How to install Microsoft Windows 2000 on the 505FX

    The most up-to-date Microsoft operating system you can install on the 505G/FX/E notebooks with Sony supported drivers is Windows 2000. The information on this page is based on the information Sony offers at their European Support Site. You can also get the required drivers for the CD-ROM and the iLink drivers from their site. But you never know when that information will disappear, with our beloved 500's being abandoned by Sony. So it doesn't hurt to mirror that information here.

    Interestingly enough, there is no information or driver on the US VAIO support site, at least none I could find, even there was information for newer N505 and Z505 models. I guess our plain 505's are too old for US taste. But having said that, many US webboard members have had good experiences with the upgrade, and report that their machine is even faster than with 98, and of course more stable. You should max out your RAM though, 96MB is the maximum, and if you have access to surface mount soldering equipment, and you're daring, you can even upgrade to the full 128MB that the chipset supports.

    Important: please note that this information, particularly the BIOS-upgrade, is intended for EUROPEAN VAIOs. I'm, pretty sure you can render your non-European VAIO useless if you try to use the European BIOS on it!

    Disclaimer: Of course, I can not be held responsible for anything you decide to do. If you blow up your notebook while installing any software, it's not my responsibility.

    Before you start to install Windows 2000, you need to copy various files from the Sony website, namely the iLink and CD-ROM drivers, and if your BIOS is not version R0114R5, you need to get that too along with the BIOS flashing utility. If you are using a USB mouse, you need to get a driver for that too.

    BIOS update

    In order to flash your BIOS, make a bootable floppy, and extract the contents from the BIOS flashing utility phlash2.exe and R0114R5.exe on that floppy. Now boot your VAIO with that floppy (you may need to adjust the BIOS settings to make your 505 boot from floppy disk). For the flashing procedure, make sure your VAIO is connected to mains power AND the battery is fully charged, just in case you have a power outage. Because if the flashing process is interrupted, you have turned your VAIO into a nice paper weight!

    After booting from floppy, type "phlash2 R0114R5.rom" at the command line prompt. DO NOT INTERRUPT THE PROGRAMMING PROCESS! After programming is complete, the computer will shut down. This is when you can remove the floppy, and proceed with the Windows 2000 installation.

    Windows 2000 installation

    Boot from the Windows installation CD, and follow the instructions on screen. After Windows has been installed, you reboot your VAIO to install the drivers. You need to be logged in as Administrator for this purpose!

    Extract the files from the Sony archives by double-clicking on the files you downloaded. Extract the driver files to a place where you will find them again. Sony suggests a "C:\drivers" directory.

    iLink driver installation

    Go to the device manager, and open "IEEE 1394 Bus Host Controllers"; there should be a yellow questions mark next to it. Double click to view the properties, and select Driver, Update Driver and Next. Click "search for suitable driver", click next, then specify the location where you extracted the driver files. Select the proper file and reboot your VAIO.

    CD-ROM driver installation

    This step is only necessary, if you are using the Original Sony PCGA-CD5x drive. Attach the drive and interface card to the VAIO (it's probably still connected since you installed your Windows 2000 from that CD-ROM). Again, go to the device manager, and open "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers". Right click on ATAPI CD-ROM interface card. Select "Install from list or specific location". Select "Don't search", and then click "Have Disk". Browse to where you extracted the drivers ans open "Va16xp.inf". Click OK in "Install from Disk". Ignore the warning you get and click "Yes" to install the driver anyway. When the wizard has finished copying files, close all windows and restart the VAIO.

    If you want to play Audio CD's from this drive, you must explicitly enable this in device manager. Open the DVD/CD-ROM drive entry, open properties, and select the "Enable digital CD audio" check box.

    USB mouse driver installation

    You may skip this step, if you don't have a Sony USB mouse. If you do, attach it, and open Human Interface Device in device manager. Right click on USB Human Interface Device, and select "Update Driver". Select "Install from specific location", then "Don't search", then "Next". Click "Have Disk", and then point the device manager to the directory where you extracted the files. Click open to install "phidmou.inf", click OK in install from disk. Click "Next", and "Finish", after the wizard has copied all files.

    That's it! You can now proudly put your license sticker on your VAIO and peel off that embarrassing "Designed for Windows 98" sticker.

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