Official Sony VAIO AW Series 18.4" Owners thread

If anyone ever finds good replacement for AW sony, please let me know. Im talking about 18.4 LCD laptops. I looked at newer Acer 89* series laptops. Great specs but the screen is just appalling. Viewing angles are horrible, nothing like sony and screen is half the laptop for me.
The only reason I would need to change is the video card which is quite old now...
Any ideas?

 

^
How about down-sizing to a 16.4 inch VAIO? It seems pretty difficult to find any decent 18.4's anymore. Too bad there wasn't enough reason for Sony to continue refining the AW series.

Newegg.com - SONY VAIO F Series VPCF233FX/B Notebook Intel Core i7 2670QM(2.20GHz) 16.4" 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 640GB HDD 7200rpm BD Combo NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M

This could have most everything you are looking for with the exception of your preferred screen size. I almost did in fact buy this one when I was flirting with upgrading my AW190. I instead dropped a Samsung 830 SSD into my AW and wow what an increase in performance. And at least for what I need, the Nvidia 9600M GT graphics card is still a decent performer.

 

I was thinking about giving my AW a bit of an upgrade, are there any straight swap upgrade options for AW11XU, like processor, graphics card, ram etc

Any suggestion etc would be most welcome

 

^
Have you swapped the hard drive for an SSD? That will provide the most immediate performance boost even though the speeds will only be at SATA 2 levels. And the AW can use 8GB of RAM just in case you still are only using 4GB. I don't think you can upgrade the graphics card though. As for the processor upgrade, I would do the SSD before the processor.

 

I've had a 128GB SSD installed from new, I always thought that Vista couldn't see anymore than 4Gig of RAM

 

Ahh.....then how about upgrading to Windows 7? All 8Gb of RAM will be recognized. After I upgraded to Windows 7 and 8GB of RAM, my AW's performance was smoother and more responsive. Is the SSD easily upgradable or is it a Sony SSD solution? These upgrade possibilities must be considered seriously though considering what it may cost. I guess it depends on how much you value your AW11. I had flirted with moving on from my AW190 but am very happy I reconsidered.

 

There really isn't much out there with a nice 18inch screen, I think I'll look into the Win7 upgrade, what about the unique drivers will they automatically be reinstalled after the upgrade??

 

When I upgraded from Vista, I went straight to Windows 7 Ultimate as it provided me an installation that maintained all my programs and settings. I would think that drivers for Windows 7 were installed along with the upgrade. I recently installed a Samsung SSD and performed a clean install and without any Sony programs my AW190 and Windows 7 Ultimate worked with the regular Windows drivers. I then reinstalled some Sony programs and utilities with the associated drivers. I now have a clean and fast running AW190.

 

I did a complete wipe and install of 7 64b and went to the sony site and d/l the drivers and programs I wanted. That of course is time consuming.

 

Hi guys,

I just spilled a glass of Coke on my AW keyboard. I turned it off quickly, then dried what I could, waited for another hour and turn it on again.

The mouse cursor was all stuttering and I couldn't type anything but sequences of letters that were not related to the key I pressed (such as ~#{[, very funny at first sight, but mainly annoying).

Seems like my keyboard is out of order. When I unplug it and turn on the computer the mouse cursor does not stutter anymore.

So I have several questions:
1) Can I work with the main keyboard unplugged and find a USB keyboard as a replacement?
2) Is there a chance I can bring the original keyboard to life once again?
3) prices for spare keyboards are tremendously high. I would even need an AZERTY one (I'm French), but couldn't find any. Any idea of a website (apart from Ebay I had no real luck). If anybody has a dead AW somewhere, and would like to sell his keyboard, don't hesitate as well. Even QWERTY would be fine in the end, I guess.

Thanks a lot for your support!

Regards,

 

Contact me by PM, I have a spare AW AZERTY keyboard and I live in France
For those interested, I have other parts available for sale
My motherboard seems to be fried

 

Seems like I can't send a PM, I can't find the link to do so... please contact me

 

WHat? There is .. mine is

 

Hi folks, sorry to hear about spilled cokes and fried motherboards!
Personally I´m losing a bit more chrome on the outer rim, the silver painted parts. Will look into some spray or other solution.
Pixelated blu ray playback on some films (batman begins and dark knight), they would work well before, the drive hasn´t been used much and I think most probably it is a driver issue (hd purevideo/hardware playback).
Windows 7 very very stable no complications.
By the way, anybody urging to switch to windows 8 on AW? I leave the question.

 

My AW190 works perfectly with Windows 7 and as of now see zero reason to move to 8. It is one fantastic computer. Any other AW series owners out there care to discuss ?

 

PHP:

yeah that is why i replaced palmrest with non chrome one cos it is applied on plastic and it getting off .. not nice

Windows 8 ?
I will be instaling once official release comes up ..

 

You saying now but you 'll say to your self ah am gonna install it

 

Hi again everybody,

Following my spilled Coke on keyboard issue, I almost got rid of my problem, but here is the thing:

I bought a Qwerty keyboard on ebay, replaced the keys to make an Azerty one, installed it in the laptop. Everything works fine, but from time to time the Vaio won't boot, or would hang during the boot sequence. I am obliged to restart and wish for the best.

Once inside Windows, the keyboard works fine and I have no problem anymore. BUT the volume buttons (upper right corner), the ones that were flooded on the old keyboard, are simply not responding correctly.

The first 20s after boot, I can adjust the volume without any problem. But then, the keys stop answering. If I got unlucky, they stop answering while one of them was pressed, which makes the key blocked and the volume constantly increasing or staying on top (or the opposite).

I think something is broken in the keyboard controller on the motherboard. Is there a way, maybe through Vaio Event Service, to definetely make Windows "ignore" these two faulty keys?

Thanks a lot,

 

I'm also having an issue with my keyboard...
The "e" key is getting unresponsive, while I'm writing sometimes it works, sometime it doesn't, sometime it gets pressed twice...
Is there any SAFE way to remove the key and check if there is some dirt under it? I know that keys usually have plastic clips that may become very fragile with time and I don't want an empty hole in my keyboard...

 

Hi all.I have an AW41 ZF/B which has the full hd screen but not led backlite,if i bought the led screen would it be straight plug n play?
I am aware these screens are discontinued but have found these screens which look like the original rgb/led screens fitted to some AW models.any advice on this would be great.

Roy.


NEW SONY VAIO VGN-AW21XY/Q 18.4" FULL HD LED LCD SAMSUNG LAPTOP SCREEN | eBay

 

There is no safe way to lift up the key on this laptop. The hinges are very sensitive, you could bust the entire key. Try some blowing with air can and sucking with vacuum( don´t do full power).
Removing and unmounting the keyboard is also a nightmare, you have to remove a million parts first. Try the air first, see what happens.

 

Moving to windows 8 is a joke for me, you miss all the touch capabilities and the interface is horrible, washed up mac imitation. I don´t know if it can get more stable than windows 7 because I´ve had no flaws since I did the original install which was 2 years ago, a couple of system restore and that´s it.

 

I'll try, thanks for the suggestion.
Anyway, I found on ebay replacement key for this keyboard, with the key, hinges and plastic spring. Before doing anything, I'll wait to have it here in case of... disasters...

 

Hi
NO once u replace it u have to remove keyboard and change DIP switches .. othervise ull have distorted picture !

 

Man what the hell u talkin about?
you totally wrong !
it is not difficult and what ar u talking about blowing air?
WTH? hearing first time ..
you donNOT need to do any bizarre stuff like this
it is easy

Man whatu talkin about?
You are wrong in all ways
I have win 8 and have all buttons working .. no problem..

 

Well, my "e" key problem is solved! Once I received a spare "e" key -just to be sure - I removed the key, cleaned everything and put it in its place, and... voilá, working like a charm
Anyway, I don't think it was a problem of dirt, because yes, it was quite dirty under the key, but where the real button is, it was clean. I think that the problem was another one: under the key there is a silicone cap, which act as a spring to take the button back in its position and it has a pin in the bottom to close the contact of the key. My guess is that this cap had slightly moved itself with the time and it was no more pressing in the right place.
Oh boys, it's so nice to be able to write once again without having to stop at each "e" letter

 

Guys I need help with keyboard ..
I had to cut 0.5cm from cable because contacts on edge of flex cable been scratched of .. now cable is shorter and wont reach to connector on the mb .. Any suggestions ?
Thank You

 

I was just making a suggestion to this other member. I don´t think that cleaning out with compressed air is bizarre, it´s been fine for me always. What I meant with windows 8 was that on the sony vaio aw you can´t touch the screen for running the O.S.
Maybe I expressed myself wrong or you didn´t understand me properly. By the way how is your little cable problem going? I saw in your post that you cut it too short! Hope you get it right soon!

 

gpc glad you got it sorted, good to hear it

 

OOh sooryy yeah
Compressed air is the best for cleaning out dust froom motherboard or fans am do this every day in work but from desktops
Oh of course u cant touch the screen it is not touch screen

Yeah I think this is big problem with cable ..
I had to cut it and peel of that black foil made connections and it is working fine but cable is short and now I cannot fit the keyboard in to laptop palmrest Need to find out solution .. some extention cable ?

 

I just discovered this forum and I too have the same problem of both the DC Jack Sub-Assy Cap and Power Switch Sub-Assy Cap - both having the tabs broken.

The computer is very difficult to open the lcd unless you hold the broken jack and carefully open. The computer itself is running flawlessly.

I located this manual but am not sure if it is applicable to the VGN-230

http://home.comcast.net/~analog414/VGN-AW1-Sevice-Manual.pdf

page 3-4 shows what appear to be the broken parts specifically #14 and #15.

Does anyone know the actual part numbers and where I can order them?

Apparently the tab on the sub-assy caps have sheared as the tabs are no longer attached; I can see the tab and the screw holding it inside the computer.

Also any dis-assembly information will be sincerely appreciated.

I sent this computer off to a repair facility in NY who said they could do the repair but after receipt balked and just returned it to me today. They unfortunately broke the tab on the power button side so now I have to repair both sub-assy caps.

I am going to do the repair myself but am trying to gather as much information as possible before starting.

BTW is this the DC Sub-Assy part I need?

Sony VAIO Laptop DC Jack Cap Ring X-2320-145-1 X23201451 VGN-AW Series - Laptop Parts Expert

Everything I search for returns the part as a SONY VGN-AW M780.

What is the M780?

Anyone know the part number for the power button cap as well and where I can get one?

Any help is sincerely appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Difficult ??
I never had easiest as this one ..
I will strip this laptop down within 10 mins...

I is applicable for ALL AWs..

Ebay

Do it man do it it is easy as f..k I changed power jack . it was Little fidlle but not big deal

 

Thanks I guess.

I wasn't referring to the dis-assembly of the laptop but rather literally lifting the lcd without breaking off the dc in jack when implying difficult.

With respect to the part numbers the answer e-bay is not very helpful.

I have researched and indicated the parts I found.

I was hoping for confirmation if the parts referenced were indeed the parts for which I am searching.

Also an answer to the
What is the M780?
question.

Would appreciate a bit more information if anyone can help.

Thanks.

 

Oh yeah I forgot mention LCD
IT is eeeasyy I know when u never did it it feels difficult .. once u do it u will feel it is easy ..
You know there are 3 types screens for this machine ''AW''
CCFL then 2CCFL and LED
I have fitted LED cos it is best screen in the world ( from all 16'' - 18.4 screens)..
M780 there is 781 and 782 it is the name of actual vaio AW project !
code for all parts belong to AW models ..! they created really beautiful piece but not many people bought this because of size of screen and cost .. that is why they discontinued it ..
(Vaio Z is still going cos it is small and screen is the same quality ..)
I love this laptop
I have collected almost all parts from ebay and put it together and I build laptop from scratch

 

@rthebomb
Also my first post. That is the only service manual I have managed to find and I spent a couple of weeks searching the internet and reading this thread (finished that last night). As far as I can make out each generation of AW was at least similar enough to it's predecessor so that this service manual is good for later generations. IE your AW230 should be near as damn it the same as the AW130 in this manual. If you open this pdf on a computer with Microsoft Excel or Excel Reader installed you will see a paperclip in the top right hand corner of each page where it says "PARTS LIST". When you double click the paperclip an Excel spreadsheet of the detailed parts list will open. From this I would say that the parts that you want are:

Part No. X-2320-145-1 M780 DC IN CAP SUB ASSY M/L
Part No. X-2320-146-1 M780 POWER CAP SUB ASSY M/L

As to where you can get them - others in the past have ordered them from Sony Parts direct - whether they still carry them I don't know. I just did a quick Google search on the part number and got several hits.

There are several instructions of how people disassembled the laptop in this thread but I am afraid I didn't keep a record. Maybe a search will help.

Good luck. Please let us know how you got on.

 

All possible manuals for AW :
Download multiple files from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way
Download multiple files from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way
Download multiple files from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way
Download multiple files from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way

By the way that link what @rthebomb posted there are all part lists sheets .. You have to click on top right corner where says part list ..
you need to have exel installed obviously..

 

@GalaxySII
Many thanks for that link -VERY useful.

 

GalaxySII and Old_Nick

Thanks for the info and confirmation that that the parts I located are indeed what I'm looking for.



GalaxySII - the LED Backlight replacement sounds very cool.

I'll keep that in mind if the LCD decides to fail

I'm in socal and I am a bit miffed at the guys I use in NY as they are pretty reliable but they really screwed the pooch on this one. Lost the use for over a month.

They were terrified at the size and the dearth of info on this puppy.

I normally repair myself unless I am too busy or just don't want to screw with it.

I'll order the parts and tear the puppy apart later this week.

I'll report back and let you guys know how it went.

THANKS AGAIN!

Cheapest place for parts I found are here:

Part No. X-2320-145-1 M780 DC IN CAP SUB ASSY M/L

X-2320-145-1 - Sony Laptop Miscellaneous Parts

Part No. X-2320-146-1 M780 POWER CAP SUB ASSY M/L

X-2320-146-1 - Sony Laptop Miscellaneous Parts

 

Sony X-2320-145-1 Dc-in Cap Sub Assy | eBay
X-2320-145-1 Sony Dc In Cap Sub Assy M/L M7 Vaio Vgn-Aw290 Jack | eBay

That warehouse website is the most expensive site ..

 

The site I linked in my first post is way too expensive.

I purchased both parts from the site, sparepartswarehouse, referenced in my last post for a total of $118.00 including shipping.

They are cheaper than the e-bay links you posted but thank you for looking for me.

Here are the links:

Part No. X-2320-145-1 M780 DC IN CAP SUB ASSY M/L

X-2320-145-1 - Sony Laptop Miscellaneous Parts

Part No. X-2320-146-1 M780 POWER CAP SUB ASSY M/L

X-2320-146-1 - Sony Laptop Miscellaneous Parts

 

Is it ? hmm weird ..
It is because is here in UK u could try look USA ebay .. same items ..
but if u bought it that is fine then

 

Thanks again for your help.

If I run into any problems can I send you a PM to discuss?

 

Yes no prob

 

Hi Mujja how are you?
I was loioking few posts back cos I have managed unhide thing in bios but ..
If u are here still or u gone
SO what did u meant I need to set it to IDE to use RAID ? not set to RAID?

 

A Big Thank You to
@ GalaxySII for the links to the Service Manuals
@ musicis for posting the repair picture
@ Old_Nick for the correct part numbers

and the encouragement.

I got the parts this morning and torn the VAIO down using the Service Manual as a guide.

When I got the back cover removed the break at the DC-In was identical to musicis' photograph.

I used epoxy to glue the broken metal and after 3 hours of set time I buttoned her up, powered up, and all is well.

Charging as I type!


@SONY
this is a very poorly manufactured design for the Power-In and Power-On pieces.

Additionaly the cost for the two plastic caps is outrageous.

You need to design a magnetic power connection a la' Apple in the future.

Grief that was painful praising Apple

Thanks again to all of you!

 

Guys I need most recent WORKING GPU driver for 9600m gt
Which version it is?

 

Hi all,

I have an AW11z model, Have W7 64bt now, can I upgrade the Ram to 8gb apparently? Would anyone be able to provide a link to the right kind of Ram for that, 2 x 4gb i presume only 2 slots? Also doens anyone have a working link to the latest nvidia drivers with modded inf. Randomly this just started happening to me: after wake up my screen would befine for 3 seconds, then dip to 90% black, and won't come back to full brightness. I have to put it to sleep again, then in the 3 secs i get i have to get to the screen resolution and reduce it from 1920x1080, thenit's ok, then i put it back up! I have not had the bsod tho that some report.

 

Hi
Yes u can hapilly install 8G RAM..
Just buy some samsung ones .. DDR2' s are very expensive .. 2x4 cost 100 to 150 pounds..
About GPU driver .. managed to install latest ones .. but exactly what u saying i aco noticed and experienced actually yesterday .. couldnt get it wake up screen left off
I had to disconnect adapter and power up again..
Now I tuned off automatic sleep..

 

I would have upgraded to 8Gb long ago if I'd known! Maybe, £150 is still cheaper than a new laptop though.

This display thing has been happening for 3 days now, don't even think I made any changes, just started happening. I even rolled windows back to a time before it was happening, that did not work.

My trick for getting to the resolution settings within the 3 secs i get before the screen goes 90% black no longer works!

Does anybody have a link to a display driver for AW11Z that is stable?

 

Sony eSupport - VGN-AW450F - Drivers & Software