Official NEW SVZ Z series Owners Lounge

the 128gb sd is over 3 times more expensive for twice the space (like $150); I couldn't justify it. In comparison, 32GB SD was $22 and 64GB was $44. Because windows recognizes the sheet battery and the internal battery as two separate batteries, when you initially use them both together you'll end up with 50% (100% internal battery, 5% sheet battery) then you take it off and the indicator goes to 100% (100% internal battery only). Then it will drain down to however low you want it (15% internal battery only) and then you pop the sheet battery back on and got to 60% (15% internal battery and 100% sheet battery). the Z will always use all the power of the sheet battery before it touches the internal battery, even if the sheet battery has less charge.

 

I know the dead pixel policy in the US isn't that great. I'm glad that mine doesn't have any... View Document

 

I need your help.

After managing to delete the recovery partition with Paragon there is no way that I can get access to the bios pressing F2 like in the past. It just takes me to a boot manager.

I know that some of you managed to perform a clean install, so I woud like to know of F2 is still working in order to access the bios...

Edit: I managed to recover the deleted partition using the same software I used to delete it, however , f2 still does not work. I also tried f10 and same thing....

Obviously, without being able to access the bios I am unable to to have the laptop booting from an external device in order to boot from the recovery media that I burned before venturing in this.....


Any tips?

Thanks in advance for your cooperation

 

Thanks for the info. I like how Sony made it work and always giving priority to the sheet battery. But, if we take your example, in the last situation with 60% (15% percent internal and 100% sheet battery) after, let's say, two hour usage, would the new situation end up with something like 50% internal and 0% sheet battery?

If that's the case, I would be so happy.

As for the dead pixels, after I saw your post I went investigating for my own region (Netherlands) and look up their policy. I found a website where they calculate it for you. If you have the 900p screen you're allowed 7. For 1080p you're allowed 10.

But, if they al group together you can contact Sony and ask how they can help you.
But that's just Netherlands. No idea if it counts for other countries in Europe as well.

If I were you I'd just contact Sony and see what they have to say.

 

is it possible to custom install crucial m4 512gb ssd on this vaio svz?
if you play diablo 3 on it, what of kind fps you getting on hd 4000 / 7690m?

 

It is not possible. The connector is proprietary to Sony.

 

how to get 8% discount on vaio svz :s

 

Please give me a hand.

If you go to start , right click on Computer, manage, click in storage, then disk management whick of the 4 partitions is marked as ACTIVE ?

Thanks

 

one last question, custom premium carbon fibre comes with 15th anniversary engraving or only ready to ship stock comes with it?

 

Has anyone found a headset adapter that will work with Sony's proprietary 5-conductor (TRRRS) audio jack on the Z1311 series Vaios?

Myself and another poster mentioned it here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...patible-vaio-z22s-trrrs-headphone-socket.html

... but nobody's replied there. Since the Z3's come out, I thought I'd ask in this thread.

I tried a "Headset Buddy" adapter, which has a TRRS plug, and which works fine in my Thinkpad x120e, but not in my Vaio Z1311.

I called up Sony yesterday and talked to them for an hour. Went through 1st level support, Customer Relations, then 3rd level support. The 3rd level support guy was someone who actually knows stuff. He spent a half hour searching for information on the wiring of this TRRRS jack, and could find no information about it. He *did* say the people in his group had recently played around with a bunch of different connectors and headsets to see which ones would work with it, and found that some standard iPhone headsets would work, although they are earbud w/mic style, not the full headset style I have and want an adapter for.

So even top-level support at Sony doesn't seem to be able to find out how this plug is wired.

Is there anyone out there who is enough of an electronics expert and has equipment, who has played with this socket and figured out what each conductor is for? Perhaps opened up the headset that came with the Z1311 and looked at what wire is connected to which conductor on the plug?

You'd think this is the kind of information that would be available... but I guess Sony just wants you to use their very limited array of headsets that work with this plug, and nobody else's. :-(

- Tim

 

I ordered a custom SVZ in Premium Carbon Fibre Black (I wanted the i7 but not the 256GB SSD) and it came with the 15th anniversary engraving.

 

Unfortunately no, It does not charge the battery with the sheet. They probably did this because you would lose a bit of charge between the batteries if that happened, and Sony wants to maximize the battery life. In the same idea, the sheet battery will stop being used at about 5-6%
left so the lithium-ion is not damaged by being completely discharged. One more thing that might be useful: If you're charging the laptop with the sheet battery on, it will first charge the laptop to 80%, then the sheet battery to 80%, the the laptop to 100%, then the sheet battery to 100%. I think I'm actually going to purchase a second charger (probably a third party travel sized one) so I can charge both batteries at once to speed it up a bit.

 

One final thing; I am also one of the owners of an optimized SVZ with a non-functional webcam. I know the webcam worked out of the box: I tested it. However, now after deleting my recovery partition and uninstalling all of the bloatware (including the webcam companion software) no application will recognize it exists. I reinstalled the webcam software from my recovery DVDs, but all I got was a quick flash from the webcam usage light before getting the same message. Any help would be appreciated; I would rather not have to reinstall windows again after I got everything set up.

 

Please, can someone test that the onboard hdmi output can do high resolutions such as 2560x1600 or similar?

 

Do you need them to be small? You could also work with one of those wireless headsets. Of course you have to recharge them through a USB port but you don't always have to.

If you don't want to use up your usb port you could also use a usb hub. They have very small ones available so it doesn't require much space when bringing along.

 

Ok, thanks for the info. Very nice to know how it charges when it's empty. Don't you get a seperate charger for the sheet when you order it? I've read several times that it would come with a seperate charger so you can charge the internal and sheet seperated from each other. So you won't lose any time.

 

Hello Japperd...

I certainly could use a different kind of headset, or a USB adapter, but I don't want to use one of the USB ports for that when there is a perfectly good (tho' difficult to use!) analog audio port.

I have a small USB hub, and could use it, but it's not convenient. There is an analog audio port, I have an analog headset, I should be able to use it, if only I could find the correct adapter. Seems silly that Sony makes it hard to use anything but their provided headset in that port.

I don't really like using wireless headsets (or any other headset that requires a battery or charging).

- Tim

 

Justin, I as I said earlier, I managed to get rid of the recovery partition. The problem is that F2 does not take me to Bios anymore and I have not been able to boot from an external drive to recover the system.
I was wondering if you are experiencing the same....

I will have to ship my Vaio to Sony for service, GRRRRR


PD. My camera is working fine.....

 

Check if Quick Boot is enabled. If it is, you cannot boot into the BIOS. When windows is booted, open the vaio control Center, click system information, and then Fast Bios Startup Settings. Then make sure the box is unchecked and reboot.

 

As has been discussed earlier in this thread, neither the VGA or the HDMI can output that high.

 

Justin, you made my day, well, my night.

It is incredible, not even level II support, nor the local Sonystyle guy figured that up.

And i was getting ready to ship the laptop for service.

How could we share a virtual beer?????

 

It does not come with an extra charger, just a box that converts the connector plug into the normal sony charging plug. The battery itself does not have the round plug that the laptop uses, but this little box you attach to it gives it one so it can use the same charger that comes with the laptop. Not a big loss for me; I kind of wanted a charger I could leave plugged in and a second one I could take with me anyway. I just grabbed a third party one for like $35 USD

 

Justin, I am referring to the Vaio Z2 clean install thread you suggested.

He recommends running ABR to keep the licence key and activation code for the new installation.

Well, I did it but I found something very intresting The license key that ABR reads from my system does not match the key located in the Windows sticker on the back of my laptop......

On top of that, ABR did not get an activation code for windows. How did you get yours?

Thanks again

 

I think that this is discussed on ABR's website (and on other sites).

The sticker on the back is, I think, the retail license equivalent to the OEM license that is already installed on the machine when you get it. It is not the same license, but corresponds to the same license in practice.

You CAN use the one on the sticker, but you have to go through the telephone activation system to make it work. That will work fine, but is more of a pain than using ABR, that's all.

- Tim

 

Damn, I knew what the problem was when I read your original posting, but thought you'd said you had erased the Windows partition and didn't have it installed on your computer. Tho', of course, if you had, you could have reinstalled it (if you had a copy of Windows handy, or the a recovery USB stick).

And I really could have used a beer!

- Tim

 

Yes, it has been discussed but never actually confirmed!

Let me remind people that the svz1311 is Ivy Bridge and that the chipset is born with an integrated HDMI 1.4a controller - this means that unless Sony included a different HDMI phy then it should be able to do very high resolutions using eg. a HDMI->DVI-D connector.

Please, someone with a very high resolution monitor go test. Be sure not to use a HDMI->HDMI cable as most monitors are limited on the HDMI input but not so for the Dual Link DVI input.

 

Take Tbessie's advice, I didn't actually do a clean install on my Z. I created recovery media with Vaio Care and then used the wizard to restore and (for the most part) delete the recovery partition. I actually like sony vegas, sound forge, and ACID, which would cost over $160 to buy normally. I love the idea of rapid wake and don't mind the 8GB it uses and didn't want to risk losing it, plus I didn't find using the vaio software center that hard to use to uninstall all of the bloatware I didn't want; although obviously I uninstalled something I shouldn't have that broke my webcam :\

Also, don't forget to reduce the size of your pagefile and disable hibernation, that will save you almost 15GB if you have the 120GB Vaio like I do. Good luck to you!

 

Hi to everyone,

I'm new to this forum and thinking about buying the Z3 Model # SVZ1311BGXXI. Does anybody here know the difference
between this model and Model # SVZ13114GXX? Besides the the color difference (premium carbon vs carbon) both models
seem to have the same specs. Still Model # SVZ1311BGXXI costs 2149 USD and Model # SVZ13114GXX only 1999 USD.....

Thanks for the help!

 

Justin, that is what I have been wanting to do, deleting the 20.5GB partition since I already burned the recovery media. I followed the online manual instructions that suggests to boot from the recovery cd, Vaio Care Rescue, remove recovery contents , then the option to leave rapid wake, and wow, it is taking a LONG time to do so. Thanks for your help

 

im not sure if i should get 128gb / 256gb.. i just use it for office and a bit of entertainment. thats it. 128 or 256gb? which lasts longer for the cost of 200usd?

 

You're making it pretty hard for yourself to find the right solution...

I can remember that you said you needed it for conversation with your boss right? I would really reconsider a wireless headset. Try using one that is made for a phone. They can go for hours on a charge and recharge within 1,5 hours or so. I have one that I use in the car. I'm a sales representative so I have to call a lot in the car.

I have this one:
Bluetooth Headset, Jabra WAVE

It comes with a micro usb 0.5 amp charger. Which is good because most phone chargers are a micro usb 1.0 amp charger. If you charge it for an hour with a 1.0 charger you're likely to get a few hours of work. It works on bluetooth off course.

There is one downside I have to it. If you're in a busy and noisy area, the mic might be to sensitive.

But other than that, it works just fine for me. If I get my Vaio I will test it with the headset and let you know how it works.



Then something completly different:
I plan on buying a sleeve from this company: iPad case Kindle cover MacBook sleeve iPhone slip case

They have a lot of designs and they make it all themselves. I'll post some pictures of mine when it comes in. And you can choose any design from any of the laptop cases you see. They can adjust the sizes. I'm now communicating with them to make sure it fits with the battery sheet attached.

 

Ah I see. Yeah I'll probably do the same. Shouldn't be that hard to find a relatively cheap power adapter.
Major thanks on explaining the sheet battery. I really was curious in how it works.

I got a confirmation e-mail that my payment has been received and they have "started the preparations for my customised Vaio". Whatever that means.

 

Has anyone managed to get Grand Theft Auto 4 to work (without PMD)?
Graphics option only show 24MB memory, and the level starts loading but then just hangs on my machine....

 

I got the 128GB and then used $44 to buy a 64GB SD card. The SD stores all of my music, documents, photos, and videos, all files that are not affected by a faster drive. Also, realize that for $180USD you can buy a 2TB very nice usb 3.0 western digital my passport portable drive that has very good transfer speeds. For just over 100 you could get a 1TB model as well.

 

I did one more full restore on my SVZ and still, my webcam does not function. I'm stumped. Sony reccomends sending it in for repair, but I really don't want to do that. I know my webcam worked right out of the box, but just won't now. Any help?

 

Hi Japperd...

Well, I thank you for your suggestions; I don't recall mentioning anything about conferencing with my boss, though I *do* use my laptop to talk with friends and work when abroad.

I will also be watching quite a few movies, and that might take many hours of use, so anything that needs batteries or charging is out.

For me, it's also a matter of principle - I have these perfectly good headsets, and feel I should be able to use them, and to use the jack provided... I hate that Sony didn't provide a jack that could be more easily used by other headsets.

As a side note, yesterday I called up a company that makes custom cables, connectors, converters, etc. and talked with one of their techs. He said he had never even SEEN a TRRRS connector (tho' I sent him a link with some images of one later). He said they could make me one, but I'd probably have to do the work of finding out how they're wired (by taking apart my existing Sony headset, most likely).

Well, I'm sure other people have this problem, so it will be worth it just to spread the info; I may sacrifice my headset for Science!

- Tim

 

this seems to be a valid question.. why 149 dollar difference for it?

 

I have successfully created my recovery usb media using sony vaio software.
However, when I boot up into VAIO rescue the 'Custom Recovery - Remove Recovery Data' is not listed as an option, only 'Factory Condition', 'Custom Recovery - Resize C & D drive.....' and 'Custom Recovery - Resize C drive only' is there.

I wanted to delete the recovery partition, so what am i doing wrong?

 

Okay, the only thing I can think of that could have disabled my webcam is that I did perform the BIOS update sony had on their website. Can anyone else that has performed the BIOS update see if their webcam is working? It would be of great help to my troubleshooting! I really don't want to send this beauty back to just get scratched up by sony "engineers"....

 

Make sure you are booting from your recovery media by enabling booting from external devices in the bios. If you are just pressing your Z's "assist" button to bring up VAIO Rescue then you wont get that option.

 

Yep, I enabled boot from external devices and also changed boot priority so external device was listed first.

 

In case you customize the SVZ the premium carbon color option costs 50 USD, so with the same specs the total price should be 2049 USD and not 2149 USD.

And Sony's website doesn't show any differences in the specs besides the color:
VAIO Z Series Laptops | Sony Store USA

Nobody here who owns Model number: SVZ1311BGXXI and could check this?

 

I understand. With a machine like this they should give a normal connection. Keep us posted on how it goes. I'll be needing an headset too eventually so your outcome will be useful to me (and hopefully others as well).

 

It might be the windows 7 version, I know that the Pro version costs $50 more so that might be one of the things bringing the price up. I don't know about the last $50. The extra cost for that version of windows is pointless if you are upgrading to windows 8 since they both will upgrade to the pro version.

 

I updated my BIOS, and installed Windows from scratch after that (after wiping the drive), and installed the drivers from the Sony support site, and my webcam works.

- Tim

 

Any other ideas guys, i would really like to free up that 20GB of space.

 

I'm going to try installing windows from scratch with a windows 7 professional disk (upgrading from home premium) and enabling UEFI. If that doesn't fix it I'm stumped.

 

Well, I installed with Legacy boot (not UEFI), so I don't think that had much to do with things working or not.

Did you follow the "how to install windows from scatch" instructions that's been posted on this website for the Vaio series?

- Tim

 

Have you tried resetting your bios settings to default? What happened when you installed the webcam driver and app?

Sent from my Galaxy Note

 

Hmms, looks like my Rapid Wake isn't working. All my Vaio does is going to normal sleep (recognizable due to blinking amber power led).
Also recognizable because it loses quite a lot of power in sleep mode.

Don't know if it used to work, but wasn't paying attention before. Untill I had to recover from a total power drain (and thus windows
starts complaining on boot) after the weekend, two weekend in a row. Note that this does not have to do with the battery drain thread (I think),
as that is about battery drain while it's off, and so far hibernation doesn't drain the battery for me.

Tried everything:
* With and w/o fastboot enabled
* With and w/o TPM module enabled
* Flipped setting in same session, rebooted between flipping the setting etc.
* etc. etc.

ONCE (and only once) while flipping settings and rebooting, I got a message that Rapid Wake could NOT be enabled
because it needs a dedicated partition, however, I do have the original partitions intact (incl. an 8GB hibernation partition).
Solution was to do a full system recovery... (not looking forward to that)

Searched the Sony site(s), but can't seem to find any Rapid Wake related software to install/reinstall, all support docs simply
tell you to 'enable the setting'.

Latest Intel Rapid Start software package couldn't be installed.

Anybody any idea at all ?

Also, if Rapid Wake works for you, what's the info for the Hibernation partition in diskpart ?

Mine:
DISKPART / select disk 0 / select partition <X> (mine was 6)
DISKPART> detail partition

Partition 6
Type : 84
Hidden: Yes
Active: No
Offset in Bytes: 247457644544