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

Has anyone here got the new 2011 Sony Vaio S Series VPCSB190X?

If anyone has could you post a picture/inform me of how easy it is to replace the hard drive...

Im thinking of getting one but the SSD upgrade on the Sony website is way overpriced so i plan to buy the lowest hard drive option then pop a OCZ Vertex 3 SSD in it, but i need to know how easy it is to access the hard drive compartment.

Any help would be great.

Thanks
Sam

 

There is a dedicated SA/SB/SC/SD thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...al-sony-sb-sa-sc-sd-series-owners-thread.html

This one is only for the original S !

 

Hello,

Sorry for posting such a newbie question but I can't seem to turn the radio on. I have moved the little switch in the left front - in both directions. When I turn it off, the BT dissappears under network devices. I've tried enabling and disabling the wireless. I've downloaded the drives from Sony - they don't seem to help either way. I 've tried downloading the newer drivers from Intel - they don't help.

When I run intel diagnostics, it is telling me the radio hardware is turned off. I checked in the BIOS - it is enabled. Could someone tell me where the switch is for the wifi? The wireless light on the front in the left hand corner is green.

Thanks

EDIT - Found it! I reinstalled VAIO Smart Network and you can turn the radio on and off with that!

 

I can't be the only one. Does anyone else's S show mouse key wear? I get the same wear on all my computers. However, only Sony's shows up after 1 to 2 months.

 

Exactly

I think there was another one long time ago here in the thread...
I honestly don't know what you guys do with that touchpad key - I never use the left one! I think I've pressed it 10 times in total.

Maybe it is time to learn tapping like in the 21st Century It's way more efficient and silent and the touchpad is large enough to allow all operations this way.

 

Am I the last clicker in a tapper world?

 

One of the last buddy... one of the last

I only click when the touchpad is not large enough (like on a Lenovo T400 for example). But on the vaio - it is way more comfortable, faster and silenter to tap. you also have 2 much more convenient ways to scroll.

 

This is sony's guide to replacing HDD

http://www.docs.sony.com/release/989202617_VPCSB_series_HDD_CRU.pdf

 

Dude, this thread is for the original S only, and not for SA/SB/SC! Please refer to:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony-owners-lounge-forum/563759-official-sony-sb-sa-sc-sd-series-owners-thread.html

 

real people know how to click, tappers are just to lazy

 

Heed a help, sorry if the topic I would raise was already discussed earlier here. I cannot solve the problem with periodic sound/video jammimg (something like micro-stoppage) during playback. It occurs for a second or two and then re-appears again, though the overall playback is OK. I resinstalled NVIDIA and Realtek sound (the latest driver), the latest BIOS is applied, but to no success. I noticed that almost a half year ago after I got this new brand lappie, but only now it became really annoying. The laptop is VPC-S11.
Thanks for any advice and references in advance.

 

If you mean stuttering of the sound every now and then but on regular basis - both when you watch a movie or just listen to music - I have had that!!

It happened 2-3 months after I purchased my S11 and I spent days looking for the reason, reinstalling drivers, restoring the system, trying out different players and codecs, looking into the DPC-latencies - I went insane and was on the edge of sending the laptop for repair or even selling it and getting something else, as nothing seemed to help!

However, I decided to give it one more chance and reinstalled the system from scratch (using the restoration DVDs). Never heard that stuttering ever again!!

I assumed it was a driver that wasn't right after all, as I did a few driver updates before it started happening, but don't know for sure... was very happy to have it fixed

 

Gracy123, thank you very much. Yes, you found the right word, stuttering!

I did the same, players, codecs etc, no result. Amazed. Tired. If the full reinstallation is the only remedy, I will try. Have you any thoughts/suspicions about this very driver? What it might be... Video? Sony Phaser? Sound?

 

If I knew I wouldn't reinstall My windows was freshly installed at the time - maybe 1 month old, but I updated quite a few drivers so to be honest - no clue. Just like you I was headbanging for days and nothing really helped.

I suspected the video driver for a long time, as it affects the DPC latency a lot, but reinstalling it as well as other versions did not help. I also suspected the audio drivers (Realtek and Nvidia), but you mentioned you already tried that...

No clue. I never investigated it any further - I was so happy to have it go away that I even feared updating drivers for a few months afterwords, but I have updated so many drivers after that (been nearly an year since then) and never had the problem come back... so no worries.

Hope you can fix it by reinstalling! Let me know when you do!

 

P.s. You could use the drivers database I upload here (should find the latest on one of the previous 2-3 pages) to see which drivers I am using and compare to yours... but you'd be faster and more efficient if you just reinstall windows...
It could be something else, not a driver... I really have no clue.

 

Gracy123, very appreciated. I will look through the list, like Sherlock . At least, you gave a hope, as I thought it was a hardware defect, now I see this problem relates to the software...

 

If it's the same problem as I described it - stuttering every few seconds/minutes - turned out to be a software thing... I was also very discouraged

IMO your best shot is reinstalling the system.

 

NVidia 270.61 is out, any INF file? Please.

 

Gracy123, I did different types of diagnostics and I found quite a simple solution which I’m currently testing now.

So, first - I de-installed original drivers (Realtek HD Sound) through the Control Panel. Rebooting then.

After you switch on, Windows starts the automatic installation of its own integrated drivers. I don't interfere. (By the way I did test several soundtracks after this installation finished - no audible stuttering!).

Third - let's go to the Realtek web-site and get the original updates for HD Audio. BUT: we do NOT download the *exe file and choose *zip instead.

Go to the Control Panel, then to System, then to Hardware Device Manager. Click on audio device there, click on "driver", then "Update". Here we do NOT use automatic search for drivers, but direct the search to the exact folder where we put unzipped Realtek drivers. Click OK and the process goes forward.... Here we are.

Now I got two hours of smooth playback. We’ll see how it goes on further … (So at this point I blame Realtek ). If it proves to be temporary solution, I will join you in mastering the ultimate one .

One more puzzling problem I noticed: regardless of the fact that I change gamma and color options though NVIDIA panel with the "use NVIDIA options" checked, Windows switches to its own options after reboot (assigning all these changes etc. to "other" mysterious device).

 

Hey,

I've been in out of this forum for a bit but finally signed up since i'm having a hard time finding a laptop that i like. I'm liking this Sony Vaio S, specifically i'm looking at the VPCSB1AGX/B and I wanted to ask if anyone has this laptop and if the noisy fan problem still exists. I saw in a few posts from last year that people wanted switchable graphics. Doesn't this model have switchable graphics since it has the new sandy bridge core i. Thank in advance for any help.


****EDIT*****
I apologize I went a couple pages back and found a thread dedicated to these laptops. Sorry bout that.

 

my bad

Moved to correct thread.

 

Wrong Thread

This thread is dedicated to the original Vaio S (2010) only! There is a separate thread about SA/SB/SC/SD/SE etc. Please read before you post!

 

hi... i'm considering removing my dvd burner and putting a hd there... the current hd in the laptop is very slow... so i want more storage and more speed... has to be a ssd & hdd combination.

so in any case. i was trying to remove the optical drive. removing the screw that holds it... but i think there are some other screws as it didn't slide out as is normal. Any idea how i can remove the dvd drive? do i need to open my laptop?

 

2 screws are holding it - one being pretty obvious and a smaller one, hidden under the HDD cover. Both are marked with 3 dots.

 

Hmmm, has anyone replaced the DVD drive with a HDD? I didn't know it was possible. Anyone source a DVD-to-HDD adapter bracket?

 

Search back the thread. There is even a separate thread that describes the process with photos. Just browse back.

 

I purchased a 2nd HDD caddy (9.5mm) on ebay from a HK seller. Will give you an update in 4 weeks.

 

do that please!

 

Yeah interesting project, need pics of the old DVD drive how it looks..

 

Guys.... why are you so lazy to browse back or use the search feature It has all been discussed before and there is a separate thread with pics and information.
I'm just tired of playing "google" just because you find it easier to write a new post and request new pics, instead of looking for the existing

I'd appreciate new information such as what brand caddy was purchased and whether the DVD-tray cover fits fine on the caddy. Everything else has been told and shown...

 

sorry.....

 

No problem just saying

 

My daughter was so nice and let crash my Vaio, and now my plug from power supply is broken.

Is it possible just change the cord from power supply to notebook?



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

I'm not sure I understand what is broken!?

 

The plug on the pic

 

One option is to buy an adapter replacement on ebay.

 

But can I trust the cheap power supply...

 

It doesn't have to be the cheapest...

I would trust a known brand... it isn't that hard to supply a specific voltage and currency

 

I upgraded to the latest bios yesterday, and my SB seems to be louder than before (which is the opposite effect, this new bios was supposed to reduce the fan noise).

Is it possible to downgrade ?

 

As mentioned 10 times already:

 

My S11 has developed a problem where it spontaneously shuts off. It's rather random and only happens once every day or so. I believe it does it on both power and battery. My experience has been that happens because of a faulty battery, even when on power. Anyone thoughts?

 

There can be many reasons... does it shut down or just restart?
The worst thing is if it is not reproducible, but if it is once a day it is still better than being once a week.

I'd send it for repair, it should still be in warranty?

If you suspect the battery than just remove it and use it on external power only ..... if you are right it will not happen again.

 

I have a VPCS series VAIO, I'm about to change the CPU, are there any photographic guides on here, cheers.

 

guides - no. Some helpful pcitures and information - yes. A person named "Google" - no. A search feature in the top-right corner - yes.

Or you could browse back - you will learn a few other good things too

And welcome to the thread

 

I'm not sure it will be convenient to use the unit without the battery. That's an ideal test but not so practical given my usage. My plan is to observe while planning to buy a new battery in a month. If the problem persists with the new battery, I will call it in for repair.

 

It was convenient to just let the computer sit running without a battery and, yes, it did shutdown completely. It required a cold reboot to restart. That rules out the battery. I'll let the computer sit running at the BIOS screen and see if it shuts down. If it does, it's definitely hardware. If not, I guess I'll have to let it sit with a different OS to rule out software. Must be something.

 

Yes, do that. Although I can't imagine OS can be the reason for sudden shut down. Reset - yes, but shut down..... rather unlikely.

 

Indeed it does shutdown at the F2 bios screen. Can someone try it on their Sony? I want to eliminate the unlikely possibility that the bios times out. It took around two hours for the computer to shut off at the BIOS screen.

 

Could it be that your computer overheats !? have you monitored the temperatures during normal usage and mainly before a shut down? Have you cleaned your FAN? At which speed does it work?

 

could someone tell me if there is an mpcie slot on the s11? i have a version without 3g and i'm thinking of putting a ssd into that slot if possible. i'm not really in need of 3g or gps at the moment so it would be a waste to buy a caddy while i'm able to just plugion a mpcie ssd

and anyone exchanged a normal mousepad with one with fingerprint reading? i used a sony sb recently and the fingerprint is just so easy.