Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

Err... after rebooting, I got the "Cannot acquire the Configurations" error again.

I wonder if it's only the manual update check that is affected or also the automatic one? Will check my View Events Logs later to see if any error is reported.

Edit: Added C:\Program Files\Sony\VAIO Update 5 > select VAIOUpdt.exe to Norton's allow rules & the error went away again. Can't reboot @ the present because running a task. If the error shows up again, will report back & update this post.

 

Joe Bleau, I even disabled the firewall temporarily to try and it still was a no go. Every so often though it connects properly, but not consistently. No big deal though and at least we know it is happening to more than one of us.

 

Yep - I have with those clocks. ME2 with antialiasing still runs slowly in spots with lots of lights (though I suspect that it has more to do with the engine than the card). Overall, most games are now playable in med/high settings at native res and definitely at 720p.

 

"Every so often though it connects properly" - Which would confirm my Sony_server's side bug theory but it seems that after the clicking other tabs workaround, the "Check for Updates" works for a while anyway hence the rebooting check I did.

Anyway, it's not the manual update check that bothers me, it's the automatic one. I enabled security log in Norton & will check for errors later as mentioned before.

 

Used to have a black polished exterior on my last laptop. Always fingerprints. With this exterior I've noticed the oil of my hands giving it a bad look, and also finding it difficult to remove. Tried diluted warm dish soap, Simple Green, Armor All, and none of them rid the exterior of my oily prints completely. I am suggesting 100% carnauba wax. Don't use just any car wax, they almost all have a residual dust that flies everywhere. With the carnauba , there is no residue and it works quite well. I'm using Mother's brand but there are others.

 

I'm sure there are many of you familiar with this but for the ones who have not there is an icon you can create for your desktop that gives you a kind of all in one access to so many of your computer functions.
1. Create a new folder.
2. Rename the folder to
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
(note that you can change the “GodMode” text, but the following period and code number are essential).
3. The folder icon will change — double click it to show the GodMode window.
Tweaks for your new F.

 

Thank you Joe Bleau and others discussing this issue. Allowing a program full access in inbound and outobund rules just solved a couple of irritating problems. First Forte Agent couldn't connect to newsgroups without first hanging, where it had to be stopped and retried, that's now alright; and Powerpost couldn't post at ALL, though it gave no reason (Waiting for ACK, or receipt confirmation.) Funny how I had to find the solution HERE but Win7 forums had no answer. The Windows firewall in Vista and XP didn't cause problems with Agent etc. Also there were no problems with Win7 on the desktop, but that was an upgrade to the beta..

 

Hehehe...you mean Carnauba Wax

 

Yes thank you, also if Outlook stops working after an update, "Cannot start microsoft office outlook. Cannot open the outlook window" (it's happened a couple of times to me,) under administrative privileges type Outlook.exe /resetnavpane .

 

Thank you for making & posting these comparison photos OoTLink!

Actually your US F 1080p does not look bad at all, especially when taking into account that the Apple_Cinema Display 20" alone cost $600 & your F i7-720QM only $1350. What kind of Apple_computer, mouse & keyboard can you buy with the $750 difference?

BTW the new Apple_LED Cinema Display 24" is out. I wish I had $900 & a way to get one from USA.

 

Yes OoTlink got one of the good ones. It seems ironic to all of us owners who have an F11 with bad shading on the screen, to hear someone complaining when actually they're one of the lucky ones with a non-defective display.

 

This is a nice tool to look at...

Goto Start>Search Box and type, reliability and press RETURN to start the Reliability Monitor.

 

Cool tip, fast & nice graph, thanks!

 

XD I feel bad about that, though I still think the vertical viewing angle is kinda limited (and on that note, there's like 3 dead pixels on mine).

I bought my 23" and 20" as surplus stock XD they were 350 and 675 a year ago, and new Can't wait to hook one of em up to my Sony (need to get a power brick).

You know Mitsubishi is making some IPS panels now in the $300 range? It's sweet

You're right though, as far as computers are concerned, even if I noted the 20" was 350, you're left with about $1000-1200 for the computer, and there aren't any decent Macs in that price range. That's why I'm here, though! XD

 

Actually there is, the 13 inch macbook pro cost around 1100-1200.

 

IIRC he was saying to get a comparable computer for the $$.

You'd need an iMac, granted those start at $1100 anyway, but the 27" i5.. that'd make a good companion to these laptops

Those are $2000-ish.. awesome screen though.

I gotta say, I don't mind spending $600 on a monitor.



The official redneck laptop! lol j/k, it was a joke in response to someone's iPad yuppy pic (they had a fancy coffee and were joking about being a yuppy )

 

I would never have a drink that close to a notebook again let alone my f11. This comes from having messed up at the very least a keyboard that way, and it wasn't even mine, ended up having to get another laptop. Oops.

 

Yay should get my laptop tomorrow. Hoping no issues with it! Will let you guys know how it goes

 

For anyone with animated mouse pointers that aren't working (like me): http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?&p=4173708#post4173708

And, for anyone with OCD (or OCD tendancies!): http://www.istartedsomething.com/20090815/windows-7-busy-cursor-misses-a-beat/

 

I'm returning my VPCF111F and probably will replace it with VPCF116FX, with GT330,7200RPM and 1080P Screen. I'm not sure what to expect for the new unit,will take quite some time for everything to be settled. The defect for mine is the Morse code only. Any advise of the defect rate on the 720P compared to 1080P screen?

EDIT:Can I restore the VPCF116 with VP111F Clean Install Image? (Then changed the product key for Win7 to the new one)

 

Has anyone tried to installed different video drivers? I got some crazy issue where the back light doesn't work right and I had to put the pre-installed drivers back on...
Anyone?

 

Where HAVE you BEEN?! Half the posts in the last 50 pages have been about display driver updating, and how it screws up the system.

There IS a fix, sorta... http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=6092381#post6092381

 

It was sealed lol, was part of a joke

 

Just received today some Sony_Bluetooth Headphones DR-BT101. Out of the box: pressed power, went to Devices & printers to add device et voilà! Remote control works, battery was already half charged so ready to go, light & comfortable on my big head after 2 hours, the sound is pretty good while not of audiophile quality and headphones icon added instantly to the speakers shortcut on the taskbar. Only con so far is that they don't fold flat for transportation but I use earbuds for that purpose.



They worked right away with Skype after allowing them & selecting this in > Options > Audio Settings:



They passed the Echo/Sound Test Service with flying colors.

Got them for $68 shipped worldwide on Fleabay and it only took 2.5 weeks to receive them in Costa Rica. Not fair but seen for $39 shipped in USA. A good value. The DR-BT101 user manual pdf on Sony_support but who needs it?
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F11 US Sony_OEM Parts Prices List

Could be interesting to some, just go to Sony_parts US > Advanced Search > type: VPCF_in the "Model Prefix Starts with" box > hit Search: et voilà! 4 pages of part results.

The fan is $112 & the touchpad unit is $63 for example. I did not try a search on the international https://servicesales.sel.sony.com/ecom/accessories/web/index.jsp site.
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Re: Animated mouse pointers Fixes?

That sounds a little bit complicated to play in the registry. Have you tried first to uninstall & reinstall the Alps device & drivers as suggested in the bottom of this post? http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=6096744&posted=1#post6096744 Just curious.

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Re: US Display 720p vs 1080p Defect Rate?

Unless somebody has some Sony_support insider's info, the closest thing we have in this forum so far is the Sony_F_Series Owners Display Poll with 65 votes for the US US Displays 720p & 1080p and 101 votes total in the poll.

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Re: Hacked Desktop Video Driver Problem?

You don't give any details but looks like hacked desktop video driver problem. Check the Unification Post #2 with link to a better non-Sony video driver alternative with several F owners positive reports.

 

Easiest reg edit I've ever done. The reinstalling I think you're referring to is if you want to revert your reg edits. As I understand it, this alps driver is designed so that it replaces the animated pointers with its own unanimated one. Anyway - I followed the instructions and pointers are now working...

 

Before I remove the LCD's bezel & try to shim the webcam to modify the stupid viewing angle on my Vaio_F, could anybody confirm that this is what they see when the display is adjusted to the sweet spot viewing angle?

Right click on the thumbnail after photo capture in WebCam Companion > Find Target to locate the image in My Documents. To make the second capture, I had to tip the display to 85 degrees in relation to the keyboard:







So one can't follow the ergonomic advice & use the F webcam @ the same time?

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RE: Mouse Animated Pointers

If it works for you then it's the most important thing.

I am using the default Windows Aero scheme (Large) (system scheme) & do not have any pointers problems with touchpad or Bluetooth or USB mice.

I played a few times in the F's registry, was just thinking about technically challenged who have never done it before. My favorite registry hack:

 

Hello everyone, Here si my report:

About the battery Drainage:

I followed step by step the calibration progres, I was able to do it, now when I enter the powercfg -energy in the cmd, it shows 9 errors instead of the 15 errors I get before. I was Happy with that, later i fully chrged my vaio again to test if the problem solved.... bot no!! 'm still having tihis issue, after 9 hours it shows 85% of battery so my problem is not solved... Later i entered to the device manager to see if any device is turning on my computer, but it looks like ther everything was ok... So I don't know what to do now...
Right now I'm noticing that the battery gauge haven't changed from the 85% for a while, now my theory is that the battery really is at 100% of capacity, but the gauge is giving me a bad information... I don't know really...

About the battery Drainage:

I was doing a little research about this, it looks like it is a problem of the Alps software after all, after reading a post in the Dell Inspiron forum (thanks Joe for the message) i was able to repair the animation ... So thanks Joe I really owe you one... Before I forgoto here is the link to solve this issue:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?&p=4173708#post4173708

I hope you could give me some more advices about my problem with the battery Joe... And thanks once again...

 

Do you mean the battery is not charging more than 85%? Then you must have skipped this important setup step in the calibration process: S1 > Vaio_Control Center > Power Management: 1- Battery > Default ( battery Care Function disabled)

From Sony_Support: "The battery only charges up to 50% or 80%".
http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=C508163&sliceId=1&mdl=VPCF115FMB

 

A vampire in costa rica?lol..yeah how does this motion eye works?doesn't it supposed to follow your face?not sure vertically or horizontally.

 

That option is disabled since the first time i power on my computer, i thoght that was the problem, but no... what i was trying to say is that the battery took a longer time to change from 85% to 84% then normal... so i think the battery gauge is showing me 85% when the battery really is at 100% of capacity...

 

Can anyone comment on the quality of the screen (the last thing standing between me buying this laptop or a dell studio xps)?

Which is better the Sony screen (1080p of course and us version) or Dell's WLED 1080p???

I'm a mild gamer if that makes a difference...

 

I have 4gb of memory (1 stick) in my F11. Should I be looking to buy another of the exact same memory (Samsung)? Will that increase performance with dual channel architecture? I really don't know anything about dual channel.

When Sony sells this unit with 6 gb (4 + 2) is that still dual channel? Obviously they are not matched sizes, and I've heard they are different manufacturers.

I can't find anything about this for our laptops. Anybody know?

Here is some mushkin memory I'm looking at...maybe down the line. Any thoughts?

http://www.mushkin.com/Memory/Essentials/991647.aspx

Thanks,

Gary

btw - after two weeks, still running great, no issues at all, and I really like this machine!

 

I have both in the family. My F with a 1080 and an XPS with 1440 x 900 and the Dell is superior. True color may be better on the F but every other aspect goes to the Dell. Have not used a Dell 1080.

 

I've found something in the web about the battery drainage.... i'm not sure if this is true, but it is an official sony support page so i have to believe even if i don't want to hehe...

http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/documentLink.do?externalId=C223674

 

Are you sure you read my post? There is a link to the user manual in it.

"NOW they are out of stock" - Where? Try Google products.

BTW, I just enabled .FLAC audio files in Media Player 12. I'm listening to Summertime via the headphones as I write this, gives me goose bumps everytime as it transports me back to that time where I was lucky enough to enjoy a private a Capella rendition by that gorgeous French-Canadian signer in a very private location...

FLAC now works fine after rebooting: http://xiph.org/dshow/downloads/

And now Media Player 12 even indexes the .flac files thanks to the how-to
here: http://www.hack7mc.com/2009/01/playing-flac-files-in-media-center.html

I did not need to rebuilt the Library as suggested in the article.

Could you reply to my question above about the viewing angle of your webcam, please?

Sorry, it does not fold in any way. I saved the blister pack for transporting it, it's easy to open as the back is made of carton. The mic is a pinhole & works fine.



*****

Battery Drainage, again!

Yah, that's the canned reply I received for Sony_support via email & quoted here. I'm happy to say that my F does not loose 15% battery life after being shutdown for 24 hours.

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Display comments, again?

Are you serious? Do we have to re-type about 500 posts? Search this Thread with: display & click on the Unification Post and Poll links in my sig below.

 

I'm really torn between the two and price is the same exact.

Well,thanks for answering. Since you own both systems can you really recommend one over the other/ Do you find one more attractive than the other? Longer battery life? If you could only keep one of the two which would it be? Which one seems more professional?

I also carry it to graduate school with me everyday so is the size of either one a negative in this regard?

ANY info would be great, just need to tip the balance one way or the other.

 

You know, there on the netbook forums people are giving their ratings on screens too, but that doesnt mean anything when you are trying to compare it to other screens. I realize that the sony screen is decent and ive already read as much as i can about it. My question was directed at people who have seen both the dell studio xps and the vaio side by side...

 

I meant that I have yet to see a PICTURE of the microphone, a photograph.

I need to get the 'phones at Sonystyle.ca. I have a double discount for it, thus already making it cheaper than Ebay, plus there's no shipping charge or concerns about Customs.

 

Then Search this Thread with: display XPS.

Some comparative data: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=6007717&highlight=XPS#post6007717

Plenty to read here: "vaio_f_series" vs_XPS.

Normally the mods are quick in deleting comparatives in specific model threads like this one. The What Notebook Should I Buy? thread was made for that.

 

In a laptop each stick is dual channel. You can add mixed sizes and retain full bandwidth. Desktops can use DDR3 in triple channel configs using each stick as one channel.

And you're lucky it's a single stick. I have two 2 gig sticks and I NEED to increase capacity since starting to use Virtual XP.

Samsung, Kingston, and Hynix (Hitachi) are your best bet, since they're all OEM for Sony and have the same slew rates. You'll be paying more for Mushkin and there's no speed advantage in the F11 to using "designer" ram.

Yes it's a good laptop, and other than the lousy screen my unit has no problems either.

 

The Dell's display will always blow away the North American F11 screen, paticularly with its Premium RGB. However don't choose your laptop based on screen quality alone. Look at options such as Bluray burner, SSD, and software bundles and for the price the Dell is left in the dust.

 

Webcam answer please. :tongue:

 

Hi, I am getting a machine with 4GB as well and asked similar questions. Sony gives you Hynnix memory stick when you order 6GB laptop. Kihokang was kind enough to attach an image of the Samsung 2GB stick he got, you can get the image here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=464372&page=154

If you google there are websites as well as people on Ebay selling it. Apparently HP Envy uses it.

 

My sweetspot allows me to have the bottom of the frame cutting slightly above my chin but not as drastic cutting above my upper lip. To get it centered, 80-85% seems to do it.

I have noticed that my lens is slightly biased to the right. I am not centered in the frame looking at the camera when my body is in line with the notebook.

 

...haha sorry I tried keeping up with 4+ pages of posts a day but i gave up after page 150 or so..... I will check the unity post or whatever its called first in the future...... On the other hand i need to ask questions and make posts so I can post a laptop I want to sell in the appropriate section..

 

My laptop is burning up right now....any suggestions on how to cool it down? Just been watching blurays on it tonight.

It's well ventilated and propped up much like Joe's triangle ruler he uses

 

While you are only at 10.5% under 70'C is very safe. I've heard of load temps in the 80's I think Intel states max thermal at 100'c and you will get degradation.

 

Ok Thanks. I assumed is was burning up with hte little flame logos...it crashed earlier...identically like to the guy in this thread....just trying to make sure my laptop is safe

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=473103

 

My most recent purchase was a F so there lies the short answer. But when considering another laptop the XPS was never a consideration for me because, for this purchase, I required a side numeric keyboard. Melody is correct, feature to feature the F seems to beat out the XPS by a bit, depending on configurations. Both have a very professional look, unlike a lot plastic gamer looking laptops ( Dell Studio 17)- but the nod goes to the XPS here, it's metal. I believe the screen is larger on the F 16.3" vs 15.3" making it a bit heavier, making the XPS better to tote around. Battery life not so good with the F. I really think both are great laptops and it's a real tossup. For a desktop replacement go with the F and if you are going to take this to school everyday for a few years, I would choose the XPS.