009 at 9:35 am
lorenzo,
You are welcome. I’m glad that disconnecting the battery fixed your problem. This trick helped me a few times before.
November 17th, 2009 at 3:44 am
thank you , thank you, thank you for that trick with disconnecting battery for 30 secs.
I came home last night to find that my laptop was turned of, what was stranged cause it was running when I left home.
And it didn’t respond to power button anymore, so after googling, I came to this guide, et voila. Up and running again!!!
thx man
November 12th, 2009 at 2:10 am
This guide is brilliant but I wish there was one as detailed to show how to get at the fan of my vaio FZ21Z so I can clean it and stop it from overheating – otherwise I am going to have to be without it for ages whilst the computer shop does it. Its really annoying that laptop makers dont make it simple to slide the fan out without taking the whole thing apart, so it can be cleaned monthly
October 27th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Thank you for a very useful guide. I’m always concerned when it comes to open a laptop but with your directions it couldn’t have been easier.
October 4th, 2009 at 6:44 am
Does anyone know where to get the fan and heatsink for VGN-FZ21Z? I have tried ebay but they are all used.
Thanks in advance
Talal
September 30th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
I;m using FZ 150E and in a fine day it suddenly turn off when I’m using, can not turn on again (the led lights aren’t on). I don;t know what happened, I will try unplug CMOS pin and re-plug , if it still does not help, I throw my laptop to the wall !
btw, this is a great guide, ty so much !
September 19th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Cyrus,
It’s possible that your problem is related to the memory. Do you have two memory modules installed in your laptop? Try removing them one by one and test the laptop with only one module in place. If one of the modules is bad, the laptop should work fine when only a good module is installed. Remove memory modules one by one will help you to find a defective one.
September 18th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Hi, well first of all tnx for ur awesome guide.
I have a VGN-FZ190 which used to heat up a lot recently. Yesterday I was working with it and sudenly I saw weird “ant” shape stuff appearing on my Vista desktop then I got a blue screen but the blue screen is also messed up and flaky and u can’t read anything. So I reinstalled Vista and boot it. It worked fine but again after 10 min the blue screen appears and all I can do is to restart the laptop. Sometimes it boots but most of the time I get the blue screen right away.
Any idea of what I can do?
I’m a student and I really need my laptop.
Thanx
Cyrus
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:09 am
This was amazing. I have a VGn-FZZ140E that hasn’t been working for 4 months and I thought it was because of a power surge. I just removed the RTC battery and then put everything together enough to turn on the power and it worked! Saved me over $300 in repairs because I did it myself.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:59 am
This is a great guide! It helped me alot im my case. I just wanted to clean the whole thing
.
thank you!