Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

The defective screen can be replaced on your current computer, however there is a shortage of the 1920 X 1080 display, so it still requires a wait. The problem is that so many of the original screens WERE defective.

"Morse Code" and "Whine" are different issues. The whine is a problem with the design of the fan, and a replacement fan CAN be replaced in the field. The morse code noise can NOT be repaired except by return back to the factory or service bench for modification of the motherboard circuitry..

 

Have the more recent laptops been any less prone to these issues?

I ordered mine last night, very excited but a little nervous too!

i7, 6GB, 128 SSD from UK SonyStyle - fingers crossed!

 

Hi Poohkie,

I know all tricks but I all those tricks do not satisfy me. We should use the F series all condition.
I always prefer “ Balanced” power mode… But my mouse sometimes stop working .

Some F users suggest power save mode to stop the fan noise… Why should I prefer “Power Save” mode?!... Why should I be left without the power of i720? … What is the point and meaning if you have a Ferrari but driving slow speed?...
All these tricks are practical solution but does not solve the hardware based problem.

Check the European F series support about noise :

http://genesis.sony-europe.com/inst...search.jsp?DocId=42912&l=en_GB&m=VPCF11Z1E_BI

Sony wants to solve the problem by means of software improvement and tricks !... Actually Sony’s official method does NOT work on mine.

Hi jacksjw,

I need what parts are going to replaced... Is it possible to know which components faulty when you receive yours?

Same problem occurred with my Lenovo notebook. Lenovo repairs faulty main board without announcement…
I think the problem is common for all F series. So Sony will solve the problems without any announcement. I hope so…

 

I found it - it's been very tricky.

 

Certainly sounds like more fun than Starbucks...

This is not a unique situation, there have been cases of desktop power supplies with whistling fans, or certain noisy CPU coolers. It results from the fan blades being too close to the heat sink fins, thus causing the air flow to be chopped, as with a siren. I suspect an existing fan was used with a new design of cooler, with the problem not therefore anticipated. The repair probably consists of a new design of fan with narrower or differently-shaped blades. And this had to be rushed into production....

 

After hearing about all of these fan noise issues and screen bleed issues etc., I need to report that I have no issues whatsoever in my laptop.

The fan does run at times and pushes out some of that heat and that is precisely what it is designed to do.....the laptop itself is a sheer pleasure to use. My only complaint (which I have raised several times already) is that they denied the matte Full-HD screen to the US market, which is something that I am not happy at all about. In all other respects, this laptop is a keeper !

 

guys i have two questions which i hope you can awnser for me.

1. When playing games does not fan really make a loud noise, this is for the EU version

2. How good is bluetooth on this machine, ive read its tricked to turn on and you have to to different things

 

I have a question Omaroo.. while one may otherwise wish to hear one less, I think one and all WOULD like to hear why you do not just buy this machine, do you have the money to do so, even? There is nothing more that can possibly be added to what has already been written about the F11 series concerning its use (so far.)

And yes, I have learned the hard way that one should try to remain polite in the forums, regardless of the provocation. I honestly believe yours is a problem with Style, not Intent, I hope I'm not proven wrong.

 

If you are not satisfied with the product. Return it and buy something else.

Problem solved.

 

My machine is as perfect as any mass-market device manufactured to the lowest possible cost, except for the lousy BDrom. For that I'm saying the Hell with it and I'm just going to buy an aftermarket one and dump the Vaio's in another system.

It's a crapshoot, the system SHOULD be good but it has some limitations as to how quiet it CAN be due to the i7, the other main concern is with the display, and you Roonies get a better display than we Yanks and Canucks.

Buy the ruddy machine, if it's defective that's covered by warranty. If you don't like it, well, you WILL like it, that's MY guarantee.

And there's always a "Refresh" down the road, if you need it now, BUY it now..

 

melody i know its a great machines, but little things like BDROM just makes you think why is it not perfect. Also reading through this thread and people suggesting fixes and tricks to problems that shouldnt be there in the first place, seems really annoying, does it not?

 

Did you read where I said "Manufactured to the lowest possible cost"? There is no such thing as perfection, everything is a compromise. If you want perfection then buy a Z-series at twice the cost, or a Panasonic ToughBook, add in a third-party comprehensive warranty for $600 or so, then that will SLIGHTLY increase the chance that you MIGHT not get a noisy BDrom...

(edit) my backspace key squeaks, I guess therefore I should return my F11 and sue Sony for misrepresentation.

 

Here we go again, same question over again and again. Post #610 you asked this question, and still asking the same question. Just go and buy it.

My brother has bought this laptop for his work, and i have used it just over 3 hours, and loved it. Did not test the BDrom but overall its one of the best laptops out there. Played MW2 on a 1080p tv, and it was just awesome.

STOP repeating the same question, your making this thread a BIG MESS!

 

Buy it. Try it for yourself. You'll get over the little flaws. Besides it adds to the "character value" of the machine . No but in all seriousness, these things are mass produced on a huge scale to the lowest bidder (they are super cheap for what you get). It's a wonder they work as well as they do. The only "problems" i've had are the morse code buzz (easy, easy fix) and squeaky keys (which I also fixed).

If you don't feel it's the right thing for you, return it or get it fixed under warranty. People in the UK are getting the better screen anyway .

Remember: There will always be an updated version coming out. It's best to buy something when you need it. Ask yourself real hard "do I need this? will I get my money's worth out of my purchase?". For me, both answers were yes, so I went ahead and made the purchase. Haven't regretted it since.

 

Hi, I just got my system and did a fresh install, but well, i forgot to make a backup. does anyone knows where can i get the softwares that were istalled before. What is really annoying me is that I didn't fint the one to make the fn keys work, so i cant adjust the brightness, and the vaio center!

 

anybody having problems with the keyboard? sometimes i fine when im typing the keys there's a squicky (sp??) noise.

also anyway turn off the backlight?

Also i laptop is fairly loud jsut by surfing the net. But when i first had it for the first few weeks it was silent. Any reason why?

Also where are the buttons to adjust the contrast? maybe im blind but i dont see them!

lastly are there any easy way to calibrate the screen. i bought some games and blu rays recently for it and man its a huge disappointment so far. I tried transformers(blu ray) and wolfenstein(game) and they looked horrible on this screen but then i plugged and hdmi to the laptop and my tv and there was an amazing increase in quality.

so is there an easy way to calibrate? i tried doing it but it still looks awful afterwards.

 

Anyone remember those DOS talking programs from the 1980s? One would type a question or make a comment, and the program would use your keyword in another comment and so on, it almost felt like you were talking to a rather curious Human. Well maybe that's what we have here...

 

More members of the "Department of Redundancy Department" have arrived. (No offense Newbies! We have seen these questions many times before.) Anyone have a pointer to the current Unification post for our Newbies?

 

I had a squeaky keyboard. There is a DIY fix for this (see link below).

The backlight can be turned off by pressing the "display off" button above the keyboard.

Are you experiencing fan whistle? If so, your unit is defective. Call Sony and send it inf or repairs. If your fan is just loud because it is blowing air out the side vent, this is normal. The core i7 is a very powerful chip. Unfortunately, this means that it draws quite a bit of power and runs very hot. In order to increase the longevity of the machine, as well as for your own personal safety, the fan must run more often than other machines with less powerful or less power-hungry components in order to keep the machine cool. If you find that the noise is unacceptable, consider investing in a laptop cooler, or purchasing a less powerful machine without the noise drawbacks.

There are no buttons for contrast. Screen calibrations are available at the link below.

Please read part of the forum before posting questions. Many of these questions have been answered multiple times and are in the unification post

Notice how all of those fixes were available in the unification post. In the right corner of the website there is a form with "SEARCH" next to it. Please use it to search for keywords such as "squeaky keyboard" or "screen calibration" before asking the question in the thread. This keeps the thread from getting overly lengthy and cumbersome to navigate.

Thanks, and I hope this helps.

 

omaroo...

I have deleted 3 of your last posts as you are not making any sense
Please stop repeating the same question over and over
Spend some time reading posts and less time posting




Alex

 

I wasn't trying to suggest that the parts were inferior (sorry if I did). It's certainly not the same quality as, say, a Z series or a macbook pro (imo apple cheats by using their "unibody" design. There's a lot less to go wrong with one piece of metal than a whole bunch of parts put together). But relatively speaking, it's a solid computer. I have an older Z1 made out of magnesium, and this F seems to be just as solid. Sonys are usually built well. Hehe remember those sony tvs from the 90s? Those things are indestructible.

 

Thank You Mango. You are a fast typer!

 

I just tried the Flight simulator X demo for the first time. I had everything set on high and it didn't really feel choppy..

Let's just say though that if you knew I was the flight captain on a plane..RUN!! Run away as fast as you can!!

 

What is everyone's ram usage percentage on idle? The gadget meter that comes with Win7 shows i'm at 20-23% all the time. I don't know if that is normal windows activity or due to background apps working/monitoring discreetly.

EDIT: Even when CPU meter is at 0%

 

Haha I have about 50% ram usage with 4gb of ram installed. 19.gb of ram in use (with the sony programs, thunderbird, winamp, chrome, avast! and skype enabled).

 

omaroo, this is the best answer you will get, trust me i have used it and am so tempted to order this one, and just forget about the refresh. Because thats how good this laptop is. Get IT, you wont regret it.

 

I see...so it is the background apps. Doh! I just realized that MS Security Essentials and that Windows Action Center is set to monitor activity. ahh..ok

 

As long as you realize that I was suggesting that Omaroo is one of those computer programs.

 

@MelodyMaster

In your case Sony decided to build you a new F11 rather than replace the screen?, due to the shortage. I dont want to have to wait for another month for a replacement. That sucks. Did you have any problems dealing with Sony, I remember you said you had to go up multiple layers of the Sony hierachy to get it resolved... Can you elaborate, it would help me when i have to talk to them again.

 

Oh yes! First thing I thought of. It was probably incorrect of me to reply to your post. Sorry. But the "Department of Redundancy Department" quote from Firesign Theater was in the same train of thought.

Who is the new avatar? You said you were going to use various Canadian actresses. I do not recognize her.

 

mango, i assume the build of the sony is solid and strong. Well im not really bothered about the refreshed/updated f11, as i dont think it is that much more updated. So looks like its the f11, i will let u guys know wat happens. Thx for your help and sorry for being a pain.

 

Hi guys, does anyone knows where can i download Vaio Control Center? I.ve done a fresh install and the version i downloaded doesn't have even the option for auto-brightness. Also, i don't really know what soft do i need to make it work again, but the fn keys and assist, S1 and VAIO are not working anymore!

Please if someone could help me, I'm searching for a while and i didn't find anything so far!

thanks

 

Gee..... That's easy, and she didn't even change her name from her birth name. Married the Boss.

One of the most popular and highly-paid actresses of all time.

Her birth (and professional) name was French-Canadian.

Adrian's favourite fashion model.

Sister of the fellow who developed most of the techniquues still used in Sound film. She, herself, is reputedly the person who invented the Boom Mic.

 

Thank You...

 

Any idea when we can expect the 1080p to be back on CTO with 330m? I'm hoping to take advantage of the march madness 200$ rebate!

 

I'm sorry, did what I think just happened... happened?

 

Have you tried the sony eSupport site?

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=VPCF111FX

Change the model number to match the one on your F11. Hope this helps!

 

I updated the first post on this thread to lrudyk's new updated Unification post




Alex

 

Thanks alex, and thanks for showing me how to pinpoint a post with a link. Wow, I'm up to 29 posts! That's an average of a 2 posts a month since joining in 2008...

 

That was something that I asked for last week, so thank you for tidying it all up on both threads Alex!

*returns to the Hanged Edge*

matt

 

Oups!

Maybe one should research a bit & get all his ducks aligned before embarking in the clean install procedure.

As suggested by mangosango, check the Unification Post #2 and specifically VAIO_F_Clean Install Fun & Guides and Sony_Support Clean Install Instructions for Windows 7. Don't miss step 3!

I posted this many times but once more may help somebody out there:

Before attempting anything (out of the box!):

1- create recovery discs (to preserve factory state, DL not good, 2 DVD's. 1 or 2 more may be needed if you added optional software via CTO.
2- create a system repair disc (one CD)
3- - after customizing & adding software, create a system image, which contains a copy of Windows and copies of your programs, system settings, and files with Windows Backup or an other backup utility. I used Acronis before but with 7, Windows Backup is fine.
4- Backup your personal data & files, if any.

---------
Hi guys, got banned for 24 hours but I'm back. From now on instead of responding to personal attacks, I'll take a deep breath & flag the post for the mods instead.

 

But if one clicks on the Sony or Vaio or F11 part of the link, he gets the coupons instead.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5966152&postcount=1

 

Thank Alex! We will point Newbies to the post as they arrive.

 

Hey guys ,when you close your machine to sleep it, does it wake up when you open the lid? Mine doesn't.

Weirdest thing. I've NEVER seen a laptop that didn't wake up when you opened the lid.

 

Just touch any key and it will awaken!

 

Lots of Windows systems don't wake or even crash when awoken. It's a common problem related to which programs have been installed. Having said that I find my F11 awakes after opening the lid only if you also then press a key (any key)

 

Same for my VAIO, I think it was a conscious decision made by Sony to have their VAIOs not wake if you open them.

 

Flight Simulator X is up (still processing): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa20AI8PBIQ

Don't judge . It was my first time playing and to top it off I was piloting with the keyboard (atleast I think I was... I honestly have no idea if what I did had any impact of the direction of the plane). There's a part in the middle where I, uh, "test out the graphics performance inside the cockpit" (I desperately try to figure out how to move the "steering wheel" around). It seems like it would be a lot of fun once you learned the controls and the specifics of piloting, etc.)

Some numbers:

Sea Green = Fluid
Blue = Playable
Orange= Unplayable (annoyingly slow)

Settings for this video:

720p with everything set to Ultra-High
Anisotropic Filtering On
Antialiasing Off
Flown over Princess Juliana Intl.
"Storm Brewing" weather conditions.

FPS: 18-24 (With Fraps) 30-34 (Without Fraps)

I tried it with antialiasing On (everything else the same) flying in Thunderstorm weather, I got about 24-30 fps.

At 1080p (no antialiasing in T-storm weather), I got 10-25 fps (it dropped to 10 when I switched camera angles rapidly).

More games: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5986590&postcount=449

 

Well now you saw one.

Just press any key to wake up, there's no switch nor latch on the display/palm rest area interface on the F.

Check this post about List Devices that Can Wake Up the Computer. Talks about wireless devices waking up your machine when you don't want to and other stuff.

You can also Start > Search > Device Manager > Mouse > right click for Properties > Power Management > and either select "Allow computer to turn off this device to save power" OR "Allow this Device to wake the computer". You can do the same for the touch pad and Network Adapters in the same Device Manager panel.

I don't allow mouse to wake computer as my cats play with it or like to sit on the mouse pad.



If you press S1 > Vaio_Control Center you can change the behavior when closing the lid and have different settings depending if plugged or on battery:

 

Thanks so much in advance! I look forward to the video.

Are you able to test with the two FSX patches installed? Or was it installed already? The patches make use of multi-threaded cores and has a significant jump in frame rate performance.