Spent a bit of time cleaning the case of all the grime and scuffs, and it doesn't look too bad now:

Missing trim pieces around iLINK/audio connectors and the volume wheel/USB port:

There's also one hinge cover missing. I managed to get enough decent parts from both machines apart from that one.

Compared to the 'bigger brother' PCG-Fxxx machines, there's actually a more usable range of connectors on these ultra portables; two USB - 1x type A, 1x mini (plus a third if you include the iLINK breakout), and built-in Intel Pro/100 ethernet. Next up is figuring out how to get a USB floppy to work.... it's going to need a proprietary Sony one to boot, isn't it? I just know it....

Just for fun, here's a comparison with my smallest laptop - the Thinkpad 240:

Considering we're talking a 12" 1024x768 screen compared to a 10" 800x600... there's really not much in it. Both have extended battery modules installed - this makes the TP240 is a fraction thicker, whilst the Vaio is deeper front-to-back and a little heavier (the extended battery is most of that bulk).

megatron-uk wrote on 2025-02-07, 19:00:

Spent a bit of time cleaning the case of all the grime and scuffs, and it doesn't look too bad now: […]
Show full quote

Spent a bit of time cleaning the case of all the grime and scuffs, and it doesn't look too bad now:

The attachment img20250207182520.jpg is no longer available

The attachment img20250207182450.jpg is no longer available

Missing trim pieces around iLINK/audio connectors and the volume wheel/USB port:

The attachment img20250207182548.jpg is no longer available

The attachment img20250207182533.jpg is no longer available

There's also one hinge cover missing. I managed to get enough decent parts from both machines apart from that one.

Compared to the 'bigger brother' PCG-Fxxx machines, there's actually a more usable range of connectors on these ultra portables; two USB - 1x type A, 1x mini (plus a third if you include the iLINK breakout), and built-in Intel Pro/100 ethernet. Next up is figuring out how to get a USB floppy to work.... it's going to need a proprietary Sony one to boot, isn't it? I just know it....

Just for fun, here's a comparison with my smallest laptop - the Thinkpad 240:

The attachment img20250207190132.jpg is no longer available

Considering we're talking a 12" 1024x768 screen compared to a 10" 800x600... there's really not much in it. Both have extended battery modules installed - this makes the TP240 is a fraction thicker, whilst the Vaio is deeper front-to-back and a little heavier (the extended battery is most of that bulk).

Very cool, I've never even seen an 800MHz Z600 😀

Sony are pretty bad about Sony specific stuff but I can't recall whether the PCGA-UFD5 is required for booting it rather than just any old USB floppy drive.
If you have one of the PCGA-CD51 PCMCIA CD-ROM drives then that is bootable and can be used in DOS with a basic enabler. Sadly those became popular for other uses like on the Amiga so they're not as cheap or easy to find as they used to be, there are lots on buyee / mercari though

Since you have terrible luck with Sony laptops I feel it's worth warning you about a problem you may come across - these Sony Z600 laptops especially the ones past 500MHz are susceptible to a 'blink of death' fault where the laptop will blink LEDs when you switch it on then turn off. That's caused by a faulty speedstep power controller IC called the ADP3421, I've replaced a couple on these. I reckon also that letting the OS dynamically switch speeds makes it worse so using Win98 where the speed is switch manually is probably safest.

Something else I found that was really weird but nice, is that I made a Z600TEK frankenstein from parts - it has a sound card from an earlier model with the neomagic video and unlike a proper Z600TEK, it can run the earlier VXD (4.xx) drivers in Windows 98 rather than the WDM (5.xx) drivers. Since you've made one from two I suspect you could achieve the same by taking the soundboard from the neomagic's mainboard and put it on the ATI's one.

That's strange, I had a good look at both main boards and the sound board looked to be identical.

Several changes on the main board (no IR on the HEK unlike the earlier REK), but the audio looked the same part.

The PCG-Z505/Z600 series are some of the best designed laptops I've ever used. I'd just so love to have modern guts in the case of one of them. So insanely lightweight and advanced for 1999. Mine's certainly no 800MHz PIII though, it's a lowly 366MHz Pentium II (PCG-Z505SX)

Yes, I was pleasantly surprised at the build quality and general design of the z505/z600.

If I can get the thermal issues sorted (heatsink pad has gone hard/brittle in both) then it could well be a lovely little machine.

My Sony Vaio PCG-Z505JE not working too 🙁

Good, that I have Sony Vaio PCG-505V as spare (Pentium 300Mhz MMX/MagicGraph 128ZV+ 2Mb/64Mb/ES 1668:

Wohoo! Figured out how to make the C & T 65545 video chip do graphics stretching or 'vertical compensation' 😁

Since I found the Western Digital graphics chip equipped T4800 / T4850CT / T1950CT could all do full screen stretching with the 'stretch.exe' tool, I couldn't find a way to make the early C&T equipped laptops like the T2150CDT, 400CDT and T4900CT stretch the display to fill the screen in games. The BIOS option for text mode stretch only did that, not graphics modes.

I'm not a programmer and don't know how to read or modify register values but I've been reading the datasheets for the CT65545 and CT65535, they're very similar.

So this is kinda hokey but I found this CT65535.com utility that Taka (?) made for switching the PC110's display mode to TFT and then getting the registers configured to run the display properly. Initially I was going to figure out how to modify this program since it includes source code, so it would read and modify the register I want to get to

But then running it on the T2150CDT and pressing random keys and looking at the source code I figured out it has an option "x" to read and write specific registers for the C&T chip where this "57" one is very important, it started off at value 03 (00000011). Setting 57 to FF made the display very upset, so I went with a more conservative value of 63 (01100011), which no longer upsets the display but does enable graphics scaling, until the PC is restarted. I couldn't find another way to change it yet, but this hacky method works for testing!

Works on the Toshiba 400CDT (ignore the 400cs sticker 😁) as well:

T2150CDT? You lucky, lucky guy! Great utility - this is super useful, especially if it also works on other C&T 65545 laptops because there were a *lot* of them and most of the 640x480 TFT laptops from 1995 used it. I'll bet there's a good chance this also works on the 65548, which I believe was very similar (many 65545 laptops received revisions that switched to the 65548). Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I think all of my 65545 laptops already do vertical scaling so I can't test.

Micron XKE is another great laptop, even with Neomagic graphics (not best screen stretch) it is contain hardware wavetable (General Midi option works in native DOS) and gameport to connect MIDI devices, joysticks, lightguns etc., I use it often as my main unit for old games connected to external CRT screen, so one of my favorite in collection:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/306089486003

TFT screen replacement is very cheap:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/134062168898

Very solid plastic, you can easy get 2 broken laptops and reassemble to one perfect. Bios battery located above main battery module, under palmrest. Very reliable Floppy/CD drives. Most of them assembled in Mexico.

MAZter wrote on 2025-02-17, 16:18:

Micron XKE is another great laptop, even with Neomagic graphics (not best screen stretch) it is contain hardware wavetable (Gene […]
Show full quote

Micron XKE is another great laptop, even with Neomagic graphics (not best screen stretch) it is contain hardware wavetable (General Midi option works in native DOS) and gameport to connect MIDI devices, joysticks, lightguns etc., I use it often as my main unit for old games connected to external CRT screen, so one of my favorite in collection:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/306089486003

TFT screen replacement is very cheap:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/134062168898

Very solid plastic, you can easy get 2 broken laptops and reassemble to one perfect. Bios battery located above main battery module, under palmrest. Very reliable Floppy/CD drives. Most of them assembled in Mexico.

Is there a service manual for this model? Some laptops are difficult to disassemble.

sangokushi wrote on 2025-02-17, 18:01:

Is there a service manual for this model? Some laptops are difficult to disassemble.

No, this model very easy to disassemble, especially replacing screen. I fixed many KXE in the past, compare to any other.

https://youtu.be/0SJMJjssupQ

Ever worked with an XPE, @MAZter? If so do you know how the scaling is on it for low resolutions?

For that matter, what's the keyboard like on the Micron Transports?

The Millennia TransPort and TransPort XPE suffer from rampant DC/DC board failure. Most of the ones that show up on eBay are no power as a result of this. Once someone figures out what component is dying, they should make good options (scaling aside potentially). From all I hear, they're built just as well as the XKE.
All three of those and the Micron GoBooks were manufactured by Sanyo. The XKE seems to be far more reliable than the earlier two.

Question @MAZter - what type of CMOS battery does the XKE use? Those earlier two use the uncommon pairing of a Varta NiMH pack as a reserve battery, and a roughly AAA-sized Maxell Super Lithium battery for the CMOS (it also requires this battery to be working to save BIOS settings *at all*, as in, will not even save them across a reboot without it - at least, on the Millennia, not sure about the XPE). It's also a Lithium Thionyl Chloride battery, different from the chemistry of your CR2032 and similar button cells. These can and do leak, and severely, though leaks are far less common than they are on the Varta right next to it.

keenmaster486 wrote on 2025-02-17, 23:17:

Ever worked with an XPE, @MAZter? If so do you know how the scaling is on it for low resolutions?

For that matter, what's the keyboard like on the Micron Transports?

I do not recommend to buy XPE, as mentioned above, I got one with a failed motherboard, and to use the game port you will need to find a proprietary cable, which is not available on the market.

The XKE, unlike the others, was a flagship laptop that sold for around $8,000.

Don't know anything about Cirrus Logic CL-GD7555, but Cirrus Logic 7543 in my Compaq LTE5280 doesn't support screen stretch at all.

Keyboards nice in Micron laptops, easy and confident to press. I like them more than other laptop brands.

3lectr1c wrote on 2025-02-17, 23:29:

Question @MAZter - what type of CMOS battery does the XKE use?

I need to check, but as far as I remember simple 3v battery, without any leaks problem CR2430 like this:

In one XKE I cleaned main battery compartment and put cmos battery inside to have easy access in the future.

Thanks for the information - I'll add that the XKE uses a Lithium CMOS battery to my laptop database at macdat.net

The XPE does indeed require a dongle for the Game Port. The Millennia TransPort lacks one at all.

The Cirrus graphics chips do support screen stretching - my WinBook FX does it. Whether or not a specific laptop supports it depends on the way its implemented in the BIOS. The GD7555 that the XPE uses is very unusual though - the only other "laptop" I know of that used it is a model of the HP Internet Advisors, and believe me, I've looked at literally over a thousand laptop specsheets from this time - it really is just that uncommon.

Here's a full spec comparison between the XPE and XKE:

MAZter wrote on 2025-02-18, 13:29:

..and to use the game port you will need to find a proprietary cable, which is not available on the market.

Is the pinout for the proprietary cable available?

There's a possibility that it could have been listed in the user manual (though I doubt it) but that's not available anymore. Unfortunately, most Micron documentation and drivers has been lost since mpcdrivers.com shut down in 2016/2017. The connector looks like this:

3lectr1c wrote on 2025-02-18, 17:38:

There's a possibility that it could have been listed in the user manual (though I doubt it) but that's not available anymore. Unfortunately, most Micron documentation and drivers has been lost since mpcdrivers.com shut down in 2016/2017. The connector looks like this:

The attachment xpe_gameport.png is no longer available

Is the connector special made for Micron? It doesn't look like we can buy a male connector and make the game port cable.