Official NEW SVZ Z series Owners Lounge

Any Comments of it being discontinued?

 

That should be good news to you because it means you can get it cheaper. Being discontinued doesn't make a good product any worse.

Sent from my Galaxy Note

 

Recently some of my function (Fn) key combinations have stopped working as expected. The mute and volume keys work but they are no longer displaying their status or changes on my screen. The screen brightness keys (Fn + F5 or FN + F6) do not work at all. I read several articles discussing similar issue on other Vaios over the years. Most suggested ensuring that the Vaio Care, Vaio Event Service and Vaio Power Management services are started (and if so restart them) but no change. The only thing I can think of is that I installed BatteryCare and have been viewing its power management options but even when I close it the issue remains. I re-installed the Sony Vaio hotkey software and some other various notebook drivers but nothing so far. There's a YouTube video that has some pretty in-depth things to try ( How to Fix FN Keys Problem (Tutorial) - YouTube) which I will hopefully tackle this weekend if time permits.

 

How many of you are planning on upgrading to Windows 8 next Friday? I think I am going to, ran it through vmware and overall really liked it for normal use.

 

I went on sonystyle.ca today, and when you click laptops, it shows the DUO, S series, E series, and T series and for all of these it says click here to preorder. They do not list the Z series on this page, which means it must be getting discontinued. Take a look guys!

VAIO Laptops and Desktops | VAIO Computers | Sony Store Canada

Does this mean prices should drop soon? Should I wait 1-2 weeks?

 

Use the sliding bar at the top, it shows the vaio z series. The verge article that initially reported that the z series would be discontinued mentioned there would be no price drop since they aren't hurrying to get rid of stock. They just aren't making any new ones at this time, it is still a current generation computer that should be sold at full price. I wouldn't expect any price drops.

 

Hello,

I was wondering has anyone done a clean install with Win 7 x64? I'm having trouble with IBS Utility as it falsely states that my battery is (I guess) 3rd party and the computer want's to go to hibernate. Also my hotkeys are not working but I guess this could be related to the same ISB utility?

Please help!

Best regards,
BB

 

^ you can disable it with msconfig.

 

Just purshase my Z3 today in the Sony Building in Japan 30% off ! got a pretty good deal in my opinion, Core I7, 8Gb, 256Gb, carbon premium, TPM, power dock with blue ray burner, 15 anniversary edition.. 1800$

Anyhow, I wasn't able to read to all thread can someone tell me if you can fully run this Z3 with windows 8, power media dock included?
Also how can I configure the backlight on the keyboard ?

Thanks a lot

 

Hey there, welcome to the site!
The Z3 on Windows 8 will be compatible with the PMD, but apparently you will have to turn off the computer each time you want to switch between PMD and integrated graphics.
The backlight is able to be configured via VAIO Control Center -> Keyboard and Mouse -> Backlit Keyboard.

 

Ugh. My new Z is jealous of the 13inch MBP Retina...and I'm just outside the return window :/
I'm sorta debating selling the Z and picking up the 13inch Retina instead - as far as I can tell, same weight, battery, size...but the Z has a nicer CPU (quad 2.1ghz i7 vs a dual 2.9ghz i7), and faster disk I/O.

I wonder if a Z refresh would include a retina screen.

 

Z is 0.1" thinner & 1 lb lighter than rMBP13 and in all CTO options Z is cheaper than rMBP13. The only advantage rMBP13 has is 2560x1600 IPS (which will default to 1280x800) vs. Z's 1920x1080 96% aRGB, I don't think you really need to be jealous of rMBP13.

 

Only thing I'm jealous of is the screen's resolution. Everything else is worse. It's heavier, thicker, lacks a quad core processor, no RAID 0, etc. I'm just not a fan at all. At 3.6 pounds it's not even on my radar.

 

The folks over at MacRumors don't seem very happy with the rMBP 13" either.

 

Another disadvantage is the loss of any dedicated graphics ability, there is no dedicated graphics card in the 13 inch rMBP. At least with the z3 you have a better intergrated card (4000 HD with full voltage) vs a ULV (I think). Its the same or worse graphics card powering a bigger display.

I think Apple has really shifted what the MBP was once all about, great power with a graphics card and a CD drive for those who need it. Not many people need cd drives anymore, but the 13 inch model is basically a macbook air with a better screen. Its no longer what a MBP was, whether thats worth the money is up to you. You sacrifice a lot for the same price, since its about $2000 with the better (still dual core, with turbo boost to z3 i7 turbo boost speeds) processor and 256gb. \

My opinion not worth it. Also iPad mini, $130 more with half the ram, a 1 ghz dual core (vs 1.3 ghz quad core), a lower resolution and ppi screen, and no NFC. Not a competitive product given the nexus 7 is about to be updated by google, which will probably really leave it in the dust.

New iMac is cool though, should have had a touch screen and been able to tilt. Maybe an optional disc drive in the stand.

 

Thanks,
rebooting is not really appealing...
The drivers will be publish on Sony website ?

 

Yes, they should be published here ( Sony : SVZ1311C5E updates | Download updates for SVZ1311C5E) [change your model number if needed] the day Windows 8 comes out (less than 48 hours now).

 

The mbp has 7h of battery life - to match that, you'd need the Z with the slice (which I have), which then means the weight is equivalent.
It's really the screen that makes me drool - I would still run windows on it

 

Remember, without the godly power optimizations of mac OS X, you're going to get under 4 hours of windows out of the 13 rMBP. Which is worse than the Z.

 

Hello,

I got my SVZ1311C5E yesterday.
FullHD panel, 512 GB, 8GB Ram, i7, sheet battery.

Actually I´m working on installing all the programmes and getting the data from my old VPCZ1.

With the 256 GB SSD I had only one partition, but now I´m considering an additional data partition.

Is this possible with the actual configuration as there are 4 partitions on the SSD yet?

Is there a change in speed when doing that as the SSD runs in Raid0?

thanxs in advance
Eric

 

Thinking of getting a SVZ but waited for the Win8 launch. Today all laptops on Sony's site are available for order with Windows 8 except for SVZ. Anyone know why Sony won't deliver SVZ with Win8? Are there any known issues?

 

Just a total guess but might be because of potential PMD conflict

 

Anybody has a PMD for the SVZ that's up for sale...send me a PM.thanks

 

Anyone know of a way that I can upgrade to windows 8 and delete the recovery partition at the same time, preferably without losing my windows programs?

 

So it is not possible to use the PMD with Windows 8? What is the conflict about? Thankful for any info available on this....

 

I downloaded most of the new files for Windows 8 from Sony's site, and went on to clean install Windows 8 Pro. I have to say, it picked up most of the stuff.
Now, what's not working or is and I can't see it (mind you, I don't use the PMD):

1. Brightness controls do not work, volume controls do, and those are built-in to W8. So not working at all. More so, some package adds the very annoying Num/Scroll Lock notifications/icons to the taskbar. I hate that.
2. Control Center got burned to the bone. I can't really say what's the point of it now, it doesn't do anything useful now. No thermo controls, no fast boot control, no system info, no battery care.
3. Smart Network doesn't launch, although the package is in the W8 section on Sony's website. It just doesn't. As a result, I have no idea how to turn the WWAN on, as the switch in Smart Network is off and there is no way in launching it. Brilliant.
4. There is an exclamation mark in the device manager that won't go away. It's probably the SFEP driver, and there is no equivalent for the W8 so it will just be there, and knowing Sony, they won't bother with it.

Other than that, everything works. Everything is fast. I'd have no complaints if it wasn't for the things above. I'm not convinced Sony will work on drivers further, but one can only hope, as it's still early to judge them.

 

I went with an update install and then after installed most of the new drivers/software from Sony, i don't have any of those 4 issues. I am having a hard time getting my PMD to work properly though.

 

So your Control Center is full-featured, the Smart Network launches fine and brightness controls work?
That is weird. I guess it's either the wrong sequence from me, or the laptop is not ready for a clean W8 install. Or I'm just stupid, which is the most probable.

 

Yup, rapid wake options, fast bios bootup, battery control, etc etc. I didn't have bluetooth after upgrade because W8 made me uninstall the driver, so the bluetooth option in Smart Network was greyed out at first boot until I installed the proper W8 driver and now it works again. Brightness controls worked without me doing anything.

There's a W8 specific BIOS update, but I have no idea what it did since everything was working before I updated, so I'm not sure what could be your issue other than the install order.

 

Since you upgraded it probably transitioned to W8 smoothly with carrying the old drivers over. Maybe I'm missing something with the clean install. Hopefully, more people will start attempting to perform a clean W8 install and figure it out. My only option is to try to revert back to W7 and upgrade, but I'm not sure I want to spend the time doing that.

 

I am about to attempt a clean install. I have a PMD so hopefully everything works once I am finished. I will update after.

 

I got the PMD to work, but it does watermark the desktop with Windows being in Test Mode. Other than that, it seemed to work fine, CCC loaded up and all. If you don't care about the AMD graphics and are ok with only ever using the HD 4000 IGP, you can just install the latest drivers for Intel and still use the PMD for the extra USB ports and BD/DVD drive.

 

I need some light....

After installing W8 I lost all the keyboard shortcuts. I mean none of the blue Fn. key, nor Assist, Web, Vaio

Any idea what to do?

 

Thanks for all the Windows 8 reports, very interesting, keep 'em coming . Seems like there is no laptop that beats the performance/weight/size of Z3 yet and question is if there will be anytime soon because everyone seems busy adding useless touch-screens instead of improving performance/weight on their products. So if Z3 works with Win8 it would still be the best option for me.

 

I'm having the very same issue. Is there any fix yet? It's quite disappointing.

 

Hi, I have launched a separeted thread for the SVZ speakers problems..

The goal is to share about it and hopefully be able to fix the problem.
My SVZ is currently in repair for that issue. More to come in here :

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/693152-vaio-z3-svz-critical-sound-problems.html

 

Actually, mine is not a speaker problem. It is like that Vaio SVZ Morse Code Noise on Vimeo (see also http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...vz-z-series-owners-lounge-64.html#post8791878)

I believe that your speaker problem is not related to this. Am I wrong?

 

i did "refresh windows 8 install" more like a clean install. i couldnt get full functionality of vaio control center.. its similar to alksv issue..
also i couldnt able to connect my vaio bkb1 keyboard / razer orochi through my bluetooth.. it just looses its connection.

 

I did a clean install using the sony recovery discs and then did a clean install to windows 8. Trust me this is a long process if you do both. Just the clean install of windows 8 isn't very hard but a sony clean install takes forever to do.

Clean install went well. Still haven't gotten the PMD fully working but USB ports work, but webcam, all of that is working. FN keys aren't and audio was out until I set the default playback device.

Before and after fixing audio my computer has been making the same white noise and it changes to higher pitch on the right side when I mute my speakers. Its a sort of white noise air sound coming from both sides but clearly changes when changing from audio on to mute.

Also, I can no longer install any of the drivers or programs from sony's support site. It runs, checks my computer and tells me its not compatible with this operating system. I downloaded the windows 8 ones. Might be because I downloaded an update from microsoft?

Overall, I love windows 8. Awesome productivity actually because it forces apps to allow for the 1/3 screen which was difficult to get to with normal desktop split windows. I can have my task list/ calander open all of the time and still work on the desktop in the larger part of the screen.

 

Has anyone tried to do a clean Windows 8 installation?

I tried it on a SVZ1311C5E (uk edition). I had to use drivers for the SVZ1311CHXXI model, since no win8 drivers are apparently provided for my own model. I assumed that there is no difference. Besides, also the SVZ1311CHXXI model has an incomplete drivers list (e.g. it is missing audio driver, audio registry patch, sony firmware extensions, etc).

Vaio Control Center has been stripped to the bones. Brightness settings can be changed in windows, but fn keys and auto brightness do not work. White noise appears when muting the speakers. It seems like sony support is seriously lacking for Vaio Z & Windows 8.

 

I have a SVZ1311C5E too (FR model), and I'm gonna install Windows 8 tonight after a recovery backup.

I will try to get most updated drivers from manufacturers instead those from sony, then, i'll install VAIO Care and Control center, and maybe try to get those from others VAIO models that already have Windows 8 drivers.

I will let you know if it's a win or a lose

 

I can now confirm that I'm not experiencing any issues mentioned earlier.
I have performed a clean Windows 7 install and provided the necessary Sony drivers (SFEP, Shared Library, Hotkey Utilities, Smart Network). I then went on to upgrade the system to Windows 8 (with the 5mb executable provided by Microsoft). The upgrade went fast, with no issues. I then installed the updated Sony apps and some drivers. No conflicts in the device manager, no bugs, no crashes. The Control Center retained its W7 options including fast boot, Smart Network works fine, all keyboard shortcuts work, the 3 assist buttons also work. The only thing missing at this moment is the WWAN driver. Apart from that, it's very smooth.

My suggestion to everyone, at least at this time, is to upgrade from Windows 7 to avoid any driver and app issues.

 

I managed to install SFEP, Shared Library, etc in Windows 8, just using wind 7 drivers. The only thing that I can't get working is bluetooth. I have no unrecognized peripherials in the device manager, and I have up-to-date intel bluetooth drivers. Nevertheless, the bluetooth switch (in settings>change pc settings>wirless) is just greyed out, like I don't have any bluetooth. Does it work for you, alksv?

 

Oh no......
And can you live with that ?? I mean it's making this noise constantly !!

Right.. It's a different problem

Same problem as donfed, and as me on win7.
Dont know about you, but personnaly i just cannot live with it :/ SO annoying

 

Yes, Razyl, the switch is active for me. I installed the latest W8 drivers from Intel's site. Maybe try to uninstall and install the package again? Double-check you have the latest package, I believe it was released on 26th.

 

You downloaded a unique driver package for WiFi and Bluetooth? Or it's a separate package?

EDIT: And what about that audio problem? When you mute (via the fn-buttons) your speakers, don't you hear a constant white noise?

 

Bluetooth.
Wireless.

I do not hear the noise when I mute the speakers. I didn't install any audio drivers, I use the built-in ones.

EDIT. I just tried to install the W7 WWAN drivers, and they work. Mobile broadband is up! Now everything is in working order and near perfect. Mission accomplished!

 

Oh well, I will try another clean install this evening. I will install the drivers for windows 8 from here: Sony eSupport - SVZ1311AFXX - Support

Then, I'll install the missing drivers from the windows 7 counterpart (sfep, shared library, etc). I really CBA to restore windows 7 through the recovery disks (I do not have an external dvd reader).

Alksv, can you confirm to me that Sony Smart Network does work? And what about the "assist" and "vaio" buttons? You can still configure them though vaio control center?

Thanks

 

can anyone help me find vaio control center for windows 7 x64? i couldnt find it to install on my windows 8.

 

Use first VAIO Utility for Windows 8 Upgrade, install W8 upgrade, run again VAIO Utility for Windows 8 Upgrade
After almost 3 days of work, I discovered this utility. Shame on Sony europe they don't provide this utility!