Official NEW SVZ Z series Owners Lounge

For the record, when I first got my Z3, I created recovery media with the Vaio software on a 32gb USB3 flash drive. I later booted from that drive without any issues. I didn't try recovering from it, but it looked like there wouldn't be any issues, most likely.

I later reinstalled Windows from a Windows 7 DVD I have, as I wasn't sure I would be able to stop the installation of the recovery partition or the Vaio bloatware.

- Tim

 

I did some testing on my own (don't really have any benchmarks or anything). I copied over a few different sets of files to both my SD card and to the Memory Stick adapter.

I copied over a folder containing 3.58gb of documents (around 2 megabytes each), one with 4.09gb of videos (350mb each), one with 3.45gb of zip files (~200mb each) and one with 3.91gb of mixed file sizes/types. I've put the results in the table in the format of "speed per second (total transfer time in seconds)"

	MS adapter	SD Card
Documents	7.5 MB/s (477)	14 MB/s (255)
Mix	2 MB/s(1955)	300 KB/s (N/A)
Videos	10.5 MB/s (389)	17.5 MB/s (233)
Zip files	11 MB/s (313)	17 MB/s (202)

I didn't let the mixed copy to SD card finish because it was taking so long, so the transfer rate is approximate. I also copied some video files back to the SSD from the sticks - from the MS the transfer was in the 15-17 MB/s range, while from the SD card it 32-36 MB/s.

The adapter has two class 10 microSDHC cards in it (one is uhs-1 enabled although I don't think that applies) and the SD is a 64gb class 10 UHS-1 card.

 

I received my Vaio Z today and did a clean install. I did not install all Sony Bloatware Utilities and now my webcam is not working. Does anybody know where to find drivers for the webcam or which utility to download?

Thanks in advance!

 

Sure - depending on your model, all the drivers are on this page (this is for the SVZ13114GXX): Sony eSupport - SVZ13114GXX - Support

Did you install the Camera driver listed there? There are other drivers that might be needed as well.

- Tim

 

Thank you very much. This driver was not listed on the site where I found my drivers!

 

Hi all...

I was using the F9/F10 keys on my Z1311 to zoom the display up and down. After awhile, I realized there is no indication on the screen of what "100%" is (that is, zoom level is "normal", not zoomed in nor zoomed out). There is also no function key to "zoom to normal".

How do I restore my zoom level to normal? I was zooming on the Windows desktop. I rebooted the machine, but the zoom level was still what I had left it at, not at 100%. There's got to be SOME way to do this, but it's not in the manual.

- Tim

 

Hmm... what site were you looking at?

- Tim

 

On this site http://sony.co.uk/support/en/product/SVZ1311C5E/update. I'm still stuck neverhteless. Seems like the "Webcam Companion" does not install any drivers, it cannot find the webcam. Any other ideas?

 

When you open your Windows Device Manager, do you see any "Unknown Device" yellow triangle/question marks? It could be that you need other drivers that are not currently installed (eg. Intel chipset drivers, those are very important and I hope you installed those!). That page lists which components will show the yellow triangle if the driver isn't installed, so all those that say that on the driver page should be installed.

You should have all of the System Components installed as well (on that page).

Remember to reboot after some of them (or each one, if you have the time). Some don't register until after a reboot.

- Tim

 

I checked Device Manager already. There are no yellow triangle, but "imaging devices" are not listed there. Further I tried to add a camera via scanners and cameras. I will try again, but I cannot find a driver for the webcam

 

Odd. It should at least show the yellow triangle.

I checked on mine, and under "Imaging Devices" it says "USB 2.0 Camera".

Did you, perhaps, get a default USB device driver and not replace it with Sony's own (if there is one - I'm guessing here)? It might be it needs a custom USB driver to recognize it. Also, I assume you did "Search for new hardware" n' such?

Finally, did you notice if the Camera was recognized and work before you did the clean install? Just checking if there was a preexisting hardware issue.

EDIT: You might want to download USBView from here:

http://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities/usbview.zip

... and see what USB devices it shows enumerated. Check for the camera there.

- Tim

 

It does not show the camera in USB view.. It only shows some USB Host controllers and the fingerprint reader. Tried Windows update as well, but no success.

Not sure if the camera worked before I did the clean install actually, but I think it did. All the drivers I installed are from the Sony website.

Thanks for your help and time!

EDIT: I installed all these drivers: http://forum.notebookreview.com/att...ers-lounge-clean_build_installation_order.jpg

 

Hi all,

The current status of my parcel with DPD is:

07/27/2012 150 Pick-up
19:14 Frechen(DE)

07/27/2012 150 Consolidation
19:14 Frechen(DE)

I was hoping by today there would have been an update saying its arrived in the UK.
Can anyone from the UK tell me how long it took their parcel to get from Frechen to the UK?

cheers

Andy

 

Newbie,

Would you be so kind to post, step by step instructions for the clean install?

How did you handle the 8GB hibernation partition?

Now that you performed a clean install, I would like to know the ram usage in GB right after you boot your laptop.

Thanks in advance

 

Again, very odd; it could be that somehow the camera is broken, or got disconnected internally from the USB bus. Did you create recovery media so you could install from that and see if the camera even works? If you can't get it to work now, that might be worth a try.

- Tim

 

It's just been scanned at the Oldbury, UK Hub!!!! Hopefully that means it might arrive tomorrow!!!

 

How to use your PMD:
PMD From Sony

 

Yes, the recovery partition was deleted. That was the primary purpose of the whole exercise and the reason I "bricked" my computer.

 

I don't know if you've figured it out yet, but I'll still post it for anyone else with the problem. Just go to the synaptics touchpad settings under control panel -> mouse or the tray icon. Then click smartsense and drag the slider at the top completely to the left to turn it off. That will fix your problem; Its just a setting to help with accidentally moving the mouse when typing.

 

I just bought a 64GB Patriot class 10 UHS-1 card for $45 on sale that is rated for 50MB/s read and 35MB/s write. My Z3's card reader obliged. Great buy for any fellow 128GB owners! It is also fast enough to store all of your windows cache on it to save your SSDs from all of those temp files...

 

We may have the same card... I bought this Newegg.com - Patriot LX 64GB Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC) Flash Card Model PSF64GSDXC10 although it was $50 with $10 instant rebate ($40 total) when I got it.

 

Is anyone with a Z3 successfully running Adobe Premiere Pro CS6? If so, have you been able to run it with Intel HD 4000 graphics?

I get the message "no capable video play module" whenever attempting to run Premiere Pro CS6 (since installation). This is an error users get when there are permissions problems or out-of-date video drivers, but I've verified these are not issues for me.

Adobe tech support says that my computer or its video driver does not support OpenGL, based on the fact that PP6 does run with the default Microsoft VGA driver. (Don't suggest that as a solution to the problem; that driver doesn't support my external display). Sony had me reinstall the video driver, but other than that has no suggestions. Intel's website says that the HD 4000 supports OpenGL 3.3; Adobe's website says PP6 only needs OpenGL 2.0, so that should be okay.

It's hard to believe that there could be a modern computer on which Premiere Pro doesn't run at all. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Derry

 

Just in case it might help, I'll mention the issue I had that sounds like this. I've found that PS CS6 and Premiere Elements (latest version) won't work well with the default video driver. PS will crash if I try to use the second monitor and PE won't play video.

In my case, I'm using a Z2 and PMD with one monitor on the PMD HDMI port and a second on the laptop HDMI port. In that configuration, Windows reports the video driver as the generic driver to PE/PS even though I'm using the ATI card in the PMD.

My solution was to use the PMD VGA and HDMI. Then the driver that PE/PS sees is the ATI driver.

I assume you don't have the PMD but if you are using the laptop HDMI port, it could be similar. You might try VGA just to see if it makes a difference.

 

Actually I have this card: Newegg.com - Patriot EP Series 64GB Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC) Flash Card Model PEF64GSXC10233

The LX is the cheaper version/not as reliable version of the EP series. I actually opened the card, cut off the end of the plastic so all I had was the board, and covered the slot with a piece of electrical tape. It's almost flush and works very well.

 

Hi all,

My Z3 arrived today!!!!!. Only had a quick play but really pleased with it so far, super-fast and light, can I ask what anti-virus everyone decided to go with? I was going to install the Free Avast, but wondered if anyone has stayed with the pre-installed mcafee?

 

Hi Espresso1,

I assume it is me you are treating of "Newbie" ? Just joking, no offense at all, but those "titles" are assigned automatically by the forum system, it does not correspond to my username which is Angel77_80 (again, no offense, I am just unsure you saw the distinction between the two).

Anyway, regarding your question, I did a clean install from a clean windows 7 media (after I backed up my restore partition); you can download the media from Microsoft, links here (sorry, it is a French site but you also have links for English version as well, or other languages): Télécharger l'image iso de Windows 7 depuis le site de Microsoft

I even did the installation in UEFI boot mode, even if it does not bring many visible improvements. Then I did inspire from that post (see section "How to do a clean install of Windows 7"), which aim at the former generation of our belowed machine (z2), but which shares many things regarding how to install drivers and so on: http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...view-useful-guides-resources.html#post7921009

I did not reactivate the hibernation partition, the system boot in about 10 seconds so I do not mind shutting it down/starting it for every use (and I actually leave the system in sleep mode during the day).

Hope that helps.

 

If you don't own the PMD, you could also try the official driver from Intel. Keep in mind that the external PMD graphics won't work with this driver. Download here: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...sion=Windows 7 (64-bit)*&DownloadType=Drivers

 

I deleted all of the junk antiviruses and use Microsoft Security Essentials. Free and works well.

 

I have used Avast! Pro for quite a few years (I bought a bunch of licenses for all my computers), and it seems to work quite well. The only problem I've had with it is that it doesn't play well with Comodo Firewall on Windows 7 (works on Windows XP). The Avast! people say there is no workaround. I even told them I would buy their "Internet Security" product (which includes their own firewall), and they said I could save money just by using the Windows firewall, since I already had 3 licenses that extend to 2013 for the antivirus product anyway.

- Tim

 

Hold on, I'm having the same issue. I installed skype today and when I was in setup it said "No camera detected." The pre-installed "ArcSoft Webcam Suite" says the same thing.

Note: I've not touched the OS at all. Haven't made recovery media, reinstalled, or anything. I got it a week ago and all I've done is install a few programs and stuff. Anyone else having trouble using their webcam?

 

How did you open your SVZ?? I desperately want to take off the back cover but am having no luck and really don't want to force anything! I found the two screws under the rubber coverings near each end of the screen and the two under the battery, but still no luck. It almost seems like you have to take the side with the VGA port off first and then slide the case off that way, but I bent the VGA port back to the point I was afraid it would break and the case still seemed like it was attached. Can anyone help me?

 

Thanks for the feedback, I think when my free 30day trial of Mcafee runs out I will switch to MSE too.

Just trying to clean out a few other unnecessary programs/services. As I am unlikely to be purchasing the PMD anytime soon, can I safely remove the ATI catalyst control center?
Also, If i uninstall the vaio smart network utility is it still easy enough to enable/disable the WWAN within windows when required?

tia

Andy

 

I wouldn't uninstall smart network.

The catalyst driver package though, you can go ahead and uninstall but make sure you download the latest Intel drivers to install afterwards. The ones included in the catalyst hybrid package were a bit out dated. It's what I did before I decided to buy the PMD, game me a surprising boost in game performance out of Intel's HD 4000.

 

Can anyone post a screenshot of CPU-Z please? it doesn't matter weither you have dual or quad core.
I would like to see it from a SVZ only. Thanks in advance!

 

Andy, the vaio smart network actually enables the WWAN card hardware. Without it one click internet cant find the device. I did try removing these utilities and installing Vodafone mobile broadband which I have used on other laptops to control the 3g but it couldnt find the device. So i returned to vaio network utility and one click internet

 

Hey everyone,

I recently got quite interested in a Sony Vaio Z. I have been looking at some reviews and have been following this thread very carefully.

I have now ordered one online and I can't wait to get my hands on it! I have ordered the i7, 128 GB, 1600x900 (dutch version, so no FHD as standard option) and free sheet battery. I'm not really sure if I'm going to use the sheet battery because of te wieght addition, but hey, it's free .

Is it possible to upload some pictures of how the cards stick out if you have them in the laptop? I think it's brilliant that you thought of the dual microsd adapter. But I'd like to know if it doesn't stick out to much.

And everyone thanks for all the info on how to do the clean install! I will also be checking my webcam before I'll really mess with the machine.

 

Much has been said about the poor quality of the speakers on the Z2 and Z3, but I wanted to ask about something I've noticed -- it's been mentioned before, but my case is slightly different.

On my Vaio Z3, when my laptop speakers are unmuted and a program like iTunes is open and paused, you can hear a very distinct high-pitched whining noise coming from the right-hand side of the Vaio. I've already disabled the microphone and the noise-canceling program, and the whine still persists. It is MOST noticeable when the Vaio is on a flat surface like a desk. If I place it on a couch or bed, it's less noticeable.

I've concluded that the speaker is actually causing this noise because if I mute, the whining completely goes away. If I plug in headphones, the whining goes away. If I plug in external speakers, the whining goes away. If I close iTunes, the whining goes away.

It just appears that whenever the speaker is activated, the whining occurs -- if music is actually playing on the speakers, the whining goes to minimal levels, but once you pause the music and the speakers remain active, the whining comes back to louder levels since nothing else is being outputted. iTunes defaults to pausing whenever you stop a song, so the speaker just remains active (keeping the whining on); and I like to keep iTunes open all the time.

Is this caused by just poor speaker quality? Or might I have a defective unit? What else can I try to get that whining noise to go away? I just got my Vaio Z a couple weeks ago.

I can get around this by muting whenever I'm not listening to audio via headphones, but that's just a pain.

Thanks for your help!

 

Here you go! Greatly looking forward to your disassembly video!

 

They stick out a little bit, but do not extend farther than the top lid when it is closed. I personally bought a 64GB SD card and am using it for windows, spotify, and google chrome cache, so I do not intend on ever removing it. Because of this, I opened my SD card, cut off the ends of the plastic casing with scissors and reassembled the card, so the memory board of the SD was exposed. I then slotted the card in the laptop and covered it with a piece of black electrical tape (I have a premium black SVZ). The result was this:



Cutting off the end of the SD saved me a couple millimeters; enough to make it almost flush. The electrical tape looks fine, protects the open side of the card, and prevents me from accidentally taking out the card while it is writing cache!

Edit: The sheet battery was one of the main reasons I decided to get the Z3. I can choose to have the laptop be thin and light when I need it, but also I can slap it on and work all day with it. The laptop is noticeably heavier with the battery on, but does not actually feel that much thicker because of the way it tapers off. A nice addition to the sheet battery is the battery adapter they add with it. This little box clips onto the power adapter of the sheet battery and lets you charge it by itself, even if its not plugged into the laptop. This effectively lets you: 1, use up the sheet battery (the Z will use all of its power first), 2 pop it off and put the battery on the charger and using up the Z's internal battery (its completely hot swappable, no problem putting it on or off while windows it booted), and then 3, when the Z's battery gets low, take the battery off the charger and pop it back on. It just adds another level of versatility to an already very versatile machine. With the power saver profile active, medium brightness, and wifi on, I get about 5 hours on the internal battery and 11 with the internal and the sheet.

 

Angel, yes, how dumb I was..... ))))

So you downloaded the media from Microsoft. I assume that you had to pay for it right?

By the way I managed to delete the 20GB recovery partition with Paragon. Now I have roomie 20GB partition of unallocated space since the adjacent partition is not C........ go figure....
Thanks

 

Hey everybody, newbie here!

Disassembly video I found on YouTube, saw somebody asking for one: sony vaio Z2 and SVZ opening guide - YouTube

Will be receiving my new SVZ tomorrow. i7QM, 8GB RAM, WWAN, 256GB SSD.

 

Thank you for the information! I like how you minimized the sticking-out of the SD card, but unfortuntely I intend to use the SD slot for my camera SD card as well. So I wont be using it permanent for extra storage space. I am planning on buying a seperate SD card for storage, but I will use that as a external storage card. I will put all the documentes and seperate files on it, so I keep the main drive free of the loose files.

Why didn't you go for a 128 card instead btw? Because of the price? It's still cheaper than the Sony upgrade.

Maybe I could be able to open up a Memory Pro Stick. But if I'm correct, the Memory Pro Stick just shoves right in, without a clicking-mechanism? If that's the case, even if it sticks out, I'll tape it stuck. I would be scared in cutting open tiny pieces of electronics...

As for the sheet battery, the way you explain it, I might use it after all. But what I couldn't make out in your text,(forgive me for my English, it's not my native language.) and what I was wondering; if your sheet battery is charged, and the vaio is near empty, if you click it on, would it also transfer the power to the internal battery? That after, let's say, 2 hours use, you can pull it off and have more battery left in the vaio?

 

There aren't any deals available on the Vaio Z, correct? It almost makes me mad that there are so many deals for the Vaio S, which I would buy right away if the screen didn't have the red color issue. Anyway, have you guys found the Vaio Z to be convenient for photo editing and Photoshop, especially with the color gamut of the screen?

 

What kind of deals are you looking for? Also, some of the users here come from different continents so even if there were deals in my region, it's most likely to differ from where you're from. I'm assuming you're from USA.
I got mine with a free sheet battery. But that offer varies with other ones as well. We also had a free upgrade to i7 once. Or a free upgrade with a WWAN module.

When I get mine I will be using it with Lightroom. I don't think I will calibrate it immediately. I will look into it sometime, but you have to pay to get materials and stuff, and I already put down quite some money for this laptop.

Perhaps anybody knows a way to calibrate the machine without extra hardware?

 

I was looking for something like the free PS3 or any amount of money off. A free sheet battery would be awesome, but I'm only seeing that for the Vaio S here. I am from the USA.

 

They had the free PS3 deal under the education weekly deals when I ordered mine on 7/23. But that was only going for a week, they had an option for a free PS3, $250 off a PS3, or 8% off the computer. I went for the 8% since I didn't need a PS3. I would wait, they will probably be having some back to school deals soon (I don't even remember having to apply a .edu email). I would wait for one of the weekly deals to change.

 

Those kind of deals depend on which part of the world you are located in. In my case I got the i7 upgrade for free and the sheet battery for half the price - sweet deal!

 

Hi Espresso,

no, downloading the media from Microsoft site is free of charge. You however have to key in a valid license key to activate it, else it will lock after 30 days, but everyone of us who buyed a SVZ have one (you will find it at the back of the notebook). Just download the edition corresponding to the one written in this certificate label, and then key in the number you have and it will work. If you do so, you might have to key in that twice (during the installation and once you are connected on the internet - actually you can skip to enter it during the installation and report to later the activation, in which case you will have only to enter it once).

 

I have spotted one dead/stuck pixel with my new Z3. I'm not sure what sony's policy is in this situation and im not even sure its worth me sending back for repair/replacement as its about 2inches from the right hand side of the screen, so its not centrally located and therefore not that noticeable.

Whats your advice guys???

 

It would drive me crazy for the amount we paid for these beauties, but if you can tolerate it, then it might not be worth your time apart