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

No, never observed such an issue. Where do you see the wear level? I'll check right away.

Regarding models - I am always comapring V9E (my submodel). S11V9E ---> S12V9E = 2 GB RAM more. No other differences. Don't see anything different about S13V9E though....

 

You have to consider the whole set of combinations (available on sonystyle), preconfigured models are just a limited subset. I don't remember exactly but the S12 rev added some CPUs (e.g. i3-350M), removed some others (i3-330M), added a few new colors, added 6-8GB RAM options and so on (BTW, new prices ). It's the same for the update S12-->S13. I think it's basically a "commercial" revision, although hw improvements might be present as well.

About the battery, for linux no further software needed, for windows you can use stuff like BatteryBar or similar programs. IIRC it came with a small 0,1% capacity reduction, but after 3-4 recharges above the 80% limit, wear level raised to 0,5%. The problem is that I've been using the notebook almost always on AC, just 4-5 times on battery. With such a rate, using the battery every day, I have to trash it pretty soon. I don't know whether it is due to the lack of charge protection a few times or a defective battery (considering that charge indicator issue).

 

I just got a VAIO S from Best Buy. Where can I purchase an additional power cord? And maybe a bluetooth mouse that works with this thing? I had one from my Asus but the Vaio can't connect to it no matter what numbers I punch in....

Thanks

 

Click here

 

Well, after waiting 6 weeks for my new s-series to arrive, it has come with a bent lid. Much like the last one. I am VERY annoyed.

Does anyone have experience of this? Or any suggestions about what I can expect from Sony? This is a bit silly now, second laptop in worse condition than the first. Surely their quality control can't be that good!

 

Auch....

Could you upload a picture? I'm curious to see what you mean?

 

I bought one off ebay.

vgp-ac19v33 items - Get great deals on Computers Networking items on eBay.com!

 

I'm sure you can see it - just right of the middle of the lid.

That's not the only place it seems to be bent, the actual chassis seems warped as well.

What do you think?

Check out Jim Morrison in the background. He's unimpressed!

 

hmm.... strange indeed. Doesn't look thaaaat bad, but odd anyway.

I have the feeling customized Ss come very often with defects.... or was it a pre-configured model?

 

Yes it's a customised one. It might not look that bad - but it's worse in the flesh, and not something I'd expect from a laptop I paid almost £1200 for. Agree?

 

Couldn't agree more. It's a new machine... and not a cheap one from a premium brand....

But maybe there is really something wrong with customized vaios.... most of the complains about quality I read here were regarding customized ones.

Pre-configured seem to be fine... Odd....

 

Yeah that it is odd. I can't believe it wasn't noticed in quality control as it went out!

I'm not sure where to go with Sony now, I really can't wait another 5 weeks for a new one...they've got their work cut out for them.

 

And the worse thing is that I LOVE this laptop! I literally can't find anything that covers all the same bases as this. 13.3", backlit keys, DVD, WWAN, metal chassis...nothing else seems to have these specs!

 

If you think you could live with that (or somehow bend it back to normal... the LID is quite flexible) - contact sony and ask for refund. For example 1 year additional warranty (you name a price in pounds so I assume you are in UK and are also f*cked up with only 1 year of warranty?)

100% true! Feel absolutely the same way. People without experience can't realize it though... they think any 13" with i CPU is an alternative..... well.... in a few years they'll start to see the difference

 

They already gave me one year free warranty in compensation for the 5 weeks it took to deliver a new laptop!

I want a Z...

 

I think you'll need to have like a bent motherboard and a pink screen to get this upgrade )) Besides this Z is not as robust as the S.... I wouldn't....

well ask for a solution suggestion then.... Maybe an exchange to a pre-config. model from a store near your place...

 

Here are the options from Sony:

1. Compensation with warranty or accessory.

2. Wait 5 weeks for another.

3. Refund.

So after 2 months of waiting and being out of pocket £1000, I'll be saying bye to the S-Series. They wouldn't even let me have a pre-config model!

 

They do ----> Refund -----> go to the nearest store ----> Buy a pre-configured one ----> Open it in the store and exchange if you notice anything wrong, but I doubt.

I bought mine from Sony.Style store too.

 

Sure, I can see it. Unacceptable. Give it back.
About the chassis, I had the same impression, the second one I received used to "dance" when laying on the table. The last I received and that I'm now owning seems not to touch perfectly as well but the problem is much smaller.

Absolutely.

I've seen a lot of defects on the preconfigured ones too, the problem is the build and materials quality. CTO are made by the same parts, I don't think that the lid is assembled in Japan, it is probably made and assembled in China.

Yes, I know, I felt the same when I had to send back mine. I still love my S, but at the same time I hate to see all these problems and defects I'm still experiencing.

About:
1) no way
2) it depends on you (and your patience)
3) probably the most reasonable (you can move to a pre-configured model if you still don't find something else)

 

Possible reasons:

* Different factory
* Different team
* Different quality control

Whatever the reason might be... There seems to be a noticeable difference in quality between pre- configured and customized models... Most complains I read came from CTO....

Mine was assembled in China (preconf).

 

My Sony S Intel 6200 AGN wireless adapter will not connect to my WPA2 AES network but it will connect to it when I change it to WEP or no password. However, my other laptops can connect to WPA2 AES completely fine. Any ideas what's causing the problems? I am using the latest drivers possible.

Is it possible that my wireless card is dying? I tried reformatting and several different drivers but none of them would work with wpa or wpa.

 

you can always email Howard; [email protected]

be exact and explain your issues, what youve done to try and fix it

 

Hi,

I have a S11 laptop and it has an i5 520m, 4gb ram, 500 gb hdd and an nVidia 310m gpu. The Problem is that the power consumption is really high because of the 310m and i would like to permanently switch to Intel HD Graphics.

So do any of you know how to use the Integrated Graphics instead of 310m ?
Would love to have more battery life !

Please reply

 

S does not have switchable graphics. The only way to do it would be a new BIOS and to probably to take the NVIDIA out.

Nothing I would do just for extra half an hour battery life. Buy a larger capacity battery instead if 3-4 hours aren't enough for you.

 

if you pop the hard drive cover off, what is that connector behind the sata connector? my S has a open spot with a connector. not sure what goes there

 

Haven't paid attention. Taking and uploading a picture might help...

 

can anyone check for me about the wpa connection

 

Mine works fine. But have had this problem with other PCs - it was some settings problem... don't remember details.

 

when i get around to having the hd cover off again i will. but until than maybe somebody else has looked at theres and noticed it

 

Interesting photo... I see what you mean about the bent lid, not good!

What is the thing in the middle? Is it the DVD tray? Or is it too small? I thought that externally the S was pretty much the same as the Y, just a bit thicker to accommodate the DVD drive (which I thought was on the right hand side). However I can see that the audio inputs and outputs are on the front, whereas the Y has them on the side... Hummm, not sure I like that. It would be great if someone could upload some good photos of the S series (from all angles), I’ve tried searching the forum to no avail and the photos on the sony website are pretty crappy!

 

That's the HDD tray! No - the S does not look absolutely the same as the Y They are quite different.

you can find numerous photos from all sides here: Review Sony Vaio VPC-S11M1E Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

My SR has a slight curve to the screen as well though it's more uniform and not quite warped asymmetrically like yours...

 

So! Another twist in the horrible tale that is my S-Series experience. I hope I'm keeping everyone entertained with this story.

So I had a chat with a nice person at Sony Style the other day. We came to a compromise - based on the fact that I really can't wait 3 weeks for another laptop - that I'd keep the laptop, they would send me an extended life battery free of charge, and if the laptop ever had to go in for repair they'd do the screen at the same time.

So averagely satisfied, I went away and used the laptop. I used it yesterday night, this morning, and this evening. I installed iTunes and put my music on it. That is all.

So I look down from the screen to text on my phone. I look up...and a two inch band of weird lines has appeared all along the top of the screen. No worries I thought and turned it off...the whole screen is now covered in lines. It's like a Paul Smith styled screen now. And is obviously completely buggered and useless.

This is so frustrating. It's not even like this is to do with the bend in the screen - it seems as though the graphics card is now broken. What was it you said Gracy about getting a Z? Bent motherboard and pink screen? Cos I have that now!!

 

JEEES!!!!! I can only say.... it seems it's not meant to be.
Really sorry to read this...

 

Yep. Here it is:

 

Thanks. Your advice was correct. I was able to activate a generic Windows 7 version by calling the activation service. It worked from an IP address in France. I was concerned about that issue. Of course, you have to install the same version as the original OEM version. In my case it was a Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

 

Thanks for the link! I thought it looked a bit small for a Dvd tray. Don't like the white model much but at least now I know where everything is!

 

Seems that changing on-battery wireless performance to maximum in Power Options makes for a more robust WiFi connection. Anyone else find this to be true? Otherwise I seem to get periods of poor WiFi receptions when surfing at cafes.

 

Same Here. But i got this issue on many other Laptops aswell. Sony and non Sony

 

VAIO Gate - 2.2.1 available as an update as of today.

 

Hi from Italy,

I'm a new S12V9 owner ! At the moment I'm very happy with it. My previous notebook was a Sony S3XP, so I'm still in family !

Just a question: do you have a link to any thread regarding re-installing from scrath Window 7 ? I would like to remove any bloatware inside it, but I don't want to make wrong steps in reinstalling necessary drivers and software (for example Sony gate) .

Thank you for your support !

Gianluca - Torino (Turin) - Italy

 

Welcome to the team

I would recommend you to just remove everything you don't need. This way your system will work fine with all drivers and Sony programs.

If you do a clean install there will be features that might not work properly, such as the keyboard-backlight control, etc.

I also used to always do a clean install but in this case it is much easier and better to just remove anything unnecessary. You can create a system image right after that and will always have a clean installation handy.

 

my way of clean installing is in my sig. the backlit keyboard only comes on when I type on it and then turns off again in a couple seconds if i dont touch any more keys.

and I can adjust my screen brightness without the light sensor

 

That's exactly what I meant - you have absolutely no control over the backlit keyboard and only manual control over the screen brightness.

If it doesn't bother you - ok. It would drive me crazy if the keyboard was to illuminate every time I press a key and not being able to set for how long it lights up and so on. I also find the light sensor does a very decent job, really happy with that feature as the screen automatically adjusts itself to the environment.

Besides whether it bothers you or not and if you voluntarily don't want to take advantage of some of your 1000 bucks new laptop's features, I don't think you really win much by installing clean Win 7 instead of just removing anything unnecessary. If you were to... then we obviously bought really slow and powerless machines LOL

Anyway... a matter of personal choice. I just wanted to warn him, he can decide if it is worthy to him.

 

Gracy123, Boo Boo,

thank you for your response.

Since I followed for some time the Asus owners discussions (I was buying an U33 bamboo model), they preferred to format disk and reinstall all. Removing all bloatware seems to not guarantee full performance.

I think I'll only remove unnecessary software instead of reinstall all.

Thank you.

gianluca

 

clean install you dont have the registry bloated up with unnessasary apps

 

hi there!

i'm new here and i just bought a S12V9E. still waiting for the parcel, i want to clean install my vaio on a hitachi 7k500. but since i read several posts in this thread noticing the backlight functions and ambient light sensor won't work well, i'm in doubt about it. does the procedure PJF describes really work? or is the result like Boo Boo writes?

thanks!

 

If the backlight functions don't work, it's because of software issues. You install the right drivers/softwares, all will work

 

ok thanks. it always sounds like it doesn't work, even with the right drivers. especially the ambient light sensor thing.

 

i reinstalled the drivers only then reinstalled Vaio Control Center. I am still able to control the keyboard, and use the brightness buttons etc.