Official Sony VAIO AW Series 18.4" Owners thread

More on this... I just got a reply from the Sony Parts & Accessories Sales division, and here's what you need to install a secondary hard drive on your VAIO AW series:

1. Item M780 SATA HDD2 FPC, PART NO. 173023011 — $82.12
2. Item M780 HDD BRACKET SUB-ASSY, PART NO. X23201541 — $43.03
3. Item F SPECIAL APPEARANCE M3X3 Screw, PART NO. A1222968A — $38.40 (you need four of these)
4. Item M2 SPECIAL HEAD, EG G SCREW, PART NO. 467283601 — $1.84 (you need two of these)

Below is an exploded view, courtesy of the guys from Sony's PASD. Enjoy!

 

Wow! Those are expensive screws at $34.80 apiece! And you need four!!!

Makes you think twice about adding a second internal drive. Might be better off buying an external one. I mean... do the math!

Parts total: $282.43 + 250GB Hitachi Travelstar 7200RPM drive: $74.00 + Installation: $30.00 = $386.43

Almost $400! Yeowch!

 

Is this definitely the case? I got a quote over the phone and was given both the 300 off for acessories and 10% off

 

sony defines a rip-off with this.

 

Over the phone, you can make a deal. Sounds like you got a pretty good offer. Are you sure you got 10% off, or did they give you the education discount (which is only 7% on the AW's) Did you take it? Which one did you buy?

FYI: I told them I wasn't terribly interested in the $300 bundle, but heck I'd take it with my Education discount. He offered me a flat $300 discount for just the computer (no accessories...meaning I wasn't spending most of that on a service plan and other stuff). This offer also replaced the Education discount....basically ended up being $100 cheaper for just the computer (AW290JFQ) as opposed the comp+bundle+ed discount. I passed on it as I wasn't ready to buy. So then it looks like 2 phone offers we have seen are:

1) $300 bundle and 10% off (please confirm it was 10%, not 7%)
2) No bundle, no Ed discount, $300 off (AW290JFQ)

 

I have not ordered it yet as thought I take a trip this week to a sonystyle shop just to see it (never seen one) before I confirm order. It was a CTO premium model. He told me 10% and definitley was less than what I got on line so there was a discount on top of the $300. However, because of tax difficult to replicate exactly the discount to know if 10% or 7%.

 

Hi Rodney,
This may be the fix you're talking about;
Sony AW USB Solution (by Tenchuu)
"Right click on the battery icon at the bottom right. Choose Battery Options. Click on Edit Plan Settings for the plan you're using. On the next screen, click on "Change advanced power settings." You should now be on the Power Options screen. There are a bunch of tabs, and one of them will be the innocuous "USB settings." Click on that. THIS is where the problem is. You will see "USB selective suspend setting" and options for battery and plugged in. DISABLE IT. DISABLE IT, rip it out, burn it, exorcise it from your system, just get rid of that hellish little setting. Since I've done that, I've had no problems with that feature at all. Everything USB runs smoothly. Now, if I'd only figured that out with the AW190CTO, I'd have been a happy camper for months now." Good luck -
Ed F.

 

Even if it was only 7%, getting it on a CTO is great! That means I don't have to get the AW290JFQ to get a discount (education), I can just ask nicely for 10% plus the bundle on a CTO and get the exact options I want for a bit less than the JFQ.

If anyone else manages to get a better deal than 7-10% off CTO plus bundle, please post your deal.

 

I have not ordered it yet as thought I take a trip this week to a sonystyle shop just to see it (never seen one) before I confirm order. It was a CTO premium model. He told me 10% and definitley was less than what I got on line so there was a discount on top of the $300. However, because of tax difficult to replicate exactly the discount to know if 10% or 7%.

 

Knight427, do you think on the phone they are likely to offer flat $300 off for the AW235 J/B or the AW290 CTO on negotiation, or they offering it on 290JFQ only, because it is the premium model?

 

can anyone help me. Will this memory work in a the Sony AW series


http://www.elpida.com/en/products/details/EBE41UF8ABDA.html

 

I have to assume they won't give as much on the 235 J/B. Lower cost models are almost always lower margin.

When I called, I was only asking about the JFQ b/c I was stuck with it for the education discount (or so I thought). It sounds like someone else was able to get 10% off a CTO premium in addition to the bundle. That offer may be better than a flat $300+bundle if you are going to select many high level upgrades (pushing the price over $3k).

If your CTO is under 3k, I'd say push for $300+bundle...unless the 10% applies to the service plan and accessories (then your cost is almost certainly around 3k before discounts. Note that I really doubt they are going to apply the % discount to the accessories and service plan but it could give you a place to start and fall back from. Be sure to run some numbers (in a spreadsheet) on your CTO config and accessory selections to see how much difference the different deal options make in your case. That way if you start going back and forth between flat discounts and % discounts applied to comp or comp+accessories, you will be able to keep track of what is going on.

Finally, be sure to let us know how it goes.

 

I just bought an Australian VGNAW27GQY (A$4499), which came with 2*500G 4200RPM drives RAID0-d to give a nice fast (but oh so prone to failure) 1G total.

At least all the bits were there to put a 320G 7200RPM drive in

Interestingly, the Fujitsu 500G drives are too thick to fit in any of my 2.5" caddies *sigh* (Model is FKL-MH22500BT G1)

 

This does not appear to be the correct memory. It is my understanding that you need 200 pin SO-DIMM memory, not SDRAM. See attached.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148232

 

Hmm... the specs on the page say it IS a 200-pin SO-DIMM but you'd need to be sure if it's a PC2-6400. It would seem to be, given the data transfer speed, but I'm not exactly sure.

Check out Crucial's specs for their memory at http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?IMODULE=CT2KIT51264AC800.

It seems as if it could be compatible, though.

 

Well, all the RAM we use is SDRAM (I mean since Intel (thankfully) phased out that awful RAMBUS junk!)

 

I was told by Sony Tech Support to buy SDRAM, but when it arrived it had 240 pins & was too large. As it turns out, SDRAM is for desktops. SO-DIMM is for notebooks. Both have the same specs (DDR2, PC2-6400,etc), just a different size, pins.

 

Hey Guys,
A new owner here. Does anybody else think that the colors on the AW look weird? I have the AW 290 with Adobe RGB and everything is too vibrant. The green is closer to lime green, the red is closer to orange-red, etc. When I watch a video, the faces are too orange. I love the non-glossy screen and the pixels, but I am not really having fun watching things and browsing the net is annoying because everywhere I go, I see things in new overexposed bright colors. Is it just possible that just *my* vaio is like that? Can anyone let me know how I can fix this? I played around with the NVidia X server settings but that didn't help much.

 

I bought a CD from Amazon marketplace before Christmas, and never got it, even though the seller took my money. Amazon sent me a refund. There really is NO better place on the internet to buy stuff than Amazon. Go ahead and run off your mouth about vaio dot com all you want, but STFU about Amazon.

 

I think this is a fairly common problem with wide-gamut, highly backlit screens in general. The things I've done include:

turning the brightness right down
calibrating the screen using an X-Rite eye-one. (Might have another go with a Spyder3 Pro as well)
enabling profile support in firefox

One of the big problems is that (as far as I know) while it's a wide-gamut screen, it's still only a 6-bit TN panel. This means that it's only capable of displaying 262K colours from a now wider gamut, meaning the color distance between each individual colour is greater. As the gamut has (AFAIK) been largely extended in the reds (please, someone correct me if I'm wrong on this), they'll be the most noticably more vibrant.

Until manufacturers recognise that supporting 100% of the adobe gamut is actually only really, really useful if they do it on an 8 or 10-bit panel, so that the colour detail is preserved and not lost in the inter-colour gaps, then the extra gamut will be at best a marketing gimmick.

That said, with sufficient tweaking, the AW screen is very nice

 

can i install clean vista on my aw ?

 

I am planning to upgrade my Premium 170y/q from the T9400 to the T9800

is there any diagrams for taking apart the AW series and putting in a new CPU?
I did this once with an old Acer Aspire 8920 so I am not afraid to take it apart but
documentation would be nice

 

wow so Zagg (aka invisible shield) is now going to move forward with offering a shield for the 190 series. I was first to answer and thus got a free shield. I only have to send them my notebook for install. UM YEAH OK !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Any AW owners using the Extended Battery? May I know how long does it last in a single charge? Thanks!

 

Is there any default software on the AW that can convert a video file to another format? Specifically to a mpeg2 format.

Right now I can only find a sony software that wants to force a awful template (like wedding) on the video.

 

Hi this is just redeculous !!!

sony has realised in purpose they didnt left the cable there because they are S !!
they want to pay form YOU guys !!
dont let them fall into this abyss !!!
they are just not satisfied s and they want you pay astronomical prices for y things !!!
i wanted buy another hdd internal but a forget about that and i have now very nice WD passport for 90 pounds

 

You need to calibrate the screen and build a custom profile

 

Go take a look at ripoffreport.com and the tons of legitimate Amazon sellers who have had their money stolen from Amazon then you STFU arrogant idiot. In addition to this there are reports of people buying such items as Playstation 3's from AMAZON itself not a reseller and receiving non working refurbished items in place of new merchandise and not receiving any customer satisfaction whatsoever after repeated complaints. Whether a person gets decent customer service from Amazon depends a lot on luck, apparently. So you got your money back-you were lucky. What were they doing with that reseller on their website in the first place? Do you really believe yours was the first complaint against that reseller? Go ahead keep buying from Amazon and see how long your luck lasts. Or you can buy from Sony Style which has not a single actual legitimate customer complaint there.

 

hi there is not any website where u can find an file or procedure how to disassemble the aw laptop ...
i spent all one week to look through google youtube , nothing
u will have to find out by self how to open laptop find all clips and screws ..
sony is cheeky so they do it properly that nobody will interfere in their products so it could be difficult
but i want to do it as well just was bidding on ebay there is some t9800
but was outbit today so i said f*ck it ..
i want to wait for price drop ...

 

and u buying from there too when u know about it so much u IDIOT !

 

Spoke with Sony Sales today. Best they can offer is $100 off for AW235. HP wth 30% off coupon currently comes out to much less. A choice to be made

 

I just got the extended battery and was able to get two hours and twenty minutes with just internet operations. That was better than thr standard by more than 50%.

 

Well, it's all SDRAM, you just have to get the right type.

 

Um Peto you idiot I NEVER bought anything from Amazon OR viaousa.com EVER for viaousa.com and six years plus from Amazon and NEVER will. The owner of viaousa.com posted SPAM here advertising an AW290 for $1349 which I investigated by clicking on and promptly saw a number of bizarre configurations for the AW290 including a model with 8GB of memory and the most expensive 2.93 GHZ processor selling for $2199 with a BluRay drive that didn't mention whether or not it recorded on top of that. Those options alone drive the price of the AW290 up to $2824.99 (plus whatever advanced hard drive it had which would make it even more) on the Sony Style website EVEN with the non premium model so there's NO WAY anyone could legitimately sell it for $2199. The identical configuration and identical price appears on Amazon's website and its real easy to figure out LC Way (stands for Low Cost, but should really be Lifting Components (and replacing them with substandard ones) and viaousa.com are the same operation and an approved Amazon reseller despite documented serious complaints and illegalities easily found by Googling LC Way including the ripoffreport.com complaints-yet they remain an Amazon reseller. Based on this, you can't trust Amazon if you realize this.

I ordered the premium AW290 from Sony Style for $2718.99 including 4 GB memory, a 2.66 GHZ processor, 640 GB hard drive and BluRay read write for $2718.99 which is a bargain compared to anything comparable. Plus I'm assured I'll get it on time, with a real warranty (three years plus damage protection in this case) and it's well worth paying the sales tax for those assurances, rather than taking my chances with a shoddy operation like Amazon that withholds money from legitimate Amazon sellers while allowing LC Way and viaousa.com to operate as an Amazon reseller despite repeated complaints.

Total cost from Sony Style under three thousand including the following after three hundred dollar rebate and sales tax:

AW290 premium with listed upgrades
Three year warranty with damage protection option
Hewlett Packard J6480 printer/fax/scanner/copier (used as accessory option for the two required accessories for three hundred dollar discount)
Pack of printing cartridges for printer
Viao carrying case for 18.4 inch models



Go ahead, keep ordering from Amazon and see how long it takes for your luck to run out, like countless other Amazon customers who are unhappy with the company and its business practices.

 

It's not Amazon...

And I've never once had an issue with Amazon in years and thousands spent there...

 

Good-well I hope that continues to be the case but there are reports of people ordering from Amazon directly and receiving refurbished items when they paid for new ones (Playstation 3). I wouldn't buy from them under any circumstances after what I read (including billing customers for items never bought months and months after an initial purchase once they have the credit card/debit card information and in the case of my friend who sold a single book on rhinoplasty for 800 dollars (among others she sold) both withholding her money and attempting to charge her for items she never purchased in an obvious effort to not pay her.

 

Please I want To Buy
SONY VAIO AW Series VGN-AW290JAH NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T9550(2.66GHz) 18.4" 4GB Memory DDR2 800 320GB HDD 7200rpm Dual layer DVD Burner NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834117886

and i will buy also this laptop case
Targus Black/Gray/Yellow 17" CityGear Los Angeles Notebook Case Model TCG417 - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834999898&Tpk=TCG417

My Question Is Do This laptop case Fit To The Laptop ?

If not where can i find laptop cases fit to this laptop


another Question MY BALANCE is 1700$ so do you think this is a good laptop or i can get a better one

 

[/quote]

um dear Rodney :

am buying things from everywhere , where is a reasonable price, not only
from amazon ! thats my business where am buying from ..
and
that what u calling bargain ??? are u serious ??? !!! that laptop for that price ? OMG !

keep on buying most expensive things
u idiot

 

You said 3
total less than 3000 including tax? I cant replicate that putting these specs on sonystyle.com or did you have an additional offer other than what you stated?

 

That's the price when I ordered (and I just received it a few hours ago in a beautiful new box with everything carefully packaged)

AW290 premium upgraded to include the following:

2.66 GHZ T9550 processor
4 GB memory
320 GB Dual Hard Drives (640 GB Total) at 7200 rpms
BluRay Disc Read/Write

$2718.99

Three year extended warranty including damage protection

$349.99

Hewlett Packard J6480 Printer

$149.99 (a fair price even though it can now be found for $119.99 as like all products of this type the price goes down as models become older)

Hewlett Packard Printing Cartridges (74/75) $29.99? for the pair

Viao Neoprene Carrying Case $24.99

California Sales Tax
California Monitor Fee for this type of stuff (first time I've heard of this tax which ranges from $8.00-25.00 depending on monitor size)

Free shipping

$300 off Bundle Discount

I didn't order the extended battery for $100 more because it sticks out of the bottom thus the computer is no longer totally flat for working or watching plus lets be serious this isn't a model designed to see a lot of DC operation because of its power and features set. If you want it anyway and still want the standard battery for the reason I stated its an extra $249.99

They were adamant about not combining discounts as in ten percent off plus bundle discount-I also doubt they are paid commissions as they are required to be knowledgeable about all Sony computer products and a great many calls are product inquisitions and introductory-I began calling in December and called many times and even canceled the AW290 standard after it was built because of what I learned here about LED screens. They're probably paid bonuses and the better reps who are the most knowledgeable are the most likely to collect those bonuses-I don't ever recall being pressured although they would always give me their names and extensions. They've already refunded the $349.99 extra I paid for the warranty on the AW290 standard I canceled.

And yes considering the specs of this computer and what it can do and its high build quality the price I paid is a bargain.

 

Wait, I know what you're talking about now. My order came in two shipments because I canceled the AW290 standard and had already paid for the printer, printing cartridges and carrying case (plus the already refunded warranty) so the price was a little over three grand but the computer itself plus warranty was still under three grand.

When it comes to something like this (and really everything I buy including groceries such as fresh meat and produce) I know how to find the most reasonably priced high quality stuff and I certainly don't mind paying a little extra for the assurances and quality. Right now I'm considering the Polk Audio Systems HD Radio/AM-FM Radio/IPod/IPhone dock with four speakers for $399 because the Viao speakers aren't exactly room filling but for what they are they sound very good.

The AW290 standard I canceled with those options should be at their website clearance center and may be a couple hundred dollars less than the price for a new create to order-if you find one with those exact specs there's a good chance its mine and has never been used.

 

Please I want To Buy
SONY VAIO AW Series VGN-AW290JAH NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T9550(2.66GHz) 18.4" 4GB Memory DDR2 800 320GB HDD 7200rpm Dual layer DVD Burner NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834117886

and i will buy also this laptop case
Targus Black/Gray/Yellow 17" CityGear Los Angeles Notebook Case Model TCG417 - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...898&Tpk=TCG417

My Question Is Do This laptop case Fit To The Laptop ?

If not where can i find laptop cases fit to this laptop


another Question MY BALANCE is 1700$ so do you think this is a good laptop or i can get a better one

 

Any seventeen inch laptop case I've ever measured against the Viao slipcase specifically designed for the 18.4 inch AW series is too short to fit the AW Sony makes a carrying case to fit it for $69.99. The $24.99 slipcase does not have handles or straps.

 

Where Can I Find Them ????

 

Listed in the accessory catalog that came with the AW290. Call Sony Style they should be able to order it for you.

 

I have the 500 GB Version. Is there any way to install an additional SSD without having to buy those ridiculously overpriced brackets and screws ?

 

ssd hdd's are installed inside the laptop i suppose

 

I bought a Targus 17" XL case with strap (no wheels) from Fry's for $59.96. It fits and works great! I can even use the Sony slip case inside for better prtection. They had a Targus messenger bag that worked also.

 

The antenna that came with the Aver Media ATSC/NTSC tuner that plugs into the USB jack is too weak to get reception from any of the Los Angeles television stations-does anyone have any ideas for indoor antennas (there's an RF connector on the other end of it) or will I need to add cable television after all to watch live HDTV?

 

Nope, you'd need it installed in there.

I've got a Terk one that's sort of okay. Cost me $80ish. I don't know if cables much of an option except for SD because of the atrocious cablecard situation.