Official Sony S11/S12/S13 (2010) Owners Thread

Do you still get the audio stuttering with this driver? I don't get any with my 8400M GT.

 

Oh, I haven't had that problem since I restored my pc to the original state and drivers a few months ago. It was the new drivers I had installed that caused it.

I will check whether it is back with those.

 

its not a older S issue its the newer i5's

 

There's a free graphics upgrade for custom S purchasers on the Sony UK site until 23rd August (while stocks last). Can't say much more than that because the website seems to be in a partially functional holding pattern as part of a revamp. Can't access the custom selection page. I imagine it's a free bump to the Nvidia 310M instead of the integrated Intel.

Lots of special deals around on the Vaio ranges at the moment.

 

How do you get the changes made in color enhancements to save? Everytime i apply the changes then hit ok it saves, but when my computer sleeps it reverts back to the old settings.

 

Your graphics card is the GeForce 310M or Intel integrated card?
The problem you described happens with the modded driver Nvidia 258.96 of above, or with the official Sony drivers?

 

Hi everyone, I just got my s12 yesterday.
I replaced the hard drive with momentus xt as soon as I got it and did a clean installation.
As everyone said, the color is a bit washed off, could anyone suggest a color setting which may make it look slightly better?
Also, before I installed the realtek audio driver the sound was okay but after I installed the driver the sound was a lot smaller!!I know the speaker of this laptop is not loud at all but how can the audio driver to make it even smaller, just doesn't seem right at all.

 

If you are with NVIDIA ---> increase the vividness (digital vibrance) with 15 to 20 % according to your preference. I personally like it at about 18%.

If you have integrated graphics, browse back the thread - same question was asked numerous times... and a link to a color settings file you could try was given. Last time the question was asked was about 10 pages back.... you can also use the "Search this thread" button... it DOES work.

 

Yes, I actually did see that just wondering if other people have tried any other settings.
Regarding the sound volume becoming smaller after the installation of driver, any idea what would cause this?

 

I have no idea. But if you are usign the in-built speakers, I can recommend trying out the following (Windows 7):

click on the speaker-icon on the task bar (on the right side) and click on the speaker icon on top of the volume control that pops up. Then go to Enhancements and activate Loudness Equalization. I found that this setting increases the volume notably but is only to be used when using the on-board speakers as otherwise distorts the sound when external speakers are used. Try it out I sometimes switch it on when watching movies in bed and the max volume is too low.

 

Thanks!!I started thinking the small sound volume problem is more a driver problem. I initially installed the nvidia hd audio driver as it popped up when I was installing its graphics driver. I then thought the audio driver on the website may be more specific to this laptop and therefore provided better sound quality, but clearly I was wrong and all that driver does is to make the volume smaller...

 

does anyone else have creaky hinges?

im wondering whether its worth my time to ask for an exchange on my new vaio s

about 1/3 the time i move the hinge, the right side creaks a bit. i always open notebooks carefully with even pressure so its not a matter of uneven tension.

when i move it about a bit it stops creaking for a bit. the creak is more prominent after a period of non movement, which might mean its a lube thing

who else has had this problem? im still within the exchange window. my brother got one right me and his hinges are smooth with no noise

is it normal for the hinges to creak?

 

I noticed exactly the same! If you open/close it once or twice they stop creaking. If you leave it closed/opened for a while and then move - they creak a bit (the right one mainly).

BUT, pay attention that it is not the hinges themselves that creak a bit, but the plastic, decorative cover over each hinge. Press it with a finger and you will hear.

I started exploring and guess what - there is absolutely no laptop that has anything made out of plastic and doesn't make ANY sound! Go to a store and check out any Sony model, any Samsung, any HP, any DELL, any Lenovo (oh lenovo... tough as a military machine, but creaking just like one too!!!). Even Apple (the MacBook pro) creaks a bit if you pay attention but maybe less as it has no plastic covers and the hinges are different. The non-pro version creaks much more.

So... just start using the laptop and don't let it use YOU

But I also found out that when I stopped paying so much attention and pressing the plastic covers everyday, the creaking almost went away ) Something else - the slower and more careful you open it - the more the plastic covers are under tension. If I open mine the way I open my company-notebook - I hear absolutely nothing I think you, just like me, are way too careful and gentle with your laptop Believe me - from experience - that does not lead to anything good

 

yeah, i thought it had to do with the plastic covers they use to make the hinges look bigger than they really are combined with the really thin screens (flexy).

i have two days to return it before it becomes a warranty issue (if at all), but if its "normal" i will just deal with it

 

Go to any store and check anything you find there yourself Don't look too much into this

 

My Vaio S is here! Two weeks since I ordered but my baby finally arrived from Japan...via Holland

 

Sony VPCS12L9E/B
Is this laptop comes with Free carry case ?

 

Help!

I formatted my Vaio S (VPCS12C5E) to get rid of all the Sony crap including McAfee and a few others bits but i cannot find a driver for the keyboard FN keys or to control the backlight etc.

I enter my model number on the Sony website and I installed all of the drivers and software but i haven't yet managed to restore the keyboard FN keyes and backlight options.


Do you know where i could download it?

I guess i could always resort to the recovery DVD if needs be

 

I am using Intel integrated card, its the strangest thing why would you have the option of changing the color scheme yet not be able to save it? Also for those of you with the US version, after you do a clean install of Windows 7 Home Premium, are there any issues when installing all the drivers again.

 

Home Premium ?? European S comes with Professional.

 

I want to thank you again for your work: the inf file that you modified appears to work perfectly.
Look, you could post the procedure you made the changes (if not overly complex) and futher informations about the work you made, also to be able ourselves (eventually) to apply to future releases of the driver.

 

I had to send on 27th July my S11 to repair due to touchpad failure. They first changed the touchpad, then they're waiting to get the cable which connects it to the mainboard. Each time they try to change a new component they have to wait to get it from China. It's a terribly long procedure.

What about your experiences with Sony warranty repair? My seems an odissey.

Gio

 

You are welcome. The modding is so simple. Did you compare the unmodded and modded inf with the program I had mentioned? You will notice the added/ changed lines. I will post instructions soon.

 

Well, I did say that this would be a pain compared to a semi-clean install, but nobody listens to me...

There is no single driver for these functions; they work as a result of a combination of drivers.
You need to install these in this order:

Sony Firmware Extension Parser
-restart
Sony Shared Library
-restart
Setting Utility Series
-restart
VAIO Event Service
-restart

These are all available on the Sony support page for your model, and since you said that you loaded all the drivers then it means you put them in the wrong order. So what I'd do is uninstall any of these showing in the "Uninstall a program" section of the Contral Panel (reboot afterwards), and then reinstall all of them in the sequence above (including the restarts).

This should get all your buttons 'n backlights working (unless there's something very different about the S12).

 

Haha i am a bit stubborn yes...and i just wanted to have a pure Windows 7 installation... i am a bit OCD with unnecessary software installed on my banrd new laptop.

Thankfully, it is now all sorted! i got back all my options for the keyboard and the HDD protection.

Thank you PJF!

 

the creak was getting louder and more recurrent so i just put one drop of teflon bicycle chain lube on the inward side, let it seep in, gave it a few full range motions; and now there is no creak at all.

the hinge resistance is the same so im hoping thats the last i hear of that "issue"

 

Which inward side? where exactly?

Would you be so kind to report back once the notebook is left for some time (night) closed or opened? You know that usually after some stratching there is nothing to hear for a while...

But to be honest I barely here it... I need to concentrate and it has to be a silent environment to be able to hear creaking...

 

usually when i open her up in the morning she greets me with a slight complaint.

this morning i spread her open and she was smooth, silent, and compliant.

yesterday eveningi flipped her over with her rear side up on my bed and placed one drop of lubricant on the left side (towards the center of the notebook) of the right side hinge and on the right side of the left hinge

my creak was getting louder and more frequent - hopefully this cures it.

 

Hi coolguy,

instructions will help as i like keeping up to date with the latest driver releases when it comes to GPU cards. I am waiting impatiently for your instructions...

 

anyone able to help me:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/511433-sony-hdmi-error-nvidia-gfx-card.html

thanks

 

Anybody can help me !

Where is recovery folder in S ?

I did make the recover disks but i'm unable to the semi install !
Basically i want to format my current setting & start from scratch & want to partition hdd !
But i'm not getting restore c option when i press f10 !
What shall i do if i want to format all this sony crap

how to partition hdd ?
Could anybody tell me the steps.
Many thanks

 

I'm not really sure I understand what you are trying to do or have a problem with....

to restore the pc boot from the restoration CDs you created and follow the instructions. You will have the oprion to change the partition volume of C.

If you want to change the size of the other partition(s) use the partitioning tool integrated in Win 7.

 

Someone please explain how to edit the (blue label US best buy version) the graphics properties -- image enhancement, change the settings. AND THEN HAVE IT ACTUALLY SAVE. It always resets on the US version, there must be a way around this. I will be eternally grateful.

 

Hi everyone,

i've got blue-screens for the suspend-modes now on my sony (guess it has to do either with the new modified nvidia drivers or logitech mouse drivers). Also the computer is soooooo slow, meaning 5-10min for booting (that's i guess somehow related to my truecrypt since i've seen that behavior after severel months of truecrypting on other computers as well).

Overall that means i'm going to reinstall it in the next days... I prefer to do a clean install with windows 7. The question now is - which plan should i follow as there are some plans from some of you in the thread here (which tells for example which sony app should be installed in which sequence...). I'd like to install just the most important things to get the sony working (for example the automatic brightness etc.)

Any advice?

Thanks so much guys
Dominik

 

upload your minidumps for the guys in the windows 7 forum

Answers Home Page

 

??? why? and try it with admin options

 

you need a full version of the OS recovery is differnt than a clean install

 

Even when under my admin profile, once my computer sleeps or if I restart it, the color enhancements go back to the default settings. Its quit annoying, I've heard that it has to do with power management and I've tried to change every power management profile but it keeps doing the same thing. Those of you with the best buy model, after you do a clean install, does this still happen? Or did you all do a clean install immediately after you got it and have never had this problem.

 

Hello everyone,

New to the forum so be nice! I have just received a lovely new S12C5E...and am overall very pleased with it. I just couldn't resist that free i7 upgrade. But I do have a few questions if I could run them by an experienced user.

1) I am stunned at the amount of Sony software that has come pre-installed on this computer! It's unbelievable. I'm sure this thread has info on this already but it is insanely long and I was having trouble finding definitive answers so I'll ask here -

...Do you think it is worth doing a clean install of Windows, and if so, since there is no windows disk supplied, where can I install it from?

...Which of the Sony programs are essential to the computer? Are things such as Vaio care required? I'm so confused by all these programs!

2) The battery life isn't great. Is it worth buying that extended battery from Sony? Or do you think the battery life will get batter over time?

3) Any suggestions on a good bluetooth mouse to match it?

By the way - the 13" MacBook Pro laptop sleeves fit really well! I bought a Paul Smith one and it's amazing

Thanks for your help guys.

 

i never get it i control my power settings not sony.

the way i did it is in my sig.

 

Does someone know when the new serie of the S-serie will be released?

Also I'm thinking about to buy the S12XB..but I'm not sure yet if I have to buy this now or wait for the new S-serie. Because I've my doubt about the graphics card, it's an intel instead of nvidia. Any suggestions?

 

I'm not sure this is exactly the same thing, but occasionally when i set the NVidia graphics card to "use custom color settings" (in the NVidia control panel), after rebooting it will reset to "use other applications control color settings" and the screen will revert to the default brightness and contrast settings. With the old NVidia drivers it used to happen every single reboot but with the latest modded driver it seems to be mostly fixed.

Hopefully Sony will consider switching to ATI GPUs when they upgrade the S series. It will save everyone a heap of time and trouble.

Cheers

 

Has anyone experienced a slight delay with the sound card?

It sounds like the card goes on stand-by and if a sound is to be played it takes a while to get the card out of sleep mode which results in that sound being played from mid-way until the end? If i continue to play music etc. i don't notice anything so i guess this has something to do with the power saving settings

 

Could someone pleas help me with this problem, because one shop has a special action with the S12X9E/B, and this action will expire at August 28th.

 

should i keep this or a M11x? hmm

 

Update for my repairing Vaio.

Maybe you remember the WWAN Card was damaged.
Finally they got it to work.
The problem was that SOny never send the right parts to the local repair center.
At the end they ordedered everything again just missing the case, and with that it was inside, the missing part...

One positiv thing: with the new WWan Card inside, the GPS is working dont no why, and didnt install any new drivers


Cheers

 

I have not seen anywhere on the web any news to suggest an S Series lineup refresh anytime soon.

The S11 model was updated two months ago with the S12 model. I wouldn't expect any new models coming out until Jan/Feb 2011.

 

Thank you for your reply. And what about the graphic card, is it a good card? So can I play games likes the sims 3, or is it better to take a Nvidia card? or make an own customable S-serie?

 

Hi Kenji,

I got my first vaio S this week with the following customizable config:

i7 620m
8GB Ram
Nvidia 310m

I installed Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 in order to check how the PC would react and to my surprise, the game ran smooth with not problems at all. I also would like to mention that I made a clean install of Win 7 Pro 64 in order to dual boot with openSuse 11.3. Just keep in mind to not delete the Recovery partition and the other one. Just touch c:\. And dont forget to make those Recovery DVDs.

 

I have the S12 with i7 and chose the Nvidia video card instead of the Intel integrated graphics one. These are the only two options by the way.

the Nvidia provides better performance compared to the Intel one but it consumes slightly more power. If you don't play games or have any heavy demands on graphics performance then the Intel one would give you longer battery times.