Wow, this is a blast from the past. I had relatives with a Win XP Vaio desktop and I thought it was so cool. Also, nice to see another Atlantic Canada tech enthusiast!
I've always loved the VAIO line of PC's. I always thought they were so futuristic compared to the other systems at the time. That said - I stayed on the custom build route with all of my systems at the time, tweaking them as needed. Atlantic Canada, that's awesome!! Welcome aboard!
I've seen the VAIO laptops but not the desktops, nice design. Getting more of those early 2000's vibes, my college days! Quite grubby on the inside, you gave it the clean it desperately needed. Shame about the recovery media, I'm glad you still have a working OEM image of the original system complete with the "Welcome" music!
Sony made pretty cool systems, so happy I was able to get this restored. Yes you are right. Now with that image I should be able to make some recovery media with it and Share it to Archive.org
I still have the one that was given to me years ago, it had the complete multimedia setup with a tuner/capture card and a fully populated set of inputs on the bottom front panel including composite and memory stick reader. this thing ran windows XP media center edition. the only thing I did was to put a p4 3.06ghz CPU in it and max the ram out. well that and an led for the vaio logo, sadly the original had burned out.
Thabks for sharing this memory. Yes, I would love to get my hands on a couple different configurations / maxed out multimedia setups that Sony offered... Specifically the grey / blue colored models. There was just something about the look of them that I loved.
Hahah will do. It's funny as I totally didn't recall when I put it back on and when I rewatched the footage I thought it was all good. Hours of recording and editing... Looks like I missed it haha. Thanks!
These videos are really cool! I recently resurrected an old Acer All-in-One desktop that belonged to my uncle. Rather than have it trashed, I upgraded the memory from 2 GB to 6 GB, replaced the hard drive with an SSD and replaced Windows 7 with ArcoLinux (I didn't feel like hunting for drivers since I had no recovery discs and the old HD died.).
I've never used cable select to avoid confusion.... It was a dumb idea. Setting correct jumpers isn't/was never hard. This is actually the first time I've ever seen it used at all.
I usually don't to be honest. For whatever reason, I did however... hey- gives us something to talk about and also shows a different side of computing :). I know future me who will forget I did that will hate it lol.
"I didn't use it so nobody used it." Derp. The vast majority of IDE hard drives and CD/DVD drives after 2000 (when ATA-5 required its inclusion) shipped in Cable Select mode. If you think the majority of people who bought these drives actually read the manual and moved the jumpers, then I don't know how to help you.
@@tim3172 I said this was the first time I had ever seen IDE cable select used... That is out of thousands of computers I've worked on. Don't derp me lol... I will grant you that there was a gap for me working on PCs in the early 2000s, so maybe I missed that specific narrow window before SATA started taking over.
My Mom had a VAIO in the exact same style case, but hers came with a TV tuner card with a Conexant chipset! The flip-down panel with the USB ports in front also had a second set of RCA A/V inputs, too - front and back inputs, just like a TV! We used it to digitize our old VHS-C camcorder tapes to DVD back in the day. 14 year old me also taught my mom the magic of combining DVD Decrypter, Blockbuster and blank discs with that machine too, haha.
I too have a SONY VAIO. Mine is the PCV-2253. It turns on, but it can't show anything anymore and I need to get it fixed. After I get it fixed, then I have to upgrade it afterward.
I always had VAIO laptops until they stopped making them, all of their computers were gorgeous works of art (well my laptop I got in 2012 is boring black, but it still works great). I did manage to get an RZ22G P4 desktop for cheep not to long ago which is gorgeous if not for the whole case being surrounded by now brittle plastic and the seller not shipping it properly. I glued as much of the plastic I could find in the box back together, but it was cheap and I also partially wanted it for the video capture hardware built in. Thankfully the recovery CDs were uploaded because most of the software was deleted. And I'm sure the reason they retired it back in 2009 (latest file date) was because it ran slow from being infected with a virus haha
Unfortunately SONY delivered all consumer PCs withe Microsoft Home Edition. I got 2 of this series. Love the detailed build quality. The SONY "extra" software stuff is basically bad stuff. The total removal of all SONY PC support data from the internet is a shame. Anyway or anyhow, SONY was one of the few companies focused on industrial design, compactness but lack of performance. Seem to be a ASUS custom board exclusive for SONY.
Hardware wise it's a bit boring heh, saw & fixed pentium 4 pc's as late as 2015 here, got a HP DC7100 cmt here from an uncle i think 2 years ago... That he had in in storage for god knows how long to just troubleshoot but he was soon after due too health issues put in a home so it's here collecting dust. First thing i tried was removing a ramstick closest to the cpu & it booted up fine complaining of a dead cmos battery lol. It's got a weird combo of things, like 2x Sata harddrives, but the motherboard takes only DDR ram & it has a pci-e slot. Was considering to tear down this machine to put my testrig into, but the hdd cage will be in the way for longer gpus & that solid steel case is gonna get real annoying to move around so it's collecting dust for now. Got 2 other socket 775 boards that takes all pentium 4's 1 with both pci-e 1.0 8x & agp 8x that can take Pentium D cpu's as well but it's a boring oem bios on there. Board is an Asus p5vdc-x. No overclocking & no hidden options pressing like ALT F1 or Shift F8 or similar button combos on there either so it's just in a drawer with i think a pentium 4 621 or 540J in there, might be a pentium D 945 i haven't checked in a while what i left in that board. Got faster stuff anyway for overclocking & testing gpus, like my p8z77v-lx with an I5 2500k that can do 4.5 ghz on that board but stuck it at 4 ghz flat as it's more then enough for most gpus I've found at the junkyard out of machines & tested so far, wouldnt think ill bottleneck a hd 5670 or a 9800 gt with that lol, even the gtx 750 ti 2 gb i found at the junkyard probably would be fine & not be bottlenecked. An Asus P5Q Premium which overclocks a core 2 duo e8400 to 4 ghz with a pair of 1066 mhz ocz reapers, stable with ram still in dual channel. But the case looks pretty nice, I'd put something faster in that case for sure that's still compatible with windows xp, like an AM2+ motherboard, 4 gb ram, athlon II x2 or phenom II X2 cpu, sata harddrive or a cheap ssd & just running a external program that i found on vogons forum for running the trim command in windows XP. Gpu in that build would probably either be the 9800 gt i got or the hd 5670, fairly low power still but more then enough for something like f.e.a.r 2
For sure. It is just cool to showcase a system untouched from that era, specifically a Sony Vaio which I find are becoming difficult to get in decent condition. I can definitely upgrade it to something different which the same could be said with any system. Id like to get my hands on a fully maxed out multimedia Vaio from around this time... They had a bit more expansion possibilities and having an AGP slot would be nice. :)
That must have been a cheaper model Vaio since Sony opted to not install the AGP slot on the board, although there are pin pads on the board at the top of the slots for one. AGP came out in 1997 and that was cheap & dirty of Sony leaving it off the board and dead ending video expansion on that model. Although not unlike the dirty tricks that IBM also played like that of leaving slots (ram & card) off the board on cheaper models from that era. That's why for nearly 30 yrs I've built my own PCs, so I wouldn't get robbed by PC OEMs like that or in countless other ways.
Earthlink.. Hmmm, now i wonder where Elon got the idea for Starlink from... :D I love how the motherboard was prepared for an AGP slot. But i assume that different versions of the VAIO motherboard depending on computer price got or did not get that installed.
Yeah unfortunately it doesn't come with one and you would be corre t in assuming that later models would incorporate one. I looked into adding one and it would be a challenge for sure.
I still have mine, that very same one. Would i have trouble starting it up and getting to very old files if i never backed it up, after all these years....
@@TheRetroRecall any other tips as I don't really consider myself tech savvy, this video could serve somewhat informative and maybe even have a fun project on my hands !
Haha, I would check the caps, try turning on the system without the power supply connected to make sure no smoke comes out of it (a power supply tester would be ideal). Then try turning it on. Listen for the hard disk sounds for any loud out of the ordinary ticking, banging or whining noises.
This is a serious warning anytime soon the power supply might just stop working like mine it happens in between like 2 years after it's turned on for like the first time in years
It would be interesting to upgrade with the motherboard that is with AGP slot and good max ram and CPU upgrade.I hate MB without graphic ports - very low performance!!
6:10 Yes VAIO PCs were very nice looking computers, I have had a couple VAIO laptops but have not landed a desktop box yet. Sony always did things a little bit different but have been high quality parts. 13:13 Is that orange dust cat hair or smokers dust? 17:23 Since stupid things happen to me that are unexpected I am always careful to do things like doing what I can to prevent accidents like don't leave a HDD close to the edge of the desk where it can fall on the floor, or stand CD ROM drives on their ends where they can fall over and break something else on the desk. 28:30 Nice! What a score. When I worked at a large office building they were sorting old parts to go to e-waste and I found a brand new in box Compaq branded PS2 keyboard, I just recently purchased the matching ball mouse. I have a 4 port KVM switch that uses PS2 and VGA so my test bench has a retro keyboard & mouse.
For sure, Sony did a great job with their design, built like a tank! As I'm growing I need a bigger space... So I will be setting up a proper test area. Right now there's a lot of time spent moving things around then cutting stuff out during edit.
Great video! In 2004, my Dad purchased a brand new Sony Vaio PC-RS210; the case looked identical to the Vaio in this video! I don’t think it had FireWire ports, although I’m not 100% certain about that. He kept it until April 2014, which is when security updates for Windows XP ended.
@@TheRetroRecall hey at least there's a hard drive, not an AIR drive because the AIR drive will just boot you to the BIOS, check the boot device, and it detects no drives because IT'S JUST AIR!
Yes I noticed that. I'll be uploading the RS100 image so that others can have it. Took me a week of hunting only to be fortunate enough that the original owner who donated it had the original HDD still. Lucked out!
I do love the back plate for the IO doesn't seem to be built directly into the case... This would make a beautiful case for a sleeper pc if original parts were not able to be gotten for it to be restored.
Wonderful setup! I got the pcv 2236 and 2246 in my collection, computer with keyboard and mouse. Very similar with your model but with an AGP-Slot. I can't find the recovery Images too, so if i can get your image it would be great for me 😊 Could you upload it somewhere for me please?
I wonder if the PCV RS100 will work for you? When I attempted the RS210 (very similar to this system) if failed citing that the system was not the correct one. My gut is that Sony built something in preventing it from working. Happy to upload to archive.org for you though. It may be a couple of weeks as I have some things on the go here :)
@@TheRetroRecall it is indeed configured as an intake fan after your cleaning. Awesome video! I had the model just before this design. Similar, but shorter and boxier. Same awesome light purple and grey color scheme. It was an amazing machine and the first PC to be MINE and not a family PC. It was an 867Mhz Pentium III with a GeForce 4 MX GPU and an 80GB HDD.
very nice!! Sony Vaio desktops are quite uncommon compared to other brands in the west and it's a good thing you where able to create recovery partition from the other hard-drive. Unlike dell's vast array of driver support, Sony just love to purge of their older content. I have an older Sony vaio laptop from the late 90's/early 2000's as well and there where no recovery CD's until 2021 thanks to someone on the internet archive. Aside from needing to do a few more repairs, it works fine Now running the Windows ME OEM software with 198mb of ram, Trident video "shared up to 8mb" and 10gb IDE HDD.
Hi, there is some Sony Vaio recovery images available in Internet Archive site...there is no VAIO PCV-RS100 model, but VAIO PCV-RS210 with same operating system, what i read 210 difference is it has 2.4ghz P4, but mainly it is same system like RS100. The motherboard manufacturer is Asus for these P4 systems.
Thanks! Yes I saw that and did a comparison. I downloaded the image and it failed citing that the model detected doesn't support the recovery I was attempting to use (RS210). Sony must have it so that you can only use the exact model. I should be able to create the media from what I have or at the very least upload the image to archive :)
Why look for it? :). Where it was a proprietary system / image with a keyed key, and the original owners still have the drive - I did it for respect. I know there are thousands of keys online and the OS is antiquated, but the service to activate it is still online. Didn't want to run into a challenge activating the OS if needed in the future.
Unfortunately not, however someone mentioned they saw there were solder points on the board for a slot... Wondering if we could? Would the chipset handle it?
I'm a bit surprised that you put the outer shell on before doing an initial power up test. You gave yourself extra steps to fixing any issues that might come up, like the configuration of the drives.
Hi, if you look closely it was still off. The case build looks like it was on, but if you look between the monitor you can see the cage of the internal case. The drive swap was easily rectified. That said, it's a very minor step even if it was on considering it was almost 4 hours of footage for the 50 minutes video :)
thats not dirt its human skin ie dust i use a mask and a vac that sucks and not what most use a blower as for the vaio had loads of them junk mostly my mate works with skips that company's fill up with there office crap and computer ,then gives them to me the most i had in 1 go was 54 desk tops core2duo/ i3 and i5 hp pc`s
It's not skin, don't tell me that... Ew.. Lmao. I personally like these quirky systems as they added variety to the market. Sony was always trying to be a little different.. Which was good and bad all rolled into one lol.
@@TheRetroRecall Dust in homes is composed of about 30%-50% dead skin cells every one thats had the pc over the years .thats why i use a vac you dont want to know what the other 50% is made of
@@TheRetroRecall When they first went from a "pay as you go" to a steady monthly flat rate for the service, they were swamped with demand, which would often lead to busy signals when you tried to dial up, or a really poor connection if you were lucky enough to get online. Other than that, they were a good product for the time, since unlike the modern day, where computers are basically built around the Internet, most people didn't have a browser, or any way to connect their modem to the Internet. AOL not only provided that, but they gave you an email address and a lot of chat rooms.
@@TheRetroRecall really? i wonder why microsoft still offer phone activation for an unsupported OS? or they forgot to shut down the phone activation? 🤣🤣
Sony does what Sony does. Seems every one i see with a VAIO device lack the recovery media. Given that the OEM versions of Windows XP are build differently does not make the process any easier. Luckily MS changed that with Windows Vista where the same DVD can be uses for OEM and Enterprise install's. I did spot a place for a AGP slot but either someone was penny pinching or the chipset was a cheaper AGP-less version. XP SP1. Ouch... You can directly upgrade to SP3. No need to go through SP2 first. Nice case though.
Agreed - they seemed to be pretty proprietary with their stuff. I so plan on doing the upgrade to Sp3 and keeping that near the image somewhere in a safe spot. Agp - you saw where we could put a header? I would have to take a look at that. If that's the case, do you think the chipset would support it? There was a model PCV - RS210 that supported it which looked identical to this system..
@@TheRetroRecall I doubt it would. If you can discern what kind of chipset it has you can look it up in Wikipedia. Search for "List of intel Chipsets" and you will find it. And the manual i found mentions couple models of motherboards some with and others without and AGP slot. A trick might be to look under the system devices for an AGP bridge device. I am not sure though if that would show up on proper AGP systems when running without and AGP card. Another tip with the device manager is to look under the view button and set it to show devices per connection. This will show the hardware tree and relationship per devices.
@@TheRetroRecall He probably meant the solder traces where the AGP slot would go. Even if you manage to solder the slot on the board,it still won't work because it's most probably missing the necessary capacitors and diodes that would make the slot functional. There was a youtuber called Maxxarcade that used to mess with this sort of stuff years ago,and he said he did put an AGP slot on a Dell board that was like this one and it still didn't work because it was still missing the necessary circuitry that would tie it to the chipset and other stuff
@@Mirra2003-f9s Even if all the components are soldered in. The chipset itself might not support it. Intel sold different versions of the same chipset that only differed in enabled features. Though most of the times features are disabled for a good reason: ie. dysfunctional as chip production is not perfect. This is still a common practice today.
I had one of these a while back, it was a bit higher speced machine with a hyper threading Pentium 4, 5.1 sound and a composite video input built onto the board. It was probaly around 2013 or so when I got it, because XP was still supported, but not for long. It was a cool machine and worked quite well.
I agree with yer cable management 😃😃😃😃. Also shame theres no AGP looks like either. Always like Sony's stiff. Kind of like Japas Apple to an extent wity the unique aesthetics & software, and their wee proprietry quirks 😃.
@@TheRetroRecall oh most definitely. Those OG HDD’s are worth more Theb weight I. Gold to ppl like us. And it’s a bonus if those OG HDD’s still work. :)
Sony had designers on par with Apple of the same era. The Vaio laptops and desktops were beautifully designed. The Xperia smartphones also held their own against the early iPhones. A Sony smartphone running a Sony camera chip was on a whole other level. The company sure has issues in various places. But they got some things as good as they got anywhere.
Sony desktops are pretty rare,and this one basically looks brand new excepting the yellowed plastic. I set one of these up for a japanese lady like 17 or 18 years ago i think,she had the full set including the monitor and the speakers. Came from Japan to Europe on a business trip or something and i had to buy some adapters for the power sockets because her computer and monitor only took 120 volt power inputs and european sockets put out 220v which would have killed them. The first and the last time i ever saw a Sony computer in real life
Thanks for sharing this with me and yes.. I agree they are quite rare. Was really excited to get the system and have an image of the original software!
