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

Well I am once again shocked from the insane UK laws (You can return a product without any reason up to 14 days after purchase here - no matter if online or from a shop)

But anyway... return it then and get a new one.

 

Thank you I have contacted the seller and they are sending a replacement.

Without wishing to start a debate on UK laws in general and consumer rights in particular, I would say that Distance selling regs are there to protect people. They only allow a 7 days cooling off period for goods bought over the phone or internet. These do not apply to goods bought in shop at all. You can only return those goods if they are faulty. Shops allow people to exchange unwanted presents etc because of their goodwill towards customers and not because of the laws.

 

And this is exactly why I am shocked... Bad quality = return and get money back without explanation or conflicts! No way to realize that for 10 minutes at the shop. It takes at least a few days to notice that your PC installs something every time and shows mystical errors, doesn't it...

Anyway, let us know how the new one is.

 

That’s because of the old English principal of Caveat Emptor "Let the buyer beware", and on that principal, as you do not see the goods when you order your goods remotely, the law allows checking them properly when you get them.
I agree with you that had I bought this laptop in the shop, they would have argued there is nothing wrong and I would have been hard pressed to prove that it is not fit for purpose.

 

Well got the replacement and everything works fine on this one.

 

Glad to hear that

 

Thank you. It must have been either the factory fault or the delivery people not being careful that ended up in something being diconnected in the last one.

 

why is my vaio's screen has to go black first before i can run any game/program??? this is so weird... my previous HP laptop didnt behave this way

 

I don't understand what you mean? You open Internet Explorer and your screen goes black? You open Word and it goes black?

 

no no... it's only when i open programs that require 'User Account Control'

 

Still not normal, but who needs User Account Control.... first thing I disabled.

 

With the Y not available in germany atm, i was thinking about a S. But when I saw a S12 in a shop, it seems that the plastic the display frame is made of is very soft. I could push in the back of the screen easily and the frame did not seem to be very stiff. I'm a little afraid that this may be a problem in the future, because my first notebook had an similar stiffness and after a year the LCD was broken.
So... can someone please tell me that sony has put a little bit magnesium in the frame of the screen of the S13?
That would be nice, because the Z is a little bit too expensive...

 

You didn't pay enough attention The back cover is not plastic It is metal! And this is exactly the reason why it bends that easily. The problem is it is too thin as you have noticed. It can't crack or break (as plastic does), but I have the feeling it barely protects the screen, as when it is pushed down it makes contact with the screen and can damage it! I wish they had put thicker metal LID cover (like Macbook Pro for example).

On the other hand I haven't seen how it looks on the inside, maybe it isn't that bad protected!? Can someone add more information?

The frame is in fact plastic and what I hate about it is that it isn't attached very well to the back cover - that's why sometimes when I type I hear vibrating noises coming from the top part of the screen. That could have been done better!

S13 is exactly the same as S12 and S11. They haven't changed anything there.

 

the curviture of the lid protects the screen thus distributing the force

 

it does it on any computer with uac , its done that way to get your attention

 

Sorry but a few more items around the back of the laptop in my backpack and the force will be nicely "distributed" breaking the screen, while even a plastic cover (not even mentioning the macbook pro) wouldn't feel a thing!!

Nonsense!

It is just the biggest weak-spot of this model if you ask me. The base is very stable and I don't worry about it at all - you can pick up the notebook with one hand from the corner - it never bends or creaks.

But the LID.... very disappointing! The only positive thing about it being metal is that it can never crack or break (I hope!!). But it would be much better if it was 1-2 mm thicker!

P.s. I wish you were right, but to the best of my knowledge you are the only person in this forum... actually in this world that has this theory!! If you could show me a review or even another user that shares it - I'd be glad )

Unfortunately I fear that you are the type of users who have the "Whatever I own is always the best" which leads to making all disadvantages to advantages with unreasonable arguments.

Have you ever seen such a test done on the S? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEfQHNQLxMU
Don't you wonder why...? Guess!!

But enough said, everyone has the right of own opinion

Merry Christmas to all of you!!!

 

force distributation across a curved structure dissipiates the force yielding power.

its common sense

and a notebook should never have alot of weight on top of it. its like a person. the more weight it will fail

 

I'm just saying - I'm pretty sure that almost any other notebook (plastic or metal, especially mac brook pro or Lenovo ThinkPad) would resist much more force before damaging anything with or without "force distribution"!!!

If you don't believe it - let's use your S for testing purposes! I don't have another 1000 bucks for a new one.

 

Yep, that's my impression as well. I don't want to find out how much force it can handle. Thanks for the informations.

 

I'd be very thankful if Boo Boo would test his "force distribution" and show us the results! I'd gladly do the same test with the same force on Lenovo T400 or T61 and we can compare the effect

I bet on:

Vaio S: Damaged screen and eventually cracked frontal frame. No damage to the metal cover.

Lenovo - not a sign from any damage.

Normal plastic laptop - Broken or cracked LID cover. Possible frontal frame damage. No damage to the screen itself.

 

Synaptics Driver Update - 15.1.18.0 (08.10.2010)

For those of you willing to add some functionality to the touch-pad, such as scrolling with 2 fingers, zooming pictures with 2 fingers, etc., etc. (If I am not mistaken, these features were not available in the original 14.0.10.0 driver) - update your Synaptics driver to the latest 15.1.18.0 (released 08.10.2010), which you can download from HERE

 

you should go to school and you wouldnt need to test it you would know

and if you want the most up to date synaptics drivers

ver Synaptics v15.1.22.2 - 64bit

http://drivers.synaptics.com/Synaptics_v15_1_22_2_C_XP64_Vista64_Win7-64_Marketing_SGS94_UI.exe

 

No need of school - I just need your S for 5 minutes to prove it to you
Pity there is no one else here or in the internet from your "school" to support your theory.
Distributing force is a nice idea, BUT what are you distributing it to? To a plastic frame and to the most valuable you actually want to protect - the screen !? AWESOME idea!

Thanks for the driver.

 

I agree. Forces don't vanish. Despite that fact, a stiff metal lid would also distribute the force. It just would not bend and touch the screen.

 

its just like a ballistic trauma plate. the force hits it and expands outward while protecting everything behind it.

 

This would be true, if:

1. By expanding outwards, it did not stretch a thin plastic frame, that cannot handle much force

2. It would expand outwards, BUT not touching the unprotected screen, which it easily does!

While your are looking at your screen, try to push the LID from behind until it touches the backside... and then a little more...! Do you notice how the screen bends itself and colors change? Do you feel how EASY this goes?

I personally don't know any other notebook that has this "feature"!

 

90% of laptop if you push it warps the screen , thats nothing new

 

Does anyone know how to delete the (previously run) list from System Tune-up in Vaio care? (it appears in the box above the undo radio button).

 

Yes... if you push hard enough - everything warps - even 10cm thick steal! But I still don't know any other laptop that warps by putting a cup of coffee on it That's exactly what we all say - it warps WAY TOO EASY!!!

 

mine doesnt warp and I pack it tight

 

I wish I could believe you... only if I hadn't seen XX number of S so far....

The construction is the same by S11, S12 and S13.

 

Anyone has tried to change the keyboard or knows any tutorial to learn how to unmount it?I would be very grateful. Thank you!

 

Search back the thread or use the "Search this Thread" option in the top right corner...

 

hi people.

i got a Sony VAIO VPCS120FL from Chile that comes with latin backlit keyboard (with key like Ñ), but my native language is portuguese (Brazil).

so i found a brazilian keyboard on ebay that is compatible with my laptop, but the seller said it doesnt have backlit.

the layout of the keyboards are the same, the only diference are the images of some keys. ie: latin has Ñ, brazilian has Ç.

is there an way for me to dont loose the backlit function?

if i only change the black part of the keyboard and keep my flat cable, since the keys are in the same position, will it work?

thanks in advance and happy new years!

 

you can try changing the letters but you could end up with 2 broken keyboards

 

You can change the keys -take the keys you need and put them on the backlit keyboard instead of those you don't need and change the layout in Windows, BUT the new keys will not have illuminated letters, as the keys for backlit keyboards are produced differently (black layer on top of a transparent base) to allow the letters to glow. The non-backlid keys also have more rough/grainy surface (letters are stuck on a black base).

In other words it will be pretty obvious which keys you exchanged and they will only be backlid from the sides, but not the letters.

 

Hi people, thanks for the answers.

My lasts questions, if i put a non backlit keyboard, will it light from sides at least?

Also, does the keyboard of VPCS11V9E (UK layout) / VPCS111FM (US layout) fits on mine?

Those keyboards sold in ebay.co.uk are really genuine?

I found on ebay an used backlit keyboard of VPCS111FM, but the key (enter) is smaller than mine, and also found a brand new UK backlit S series keyboard (enter key is big like mine).

I prefer US layout over UK, but if I can't find US, i will go with UK, better than latin for me.

Thanks again!

 

As far as I know any keyboard for the S will fit - the layout is just different together with the size of some keys. The keyboard itself is the same size and has the same connectors.

A non-backlit keyboard is non-backlit Nothing will illuminate.

The only thing you can do to at least have light around the keys is take the keys from a non-backlit and put them on the backlit base you already have.

But as I already had a broken key once, I wouldn't risk removing all keys on your place... Just use the keyboard you have or buy one that you can live with...

 

A few weeks ago, I sent my notebook for repair because it was cracking, as some of you might remember. One week ago I received it back, but the problem was still there. Went back to the Mediamarkt (Netherlands) and told them about the problem, they told me to contact Sony directly instead of using the services of the Mediamarkt. So I did, they picked it up with UPS, and one week later I received it back. But sometimes I think, it's still there. I have heard that there is a rule that if Sony have repaired your laptop two times for the same problem, the third time they need to replace your whole notebook. Does anyone know something about this?

 

Not exactly. There is such a law in Germany but it applies to the trading company and NOT the manufacturer! That's why you always need to go through the company you bought it from, if that's possible, even if they send it to Sony themselves too, unless you have a written instruction to call Sony directly. Sony has no obligation to do anything apart from repair, BUT MediaMarkt in your case would have to either give you a brand-new machine or your money back if they are unable to solve the problem 2 times (the same problem occurs 3 times).

This is what the situation is in Germany as far as I know, so I assume it is the same or similar in the NL. I wouldn't bet on that in UK though... as it turned out there are absolutely no laws to protect customers there, just like in the middle ages.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU

 

I have no idea what the consumer legislation in NL or Germany is, but in UK, your contract is with the seller and not the manufacturer. Irrespective of what terms and conditions they have or purport to have, if the goods are not fit for purpose, then you are eligible for replacement or refund(your choice). Some companies may try to hide behind their own terms and conditions, but if they do not comply with legislation, they are void.

UK has wide range of protection, but unfortunately most people do not realise their rights, so when the shop says, “oh, it more then 28 days so there is nothing we can do”, they take it at face value. The law says “reasonable period”, which in some cases have been held to be over a year (depending on product) and laptops and computers will fall under that category.

 

Lovely. And who is to define what "reasonable period" is? The judge, right? Now go sue...

Awesome protection! Very useful.

But anyway - you are right for one thing:

!

 

Short, but quite adequate review here:

Sony VAIO S13 review | Laptops | Education | Reviews | PC Pro

Hmmm. I can't really complain myself yet, but I agree it could be better. Still very happy with what it is though. My only real disappointment was the soft LID cover...

 

Do you guys hear a slight hissing/feedback through the headset jack?

I mean, it's really faint, and I use noise-blocking earbuds and listen to quiet ambient music a lot, so it may just be me being picky. I don't notice it with regular ear phones.

Actually, just plugging the headphones in without any music is the best way to test for this. I'm assuming they didn't shield the audio components well or something. It's faint cracking/hissing.

 

Yes, It is quite audible with amplifier of loudspeakers too. It is nothing really frustrating, but it is there.

I will say it once again, maybe for 100th time but - this is NO multimedia notebook! Whoever bought it with the main purpose to listen to music, watch movies and play games - that's the wrong address!

The only all-rounders are those that break 2 months after purchase...

 

Just because it's not a multimedia notebook doesn't mean it should have defective earphone jacks..I use my earphones for a lot more than just music and movies..im really hoping Sony has something to show at CES

 

It is not the jack that is defective - just the audio components installed aren't that qualitative and isolated good enough from the other components in the machine! Every notebook has this problem - just the extend is different and I agree that on Vaio S it is below average (have seen much worse though (Lenovo). If you want pure sound quality - you won't find it in ANY notebook - there are external audio cards for that purpose.

 

i dont hear any issues with mine, you could try and install the most uptodate audio drivers. and not use sonys

 

Dude.... you NEVER have any problems with your S I guess you aren't even using it No soft, bending cover, no audio noises, no loose battery... seems that yours is the best ever made But more likely - you are not willing to see the problems and they remain invisible to you

P.s. I am using newer drivers.. whether they are the newest - I don't know. If you have a link to those you can share.

You will not hear any noises unless you use at least average class speakers with amplifier or high resistance headphones It is barely noticeable on mine, but if you for example use an extension cord to the speakers, the resistance obviously becomes too big and the noise is terrible. Same extension cord and speakers on another (5 yo.) laptop - no noise at all!

Listening with cheap headphones - no noise.
Listening with speakers (Creative iTrigue) without turning the volume on the speakers much above the middle of the scale (not amplifying it much) - no noise or barely noticeable.
Using the speakers to amplify above the average level - the noise is not to remain unheard.

But again - for listening to music unprofessionally and without expecting to boost it to your 500W Speakers - perfectly fine!!
You most likely won't notice a thing. That's why I don't see it as a major problem. As I said - seen/heard much worse on laptops that cost even more!

 

Hey guys, do you any place where I can buy a nvidia graphic card for my S? Because I bought mine without dedicated graphic card, and now I would like to upgrade it, thank you!