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

I don't think it's overheating. I recently cleaned it. Regardless, I will explore this possibility. Related to this, I did switch power state into "silent mode". I've just changed it to "balanced". I doubt this is the issue but if it doesn't crash in a few days, well that was it.

 

My experience and benchmarking showed that those thermal control modes have 0 influence over our Vaio model. People report they do make a difference for example on Z, but I bench-marked to compare the 3 modes - 0 difference in temperature, 0 difference in FAN noise, 0 difference in productivity.

I would be glad if someone could prove any influence but I certainly could not. There is even a separate thread I started about this, could have a look at it but anyway, this will not solve your problem...

 

Need NV 275.33 inf, can any body help?

 

Modded inf file is attached here.
But I didn't tried this, so use carefully. (I prefer remain with 267.76 driver, that run very well on my PC, and because I don't play and last improvements appear unnecessary for me).
Thanks for a feedback.

 

Silent mode power setting on my VPCS111FM works instantly. As soon as it's selected, the fan gets quieter. There's no question it works for my model.

 

Maybe it only works on models without NVIDIA.

It does 0 on my S.

 

Can you explain which rows I must change?

I have with the old version of driver problems to play RE5, and hope this version is better.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/553738-how-modify-nvidia-drivers-vaio.html

Let us know if you succeed

 

Thank you Gracy attached the perfect new one, all is working fine (auto dimm, fn dimm and DX10)

File on next page

 

It is usually the nvszc.inf file that is being altered and replaced. How come nvaa.inf now !?

 

You mean NVSZQ.inf? Its the same but in the new driver the NVSZQ.inf file is not in package. All HowTo's in web said I should replace the nvaa.inf

The nvpm.inf is the File for the 310M but I change the nvaa.inf for the 310M
The setup is looking in all inf files where the right device id is.

 

It does in fact work Thank you very much! Up and running fine so far

 

Update:

I was too fast. Unfortunately there is a bug with the new driver. I don't know if it comes from the modification (I assume so) or the driver itself:

Normally, the light sensor has higher priority than the Brightness setting. This means - if the room is pretty dark, even if you choose the highest brightness setting, you will still get only a limited brightness, according to the lightning conditions.

With this driver though, it seems to me manual brightness control and light sensor have equal priority - the computer does whoever tells it last what to do!

How to test:

1. set the screen to the max brightness setting with Fn + F6 (put the laptop somewhere, where there is no direct light to it... in a shadow or something).
2. Now cover the sensor and you will notice how the brightness first harshly and than slowly jumps down to a lower setting.
3. Now uncover the sonsor again - you will notice the brightness goes up, BUT not to the level you had when you set it manually to max.
4. Now decrease the brightness manually with Fn + F5 and you will notice it actually increases (as in this moment the max value given from the sensor is overwritten!)

Or with 2 words: the auto dimming and auto-brightness setting is inadequate with this driver!


I just returned the previous one I was using (267.76) and it works as it is supposed to be working with it.
Hopefully someone will be able to fix this one soon.

 

I attached the new modded original 310M inf file and add just the brightness control and auto dimm. In the old driver files there is no other option for that.

Had test it, fixed.

 

So was the problem reproducible on your machine as well?
Were you able to fix it?

 

Yes, with the old one I put the brightness to max and put my finger on to the sensor and then I pressed fn+f5 for darker values and the counter began to max and the value is being on around 40%.

Now all is fine. But extract the driver again not that the old file is used again.

 

It does in fact seem to be ok now.

I'll test it a few hours before I say again it is all fine Will let you know Looks good so far.

(maybe delete the other modified file from the previous post not to mislead someone to use it.)

 

Done......

 

And here the updated Drivers Database once again
Changes to the previous version are marked in red as usual. McLin --> +Rep! Thanks

 

McLin - are you able to successfully run the Windows Experience Index assessment with this driver??

It crashes here somewhere 40% from the Video test with the following error:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: winsat.exe
Application Version: 6.1.7601.17514
Application Timestamp: 4ce798fc
Fault Module Name: nvd3dumx.dll
Fault Module Version: 8.17.12.7533
Fault Module Timestamp: 4dd7349a
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 0000000000519850
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1031
Additional Information 1: 00b0
Additional Information 2: 00b027b0ea5fed0518c31c5d820e3ce7
Additional Information 3: 615f
Additional Information 4: 615f8f1650d854a19dd394ddc6f3ebc3


The problem is clearly an Nvidia dll. I reinstalled the drivers this time choosing "clean install" but it made no difference...

Update: I just realized that even Windows Media Player crashes when trying to play a movie, pointing to the same dll file !! Something is very wrong here!

I reversed back to 267.76 and it all works just fine. Is it just me? Pleasy try playing a movie and running WEI with 275.33

 

Test it if I'm home today in the evening, and callback.

I test the driver, the Windows Index as worked, no Error I rerun it every time I install a new driver. iTunes Movies are working well to, and youtube HD, but testing Mediaplayer too if I'm home.

@Gracy, sorry no problem with this driver, rerun indexing, runs fine, opened 10 movies let it play 5 min. forward all fine.

I just uninstall the old one, restart, reinstall HDA and Video drivers and check clean install.

 

Ok... for some odd reason it does not work for me. Uninstalled all previous drivers down to Standard VGA adapter. Than ran "clean install" just to make sure and the problem was still present. Can't playback movies and WEI crashes again on movie playback assessment.

Returning back to 267.76 fixes the problem and everything runs smoothly.

Maybe someone else would try as well and report? I can't think of any solution to this in my case... Sticking with 267.76

 

We are alone

 

Hello there!
My girlfriend has a VAIO S13X9E which has two very annoying problems, and despite having the latest drivers the problems still persist. The OS is Windows 7 Professional 64 bit.

Problem n. 1:
When watching video, be it on YouTube, with MediaPlayer, or a DVD disc, from time to time the laptop locks up completely for a fraction of a second, with the image being still, mouse not moving and sound stuttering, then playback resumes normally. This is very annoying.

Problem n. 2:
Sometimes, when switching between AC and Battery power (e.g. pluggin the power cord in/out) something weird happens with the graphics, which suddenly make the whole screen look way too bright, as if the contrast on a CRT monitor was raised too much. The only remedy to this is to reboot the machine, after which the colors are back to normal.

I have installed the latest intel RST drivers, the latest sound drivers from realtek, but that didn't fix it. Then I deinstalled the storage and sound drivers, and let windows install its default drivers, but the problem is still there. Also, the laptop has the latest BIOS R2100Q3.

Now I suspect the culprit to both problems could be the intel graphics drivers. by the way, the S13X9E has just the intel graphics, no nvidia graphics.
The problem is, the latest intel driver from sony is really old (8.15.10.2182), but if I install newer drivers from intel the light sensor does not work anymore, plus the brightness is set to max and I cannot decrease it, neither with the Fn keys, nor through the windows control panel.

Now is there a way to get the latest intel drivers (atm 8.15.10.2361 I believe) to work with the VAIO light sensor and brightness controls? Is there a modded driver somewhere perhaps?
Or maybe the problems I am having have nothing to do with the graphics?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

To the 1st problem - have had it long time ago on my S11. Never found out what the reason was, but nothing ever helped until I reinstalled Windows (from the original image)!

Another guy had the same problem some time ago, I think he managed to find another fix, but please browse back the thread - you will find his and my comments there. Wasn't too long ago... I assume 10-20 pages ago or so.

Problem 2 - never had it but my model has NVIDIA. there were some reports for screen going dark when switching the power source. Don't remember what the solution was... again - browse back or use the search feature. That was longer ago... could have been 100 pages ago, no idea...

 

Thank you, that's page 277... I searched for "stutter" but for some reason that didn't match with "stuttering" thus I didn't find those posts
However, I have already deinstalled the audio driver and the problem persists, so I guess next month I will just do a clean install from the image and hope that both problems get resolved.

 

As you have certainly read - no driver ever helped me. I tried everything I could think of... I was almost going to call Sony and send it for repair...
Good that I decided to invest another few hours and reinstall everything - luckily it helped for good

 

yeah i wrote sony a couple of weeks ago and they responded i should reinstall the factory image, which of course i refused cause it involves some time and effort, and i thought the problem could be solved in a better way.
oh well, i'll just give up. thanks for the info!

 

Hope I could help. Please report back once you solve the problem. Will be good to know whether you found a solution and what.

 

Try disable Intel DPST in Power Settings in the Intel GMA Control Panel.

 

Those of you with back-lit keyboard:

Have you noticed that the right half of the keyboard is better back-lit than the
left !?? I just noticed that the part right from the line 7-U-J-M glows somehow more intensively...
Is it just me ?
Please look carefully in a dark room right from above and let me know. I also notice the single LEDs being less bright on the left side when looking from an angle.
The difference isn't big but if you look at it - it is noticeable.

Please let me know!

 

I have one and the best battery life that i got its 3.5 hours!.. 6.5 its a fake and lie promotion!

 

You have an SB, not an S....
The correct SB topic is here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...al-sony-sb-sa-sc-sd-series-owners-thread.html

Also note that other forum members reported to get 5 -6 hours in stamina mode...
Which comes close to the advertised lifetime

 

I also noticed it when I bought it, but I didn't worry about it. Although in my case I think the left side darker than right
At the moment I'm not in a dark room, so I'll "recheck" it later and say you my impressions!

 

This is what I mean - the left side is darker than the right!

There is a clear line in my case - 7-U-J-M. Everything left from this line is noticeably darker! For example "7" is noticeably brighter than "6"!

Maybe if you can take a nice picture from above in the dark it would help to compare...

Thank you in advance!

 

Sorry, it was a misprint. I meant the right side is darker than left in my case (this is what I thought before "rechecking").
But now I have checked it and my impression is that letters from middle to right (U, J, I) are darker. So it matchs up with your result (I didn't read your post before doing my test). I haven't got the dslr camera handy to take some pictures

 

I just found some pictures of the keyboard taken just right after I bought the laptop last year. There is definitely a difference so I must say it seems I have a defect

Here is how my keyboard looks now:


You can clearly see how everything left from 7-U-J-M is dull

 

Well, I think there is a big difference with regard to my keyboard... Mine has some letters substantially lighter than others (especially at left), but I think both sides of keyboard are well "backlit", although it can be seen the oblique line through the keyboard.
Here is a photo taken right now (sorry for the poor quality, damn compact camera...)

 

Hmm thanks very much for the input!!

I will be taking it to a service center next week or the week after that. I already contacted sony. I hope they will fix it under warranty. You can see how obvious the problem is on my picture...

I will let you know how it goes.

 

Does anyone run Windows Live Mail 2011 and getting Runtime errors?
Apparently this is related to buggy graphic drivers by intel. I am running version 8.15.10.2182 which is the latest I could find for my Vaio S13, but it is 1 year old now.
Is there any way to get a newer graphics driver without losing the brightness customization by sony?

 

Does any knows if there is way to enable the Nvidia Optimus technology to the S1 series?
I'm getting poor battery life

Thanks!

 

Yes. Has been discussed many times. Short answer - no, there isn't one. Long answer - browse back the thread.

 

Update regarding the problem with my keyboard and Sony repair service:

I brought the laptop to the nearest authorized repair center last Wednesday and was assured once again that it normally takes no longer than 2-3 days, as the defective parts (in my case the keyboard) needs to be ordered and delivered from Sony.

As I didn't get any call until Friday, I called and was told "Oh didn't you get our Price offer? We found some traces of liquids in your keyboard, so it can't be repaired under warranty". On my shocked reaction and explanation that there was never any liquid around the laptop and this is absurd and unacceptable, I was told that they will check again and call me the same day. 3 hours later - still no call. I called again and after some time on the line, I was told that they will replace it under warranty but "conditionally" as they send the defective part to Sony and Sony might still decide not to "sponsor" the repair if they also find traces of liquids.

I was promised that the laptop will be ready Mon or Tue at latest. Again - this did not happen as promised - it took 2 more days so I just picked it up.

To sum up: 8 days (instead of 2-3 days as initially promised), new keyboard but "under reserve" and IMO an attempt to first see if I would pay giving false information about what caused the defect. :confused2:

But still happy now - the new keyboard does make a huge difference

 

Can't trust Sony warranty repair. I just found out that I have to mail in my Sony because there were two other service calls on the same unit. My home warranty option has been withdrawn. What? I explained that it was their fault; they had to come out twice because they didn't bring all the parts. . That was their "two strike" reasoning. They closed all their service centers in Chicago so I can't bring it in for repair.

Word of warning for all. Sony warranty service is unreliable and possibly fraudulent. They are refusing legitimate claims, withdrawing service options, bungling service calls, and offering no recourse. Our complaints are probably the tip of the iceberg.

 

There have been a lot of complains about Sony warranty service in the US. However, the rest of the world seems to be a lot different. Even in my case, apart from the fact that it did not take 2 days as promised, but a week - it worked fine at the end of the road... The nearest service center is 60km away. Not bad at all. We can't expect them to have a service center in every small city... and Sony isn't really the brand that breaks daily so no need of one

Well I managed to break my "Enter" key less than 24h later, but that was not sony's fault

 

Congratulations Gracy! I'm glad your problem was fixed
I've never needed to use the warranty, (and I hope not to have to do) so I can't give any opinion...

 

The updated drivers database attached

Changes marked in red as usual.

 

Has anyone installed an Intel SSD 320 on his vaio and activated the encryption? I've used the ssd for 2 weeks but when i tried to activate the encryption by setting a ata password in the bios the drive wasn't visible to the bios anymore after that. Booting into a live linux and using hdparm tells me that the drive is locked. The bios is acting as if there is no drive at all.

Nik

 

Thanks, as usual. I'd like to know if there're important improvements of Intel(R) 5 Series 4 Port SATA AHCI Controller, as I've never updated it. ¿Do you think it's a must or it doesn't change a lot?

 

I can't really say it changes a lot (or even anything), but I do have the feeling a few of the versions did bring some speed increase (by far not all).
Nevertheless - it doesn't hurt to update it - one thing I am sure of - nothing gets worse ) It can only improve speed or not change anything at all
One restart is all it takes.