Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

Every time I put the computer to sleep, it always sleep until I get back home (Usually I put it to sleep in the morning and come back from work in the evening and turn it on) unless I press some keys, I will try to hibernate it and see if it wakes up later today and report back if this is happening on mine too.

 

Heh guys, check this post found in, you guessed it, the Unification Post #2!

VAIO_F Sleep & Hibernation Wake Up Problems Fix

Something is telling to your Vaio_F11 to wake up.

This is a good suggestion when transporting your F in a case to be on the safe side of things:

Most of the sleep/hibernate problems people have is due to their external devices or power management settings but most people always suspect a Vaio_F11 hardware fault first or the Win 7 OS. Owners of other brands of notebooks do the same too.

That's why Microsoft created powercfg & included it for free in Windows 7: mainly to give infos to the techs trying to troubleshoot the user's sleep/hibernate problems with a simple & fast diagnostic tool. They ask the user to run it & send them the report but we can use it as a simple & fast DIY Power Efficiency Diagnostics tool, right?

Run the simple, fast & powerful powercfg -energy diagnostic tool as I recommended several times.

How to do it on the F: Start > search: cmd > right click > run as administrator > type exactly & only: powercfg -energy, hit Enter and wait for the report to be produced (1 minute).



Note: when going to the report's path, I could not open the html doc with neither Firefox, Internet Explorer nor Google Chrome. Copied the report to My Documents & it then opened fine. Start > search: energy-report.html > right click > Open File Location > copy to your folder, Open the copy in your browser.

The next thing to do is disallow any devices from waking up the computer since you don't need that as hitting any key on the keyboard will wake up the Vaio_F11:















Check also this post, bad news: Mic Morse Code Fixes preventing auto sleep

I ran ran powercfg /requests to highlight the problem:

 

I am thinking about buying an F11, but I want it to boot from external HDD's both USB and eSata, just to play with different OS's. Did somebody tried this already?

 

WHY did you "do a fresh install"? What was wrong with it to begin with? No one is recommending a fresh install on a computer that works perfectly fine when you get it.. Pretty well everybody who has done this without using the recovery discs has messed up their computer in some way, sometimes totally.

You get a "shiny new" F11 and don't even TRY it for a while to see how it works for you?! Sony's software presentation of their laptop systems is actually pretty good.

Any benefits in removing so-called "bloatware" (which is only about three programs anyway) is vastly outweighed by the problems trying to get everything going again, having all the key functions, VAIO recovery, proper chipset drivers etc. And you have to pay again for things you already had.

Upgrading from Premium to Pro or Ultimate can be done in-place, (anytime upgrade) with no reinstallation necessary.

Reinstall from the recovery discs you made or the hidden partition, put things back the way the were, THEN remove the trialware and Sony Media Gallery. You will have a much more dependable system than the miasma you are heading for now.

 

Greetings

Said I would post a quick first impressions of the F11 once recieved so here goes.

Likes

Speed - (although a bit sluggish on start-up).
Keyboard - never used a chicklet? before but very impressed.
Screen - Euro matte option.
Headphone out - especially for watching Blu-rays.

Dislikes

Fan - understand that it has more to do keeping system cooler than my Core 2 Toshiba but it is quite noisy and I havent assaulted it yet (HD video editing, games...)
Speakers - These are poor in my opinion. They try to get a little separation (good for films) but are far too lightweight!
Power brick - HOW BIG! and the cord itself is to short.

All in all very impressed.

Questions

Would appreciate it if any of you advanced users could help the new boy in town?

Dont fancy doing a clean or semi-clean install too many drivers Sony software (which seems useful?). I do want to get rid of Mcaffe & Norton though. Can these be unistalled simply through Control Panel or do you need any special software to remove all trace?

Any ideas on how to get rid of the annoying hiss coming from the speakers when you make a selection in windows? (This might be a Euro only problem).

Thanks

 

Also run SMART to confirm those results. http://www.passmark.com/products/diskcheckup.htm

The health figure tabulates the increase in the number of bad sectors, which should be none on a new drive, 100%. Otherwise that means you have a failing drive. Save your data immediately and RMA the system.

 

" These machines are very flimsy" - Holy guacamole! I didn't realize that until now that my Vaio_F11 was flimsy, thanks!

***** ***** ***** *****

Again: Everything is relative:





People with problems search the web & this thread is top ranked in the search results so it's a magnet for Vaio_F11 users looking for solutions. Note that very often it's OS, third-party softwares, non-Sony_certified drivers or simply cockpit related.

Happy users tend to simply use & enjoy their machines instead of posting here as the relativity of the display complaints are illustrated in the Poll: Sony_F_Series Owners Display (LCD) Opinions (96 owners votes so far, thanks guys )

Unhappy users tend to be more vocal & all other brands of notebooks have their share of complaints as you can see in the other brand threads on Notebookreview.

All mass produced things made by humans have a percentage of defects, that why there is a warranty, return period & threads like this one.

My F is awesome, not flimsy! :wink:

 

There IS space between the drive and the flap, so I'm guessing yes.

 

" So I've installed a clean version of win7 as recommended on this forum..." - Not everybody recommends to do that & not everybody thinks that the OEM OS with many useful utilities is "unclean".

I agree completly with MelodyMaster on that one.

Just Search this Thread with: clean install to find tons of questions about fixing things that were broken by the process.

Check the Unification Post #2 for clean install tips & how-to fix broken stuff like the special Vaio_keys, lost Roxio & WinDVD, etc.

I did Anytime Upgrade from Home Premium to Ultimate & it went very smoothly as MelodyMaster described. Took only 10 minutes & I now can use my F in 4 different OS representation languages.

I would say that clean install is good for geeks, average users should just uninstall the trials they don't want & maybe Sony_Media Gallery as it's a resource hug scanning the drive & does not add anything to the already included Win 7 media libraries as MelodyMaster pointed out in an other post.

 

For removal of Norton use 'Download and run the Norton Removal Tool'

http://service1.symantec.com/Support/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

 

While I wouldn't call the construction "flimsy", I think that that Sony has cut a few too many corners - a $1500 computer should have at least a few metal parts on it and the DVD door shouldn't rattle. I wouldn't have minded this except that some of the "cut corners" include more important things like the fan and screen.

As far as "All mass produced things made by humans have a percentage of defects..." It looks like 20% of the screens could be faulty like mine - that's a pretty big percentage!

 

@gullideth

Did you get to try this before you sent it off for repair? It would be good to know if this is an across the board viable fix if your current issue was the same one I had a few days ago.

 

Welcome Sheff to the VAIO_F_Series Owners lounge Club & thank you for taking the time to write your feedback.

I uninstalled a while ago the Norton Internet Security 2010 trial with Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features and then ran the Norton removal tool linked by Fishon for good measures.

I then tried the free AVAST! for a while. After too many false positives & wanting a more comprehensive solution I re-examined my prejudice about Norton as I remembered how much a resources hog it was in the past on slower machines. Since 2008 they put their act together & now have very good reviews, especially about the low resource usage: Norton Internet Security 2010 reviews.

Symantec is well aware of their earned bad resources hog image & that's why Norton 2010 includes a resources usage panel. Here is a screen grab I just did on my Vaio_F11:



Do you know about AV-Comparatives.org (an independent non-profit Austrian comparatives of antivirus software for Windows)? Check their Summary Reports where they gave their 2009 Product of the Year Award to Symantec/Norton. In the previous years, they awarded AVIRA, ESET NOD32, Kaspersky, etc.

PassMark, the well know benchmark utilities maker executed a ton of performance benchmark testing on a bunch of security software, check their full report here (pdf).

Next was the question of Norton's price. I searched ebay as I knew some re-sellers were selling cheap product keys from Symantec-India (I think) and found one for $14: Norton Internet Security 2010 license, 2years 3PCs. My security check before buying was: check the seller's reputation (100%) & it must have at least 100 feedback's. Then check who gave the feedback about the Norton keys & many buyers had 100+ feedback's, all 100%.

So I bought the key which I received via email an hour later. I had to download a trial as I removed it from my F, used the key, checked with Symantec by activating it & updated it: all OK & legit! I did this a few days ago but wanted to make sure before posting about it here.

Note: I got the Norton Internet Security 2010 trial from Symantec UK and needed to open a Norton account with my email address only as the Symantec USA wanted my CC info just to get the trial!

So I suggest you try Norton for a few days since it's already installed on the F OEM OS & if it works for you then that key deal is pretty awesome.

Remove the other AV & check the comments above about the Sony_Media Gallery Services & scans.

BTW, did you vote in the Poll: Sony_F_Series Owners Display (LCD) Opinions?

 

There are some really great free antivirus programs as well, for those of you who don't want to dish out the $14 for antivirus (some of us are poor college students *nudge* *nudge* ).

Avira, Avast, and AVG are also good. And really, practicing safe browsing habits is the best way to avoid viruses. You aren't "safe" because you have an antivirus program installed. Don't click on fishy links, use caution when on fishy websites, don't click yes (or even no!) on a dialog what pops up on a web page unless you KNOW that it was initiated by you.

And in terms of false-positives (I use avast) there's an option to keep avast from scanning a particular folder. This is useful if you want to run trainers for your games (which AV programs often pick up as viruses because of their nature), because all you have to do is download to that folder, and voila, no more *PC INFECTED* notifications

 

Revo Uninstaller should help you to remove Mcaffee & Norton.

 

Did that, and the programme says the same thing as Active@ - RRER Value:116, Worst:99, Threshold 6. Raw value:648A649

No idea what any of that means. Screenshot from Active@ attached.

 

I think a clean install its a good thing as long as you have the knowledge and time to do it. I did a clean install on my F coz its freezing once in a while after that I never have that issue anymore and it feels more snappier.

My memory usage is around 50% with firefox,mail,few IM and gadgets,Im using the SD card slot to speed up the system (ReadyBoost) adding about 2 more Gigs memory. My C usage also decrease after clean install, those bloatware use few gigs.

 

Completely unrelated to my previous post, but this is why Windows 7 is so sick. And perhaps a reason to hibernate where possible rather than shut down:

 

Don't forget to do the math: that Norton license is good for 3 pc's & 2 years for $14. Or is you major in Art?

I know AVAST! & other free stuff works but the Norton panel is great, simple and the protections features are easily tweakable. Check the AV studies I linked to. Besides performance usage there is also the % of threats they catch & av-comparatives runs the security software through a gamut DB of more than 10,000 malicious stuff. Norton is one of the tops.

 

@ new_vaio_F: Good for you! I agree with your comment: "... its a good thing as long as you have the knowledge and time". How log did it take to complete the process, ballpark?

Could you list the "bloatware" that you removed by clean installing or simply post a screen capture of the Vaio_utilities you reinstalled as shown in Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features and sorted by Publisher?



BTW the Win 7 included Snipping Tool is small & fast for capturing all or part of the screen.

Besides PMB & Media Gallery which are hogs as many softwares listed above are related to them but are easy to uninstall or even easier to disable with Autoruns, I'm curious about what you deemed as bloatware.

:wink: Maybe MelodyMaster who chose the "Fresh Start" + Pro CTO option for a $50 bargain price could do the same so we could compare?

Does all your special keys work or did you remap them?

 

lol I'm a first year CS major, so basically I have no money . And if I did, it would go towards paying tuition anyway

I guess I was just trying to offer an alternative if you didn't feel like paying for something, which in my opinion is superfluous if you already practice good browsing habits.

 

Umm... I'm no expert, but if you have 4 gig of memory or more, I doubt you will see any improvement using readyboost.

RAM >>>> flashdrive or sdhc technology when it comes to speed. And I believe that a spinning hard drive still beats out flash drives using USB technology.

I don't have a lot of info to back that up, if you want, you can research it more, but I always thought readyboost was for systems with low memory.



@mango = i have the money to buy kaspersky etc, which I used in the past, but I always end up just downloading free AVG 9.0 . AVG free used to have problems and hog resources. It runs like a charm now though.

I haven't had any viruses, including my use of utorrent, and multiple download and peer to peer services. System is still running very strong (incredibly fast etc) after 2 months. No slowdown or other noticeable issues. Of course, maybe I do have a virus and I just don't know it yet! *twilight zone music*



@others talking about "clean" installs: I have done clean installs on all past computers - but I did not on this one. The combination of the processor, RAM, and my SSD precludes the necessity of a "clean" install. This lappy is blazing fast. I followed what others have done and add my recommendation to do this - remove the software you don't want. The Sony Vaio software has proven to be very useful, I'm glad I kept it. Good luck with your new Vaio! And remember, if you get frustrated, that our Vaio F11 Loves You!

 

Joe let me answer you back with another nice picture.
Believe it or not the graphs you posted and this picture have the same relationship to the Vaio F11, which is nothing.


As I mentioned before these graphs have nothing to do with Sony's quality as of today. And they did not include any F11 at the time they gathered the data.
So it doesn't have any factual value.
Please do not mislead people with these graphs.

The truth is that we don't know what is the quality of this machine. In my experience this is a machine that is fast, packed with features and well integrated to WIN 7 but it has many weaknesses which makes it unreliable and it has a good chance that it will fail.

 

You notice also the hardware ECC count, which means parity has been used to correct a number of read errors.. To me that looks like a failing drive..

You Mean "Sick" as in good, right? I agree that memory usage is excellent. Mine is only 1.6 gigs on 4 gigs of ram, yours is 2.5 on 8 gigs, it uses what's avialable most efficiently.

 

You mix fact with opinion as well. I'm not defending Joe, I'm just saying that here, you state an opinion "The truth is that we don't know what the quality of this machine." That is an opinion.

Additionally, it is your opinion that the machine has "many" weaknesses which make it unreliable and has a good chance to fail.

I will now state my opinion, with a sprinkling of fact.

I've never believed that the graphs Joe posts are representative or inclusive of the Sony Vaio F11 series. But they are informative, and relevant to the overall discussion regarding laptop manufacturer comparisons that occur in this thread. Additionally, it is my opinion that the Vaio F11 is what I paid for - a fast, warrantied laptop from a major manufacturer with a trusted name and a reliable track record. We gather here to commiserate when things don't go according to plan, and to share our failures/successes. I do NOT believe for a second that the posts on this thread are reflective of all Vaio Owners. This forum is reflective of Vaio owners who use notebookreview only.

I can say the same of the Dells, HPs, IBMs, and Macs that I have owned, in their own day. Fast comps, reliable companies.

If you want a "rugged" laptop, my opinion is that it will cost significantly more. The ones we used in the military were amazingly tough, but of average speed. And they cost about $4k when I last checked. Do they still make toughbooks? Anyhow, my rant is over.

Thank you Joe for taking the time to keep the posts informative. And thanks Umpire for your opinion as well. Keep it coming. Anyhow, enough of this, 1080p bigscreen Vaio F11 driven company of heroes calls my attention for the next hour. Daddy needs some "alone" time now that the kids are in bed.

 

These are ALL the VAIO programs installed under Fresh Start, also Roxio is shown but not WinDVD, and that's pretty well it.

Note that "Feb 24th" would be the day my laptop was built, or assembled, not when I registered it which was in March.

 

Sorry but I'm not misleading anybody. My Vaio_F11 copy was bad so all Vaio_F11's are bad, bada bing bada boom!

How can I post a 3 year study about the Vaio_F11 as it's a new product just freshly launched to market?

We don't know about how good will be the Honda 2011 but we can look at their recent production history to get an idea, can we?

The graphs I posted are from a recent failiure rate study made by Square Trade, a business that sells extended service plans so they see first hand the brand of the laptops being sent to them for servicing.

Everything is relative including that study. Failure rates seems quite high to me, which could be skewed by owners taking advantage of the extended service plans ( as this user did & even made a video about it) & maybe being less careful with their machine. High failure rates are also a very good sale argument for SquareTrade's plans.

OTOH the comparison between brands is interesting as they don't have vested interests in promoting one or the other.

 

Thank you for your opinion ;-)

When I wrote: "The truth is that we don't know what the quality of this machine." That is not an opinion it is a fact until someone comes up with some real stats on this model.

And I do agree with you this thread represents a minority of people that only post when they have problems and in consequence does not represent the reality. In consequence I clearly marked my conclusions as my own experience.

For last my only goal is selfish... I hope at one point hopefully soon Sony will improve this machine so I can buy it again. ;-)

 

@Irudyk

It seems reasonable that if a company is going to go cheap on the visible parts of the computer, they likely will do the same on the inside - kinda like extrapolating the data on Joe's graphs. Just an opinion.

 

I'm not posting "Because I have problems..." I am delighted with my F119GS, I have NO problems, other than that I had to wait two months to get it! Yes the screen is weak, but that's Sharp's fault, not a design issue with the F11.

And there's lots of metal used in the F11's construction - in the frame.

 

And on what visible parts did Sony go cheap with the F11?

And don't say "the display" since it's been established it's a FLAW with some Sharp screens, not the intended design of the screen by either Sharp or Sony.

 

That was quick. Thanks Melody! I will uninstall PMB & Media Gallery to see how much other stuff is related to them & do an other screen capture so we can compare orange vs orange.

I wanted to go the CTO way just for that Fresh Start option alone but SonyStyle USA would not accept my International CC's so I had to go with BB & the Home Premium as I needed to ship ASAP to my US friend leaving for Costa Rica.

This said, it's not difficult to clean up an off the shelves Vaio_F11 OEM OS, much faster & easier than a clean install.

 

I too am happy with my F11 and I think it's built quite well. I have to remember that the price I paid for my CTO laptop more than makes up for the screen's shortcomings. (USD$1750.99 before taxes at Sony Style USA including the 15% discount )

In comparison to other laptops i've seen this year, the F11 does have a more classic and dignified look to it.

 

What? You are a Computer Science major & chose a "flimsy" Vaio_F11? Are your fellow students making fun of you? :GEEK:

 

I don't care if Sharp made the screen, it could have been made by Mattel for all I am concerned. Sony picked it and decided to sell it to unsuspecting customers - we're not talking about a few isolated cases - there was a deliberate decision to save money and go with the lowest bidder who happened to be Sharp. The rest of the computer may look good from afar, but it's far from good. The location of the ports are awkward, the speakers are terrible, the hard drive vibrates, the fan makes irritating sounds, The DVD drive doesn't seat as well, and the entire outside of the computer is plastic. As I said before, I can live with rattles, noises and cheaper materials, but it does reflect on the quality of the machine as a whole.

 

If it's a FLAW, why does Sony say it's OK?

 

Thankfully the Poll: Sony_F_Series Owners Display (LCD) Opinions shows that everything is relative, including one's Vaio_F11 display opinion. :wink:

 

I would argue that that poll shows that it is "definitely" not a great display. Or, to make that more scientifically accurate, it shows that user's perception of the quality of the screen is that it's not great. 52 opinions is not statistically significant, but on online items' polls (e.g. newegg, amazon) having such a spread on all ratings usually means that the item has its share of problems (even if that problem is that it's not user friendly and thus makes some users unhappy).

As to my own experience, I voted for average (US 1080p). Even after calibrating the screen with a Spyder3Express, the viewing angles are just too narrow.

 

"52 opinions is not statistically significant" - Errr... it's now @ 96 votes. It's not 1,000 but a little bit better than a few.

"I would argue that that poll shows that it is "definitely" not a great display" - I would add "for some".

Considering everything else I got for $1,350, I think I made a very good deal even if the US 1080p display is not the best on the planet for that class of notebook. If I would have paid $2,000 for it, I would not have voted awesome for the LCD.

Maybe I focus more on performance as it's the main reason why I got the F in the first place.

Maybe users who don't need all that horsepower would be better served with a lesser machine & a better display.

With the money I saved by choosing the F with all the specs in it, I could buy a quality external monitor & still break even compared to brand X & Y.

The display poll is more about F owners satisfaction as in the end, that what counts the most.

 

lol well most of the programming is done on the unix + mac computers in the lab. But most CS majors here (like most students at my uni) use 15" macbook pros. Plus my peers are all pretty nice folks . The mbp's are fine, but the extra screen space you get from the vaio is nice, as is the processing power. Plus it's just nice to be a bit different. I see so many of those unibody cases everywhere that I'm starting to get sick of them. Plus, my Z1 still works for simple tasks on the go.

That said, I like my vaio, even given its flaws. For people complaining about the build quality - the vaio is CHEAP. $999 in the US for a base model, which includes a core i7 and 4 gigs of ddr3-1333 ram (compare that to the polycarbonate macbook @ the same price). If you felt that build quality was more important than processing power, then you should've spent your 1.8k or 2k somewhere else, or just paid for a few upgrades (like I did) and expected a decent multimedia computer.

The F11 isn't advertised as an executive or business laptop (like the more expensive Z11 or macbook pro line) is. There isn't much flex in the chassis and the plastic is of good quality - not like that "look at me!!" glossy stuff so common today.

As far as I can tell, the screen is the biggest problem, but even there, I managed to get a decent screen, so it's really not that big of a deal for me. I don't mind the narrow viewing angle.

The only time I got really mad at my F was when it turned itself on during my flight, but I got a free replacement keyboard and service and now it stays asleep, so whatever. Is not a problem any more.

I'll hopefully have a review up. It's been almost 2 months since I've had this computer.

 

Never mind

 

I was only counting the votes for the US 1080p screen, the others don't really matter as far as this screen is concerned. Actually, you can clearly see that the satisfaction for the EU screen is a completely different 'curve'.

The display poll is about the quality of the display (as perceived by the owners), which in my opinion should be objective (as much as possible considering they're opinions) and not exactly related to "cost/benefit". That said, am I happy with my Sony F? Absolutely! But the viewing angles of my FW390 were definitely better (and I paid less for it).

 

The US 1080p screen is average at best. 'nuff said.

 

I realize that there are many satisfied customers who just want a powerful computer, but Sony has advertised this as a premium multimedia laptop - even the Photoshop-edited product photos show the laptop folded way back showing "...the clarity and brilliance of a 1080p High Definition viewing experience...".

Sony is making it tough on those who received something they didn't expect. If I ever get my money back, I would be more than happy to pay the "Apple Tax"

 

The reason I use it coz I have a spare 2 Gig Sandisk that just lying around. About not have any difference in performance, that's what I thought too, but on F if the SD is being used there is a orange indicator LED and this kept on flashing in and out like the HD LED but not blinking as fast the HD LED...so it's being used by the system for sure. So I'm not sure about its not have any effect.

I use toughbooks @work, and no I'm not working for the military and that laptop cost abt 3K plus, accidentally dropped several time, spilled some liquid on it..still running solid. Speed wise, its kinda slow..that's true..spec wise it wasn't up with the trend. I must agree with you on this one.

Joe,are you saying you want to return your old one and getting a new one?

 

Not at all. And even if I could I wouldn't. I need my daily F fix and feel that I just discovered warp drive coming from my previous impulse speed computers.

BTW, could you post a screen grab of your Vaio_software as Melody & I did here so we could compare?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=6083426&postcount=2232

 

Sure..



Oh yeah..forgot the Arcsoft Webcam Companion 3

PS:What is Vaio OOBE?

 

I put my computer to sleep, not waking up until i got back from work and press a key/push the power button to wake it up...so no issue there, and tried hibernation with same result, no issue.

 

Wow! One thing I don't see or others that I have shown this laptop to for this matter is cheap, when we look at this notebook. Everything about this laptop is quality, the specs are most important and this baby has it for a very reasonable price. The screen imo and others who I shown it to have said wow! that looks amazing. I shown them Transformer's 2 BD and Crysis demo. I have had no issues with the BD drive being flimsy it's seems very sturdy to me I can place a disc in and never feel the tray feel loose or wobbely.
Sure I wouldn't want to drop this guy or anything but nor would I any laptop I purchased in the past. To me this is a solid, great looking, powerful laptop at an affordable price. People can moan about the screen but even a $3000 led screen can have issues and not deliver a perfect picture every screen has some sort of flaws. I must say after a month or so of use and having experience little to no issues with it, I will say that not only am I satisfied with this laptop but am overwhelmed by just how powerful this guy is.

 

What is Vaio_bloatware vs Vaio_useful utilities?

Thanks to new_vaio_F & MelodyMaster for their installed Vaio_software screen captures.

So here is a comparison between Win 7 Home OEM factory state vs. Professional OEM with the CTO "Fresh Start" clean option vs user done clean install as shown in Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features and sorted by Publisher to regroup the Sony_stuff:







Using MelodyMaster's Fresh Start as a road map, I uninstalled everything not in his OS:



In any case, one may try these extra software to see if they are useful to you or not which in the end is the most important criteria.

As I wrote before, PMB, Media Gallery & Media Plus are the resources hogs IMO as several software listed in the OEM Home factory install are related to them. All three are "watching" & scanning folders & even other computers on your network in case of Media Plus. They are easy to uninstall or you can disable the scanning part through their preferences or with Autoruns.

OTH PMB could be useful for downloading if you own a Sony_imaging product. It can also be used as an editor for photos & videos. I disabled all folder scanning services, media DB and "Managers" related to PMB, Media Gallery and Media Plus.

Maybe other F owners could confirm this but Sony_Media Gallery seems to just duplicate the media galleries in Win 7 & I don't see any added value. The creaking ox-cart slowly wades towards the Guillotine...

Notes:

Before attempting anything & as a preventive safety measure in case of HDD total failure:

1- Create recovery discs (to preserve factory state, DL not too 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- Create a system image, which contains a copy of Windows and copies of your added programs, customized system settings, and files with Windows Backup or an other backup utility.

3.1 - I used Acronis before but with 7, Windows Backup is already included in the F's OS, fast, free & working just fine. My most recent full system image size is 110GB so way to big for DVD's. An external drive should be used for this, preferably connected to the F via eSATA or Power Over eSATA vs. the much slower USB port.

So in case of HDD failure: if you want to restore to OEM Factory State, use the recovery discs. If you want the new HDD to be exactly as your old HDD is @ the present with your added programs & customizations, use the system image! That may be good practice before sending your F to Sony_for servicing as they often wipe the HDD clean to eliminate user tweaking generated problems.

Vaio_BD Menu Data seen in Melody's may be related to his BD burning ODD. My F is BD-ROM only & not such utility can be found in the recovery discs nor on Sony_support for my model. A system restore point was created before and the Vaio_F was rebooted several times during the many programs uninstall process. After the clean up, System TuneUp was ran to fix remaining problems for optimal performance:



Anybody tried my $14 Norton product key trick?