Official Sony NW Series Owners Thread

Interesting. I was considering a Macbook Pro as well when I decided to get a Vaio NW-125J.

I received my free Win7 upgrade discs and performed an in-place upgrade over Vista-64. It took most of the day, but it is the cleanest in-place upgrade that I've seen.... disk usage actually dropped by 20GB!

I have a spare drive and I'm looking to install XP on it... just have to find the right drivers to get the CD to boot.

 

I got the Windows 7 upgrade this afternoon and did a clean install tonight and then used the drivers/app disc to reinstall the aps. Everything worked very well. I have reinstalled the few key programs I needed.

The new install wiped out the Ubuntu booter, so now I will just upgrade to Ubuntu 9.10, 36-bit (a little simpler to deal with) on the 18G partition.

That will involve using the Ubuntu live CD to wipe out those partitions and then installing Ubuntu 9.10 in the same space. That should take about a half hour. That will be tomorrow.

 

Were you able to get Vaio Recovery Centre back?

 

Windows 7 drivers are on Sony site as most of you know.

What you may not know is Sony recently added a new BIOS to the site. It adds virtualization support.



By the way, my machine:
Sony Vaio NW-130J
Intel Core2 Duo 2.8GHz (P9700)
4GB RAM
Seagate Momentus 500GB Hard Drive
ATI Radeon 4570
Panasonic UJ-130 Bluray Burner

 

xsacha - I have a US NW-130J that has the Intel T6500 processor on an MBX-160 motherboard. I was thinking of upgrading to the T6670 to get VT (the T6500 does not support), but see you have an NW-130J with the P9700 processor. Do you know if your NW-130J uses the MBX-160 motherboard? Are you using the Ami BIOS version R0180Y4? Also, did the BIOS update unlock any other features for you beside VT?

I'm still trying to find a hacked copy of the AMI BIOS (R0180Y4) that allows access to the advanced features so I can enable AHCI for an SSD. TIA

 

>>Were you able to get Vaio Recovery Centre back?

Actually, after the Windows 7 install I loaded up the Ubuntu Live CD and the recovery partition is sill there. But that must be the original Windows Vista setup?

I have finished the Windows 7 install and reinstalled my own software and now I am backing up an image to an external hard drive. I guess that will be my rescue center.

 

Oh well, first attempt to use Windows 7 backup image failed. I'll try one more time. It seemed to start OK, and then it bogged down and eventually everything halted, including all use of the laptop.

Trying again. :-(

 

Windows 7 backup image failed again. It seems to hang up halfway through and everything totally clogs up. I had been warned.

Sucessfully installed Ubuntu 9.10 without the Windows 7 image backup.

But I am not happy about it.

 

It doesn't have Vaio Recovery Centre back on there. I'm starting to think I won't get it back unless I rollback to Vista

 

What? You still have your recovery partition? How do I tell if mine is still there? I'm sort of new to this "recovery partition" stuff.

 

I used the Ubuntu Live CD, which boots up from the CD and never touches your hard drive. After I had Ubuntu running, I used the Partition Manager (Gparted) to view the drives, and yup, the Windows Vista recovery Partition is still there. It is pretty worthless to me now. I would love to be able to create an image of my Windows 7 install.

 

I clean-installed Windows 7 this week and I have the screen freeze up on me twice in a week.

The sad thing is that I have been using Vista for about 3 years and ... it has never crashed. That is on a Dell desktop.

The problem might not be Windows 7 so much as it is the huge downloads that Windows Update attempts, pretty much all week, to get all the updates in after the install. That seems to bog things down.

Otherwise, Windows 7 is working fine.

Boot-up time is not so hot, although possibly slightly better than Vista.

 

Hm... I've had no trouble with Windows 7 at all. Seems like I have the opposite of you, Vista crashed quite often for me. So far no crashes from Windows 7. After the updates, I have noticed it runs a bit slower. But generally it is overall faster than Vista.

 

Hello Everyone,

Count me in as a new Vaio NW owner. I just ordered mine from JR this weekend. I got the VGN-NW280F/B model with Win7, Centrino 2, black color case, and Blu-Ray.

The closest thing to a 15" laptop with Blu-Ray was this model. MSI had the GT627, but that was discontinued. And no way will I buy another Mac (the price is not worth it).

My only concern will be whether the dimensions of the NW will allow it to fit in my SwissGear Synergy backpack. The laptop is 14.6" in length, and many people with MacBook pros (which is 14.3") were able to fit it in the same backpack.

Can't wait to get my new NW!

 

I'm planning to buy a Vaio NW21MF (with the T6600, 4gb ram & ATI 4570).
Can anyone tell me something about the battery life?

I'm comparing this one with the CW1S1E (with the P7450, 4gb ram & Nvidia GT230M)

I don't want to spend too much money, the NW is (in Belgium) 200€ cheaper than the CW

 

After performing an in-place upgrade from Vista-64 to Win7-64 I swapped out harddrives and attempted to install Win XP Pro (32-bit) on my NW125J. After using nLite to combine my XP Pro CD, SP2, and the SATA AHCI drivers, I managed to get a clean install of XP on the Vaio. I was able to find the video and wifi drivers and at least get something usable.

I was a bit crunched for time so rather than hunting down the rest of the drivers, I installed DriverMax and allowed it to find all of the rest of the drivers. It did a great job... USB, ethernet, webcam, audio, memory slots, etc. all are fully functional.

Added my favorite customer XP theme, SimpleXP, and it is ready to go. The NW125 makes a blazingly fast XP machine. I have a few apps that refuse to run under Vista/Win7 (even after fiddling with compatibility options) so it is nice to have the option.

Win7 is certainly easy on the eyes, but there is a unique sexiness about the instantaneous responsiveness of XP.

Anyways, just a heads-up for anyone wondering... or considering doing it themselves.

 

Hey im very happy with my vaio vgn-nw21mf/w, but the spacebar didnt really work very well on the left side of the button. I tried to fix it, but made it worse lol. I'll have it repaired soon in the shop, because i just have the nw for 1 week. My battery is always in the laptop.My question is, is this bad for the battery? Should i always have the battery out of the laptop when it is fully charged and plugged into netpower? thanks

 

Hello everybody,

I got my Vaio NW last night. Played around a little bit with it and I'm loving it. Definitely like Windows 7 very much. Only wish there was a backlit keyboard and bluetooth, but no biggie.

Hope everyone else is enjoying their NW.

 

I also am about to buy this laptop, know of any current review nw250/280 models? well as they think the quality of the material? I read that the covering was made of recycled plastic.

 

I don't think you'll be disappointed by the build quality. The only area that seems kind of week on this laptop is the panel below the blu-ray drive.

Also, I'm not a big fan of splashtop. Yes, it boots right away into a browser, but the hard drive still powers up. I thought that HD doesn't run when you use splashtop, but I guess that's not the case.

By the way, I'm noticing my keystrokes are not processing correctly in splashtop. I'll type a sentence and all of my words are mispelled. While typing I'll also see random backspacing and character deleting occur. Maybe it's a flaw in the splashtop browser, who knows.

I'll stick with Chrome and Win 7 for my web surfing.

 

Thanks calyxman for your answer, would you please tell us (i guess there are more people looking for actual info about this version of NW) how is the performance of this version agains the older ones reviewed on different sites and forums?

Best Regards.

 

I don't know the performance of the older systems, neither am I a gamer, but I must say that this notebook is plenty fast for me. There are still many bells and whistles and I need to test out like wireless networking and the blu-ray drive, but overall i am very satisfied with this purchase.

I've been using a mac for several years and Windows 7 is a very elegant OS compared to OS X. Haven't had a problem since I started using it.

 

I am receiving this laptop as a insurance replacement for my XPS M1530.

I am getting this spec:
CPU: P7450 (2.13GHz)
Memory: 4GB
Gfx: 4570 512MB
BlueRay Drive
Windows 7

Still not heard much on the gaming side of things, I was hoping somebody could enlighten me.

Do they provide anything so I can format this laptop and just instal Windows 7 without the bloatware?

Would liek to monitor the temps, what software can I use to monitor all temps? (CPU, Chipset, HD and especially Gfx)

Thanks

Matt

 

Anyone know if Sony plans to offer a CTO version of the NW?

 

Would love to know any info on gaming on this laptop?
Can anyone help, any game information FPS information would be good?

 

Bought Vaio VGN NW23 a week back. Quick web Access does not work on my notebook, browser opens but displays page load error, contacted sony online help but no relief or solution to the problem. All other funtions of the machine are satisfactory.
Vaio NW VGN23E T4300, 2GB RAM, 250 HD, windows7 home basic 64bit

 

Bought a VGN-NW270F/S silver model on Thanksgiving.
Core 2 Duo T6600, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, Blu-ray ROM, Windows7 Home Premium 64-bit.
Noticed that the battery drains even when its shutdown.
Researched online, and looks like this issue is with most of the Vaios.

 

Yep. Mine too. Shut it down earlier with 20% battery life. Just booted it back up a few hours later and it wanted to shut down unless the cord was plugged in with 5%. .

 

Hi all
I'm looking forward to buying an nw this week . Everything looks great specification-wise , the only thing that worries me is

a. Heat & Noise . Does the model generate any heat on the areas that the hands ( especially the LEFT one ) rest ? And ,also , is there any cpu-whine type of noise with this notebook ?

b. Screen . Heard that blacks are quite washed out on this one . Is this true ? Mind you , i'm not a display quality - fanatic , so what i'm talking about is if there are really bad blacks on this screen

Thanks!

 

That depends upon your usage. Practically every notebook will heat up under a heavy CPU or drive load. In comparison to other notebooks that I've owned, the NW stays the coolest under heavy loads (video encodes, etc.). But it does get warm under those conditions.

I had read about the viewing angle before I bought my NW. That combined with the glossy screen does really limit the "zone" of optimal viewing. Any reference to washed out blacks is probably the result of the poor viewing angle...because when looking at the screen head-on, the colors are fine.

It is a bit of an annoyance for sure. But not enough for me to regret buying the NW or recommending it to others.

 

What wireless card comes with the NW 270? Is it the Intel 5100 or the Atheros?

 

Thanks WillysJP ! It is true , every notebook heats up . My previous experience with 2 vaios , however , was that the actual heat that you feel on your hand depends on the thickness of the plastics , on which components are below the palm area etc .
The first one ,i remember , was totally cool on the surface while the other was so and so under the same circumstances . The thinness and hd-placement on this (nw) notebook is what concerns me ...and especially its left side , because , well , the right hand is usually on the mouse

 

Mine is the Intel 5100 but I have the 180J. It should be the same for all of them but don't hold me to it.

Why does the HD placement worry you? It doesn't get hot or even warm under there (I've had a Lenovo IdeaPad whose HDD got really really hot). The left side is naturally hotter because of the heat vent...but again that's only the upper portion, and I haven't had any issues with the left palmrest getting uncomfortable.

 

Sorry if this is out of place, but I'm new to this forum. Also new to VAIO. I was wondering if any NW owners had any comments/feedback on this?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=441970

Thanks.

 

Atheros in my NW270f/s

 

Does anyone know about installing a BC-5500S on a model that just came with the DVD burner? I'm assuming it will fit, but what about the cover that goes over the drive to enclose it in the actual laptop? can this be installed on the new drive?

 

I wanted to comment on the fan noise. It's not that noticeable when running win7. However, when you're using the splashtop browser, i notice the fan does get loud and it tends to run at high speed more often than not. I can really feel the heated air coming from the side vent when using the splashtop browser.

 

Checking in & subscribing. Just picked mine up Tuesday.


I splurged for the Vaio because I cannot get enough of the looks (initially), the chicklet keyboard (just insane) and clear screen. Not to mention there's a Sonystyle store a few miles away, which helps, should I have any problems.

I only use it for pretty basic things, and I play Command & Conquer (not very graphic intense). Basic photo, internet and word processing.



Quick question - I "read" this (maybe just the 240) has a LED back-lit screen. Is this true? I haven't read otherwise - just curious.

 

The fan noise of my vaio nw21mf/w is quite annoying. Its a constant hummmmmm (quite loud) and it never stops. It starts when i turn on the laptop. Even when i'm not starting any program its still loud. I have this laptop for about 1 month and it was cleaned by the sony repair service a couple of days ago. Is this normal or should i contact sony again. (Because the service is great. My keyboard was replaced. laptop was picked up from my house and got it back in just over a week).

 

Was the fan noise pre/post the service?

 

The fan noise will be consistent. I don't think there's any way around it.

I also uninstalled Norton Internet Security that came with the notebook and installed Microsoft Security Essentials. Definitely like the change over. Norton's seems a little too obtrusive. Plus, MSE is free.

 

When i first installed windows 7 i didnt notice any fan noise. I think after installing some programs a few days later it started to kick in. So it was before the service, but i thought if they cleaned it, then that wouldnt have been the problem. Only sometimes when i use splashtop browser it stops, when it's on the startpage. I have made a recovery disc in the beginning. Any chance of that stopping the problem?

 

I can hear fan noise but only if I actually try - otherwise I don't notice it at all. The only time it's really audible is when I'm playing games.

 

I picked up a NW270 last weekend as a xmas gift for my girlfriend (found a great deal). In preparation for having to "fix" it for her once she opens it, I know the Sony bloatware is pretty bad. Are many of you doing clean re-installs once you got them, or are you finding just uninstalling is getting the job done? The last desktop I bought was custom build and my laptop now is an Asus, so I've never dealt with the Sony/HP/Toshiba crapware issue for myself.

 

What do you consider bloatware? Sony preloads its multimedia apps but I wouldn't consider them bloatware. My Vaio NW-125J came with no bloatware... other than those apps.

 

I agree. Just your standard "installed" stuff. Norton trial and Office trial. That was it on mine. I use KS and OpenOffice instead.


Took me about 5 minutes to un-install/install what I wanted. My HP netbook was terrible.

 

That's what I'm thinking.

I uninstalled Office 2007 trial version, but that's because I have the actual version.

I also uninstalled Norton's in favor of Microsoft Security Essentials.

What are some of these bloatware programs that some are discussing? VAIO movie story? VAIO care?

 

I have my eyes on a Sony Vaio NW 270 from best buy for $699. I understand that it has a blu ray optical drive, which is a big selling point for me, but what Im not sure of is whether you can only output it to a HD TV or if it can handle the movie and play it back on its screen. I would appreciate it if you could give me the answer to this question.

by the way im a newbie to this site so the laptop wisdom of some of you veterans would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

It has a standard PC output, if your non-HD TV has a PC input, you should be able to hook it up. Obviously it won't be HD. The only other output is an HDMI, which I don't think you'll find on many non-HD TVs.

 

Yes, I understand this. That wasn't the answer I was looking for. I'm sorry, it's my fault though, let me rephrase the question. Does the Sony Vaio NW 270 have the screen resolution to handle a blu ray movie on its own screen? I read on a review site somewhere that it didn't have the screen resolution to handle a blu ray movie. It said that although it can read a blu ray disc, the only way to actually watch it is to output it to a 1080p HD TV via an HDMI. I wish to verify this.
Thanks